why are you (being) in such a rush?

[forum_mail]

Hey there!

I've been wondering about the following sentence in which I have to choose between the present simple and the present continuous...

Why _____ (you/be) in such a rush

Normally, I'd say "are you" but... is "why are you being" wrong? If so, why is that? I mean, after all, we're talking about an action happening right now, aren't we?

best wishes,

[engee30]

Originally Posted by forum_mail

Hey there!

I've been wondering about the following sentence in which I have to choose between the present simple and the present continuous...

Why _____ (you/be) in such a rush

Normally, I'd say "are you" but... is "why are you being" wrong? If so, why is that? I mean, after all, we're talking about an action happening right now, aren't we?

best wishes,

To use the pattern be being + adjective or be being + noun you need to use an adjective of character, or a noun of a similar quality:

I know that Mrs Patterson is a sensible person. But tonight she's being quite irrational in that matter.
Oh gosh, Mike. You're being an idiot. Stop behaving like that!

[David L.]

Normally, I'd say "are you" but... is "why are you being" wrong? If so, why is that? I mean, after all, we're talking about an action happening right now, aren't we?

The real question is, in what context would a speaker use "are you" and in what, "are you being"???????

Can you give two sentences showing this, and why both could be correct?

[forum_mail]

the problem is that there's little context given...

A: Why _____ (you/be) in such a rush?
B: Because my train leaves in ten minutes.

[David L.]

Exactly. In that sentence, that context, 'why are you in a rush' is correct.
Can you think of the sentence, the context, in which 'are you being' would be correct?

[forum_mail]

hmm... yeah, I guess

Being in a rush I've been driving the car really fast

is that OK?

anyway, coming back to the previous one; why can't we say Why are you being in such a rush?

[David L.]

That's what I was trying to show you!
A sentence can have perfect grammar, and you can say it to your hearts content...but what will it mean to the hearer?
I'm trying to spell out two separate contexts in the sentences I'm asking you to come up with. As soon as you have those, you can compare, and the difference will then illuminate why we say one in one context and the other in a different context.
You can learn grammar easily - grasping the nuances of meaning of a language cannot be done in a rush. So why are you being in such a rush?

[forum_mail]

Originally Posted by David L.

That's what I was trying to show you!
A sentence can have perfect grammar, and you can say it to your hearts content...but what will it mean to the hearer?
I'm trying to spell out two separate contexts in the sentences I'm asking you to come up with. As soon as you have those, you can compare, and the difference will then illuminate why we say one in one context and the other in a different context.
You can learn grammar easily - grasping the nuances of meaning of a language cannot be done in a rush. So why are you being in such a rush?

hmm, I'm not sure if I get it correctly...

from what you say, it appears that Why are you being in such a rush is prefeclty OK in some contexts, right? but in your sentence it could also be "Why are you in such a rush" couldn't it?

still, I don't know if the same works for the the context that I've given in one of my previous posts... what's the real difference between Why are you in such a rush and Why are you being in such a rush

I know I'm a pain in the ass, but still, I just have to see this issue through

thanks,