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I can't understand these line, plz: explain it.
some verbs can't be used in the present continuous tense.
This is becoz already suggest permanence.

Some "state" verbs such as "be", or "belong" or "own" aren't temporary verbs. They express something which is always true. For example, "This pen belongs to me" means that it always belongs to me: it's not like the pen belongs to me one day, and then to someone else the next. For this reason, we can't use these types of verbs in the continuous form, as the continuous form suggests that something is temporary, rather than permanent.

The verbs "freeze" and "love" are (according to a supplementary grammar chapter in the review "spotlight"
verbs of perception and emotion and cannot be used with -ing.

In my booklet "tenses" the sentence "I freeze" is said to be wrong and corrected by "I am freezing"

And : Is the Mc Donald slogan "I'm loving it" correct?

Thank you for your comments.

In my opinion, in the sentence "I'm freezing", the "freezing" isn't a verb, but an adjective, similar to "I'm cold". You can use the verb "to freeze" to talk about putting something in the freezer:

"In summer we freeze all our uneaten vegetables."

A good question about the McDonald's slogan! I think it's American English: in British English we'd say "I love" or "I like", but in American English, it's possible to use the continuous form.

What is diference between ' We are coming back tomorrow and We will come back tomorrow.

Both sentences are correct.
"We are coming back tomorrow" = fixed arrangement
"We will come back tomorrow" = either a prediction or something decided as you speak

I am confused by the list of verbs that cannot be used with the present continuous eg
Where is Anna? She is seeing her son.

You can use "see" in the continuous form, but it doesn't mean to physically see someone, but that you have an appointment. There's an example on the page: "I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow".

I am thinking of going to visit her tomorrow.
Yes, you can also use "think" in the continuous form, but it suggests a mental activity, rather than an opinion.

I'm forgetting about the work I've still got to do.
No: you either have forgotten, or you have remembered. You can't use "forget" in a continuous form.

They are hating every minute of this interview.
This is also OK, but quite a new use of the verb "hate". To me it seems that it's used to describe a continuous feeling, rather than a permanent opinion.
A similar use is "I'm loving it", the McDonald slogan.

While we are lying on the beach, we are smelling the sea and we are tasting the salt in the air.
You can use smell / taste (and other sense verbs) if they are an activity. But in your example above, they seem more like abilities to me. When you are at the seaside, you can taste the salt in the air. It's not as if you go around with your tongue out trying to taste the salt.

Thanks in anticipation.

I was reading a book and I came across the following structure.
"I am hopping.You can hopping."The second sentence sounds strange,doesn't it ?Because I have heard that after modals like "can" we cannot use ing-forms directly.

Correct. After modals, use the infinitive without "to".

Is it correct to use:
I am study English.
I found this a little strange, but someone told me that it is grammatically right.

Denis » No, it's incorrect. It should be either "I study" or "I'm studying".

I am really impresed by upper comments.

I am wondering for the three different sentenses which one is correct

Since 1980, Jane has married.
or
Since 1980, Jane has been married.
or
Since 1980, Jane has been marring.

Hope for your explanation to my confuse.

Thanks & rgds

panchar » Since 1980, Jane has been married.

please tell me about the exceptions of adding s of the third person singular and give me example of some verbs

I can't think of any exceptions, except for when you add -es for verbs ending in a vowel, such as "go".

laila: you talked about simple present tense which happens every day. Example:-She prays five times every day , He plays soccer. Thank you

i usually hear a question like this" do you bring a camera?" is that right?? comparing with "are u bringing a camera?" which one is right??
and there's one more sentence
"I come here to visit your mom" why we use simple present here, isn't the activities still happening at this moment of the speaking??
thank u, i'll be waiting for your reply…

The first doesn't sound right, unless you are asking about someone's habits. "Do you bring a camera when you visit a different city?" Use the second if you are asking about someone's future plans: "Are you bringing a camera to the party?" (The party hasn't happened yet.)

In the third, the sentence means that someone habitually comes here to visit – it's not happened at the time of speaking.

Firstly,, i'm greatly glad of finding this web. Thanks you so much providing this web. I have a question. This isn't really related to the topic. What're the differences between a gerund and a verb+ing that's used in a simple continous tense? Thanx's before n after !!

They look the same (although with present continuous you have the verb "to be" as the auxiliary), but they function in different ways. See the page on gerunds in the grammar section for more information about how we use gerunds.

I've heard about another use of will for present tense. Tell me if the definition is right. Its used to talk about routines, sth that eventually happens.e.g . Rose invited me to her party, but I know that my father won't let me go ( my father is very strict).thaks in advance.

Yes, it's correct. We can use "will" to talk about what people habitually do.

"She will insist on wearing that awful old fur coat whenever we go to the theatre."

It often shows irritation with the person's habit.

Is this sentence correct
"Now you have done it."
My teacher said that sentence but I dont understand why did he use now?
What is the meaning of "now" here.

Thanks

I also feel confused when I hear this sentence:
he goes to the store now.
Why is "now' used here??
Thanks alot

The sentence is incorrect. It should be "He's going to the store now".

It means that you have done something (correctly) now – as he / she is talking to you.

It can also be a sort of warning that you say to someone when they do something that is wrong or which will cause repercussions.

Hi,

How about the verb "possess"?
Is it a verb of possession or not?

Thanks.

Hello,

There's something else related to this lesson.

I have a grammar book called "Grammar in Use Intermediate" and I turn to the page that discusses the verbs that can't be in the continuous form.

But, there's this verb "want". I didn't find it in this lesson but why not be a continuous verb?

Yes, it is, but we're more likely to use "own" instead of "possess".

Yes, it's also a verb that we don't use in the continuous form, because it's a verb of emotion.

About Rudy's opinion and Clare's explaination, I have an idea. I suppose a situation, two friends, A and B, come together to an attraction. Standing in front of it, A suddenly wants to know whether B has camera or not(maybe, he wants to get a photo of the amazing one and realised he doesn't take camera with him). So,in this case, how should A ask B to get appropriate information?
Many thanks.

Have you got your camera with you?

Hello,

How can the verbs of senses suggest permenance?

Abdulelah

Because if you have a sense, the sense is permanent. When you open your eyes and see, you always see – it's not as if you see one second and not the next.

Hi all,

I just would like you to know that there is other verbs that only suggest permenance:

agree
suppose
realize
contain
consist

and there are other verbs.

Also, I want you to know that if you want to use this website effectively, use a book with it called "Grammar in Use Intermediate". They complement each other and can help you learn this beautiful organized language more quickly.

And I would like you to know that if you would like to know whether a verb only suggests permenance or not, you have to keep in mind whether the verb you use is not an action or happening.

If it is not, then that verb only suggest permenance (paraphrased from the book I mentioned above").

Hi Clare!

Is correct if I say a statement like -Issues will be "discuss" or "discussed" concerning….please can you help me with that

"Issues will be discussed" is correct.

Hi!
I'm wandering which tense to use in such situation: There's a projects and I know that this project will last for 10 years. Should I say: I'm working on this project or I work on this project ?

"I'm working on" would probably be better, but you can also say "I work for X company and for the next ten years I'll be working on…"

Thank you very much for your answer :) Here comes another question :)
If something is happening right now we use present continous: 'She is sleeping at the moment' but as far as I remember one can use 'She is asleep now' – is that correct? If it is then why present simple for current action?

"Asleep" is an adjective, not a verb.

Is this sentence correct?
- It's been 6 months now that I'm having a vacation but still, my wife and I had no luck of having a baby.
If its ungrammatical, can you please help correct it. I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance.

I've been on holiday for six months, but my wife and I still haven't had any luck in trying for a baby.

Hi,

I'm a beginner in english.I confused with this word …has/have and has/have been.what is situation it should be use.

tq

With the verb "have" in the present tense, you only use "has" for third person singular (he, she or it)
I / you / we / they have
He / she / it has

For the present perfect tense of the verb "to be", we use "has been" for third person singular, and "have been" for I / you/ we / they.

clare,
From what I understand between present continuous and simple, e.g. I'm going to work in five minutes (continuous) and I go to work in five minutes (simple), which one is a proper usage to describe my action? Thanks for your help!

If you're describing action happening now, then use the present continuous. If you're describing habitual action, use the present simple. But your sentence describes the first scenario, so present continuous is correct.

Clare,

I really confuse when to use "goes" in a sentence. (past or present?)

Is "had" use only in past tense?

Sometime I see past tense word in present tense.
"He will have won five matches by then"
"He has won five matches so far"
Why oh why?

sorry and
thank you so much!

Goes is third person singular – present.
Had = past tense of "have".

He will have won…. = when you're looking to a time in the future and you think someone will achieve something before that time in the future.

He has won…. = from the past up to now he has won five matches.

Thanks clare!

Little confuse here..

you mean whatever that I think someone will acheive something before that time in the future I should use "he will have won.."

She will have got 3 kids next time i see her.
He will became a manager 2 years from now.

THANK YOU so much.. for your time!!
I really appreciate it so much!
I always wanted someone to help me imporve my english..

Yes. "She will have had three children the next time I see her" = she will give birth three times before a time in the future.

Dear Clare

I have a question regarding the situations in which the verb "own" should be used instead of "Posses". Is there a particular grammar for this?

Thanks a lot

Own is more informal than possess, but otherwise the grammar of the two verbs is the same.

Hi!
I have a question: we can not use 'love' in continuous, it's OK. But why can we say:
' I'm lovin' it.' McDonalds…
Can you explain me what does it mean in this situation?
Thanks

This is a good question. Maybe they mean that you always love going there, but I don't really know!

what is the difference between "should and suppose to". i am so confused to use these words in sentences

You should / You're supposed to = both can mean that there is an obligation to do something. With "should" it's because I'm telling you, while "supposed to" is more general – the obligation comes from someone else.

hi Clare,
i wanted to know if the verbs that cannot be used in the simple present,if these same verbs cannot be used in any continuous other times and forms.
Thank you a lot

As far as I know, they can't.

what's different between
I fear
Iam fear
Iam fearing

We don't generally use emotion verbs in the present continuous, so only your first sentence is correct. (2 is incorrect.)

please help thank you
A: Bob, how is your new car?
B: not so good . It _______ a flat tire.
a) is having b) has
A: well, you had better take it to get it fixed.

In class, we are study about plants and animals
to correct this sentence should say: we study or are studying

Thanks Clare

Has

It depends. If you always study this, you can say "we study plants and animals". But if your study about plants and animals is only one part of your class, and you're doing it now, you can say "We're studying plants and animals".