It is feeling/It feels really cold today.

[Rachel Adams]

Hello


This questions are taken from the book Active Grammar. Do you think in all the 3 questions both tenses can be used?

1. My mother is always telling me off. I am fed up with it.
My mother always tells me off. I am fed up with it.

2. It is feeling really cold today.
It feels really cold today.

3. Are you still going out with Alex? No, I have got a new boyfriend.
Do you go out with Alex?

 

[Rover_KE]

Please note that I have changed your thread title.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[Glizdka]

Not a teacher
------
Hello, Rachel!

Those are pretty good examples of exceptions to standard rules of telling whether it's simple or continuous.

Number one is about strong, negative emotions, and complaining about something. Although it doesn't always happen, it's frequent and annoying enough to say it's always happening.

Number two is about sense verbs, which have a different meaning in the present simple and the present continuous. My favorite example of this is the classic joke "My dog's got no nose" - "How does it smell?" - "Awful".

I think number three can go with either tense, in this exercise; there's not enough context. You can't tell if the person is asking about your relationship status with Alex, or about a prearranged meeting.

A: "About that party at Sally's - are you still going out with Alex?"
B: "No, I have got a new boyfriend."
A: "So... I can ask him out now, right?"

A: "I haven't seen you with Alex for some time. Do you still go out with him?"
B: "No, I have got a new boyfriend."
A: "I never liked him anyways."

 

[Rachel Adams]

Hello.

In one of my previous threads there was a similar sentence with ''always.'' ''People are always coming and asking'' or ''always come and ask''. Both were correct but the person wasn't complaining about people coming and asking questions. Is it wrong to use the simple present if I am talking about an activity which happens more often than it is expected and which is annoying. For example, ''He is always washing his car.'' Would it be wrong to say ''He always washes his car?''

 

[GoesStation]

Hello


This questions are taken from the book Active Grammar. Do you think in all the 3 questions both tenses can be used?

1. My mother is always telling me off. I am fed up with it.:tick:
My mother always tells me off. I am fed up with it.:tick:

2. It is feeling really cold today.:cross:
It feels really cold today.:tick:

3. Are you still going out with Alex? No, I have got a new boyfriend.:tick:
Do you go out with Alex?:tick:

Both tenses are possible in one and three. The meaning of the two versions of number one is similar.

You dropped the adverb from the simple version of number three. That changes the meaning significantly.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Both tenses are possible in one and three. The meaning of the two versions of number one is similar.

You dropped the adverb from the simple version of number three. That changes the meaning significantly.

No, I didn't. It was given in the test.

Feel, look, and ache can be used with either the simple present or the present progressive only if we are talking about people, right?

 

[Tdol]

Not exclusively- you could say the garden is looking good.

 

[Rover_KE]

These questions are taken from the book 'Active Grammar' by whom? Do you think in all the 3 questions both tenses can be used?

They don't seem to be questions.

What's your reason for quoting them?

 

[Rachel Adams]

They don't seem to be questions.

What's your reason for quoting them?

By Fiona Davis.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Both tenses are possible in one and three. The meaning of the two versions of number one is similar.

You dropped the adverb from the simple version of number three. That changes the meaning significantly.

I compared my first example ''My mother is always telling me off'' with an example given in ''Raymond Murphy's English Grammar in Use''. Does he suggest using the continuous for negative situations? Or do I misunderstand?

 

[Yankee]

Hello.

In one of my previous threads there was a similar sentence with ''always.'' ''People are always coming and asking'' or ''always come and ask''. Both were correct but the person wasn't complaining about people coming and asking questions. Is it wrong to use the simple present if I am talking about an activity which happens more often than it is expected and which is annoying. For example, (1)''He is always washing his car.'' Would it be wrong to say (2)''He always washes his car?''

As usual, context rules. But as standalone examples my opinion would be for : 1) criticism & 2) simple observation.

 

[Rachel Adams]

As usual, context rules. But as standalone examples my opinion would be for : 1) criticism & 2) simple observation.

So the progressive is preferred in situations when you are complaining, right?

 

[Glizdka]

So the progressive is preferred in situations when you are complaining, right?

I might be wrong, but I like to think of that use of the present continuous as a hyperbole. You aren't genuinelly saying that this always happens; you just want the person you're talking to to feel your strong emotions. Using the present simple would just state it as a fact.

"You always forget" states a fact.
"You're always forgetting" is a complaint.

 

[GoesStation]

I might be wrong, but I like to think of that use of the present continuous as [STRIKE]a[/STRIKE] hyperbole ​[no article]. You aren't genuinely saying that this always happens; you just want the person you're talking to to feel your strong emotions. Using the present simple would just state it as a fact.

"You always forget" states a fact.
"You're always forgetting" is a complaint.

That's exactly right.

 

[Yankee]

I might be wrong, but I like to think of that use of the present continuous as a hyperbole. You aren't genuinelly saying that this always happens; you just want the person you're talking to to feel your strong emotions. Using the present simple would just state it as a fact.

"You always forget" states a fact.
"You're always forgetting" is a complaint.

Well, "forget" with "always" , I think, would be an observation and not necessarily "a fact" , and as a standalone statement for me, could be a fact but also considered a criticism.
And in the statement with "always forgetting", I consider it a criticism rather than an actual complaint. Perhaps a slight difference, but for me there is a distinction between the two.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Well, "forget" with "always" , I think, would be an observation and not necessarily "a fact" , and as a standalone statement for me, could be a fact but also considered a criticism.
And in the statement with "always forgetting", I consider it a criticism rather than an actual complaint. Perhaps a slight difference, but for me there is a distinction between the two.

Not a native speaker, obviously, but I also thought that perhaps ''You always forget'' also expresses criticism. Why only the continuous?

 

[Yankee]

Not a native speaker, obviously, but I also thought that perhaps ''You always forget'' also expresses criticism. Why only the continuous?

Yes. A lot depends also on the verb (meaning) itself. Absent any context, "You always forget..." and "You are always forgetting...." both suggest criticism. Whereas "You always help..." and "You are always helping..." would suggest a positive action. And going back to your original post, both tenses/forms in those examples, with those verbs could be used.

 

[Rachel Adams]

Yes. A lot depends also on the verb (meaning) itself. Absent any context, "You always forget..." and "You are always forgetting...." both suggest criticism. Whereas "You always help..." and "You are always helping..." would suggest a positive action. And going back to your original post, both tenses/forms in those examples, with those verbs could be used.

When talking about a positive action there is no difference in meaning. Am I right? ''You are always helping''. ''You always help.''

 

[Yankee]

When talking about a positive action there is no difference in meaning. Am I right? ''You are always helping''. ''You always help.''

In that example and lacking any context, yes.

 

[Rachel Adams]

In that example and lacking any context, yes.

To sum up...
Both tenses are used if you are talking about a negative situation. But the present simple suggests a fact while the continuous suggests a complaint. As in ''You always complain'' is a fact. ''You are always complaining'' is a complaint. So there is a difference.
If you are talking about a positive situation both tenses are still possible. ''You are always helping people'' and ''You always help''. No difference.