Is closing or closes

I read in "Practical English Grammar" by Michael Swan when making a comment native speakers use present simple for shorter actions and present progressive for longer actions. In my sentence would it be wrong to consider "close" a shorter action and use present simple? Two people are watching someone and B says what he sees.

A: "What is he doing?"

B: "He is closing the door."

Only the progressive is possible there, but the duration of the act has nothing to do with it. It would be odd to use a different aspect in the reply than the one used in the question, and there's no reason for the present simple. You could use it in a dialog like this, where it describes a habitual, repeated act:

What does he do when he gets home from work?

He takes off his shoes, puts on his slippers, and has a gin and tonic.

Rachel Adams said:

when making a comment, native speakers use present simple for shorter actions

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Does he give some examples?

After watching the video, the present simple would be possible if someone was reporting what happened using the present tense.

Teacher: OK, you all watched the video. Let's see if you were concentrating. What does Peter do when he enters the room?
Student: He opens the window.
Teacher: That's right. Then what?
Student: Then he closes the door and turns on the TV.

Of course, that entire dialogue would be equally possible with the simple past.

emsr2d2 said:

After watching the video, the present simple would be possible if someone was reporting what happened using the present tense.

Teacher: OK, you all watched the video. Let's see if you were concentrating. What does Peter do when he enters the room?
Student: He opens the window.
Teacher: That's right. Then what?
Student: Then he closes the door and turns on the TV.

Of course, that entire dialogue would be equally possible with the simple past.

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Can I post the screenshot for a larger text with examples and explanations?

teechar said:

Does he give some examples?

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He gives many. I will upload the screenshot if it is okay.

Rachel Adams said:

He gives many. I will upload the screenshot if it is okay.

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OK, or you could just write one or two of those examples.

teechar said:

OK, or you could just write one or two of those examples.

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Stories

Present tenses are often used informally to tell stories. The simple present is used for the events -the things that happen one after another. The present progressive is used for "background" -things that are already happening when the story starts, or that continue through the story. "So I open the door, and I look out into the garden, and I see this man. "He is wearing pyjamas and a policeman's helmet. "Hello," he says ...

"There's this Scotsman, and he's walking through the jungle when he meets a gorilla. And the gorilla's eating a snake. So the Scotsman asks..."

"In Act I, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. The ghost tells him..."

"Chapter 2: Henry goes to Scotland and meets the Loch Ness Monster."

Commentaries

In commentsries, the use of tenses is similar. The simple present is used for the quicker actions and events (which are finished before the sentences that describe them; the present progressive is used for longer actions and situations. There are more simple and fewer progressive tenses in a football commentary, for instance, than in a commentary on a boat race.

"Smith passes to Delaney, Devaney to Barnes-and Harris intercepts..."

"Oxford are pulling slightly ahead of Cambridge now; they're rowing with a Oxford are pulling slightly ahead of Cambridge now; they're rowing with a beautiful rhythm; Cambridge are looking a little disorganized..."

Then the book describes instructions and demonstrations and says "We often use the two present tenses in a similar way to give instructions, demonstrations and directions.

"OK, let's go over it again. You wait outside the bank until the manager arrives. Then you radio Louie, who's waiting round the corner, and the drives round to the front entrance. You and Louie grab the manager."

"First, I put a lump of butter into a frying pan and light the gas; then while the butter's melting I break three eggs into a bowl, like this..."

I asked my question after reading these rules and examples. So present simple doesn't always work when commenting. If I was describing another situation in which a person is also commenting and says:

A: "What is he doing? Is he still talking?"
(They are watching someone else)

B: "No, he hangs up." Does present simple sound natural here or would it be better to say: "He is hanging up?"

While I was writing this post I remembered a scene from "Rat Race" in which Rowan Atkinson's character suddenly falls asleep. Before he falls asleep the man who is near him is talking on the phone. His comments are in the progressive.

A: "What is he doing?"

B: "He is closing the door."

01:32:27,963 --> 01:32:30,799
It's you.
He's holding the key.

1279
01:32:30,865 --> 01:32:32,901
Ah.

1280
01:32:32,968 --> 01:32:35,237
And he's going
to the locker.

1281
01:32:36,805 --> 01:32:40,475
Mr. Pollini,
well done, sir.
And congratulations.

1282
01:32:40,542 --> 01:32:43,678
On behalf
of Mr. Donald Sinclair,
the Venetian Hotel and Casino...

Rachel Adams said:

I read in "Practical English Grammar" by Michael Swan when making a comment native speakers use present simple for shorter actions and present progressive for longer actions. In my sentence would it be wrong to consider "close" a shorter action and use present simple? Two people are watching someone and B says what he sees.

A: "What is he doing?"

B: "He is closing the door."

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Two other things:

1. The question is What is?, so the answer should follow that form: He is.

2. If the question were What does?, the answer that follows the form would be He closes, not He close.

Rachel Adams said:

I read in "Practical English Grammar" by Michael Swan when making a comment native speakers use present simple for shorter actions and present progressive for longer actions

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He's talking about commentaries , like sport on TV, not comments, so a football/soccer commentator could say:

He's racing down the field (longer action). He gets the ball and shoots and scores (all shorter actions)

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These are not universal rules, but he's looking at certain contexts- stories, instructions and commentaries.

Tdol said:

He's talking about commentaries , like sport on TV, not comments, so a football/soccer commentator could say:



These are not universal rules, but he's looking at certain contexts- stories, instructions and commentaries.

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Are "close," "hang up," and "pick up the receiver" long or short actions?

Piscean said:

What do you think, Rachel?

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Short in my language, but I am not sure that's the case in English.

Tdol said:

He's talking about commentaries , like sport on TV, not comments, so a football/soccer commentator could say :

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So it's not about people making comments but it's about commentaries sbout something that is being broadcast. Do I understand correctly?

Rachel Adams said:

So it's not about people making comments but it's about commentaries sbout something that is being broadcast. Do I understand correctly?

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Yes.

Piscean said:

The duration of those actions has nothing to do with language!

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OK but does it mean none of them ("pick up the receiver," "close" and "hang up") are used in a progressive tense?
I am not asking about commentaries, I mean in other contexts.
I found only one example for "closing" on Fraze.it. One for "picking up a receiver."

1. "He sits her down inside the closet and follows her in, closing the door behind him."

2. "And a poster with the caption: "Woman's hand picking up phone receiver."
http://allposters.co.uk/-sp/woman-s-hand-picking-up-phone-receiver-posters_i7995779_.htm

A: What's he doing?
B: Closing the shop/Picking up the receiver/Hanging up the phone.

The duration of the act doesn't determine the tense.

Imagine a film about a hostage situation. The kidnapper could pick up the phone slowly to frighten the victim. It's all about context.

Tdol said:

Imagine a film about a hostage situation. The kidnapper could pick up the phone slowly to frighten the victim. It's all about context.

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So generally they are short actions but they can be used in the progressive as longer actions in the right context. Do I understand correctly?

Rachel Adams said:

Are "close," "hang up," and "pick up the receiver" long or short actions?

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I've never heard of closing a telephone. I've heard of picking up and hanging up a telephone.

Whether the actions are long or short depends on the speed of the action. If you pick up or hang up fast, it's fast. If you pick up or hang up slowly, it's slow.

Rachel Adams said:

So generally they are short actions but they can be used in the progressive as longer actions in the right context. Do I understand correctly?

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Maybe somewhat. But look:

I was picking up the phone quickly because the doorbell was ringing, too.

I was hanging the phone up slowly so my mother wouldn't hear.

I was picking up the phone slowly because my arthritis hurt so much.

I was hanging up the phone quickly because I thought I heard the taxi outside.