resemble, survive, swear, thank, try, undergo, want, watch, wish, wonder, yell
• single-object prepositional verbs: agree towith, apologise tofor, belong to, bet on, come acrossfor, compete with, cope with,
correspond to, glance at, laugh aboutat, listen to, live likewith, look atlike, participate in, smile at, stay with, talk aboutto, wait forwith
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2. The Understanding of Present Progressive Tense
Present progressive tense belongs to the several tenses stand for the events in progress. This corresponds to what Azar states that “The
progressive tenses give the idea that an action is in progress during a particular time. The tenses say that an action begins before, is in progress
during, and continues after another time or action”.
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A similar assertion has been made by Patricia K. Werner, it is “The present continuous tense can describe activities at the moment of speaking,
activities currently in progress, or plans for the future”.
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And here are her examples to be noticed:
Uses Examples Notes
Activities at the Moment of
Speaking I’m doing my homework now.
She’s studying at the library. Activities
Currently in Progress
I’m taking math this semester. He’s majoring in Chemistry.
Plans for the Future
We aren’t moving tomorrow. We’re moving on Saturday.
Time expressions often used with the present continuous
tense include now, right now, at the moment, today, this
week month, year, these days, currently, nowadays.
Moreover, B. D. Graver argues that “The progressive forms represent actions or events, viewed at some point between their beginning
and end”.
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16
Douglas Biber, et al., Grammar of Spoken and Written English, London: Longman, 1999, p. 481.
17
Azar, Understanding and …, p. 3.
18
Patricia K. Werner, et al., Interactions 2 Grammar, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002, p. 11.
19
B. D. Graver, Advanced English Practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003, p. 62.
Like other tenses, it is required to have general consideration for using present progressive tense. Martin Parrot pronounces its usage that
“… to refer to something temporary which has begun and has not finished, something which is completable and is in the process of being
completed”.
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Furthermore, here are some functions of employing present progressive tense declared by Michael Swan:
a. The present progressive tense is made with amareis + -ing. The
commonest use of the present progressive tense is to talk about actions and situations that are already going on at the moment of speaking.
Why are you crying? Is something wrong?
b. The present progressive is also used to talk about future happenings.
My sister is living at home for the moment. c.
We sometimes use the present progressive in a more general way, to talk about something that may be going on at any time.
You look lovely when you are smiling.
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In addition, other perceptions of the usage of present progressive tense stated by Rosamund Moon, they are “… to indicate that an action
continues to happen before and after a particular time ex: I’m looking at the photographs my brother sent me., and … for an action that continues
to happen before and after another action that interrupts it ex: The phone always rings when I’m having a bath.”.
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3. The Passive Voice of Present Progressive Tense
