Arti
I write this sentence "my boss has a day off today...so nobody asks me to do anything for a while!" My tutor correct me the exercise in this way ""my boss has a day off today...so nobody will be asking me to do anything for a while!" Why I have to use the future continuos?
18 de oct. de 2023 21:54
Respuestas · 6
Your tutor has suggested one good way to say it, but it is not the only way. You do not have to use the present participle, and you do not need to use "will". Other good choices are: my boss has a day off today... ..so there's nobody to ask me to do anything for a while! ..so nobody will ask me to do anything for a while! ..so there's nobody asking me to do anything for a while! All are good. The present participle ("asking") is optional. By using it, you emphasize that action will be taking place over a period of time ("for a while"). Although I follow that logic, I do not agree with it. _Not_ doing something over a period of time is not continuous action at all - it is inaction! I prefer the methods that don't use the present participle. But, all the examples work.
19 de octubre de 2023
"For a while" denotes a span of time larger than just the present moment. It could also be used with the past tense: "For a while (for some period of time) no one asked me to do anything." If it were the present moment, you would say "No one is asking me to do anything." Because we use the present progressive rather than the simple present tense for many situations.
18 de octubre de 2023
Note that your original is (usually) wrong because you are not talking about something habitual. (When my boss is gone, no one bothers me). You’re talking about a specific future time. You need a tense to reflect that. The ‘usually’ is there because there are exceptions, like the historical past (I walk into a bar and someone asks me if I’m from Los Angeles. ) or a statement that is dramatic. ‘Today I ask her to marry me’
19 de octubre de 2023
Hi Arti, in this case, we use the present continuous for a future plan of action. eg. I will be going to the cinema on Saturday.
18 de octubre de 2023
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