study vs is studying, hope vs hoping

[forum_mail]

I've always been thinking that when someone asks me "What do you do ?" I'm supposed to answer : "I study" or "I study journalism" which means that I'm a student of some department. However, quite recenlty,I've heard a native speaker saying "I'm studying journalism" and he was answering the same question - "What do you do"

and the second question : What's the difference between I hope and I'm hoping ?

ps. is it ok to use pres. perf. continuous, jus as I did at the beginning of this post ? is there any other tense which could be used here ?

ps.2 and do we rather say "when someone asks me or is asking" in this context ?

thanks,

[Tdol]

I study/I'm studying - both can be used. The idea behind the progressive form is that it's a temporary thing. If someone says 'I'm working as...', they probably mean that they don't plan to make a career of the job. With studying, it doesn't really make any difference as courses are always temporary. 'I'm hopin g' places more emphasis on the current situation- 'I'm hoping that he'll be there' suggests that there is a real risk he won't be there so I am hoping with extra force.

[forum_mail]

thanks a lot : - )

and what about the present perfect continuous at the beginning of my previous post ?

and does this rule about "extra emphasis" in "I'm hoping" somehow apply to other continuous forms ? for instance, what's the difference between :

a. How do you feel ? and How are you feeling ?

b. Let's imagine a situation in which two friends were lost in a jungle. One of would say :

What to we do now ? or What are we doing now ? (or maybe What will we do now ?) I guess that the first option and the third one are ok.

best wishes,

ps. can I say that : a rule translates into another rule or example ?

[Casiopea]

and what about the present perfect continuous at the beginning of my previous post ?

Try, "I've always thought that if someone asks ... "

and does this rule about "extra emphasis" in "I'm hoping" somehow apply to other continuous forms ? for instance, what's the difference between :

a. How do you feel ? and How are you feeling ?

They're the same - to my knowledge.

b. Let's imagine a situation in which two friends were lost in a jungle. One of would say :

What to we do now ? or What are we doing now ? (or maybe What will we do now ?) I guess that the first option and the third one are ok.

What do we do now?
What will we do now?
What are we doing now? We're standing here talking about how we're going to find our way out of the jungle.

ps. can I say that : a rule translates into another rule or example ?

It depends on what you mean by translates. What's your rule or example?

Punctuation Help
There shouldn't be a space before a question mark:
EX: How many ?
EX: How many?

There shouldn't be a space before a colon:
EX: Here are the lotto numbers : 2-4-5
EX: Here are the lotto numbers: 2-4-5

[forum_mail]

Try, "I've always thought that if someone asks ... "

then the present perfect countinuous is completely wrong in this context :) ?

thanks for you answers, I'll try to remember about a space between those marks you mentioned :)

ps. and by the way, when can we use "material" and "materials" ? I never know.. . can I say "Please send me the materials I need" ? hmm... a bit confusing to my liking...

[Casiopea]

when can we use "material" and "materials" ? I never know.. . can I say "Please send me the materials I need" ? hmm... a bit confusing to my liking...

The answer you're looking for is here

All the best.

[forum_mail]

then the present perfect countinuous is completely wrong in this context :) ?

and this one :D ?

[Casiopea]

Yes. It's incorrect.

[forum_mail]

hmm... sorry for keeping on at you about this thing, but can you tell me why present perfect continous is wrong here ?

[rewboss]

The traditional answer is that verbs of emotion and state cannot normally be used in the continuous forms.

But this needs to be explained. In many cases -- "think" is one case -- you can use the verb as a verb indicating your state of mind, or you can use it to mean an active, deliberate action.

"I've always thought than when someone asks..." -- here, you're talking about your state of mind, in a way. You're using "think" to mean "assume", "believe" or "be of the opinion that".

"I've been thinking -- and I may have a solution." In this case, "think" refers to an active process: the speaker has been concentrating and working something out. This is a process with a definite end result.

"I think it's going to rain" -- no process, just a belief.

"Be quiet -- I'm thinking" -- the speaker is engaged in a process and does not wish to be disturbed.