Continuous Tenses (Bütün Continuous Tense Çeşitleri)

[Bilge Gökçen]

tense çeşitleri present continuous with future meaning present continuous future meaning to express time tens çeşitleri

Continuous Tenses​

In the traditional 12 tense system we are using, there are 3 basic continuous (or "progressive") tenses: present continuous, past continuous, and future continuous. All three are formed with the appropriate form of auxiliary "be" followed by a present participle (= Vb+ing)

Present Continuous​

I am talking
we are breathing
you are listening
she is writing
they are sitting

Past Continuous​

I was sleeping
we were dreaming
you were snoring
she was dozing
they were awakening

Future continuous
I, you, he, we, they will be studying


I. Present continuous tense, meaning / uses:

• something happening at the moment of speaking: Come in. We're having a meeting.
• extended present time, but situation is temporary: She's spending the summer in Cairo.
• (less common / more advanced) to highlight change or progress: His handwriting is improving.
• (less common / more advanced) a habitual action, especially if relatively new: You're drinking too much.

A major problem for students is "verbs that (mostly) aren't used in the progressive":
Verbs that express a state, particularly of thought, perception, emotion, or relation, generally do not occur in progressive tenses.

• thought: I remember it well.

believe, doubt, forget, guess, know, realize, recognize, suppose

• perception: It sounds wonderful.

hear, see, smell, taste

• emotion: They hate the new law.

adore, desire, despise, dislike, envy, like, love, want

• relation: She has a new friend.

belong, contain, include, owe, own, possess

Unfortunately, many of these verbs have two meanings or uses, one of which is dynamic, and so can be used with continuous tenses:

• They were tasting the soup.
• We are including the neighbors in the party.

II. Past continuous: Use: A longish past action that overlaps, is interrupted by, or occurs with reference to some other past event/time:
·He was getting ready for bed when he heard the news.
·When I went downstairs, they were already eating breakfast.
·The girl was drowning, but the lifeguard rescued her.
III. Future continuous: A longish future action that overlaps, is interrupted by, or occurs with reference to some other future event/time:
·We'll be cleaning up the yard Saturdal afternoon.
·She'll be eating dinner if you call then.
·

Perfect Continuous Tenses​

Forms: Perfect continuous tense verb forms combine the patterns of perfect (Auxiliary "have" & past participle) and continuous (Auxiliary "be" & present participle). The result is one of the following forms:

Present perfect continuous
has/have been swimming

Past perfect continuous
had been swimming

Future perfect continuous
will have been swimming

Uses or meanings:

present perfect continuous: has/have been walking
This is an alternative way (an alternate for present perfect tense) to mention some action that started prior to the present & which continues to now:

• Jamie has been living here since 1980.

It may be used with regularly repeated events that are expected to continue:

• She has been coming to class regularly this term.

The present perfect continuous has a very similar meaning to simple present perfect, but seems to give more emphasis to the continuing nature of the event, and its lack of completion:

• He has {taught / been teaching} for 5 years.
• I've {waited / been waiting} for an hour.

past perfect continuous: had been playing
This is a way to express the earlier of two past events, while emphasizing its duration:

• It had been raining for several hours, and the streets were still wet when he went out.

Since these (and future perfect continuous) express the same core meaning as the non-continuous perfects, they are best left out or not emphasized for intermediate level students. If they come up, focus students’ attention on understanding them; don’t spend a lot of time teaching their productive use.