|
Another important way to use
the present continuous tense is
in referring
to actions which are longer, but still temporary.
Examples:
He's driving a rental car
while his own car
is in the shop. (He won't need the
rental car after his car
has been repaired).
We're temporarily living in a motel. We'll stay there until we find an apartment.
She's working in Chicago this month
(but will work somewhere else later).
They're studying in an exchange
program in Greece this
year (but will return home at the
end of the year).
He's currently studying ESL, but he
hopes to be able to enter the university soon.
The time, in sentences such
as those above, may be a week, a month, a
year, or even longer. What's important is that the action or situation is not expected
to be permanent: instead, it's temporary and
it is expected to change.
|