fool around

[GUEST2008]

Hi

My boyfriend fools around/is fooling around too much.

Does it matter which tense I use?

[emsr2d2]

Hi

My boyfriend fools around/is fooling around too much.

Does it matter which tense I use?

My boyfriend fools around too much = This is a habit, he does it all the time.
My boyfriend is fooling around too much = This is something he is doing right now, at the present time. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a habit.

Out of curiosity, can I check that you know that "to fool around" can mean "to mess about/have fun/do silly things" but also "to cheat on your partner"?

[GUEST2008]

I was thinking about "doing silly things".

[GUEST2008]

But I think there's a construction: always + verb (ing)

My boyfriend is always fooling around too much.

He's always eating icecreams. etc.

[billmcd]

The addition of "always" would make the use of present continuous acceptable. But I wouldn't consider "always eating ice cream" an example of fooling around. Wasting time instead of studying, working etc. would fit better with the term.

[BobK]

....

Out of curiosity, can I check that you know that "to fool around" can mean "to mess about/have fun/do silly things" but also "to cheat on your partner"?

Or not necessarily 'cheat'. I was confused when I first met this in a film, when Frank Sinatra said to his date 'We could always just stay home and fool around. It was then that I realized that'fooling around' in Am E means roughly the same as the Br E slap and tickle' !

[BobK]

Hi

My boyfriend fools around/is fooling around too much.

Does it matter which tense I use?

Afterthought: you could avoid the sexual implication by saying he 'plays the fool'.

b