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The past progressive or past continuous construction combines progressive aspect with past tense, and is formed using the past tense of be (was or were) with the present participle of the main verb. It indicates an action that was ongoing at the past time being considered: At three o'clock yesterday, I was working in the garden.
The present continuous is formed by the present tense form of be and the present participle (-ing form) of the verb. [3] [4] For example, you would write the verb work in the present continuous form by adding the -ing suffix to the verb and placing a present tense form of be (am, are, is) in front of it: [3] I am working. You are working. She ...
The progressive present is a grammatical tense that is used only if an action is actually in progress at the time. For example, in Spanish , "estoy leyendo" means "I am reading (right now)." It is formed by using the present indicative of estar plus the present participle of the verb.
However other state verbs use the present progressive or present simple depending on whether the state is considered temporary or permanent: The pen is lying on the table; Paris lies on the Seine. For past actions or states, the simple past is generally used: He went out an hour ago; Columbus knew the shape of the world.
A number of multi-word constructions exist to express the combinations of present tense with the basic form of the present tense is called the simple present; there are also constructions known as the present progressive (or present continuous) (e.g. am writing), the present perfect (e.g. have written), and the present perfect progressive (e.g ...
Thus the present progressive clarifies immediacy: Sto uscendo 'I'm leaving (just now; on my way out)'. The present continuous is formed by using the present tense of the verb stare + the gerund. As in English, the gerund conveys the main meaning of the utterance: sto pattinando (skating), I am skating.
The past perfect progressive (sometimes referred to as the past perfect continuous) combines had (the simple past of have) with been (the past participle of be) and the present participle of the main verb: You had been waiting. It is used to refer to an ongoing action that continued up to the past time of reference.
Kunyjarta-lu Woman- ERG mara hand ku-rnu CAUS - PST parnu-nga 3SG - GEN warnta stick pirri-lpunyjarri, dig- INS kurni-rnu throw- PST kunyjarta woman kurri teenager Kunyjarta-lu mara ku-rnu parnu-nga warnta pirri-lpunyjarri, kurni-rnu kunyjarta kurri Woman-ERG hand CAUS-PST 3SG-GEN stick dig-INS throw-PST woman teenager ‘(The) woman caused her digging stick to be in (the) hand (i.e. picked up ...