3.3.1.1: Differences in Meaning- Continuous Tenses versus Non-continuous Tenses

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Don Bissonnette
South Seattle Community College

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Differences in Meaning: Continuous Tenses versus Non-continuous Tenses

The Present Continuous Tense and the Simple Present Tense

I am writing this sentence right now.
I write sentences for exercises many times a week.
The girl is washing her clothes at the laundromat today.
The girl washes her clothes at the laundromat every Sunday afternoon.
My sons are doing their homework as I write this exercise.
My sons do homework almost every evening.

The present continuous tense stresses the action’s being in progress as the speaker speaks. The simple present tense stresses the action’s habitually occurring and not occurring as a person is speaking.

The Past Continuous Tense and the Simple Past Tense

I was waiting for the bus when I saw the accident.
I waited for the bus yesterday. An accident happened yesterday.

We bought a newspaper while we were shopping yesterday.
We bought a newspaper yesterday. We shopped for stuff yesterday.

The past continuous tense stresses two actions’ happening at the same time in the past or one action where the speaker wants to emphasize the continuous action of the verb. The simple past tense doesn’t show a time relationship. It just says that things happened in the past.

The Future Continuous Tense and the Simple Future Tense

You will be doing some homework this evening.
You will do more homework in this class this quarter.

My family and I will be eating dinner at 7:30 this evening.
My family and I will eat dinner at 7:30 this evening.

The future continuous stresses the verb’s action being in progress at some time in the future, often when another action interrupts the future action. The simple future only says that something will happen in the future

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense and the Present Perfect Tense

You have been taking classes with me all quarter.
I have taught three classes this quarter.

My wife has been taking care of a sick friend for many months.
She has cooked for her friend since January.

The present perfect continuous and the present perfect mean basically the same thing. The difference is that the action in the present perfect continuous is in progress as the speaker speaks. In the present perfect the action does not have to be in progress as the speaker speaks.

The Past Perfect Continuous Tense and the Past Perfect Tense

I had been cooking breakfast for 20 minutes before my boys came down to eat.
I had cooked breakfast and then I went out to my garden to work.

The past perfect continuous and the past perfect are also very similar. However, the past perfect continuous stresses the action of a verb prior to the following action.

The Future Perfect Continuous Tense and the Future Perfect Tense

I will have been sleeping for six hours when my alarm clock rings tomorrow morning.
I will have slept for six hours when my alarm clock rings tomorrow morning.

Basically, there is very little difference between the future perfect continuous and the future perfect. The difference is in the stress of the action’s being in progress in the future perfect continuous in the future before the second action occurs.

***The continuous tenses stress the action of the verb. They “show” the action to the listeners or readers, who then “see” the action. The non-continuous tenses stress the idea of the verb. They “tell” the action of the verb to the listeners or readers, who then “understand” the action.