Continuous Tenses and Meaning, Subject-Verb Agreement, -ing Form & Catenative Verbs

• Continuous Tenses and Meaning

continuous tense: any tense, past, present or future, formed with the auxiliary verb be and a main verb in -ing form (for example: he is speaking, they have been working)

There are some verbs that we do not normally use with continuous (or progressive) tenses. And there are other verbs that have one meaning with simple tenses and a different meaning with continuous tenses.

Non-continuous Verbs

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These "stative" verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

• feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
• senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
• communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
• thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
• other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess

Look at these example sentences, right and wrong:

I want a coffee.	not I am wanting a coffee.
I don't believe you are right.	not I am not believing you are right.
Does this pen belong to you?	not Is this pen belonging to you?
It seemed wrong.	not It was seeming wrong.
I don't hear anything.	not I am not hearing anything.

Notice that we often use can + see/hear:

• I can see someone in the distance. not I am seeing someone in the distance.
• I can't hear you very well. not I am not hearing you very well.

With verbs that we cannot use in continuous tenses, there is no real action or activity. Compare hear and listen. The verb "hear" means "receive sound in your ears". There is no action or activity by you. We cannot use hear with continuous tenses. But listen means "try to hear". You make an effort to hear. There is a kind of action or activity. We can use listen with continuous tenses.

Dual Meaning Verbs

Some verbs have two different meanings or senses. For one sense we cannot use a continuous tense. For the other sense we can use any tense.
For example, the verb think has two different meanings:

1. to believe, to have an opinion
   I think red is a sexy colour.
2. to reflect, to use your brain to solve a problem
   I am thinking about my homework.

In sense 1 there is no real action, no activity. This sense is called "stative". In sense 2 there is a kind of action, a kind of activity. This sense is called "dynamic".
When we use the stative sense, we cannot use a continuous tense. When we use the dynamic sense, we can use any tense, depending on the situation.
Look at the examples in the table below:

Stative sense - no real action must use:	Dynamic sense - a kind of action can use:

If you have a doubt about a particular verb, ask yourself the question: "Is there any real action or activity?"

be and Continuous Tenses

The verb be can be an auxiliary verb (Marie is learning English) or a main verb (Marie is French). On this page we look at be as a main verb.

Usually we do not use main verb be with continuous tenses. For example, we say:

• London is the capital of the UK. not London is being the capital of the UK.
• Is she beautiful? not Is she being beautiful?
• Were you late? not Were you being late?

Sometimes, however, we can use main verb be with a continuous tense. This is when the real sense of be is "act" or "behave". Also, the action is temporary. Compare the examples in the table below:

be as main verb
simple tense	continuous tense
Mary is a careful person. (Mary is always careful - it's her nature.)	John is being careful. (John is acting carefully now, but maybe he is not always careful - we don't know.)
Is he always so stupid? (Is that his personality?)	They were being really stupid. (They were behaving really stupidly at that moment.)
Andrew is not usually selfish. (It is not Andrew's character to be selfish.)	Why is he being so selfish? (Why is he acting so selfishly at the moment?)

Notice that we also make a difference between "to be sick" and "to be being sick":

• She is sick (= she is not well)
• She is being sick (= she is vomiting)

Here is main verb be conjugated in the Present Continuous tense:
I am being
You are being
He, she, it is being
We are being
They are being

• Subject-Verb Agreement

agreement (noun): in language, the form of one word being decided by the form of another word. Also known as "concord"

In a sentence, the verb must agree in number with the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. For example:

	subject	verb
singular	He	is	Thai.
plural	They	are	Thai.

In the very simple example above↑ it is clear that the subject He is singular and the subject They is plural. And it is clear that the verb agrees in each case. But in some sentences, it is not always so easy. The guidelines below will help you decide how to make a verb agree with its subject.

Compound subjects

A compound subject has two or more simple subjects, usually joined by and or or.

and

If the compound subject is made from simple subjects joined by and, use a plural verb:

• He and his daughter are Chinese.
• Jack and Jill go up the hill.

Phrases such as together with, as well as, accompanied by and including are not the same as and. They do not make compound subjects. The verb must still agree with the simple subject:

• John, as well as his wife, is coming to the party.
• Visitors, including government employees, have to register.

or

If the compound subject is made from simple subjects joined by or or nor, use a singular verb:

• The girl or the boy is going to help.
• Neither he nor his sister is at home.

Midsentence words

Don't be confused by words that come between the simple subject and the verb. The verb must agree with the simple subject, not with any words between them:

• One of my friends is coming.
• My teacher, who has six brothers, has no sisters.
• All the cars owned by the Russian man are leading.

Singular/plural nouns

A few nouns can be used only as singular or as plural.

Always singular

Some nouns are always singular, even though they end in -s and look plural. They must take a singular verb, for example: economics, maths, physics, gymnastics, aerobics, news

• Maths was my worst subject at school.
• The news is not good.

Always plural

Some nouns have only plural form and always take a plural verb, for example: glasses, scissors, trousers, shorts, belongings, goods

• My new sunglasses are missing.
• The goods have already been shipped.

Inverted subjects

Normal word order in English is subject-verb-object (SVO). Sometimes, however, the subject and verb are exchanged or inverted (VSO). This typically happens in questions and there is/are sentences. Be careful to identify the real subject.

• Where are the girls playing tennis?
• Here are my keys.
• There is a car outside.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns are words that refer to a group of people, such as: team, committee, family, company. Generally, we treat collective nouns as singular to emphasize the single group, or plural to emphasize its individual members. (Note that some writers of American English routinely treat collective nouns as singular.)

• The committee was set up in 1910.
• The committee are eating sandwiches for lunch.

Indefinite pronouns

Singular

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular and need a singular verb, for example: anyone, anything, everyone, no-one, someone

• Is anybody listening?
• When I call, nobody answers.

Plural

Some indefinite pronouns are always plural and need a plural verb, for example: both, few, many, others, several

• I invited Kid and Nid and both want to come.
• Many have already left.

Singular or plural

Some indefinite pronouns can be singular when referring to an uncountable subject and plural referring to a countable subject, for example: all, any, more, most, none, some

• All is forgiven. All have arrived.
• Here is some. Some are leaving.

Fractions

Fractions (¾), percentages (%) and other parts of a whole follow normal countable/uncountable rules.
Countable nouns

• Three-quarters of the building was destroyed.
• Seventy-five percent of the buildings were destroyed.
• Some of the boys have left.

Uncountable nouns (always singular)

• Half of the wine comes from France.
• Some of the wine is bad.

•  -ing Form

We make the -ing form by adding -ing to the base verb and adjusting the spelling as necessary:

• work → working
• sit → sitting
• smoke → smoking

We use the -ing form in various ways as shown below.

-ing Form for Continuous Tenses

The -ing form is used in past, present and future continuous tenses, for example:

• Anthony was fishing.
• The boys have been playing tennis.
• We will be working when you arrive.

-ing Form as Subject, Object or Complement

We can use the -ing form as the subject, object or complement of a clause, for example:

• Smoking costs a lot of money.
• I don't like writing.
• My favourite occupation is reading.

Sometimes the -ing form can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression [-ing + object] can be the subject, object or complement of a clause or sentence.

• [Smoking cigarettes] costs a lot of money.
• I don't like [writing letters] and I hate [reading emails].
• My favourite occupation is [reading detective stories].

-ing Form with Adjectives and Determiners

• pointless questioning
• a settling of debts
• the making of this film
• his drinking of alcohol

Note that when we use the -ing form with an adjective or determiner, it does not usually take a direct object. Compare these sentences:

• Making this film was expensive.
• The making of this film was expensive.
  not The making this film

-ing Form after Preposition

If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be in -ing form. It is impossible to use an infinitive after a preposition. So, for example, we say:

• I will call you after arriving at the office.
  not I will call after to arrive at the office.
• Please have a drink before leaving.
• I am looking forward to meeting you.
• Do you object to working late?
• Tara always dreams about going on holiday.

-ing Form after Certain Verbs

We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often the second verb is in the to-infinitive form, for example:

• I want to eat.

But sometimes the second verb must be in -ing form, for example:

• I dislike eating.

This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs that are usually followed by a verb in -ing form:

• admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, understand

Look at these examples:

• She will consider having a holiday.
  not She will consider to have a holiday.
• Do you feel like going out?
• I can't help falling in love with you.
• I can't stand not seeing you.

Some verbs can be followed by the -ing form OR the to-infinitive form without a big change in meaning: begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start

• I like to play tennis. / I like playing tennis.
• It started to rain. / It started raining.

-ing Form in Passive Sense

We often use the -ing form after the verbs need, require and want.

In this case, the -ing form has a passive sense.

Look at these example sentences. Notice that this construction can be in any tense:

• I have three shirts that need washing. (need to be washed)
• I sent it back to the shop because it needed fixing. (needed to be fixed)
• This letter requires signing. (needs to be signed)
• The contract will require signing tomorrow. (will need to be signed)
• The house wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)
• Your hair's wanted cutting for weeks. (has needed to be cut)

Note that the expression "something wants doing" is used more in British English than in American English.

• Catenative Verbs ⛓

The word catenative comes from the Latin catena meaning "chain". Catenative verbs combine with other verbs and can form a chain of two or three or more verbs.

A main verb (ie lexical verb, not auxiliary or modal) that can be followed by another main verb is known as a catenative verb. In the following examples, the verbs want and like are catenative:

• I want to eat.
• I like eating.

The verb following a catenative verb can be in one of the following forms:

• infinitive (eat, to eat)
• -ing (eating)
• past participle (eaten)

Options for simple catenative construction are shown in the table below:

simple construction			catenative verb	2nd verb
verb	infinitive	bare	Let	go
		to	I want	to play
	-ing		He hates	drinking
	past participle		He got	paid

verb + infinitive

bare infinitive
A very small number of catenative verbs may be followed by the bare infinitive, mostly:
hear (say/tell), help, let (go), make (do)

• I hear say that she retired
• Could you help wash up, please?
• Don't let go of my hand

to-infinitiveA large number of catenative verbs may be followed by the to-infinitive, including these common ones:
afford, agree, aim, appear to, apply, arrange, ask, beg, care, choose, claim, condescend, consent, contract, contrive, dare, decide, decline, demand, deserve, determine, endeavour, expect, fail, happen to, help, hesitate, hope, long, manage, mean, offer, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, resolve, seek, seem to, strive, struggle, swear, threaten, undertake, volunteer, want, wish

• We didn't agree to work late
• They seem to like it
• I want to play football

verb + -ing

A large number of catenative verbs may be followed by the -ing form, including these common ones:
be used to, (can) face, admit, advocate, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, can't help, can't stand, carry on, consider, contemplate, defer, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, entail, escape, fancy, favour, finish, get used to, give up, go, imagine, insist on, involve, justify, keep on, look forward to, mention, mind, necessitate, object to, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, save, stop, suggest, tolerate

• He admitted cheating
• I can't go swimming with you
• Do they keep on asking for money?

verb + to-infinitive OR -ing

A few catenative verbs can be followed by the to-infinitive OR -ing, with/without a change in meaning.

With little or no change in meaning
can't bear, begin, bother, cease, continue, hate, intend, like, love, neglect, prefer, start

• Did you bother to report it? = Did you bother reporting it?
• I love to swim in the sea = I love swimming in the sea
• It started to rain = It started raining

With significant change in meaning
come, go on, need, regret, remember, propose, try

• She came to understand the problem [gradual realisation] ≠ She came swimming in the sea [sporting activity]
• I remembered to lock it [I didn't forget to do it] ≠ I remember locking it [I have a memory of doing it]
• I have tried to lose weight, but can't [attempted] ≠ Did you try eating fruit [experiment with]?

verb + past participle

One or two verbs can be followed by the past participle, in particular:

get

• Get lost!
• He got paid
• It's hard to get started

Beware False Catenatives!
One verb following another verb does not automatically make a construction catenative. Consider these cases:

• She worked to earn some money ("in order to earn" - infinitive of purpose)
• She wanted to earn some money (catenative)
• We stopped to chat to the old man ("in order to chat" - infinitive of purpose)
• We stopped chatting to the old man (catenative)

There is theoretically no limit to the number of catenative verbs in the same chain. Look at these examples:

• I want to try to sleep
• I decided to arrange to start learning to speak Thai.

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-continuous-meaning.htm

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/subject-verb-agreement.htm

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-ing-form.htm

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-catenative.php