Sometimes he's being so insensitive. (he isn't usually like that)

[Marika33]

I've learned that people say "You're being selfish/unreasonable/mean/(etc.)", becuase they mean that the person they're talking about is not [*] all the time, but she/he is behaving that way now.
So, can I say "Sometimes he's being so insensitive" in order to say that "he" is not always like that, he only sometimes behaves that way.

• Sometimes he's being so insensitive. (he isn't usually like that)

 

[Tarheel]

No. Say "Sometimes he's insensitive, but he isn't always like that "

 

[Marika33]

No. Say "Sometimes he's insensitive, but he isn't always like that "

Thanks!

I found this on Twitter, is it also incorrect?

 

[Piscean]

It's not what most native speakers would say,

 

[jutfrank]

I've learned that people say "You're being selfish/unreasonable/mean/(etc.)", becuase they mean that the person they're talking about is not [*] all the time, but she/he is behaving that way now.

Yes, that's right.

So, can I say "Sometimes he's being so insensitive" in order to say that "he" is not always like that, he only sometimes behaves that way.

• Sometimes he's being so insensitive. (he isn't usually like that)

You should only use the present continuous when you're talking about that specific moment, and I don't think you mean that. I think you're trying to make a sentence to describe his behaviour in general. To do that, you could say Sometimes he's insensitive.

The Twitter example is a bit different from yours. The present continuous in that example only works because it's asking the reader to put herself in that specific moment and then explaining his behaviour at that specific time. It's akin to saying 'If you look at some of his past posts, it's clear that by writing the post he's being a dick' or 'When he writes things like that, he's being a dick'. For a more general statement about his behaviour, you could say Sometimes he acts like a dick.