[Grammar] 'Someday it will eventually be raining' - correct?

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kfiatol

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Is the following sentence absolutely incorrect: 'Someday it will eventually be raining'? I am wondering whether 'eventually' can be used with the future continuous tense?
 

Rover_KE

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Welcome to the board, kfiatol.

The things you students worry about!

Your sentence is not absolutely incorrect - the meaning is clear - but it's not something a native speaker would say.

Rover
 

probus

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There is no reason why 'eventually' cannot be used with the future continuous tense. In your example "Eventually it will rain" would seem to suffice but one could craft something like:

"Eventually, and for decades to come, they will be wishing they had listened to the prophets of today."
 
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kfiatol

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Thanks for a speedy reply. To be honest I thought this is not exactly what should be said and if I'd had that extra second for consideration I would've chosen 'will rain'. But I didn't. And now I'd be even willing to craft a sentence like yours Probus, just to prove I wasn't wrong.
What about this one: Someday this week it'll be raining for a long time.
 

5jj

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Tdol

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Perhaps a better question to ask than whether it's possible, is to ask why you would use it. There's no rule to stop you using the progressive with eventually, so you have to find a context where it would make sense to use it, where the progressive form is called for. You can stretch and force the limits of usage, but there should be a good reason for doing it:

The crops have failed again. It hasn't rained for years here. It didn't rain this spring and it isn't raining now, but I shall not give up hope because eventually it will be raining here when I sow my seeds

(If that's a good time for rain)
 
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