MYTH #1
You can't use to be in the continuous (progressive) forms.
So wrong!!!
Check out these examples in authentic real English:
- «I want to tell him that he’s not being fair".
- «She’s probably just being cautious about making her way back».
- «They’re being very careful, you know.»
- «He was being reasonable. “And she’s a child».
So what does 'to be being' mean?
Let's try to guess from the context:
“It’s simple,” Daemon responded. “We go home . . . and they will come to us.”
I arched a brow. “That’s a little too simple.”
“He’s being lazy in his descriptions,” Hunter replied»
In that sentence the boy is not accused of a permanent state or regular action. It's about the first meaning of the present continuous tense: ACTION (not a state) happening AT THE MOMENT.
So he's acting or behaving like a lazy one ONLY THIS TIME.
Compare:
- «I wasn’t sure, but by the end of the dinner, he was being his usual charming self»
Meaning that before dinner he wasn’t treating the other person in a nice and charming manner.
- “Have you been up long?”
“I’m not even sure I slept.”
“So you’ve been watching me sleep?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, look who’s being the creeper this time around.»
So the second person is not always a creeper (sorry for slang), but it seems they switched their roles and he is acting that way this time.
- «This literally could be the last time Kat and I were alone. I wasn’t being a pessimist. The truth was we’d be stuck with Archer. The three of us were glued together for the foreseeable future, and if things went south, well, this would truly be the last time we had a handful of minutes together.»
Don't use this form with the impersonal pronoun "it" and keep in mind that you use to be in the continuous form to emphasize a temporary ACTION and NOT a STATE!!!
Task 1
Find the following phrases in the example sentences:
Буквально; действительно последний раз; пару минут наедине; предсказуемое будущее; связаны (склеены) вместе; застряли с; долго не спать (давно проснуться); быть очаровательным (собой); осторожный; вернуться; он несправедлив; она всего лишь ребенок; разумный (рассудительный); ленив в описаниях; я подняла бровь; ответить; если планы рухнут.
Task 2
Find the synonyms from the sentences:
Ответить - ………………………….., ……………………………. .
Находиться вместе - …………………………., …………………………… .
Справедливый - ………………………………, …………………………… .
Осторожный - ………………………………, ………………………………. .
Быть наедине - ………………………………………………….., …………………………………………… .
Task 3
Translate, please, using the phrases from the text and choosing between the present continuous and simple (give preference to the continuous):
- «Ты неосторожна! » (в данной ситуации) Я подняла бровь : «Ты сейчас не справедлив».
- Я хочу сказать ему, что он ленивый. (какой он ленивый)
- Это просто. Она - ребенок.
- Я – не пессимист (сейчас), но дела рухнули.
- Она всегда осторожна.
- Он не благоразумен и ленив. Он – ребенок.
- «Ты странно себя ведешь!» «Я тут застрял с тобой, знаешь ли».
- Я даже не уверена, кто хуже (страннее) себя ведет в этот раз.
- «Ты сейчас ленив». «А ты не очаровательная (ты)».
- Я не пессимистично настроена. Я реалистична в отношении предсказуемого будущего.
