The continuous form of the verb "to be"

[boothling]

I wonder if somebody might have the time to give me their professional opinion on a handout I've prepared for a group of intermediate students.

The question of when you can say "I was being..." came up in a class yesterday. I don't have much teaching experience (I'm doing a CELTA right now) and my answer may not have been as clear as it could have been, so I made this for next time:

Have I covered everything? I think the language and examples will be easily understood by this group, but I don't know if it's an accurate analysis of how the verb is used in this tense.

[Tdol]

You might want to think about the adjectives:
She was being silly last night.
She was silly last night.
Both sentences are possible and both describe her behaviour. I'd use the progressive in examples like this:
Don't take what she said seriously; she was just being silly.
Here, I don't think 'was silly' would fit in- it's describing the frivolity of her behaviour rather than judging her negatively.

[boothling]

Thank you very much. I'll amend it.

[Tdol]

You might not need to amend it, but you should be ready for it as a question from the class.

BTW, I would maybe try to divide the sheet a bit more clearly with sub-headings, but I am not sure what guidelines they give on the CELTA.

[delice34]

hello

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Originally Posted by boothling

I wonder if somebody might have the time to give me their professional opinion on a handout I've prepared for a group of intermediate students.

The question of when you can say "I was being..." came up in a class yesterday. I don't have much teaching experience (I'm doing a CELTA right now) and my answer may not have been as clear as it could have been, so I made this for next time:

Have I covered everything? I think the language and examples will be easily understood by this group, but I don't know if it's an accurate analysis of how the verb is used in this tense.

As a stative verb BE is usually used in the simple tense. When BE is used in the continuous tense it is made dynamic to refer to a temporary situation usually negative:
You are being naughty.

Depending on the rule above BE should not be overused in the continuous.