Understanding Grammar: Continuous forms

Opening (Continuous forms) 

Moving house:

Rich: So, this is your new place then. Very nice. Light and spacious and quiet. Oh hold on! What’s that noise?

Jack: It’s the neighbours. They’re playing their music. Again.

Rich: It’s a bit loud. I suppose it’s not that bad when it’s the middle of the morning.

Jack: That wouldn’t be so bad but they’re playing it at all times of the day. They turn it on in the morning, it’s playing in the afternoon and they're playing it at night, too.

Rich: Is it always this bad - heavy metal! I wouldn’t mind it if it was a bit of jazz or the Beatles or something.

Jack: You would. I promise you. It’s even playing when they go out. They’ve got two dogs and when they go out they leave the music on for them.

Rich: Dogs as well!

Jack: Yeah, when the music stops, they start barking.

Rich: So when the music isn’t playing the dogs are barking. Are they big dogs?

Jack: I went round the other day because they were playing their music even louder than normal. It had been playing for hours and it was late.

Rich: Did they turn it off? Maybe they turned it down a little?

Jack: These two massive dogs came running to the door. They were barking like crazy. Nobody answered. I came back home and put a pillow over my head.

Rich: How long is your contract on this place?

Jack: A year!

Rich: Oh dear.

Welcome

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich

Jack: and I’m Jack

Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast

Jack: Where we talk about football and help you with your English.

Rich: We recommend that you listen to this podcast on the Premier Skills English website because that is where we have the transcript, language examples, activities, quizzes and a discussion page to help you understand everything we talk about.

Jack: However,  if you’re listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, you could leave your answers in the review section. We do read all the reviews and would love to hear from you. What’s happening this week, Rich?

Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re going to talk about the stresses and problems people face when they are moving home. 

Jack: And the main language focus is on how we use continuous forms to talk about things that happen repeatedly and/or over a period of time.

Rich: And we’ll be asking you about the biggest move you have ever made. You could talk about the biggest move in your career or education or a time when you moved house. 

Jack: Before all that though, let’s look at last week’s football phrase.

Football Phrase 1

Rich: Last week’s football phrase was to see red. This phrase in a general context means to get angry. It was, of course, connected to last week’s podcast which was all about arguments.

Jack: The phrase has a different more obvious meaning in football. It’s usually used in the past tense when describing a football match. For example, a reporter might say that a player saw red in the second half. Here to see red means to receive a red card. The player literally saw red.  

Rich: Well done if you got it right! At the end of this podcast, we will have another football phrase for you to guess.

Big Moves

Jack: You probably know that the January Transfer Window is open at the moment. This is the one time of the year during the season that footballers can move clubs.

Rich: Yes, the American teenager, Christian Pulisic has already signed for Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Brahim Diaz has gone to Real Madrid in Spain from Manchester City.

Jack: These are big changes in a player’s career and personal life especially if you’re moving to another country as a teenager. These are not only changes teenage footballers face; they are things that everyone has to face sometimes.

Rich: In the opening section, you heard Jack talking about his new home and the problems he is having with his neighbours. 

Jack:  In this week’s podcast, we’re not only talking about moving home but we’re also focussing on continuous forms. 

Rich: Your first task today is to listen to part of that opening section again.

Jack: We want you to listen carefully and count how many examples of continuous forms you hear.  

Rich: Remember that continuous forms are created with the verb to be plus verb and -ing. 

Jack: The first example you will hear is ‘they’re playing’. We will speak quite slowly this time. Is everyone ready?

...

Jack: That wouldn’t be so bad but they’re playing it at all times of the day. They turn it on in the morning, it’s playing in the afternoon and they're playing it at night, too.

Rich: Is it always this bad - heavy metal! I wouldn’t mind it if it was a bit of jazz or the Beatles or something. I like playing music loud sometimes.

Jack: You would mind this. I promise you. It’s even playing when they go out. They’ve got two dogs and when they go out they leave the music on for them.

Rich: Dogs as well!

Jack: Yeah, when the music stops, they start barking.

Rich: So when the music isn’t playing the dogs are barking. Are they big dogs?

Jack: I went round the other day because they were playing their music even louder than normal. It had been playing for hours and it was late.

Rich: Did they turn it off? Maybe they turned it down a little?

Jack: These two massive dogs came running to the door. They were barking like crazy. Nobody answered. I came back home and put a pillow over my head.

...

Rich: If you think that there were nine examples of continuous tenses you are correct. Well done!

Jack: Remember that continuous tenses always use the verb to be. If you want to check your answers, look at the transcript on the Premier Skills English Podcast Page. We have highlighted the correct answers in red.

Rich: We can use the continuous form in a number of different ways.  In the next roleplay, you are going to hear different continuous forms being used. After the roleplay, we will discuss how and why they were used.

Jack: In the roleplay, I am going to invite Rich to my new house. We want you to answer two questions while you are listening.

Rich: Question one: What does Jack like about his new house? And question two: What do I like about Jack’s new house?

...

Jack: You’re here early. I was just watching the football.

Rich: British punctuality. What’s the score?

Jack: It’s just finished. 1-0 to United. What’s this?

Rich: It’s a housewarming gift. 

Jack: Thanks very much. I’ll enjoy cracking that open a bit later.

Rich: Let’s have a look round your new place then. How long have you been living here now?

Jack: It’s only been a few days but it’s much better than renting.

Rich: I ’m renting and I prefer it to be honest. I can get the landlord to do everything. 

Jack: I like painting and decorating. I’m looking forward to getting an extension done, too. I’m going to try to do it myself. It’ll look great when it’s finished.

Rich: Oh, looks like this wall has a bit of damp.

Jack: It just needs painting. That’s all. 

Rich: What’s that noise? Looks like you’ve got a problem here. There’s water dripping all over the place. 

Jack: The roof’s leaking. It’s nothing to worry about. Someone’s coming round tomorrow to take a look at it.

Rich: That’ll cost you! It might cost you a bit more. It looks like the roof is falling down!

Jack: It’s just sagging a bit. It’ll be OK. You’re always talking about the negatives. Anything that you like?

Rich: Sorry, I’m being a bit mean about your new place. 

Jack: You are being a bit negative, yes. 

Ring, ring

Jack: Hold on let me answer that. Hello ... Yes ... No, he won’t be staying long! See you later. 

Language Focus

Rich: Before we look at some examples from the roleplay, let’s give you the answers to those two comprehension questions we gave you.

Jack: The first question was what do I like about my house. Well, I was quite happy with everything about my house, especially the idea of getting an extension which is when you build an additional part onto a house.

Rich: The second question was what did I like about the house. Well, nothing really so that’s why Jack wanted me to leave. I was being a bit too negative.

Jack: Right, let’s look at how we used continuous forms in that roleplay.

Rich: A good thing to remember is that we can use continuous forms in a number of different tenses. Listen to these sentences we used in the roleplay and listen for the verb to be.

Jack: I’m being a bit mean. You are being a bit negative. The roof is leaking. I was watching the football. How long have you been living here? He won’t be staying long.

Rich: So, there you have examples of verbs in continuous forms with the verb to be in present, past, perfect and future forms. Let’s look at some of the sentences in more detail and look at how they are used.

…

Jack: We can use continuous forms to talk about things that happen again and again. In the roleplay, I said: You’re always talking about the negatives.

Rich: We often use the present continuous to talk about something that is repeated a lot and we often use the word always for extra emphasis.

Jack: Let’s hear some similar examples of this:

Rich: He’s always talking about himself. It’s so boring!

Jack: She’s always going on about her job. I wish we could talk about something else.

Rich: She’s always smiling, telling jokes and laughing. I think I’m falling in love.

Jack: Falling in love is a present tense experience!

Rich: That’s a terrible joke. We can also use continuous forms to describe a process that is changing or developing. I think falling in love has this meaning. 

...

Jack: We can also use the present continuous to describe something that is temporary. 
Rich: Let’s look at some other examples when we use the present continuous with a temporary, not permanent, meaning.

Jack: In the roleplay, Rich said; I’m renting and I prefer it to be honest.

Rich: We often use the present continuous to mean that something might change soon. It’s not permanent. When we buy a house we don’t usually use the present continuous. We say I own a house or I’ve bought a house.

Jack: But we might say that we’re paying a mortgage or a loan but again the idea is temporary it will finish at some point. Let’s look at some more examples.

Rich: He’s working as a waiter until he can find a job in IT.

Jack: She’s lived in loads of different places. She’s living in Thailand right now.

Rich: She’s studying law at university. She’s hoping to become a lawyer.

Jack: That last sentence is another different way to use the present continuous. We can use hope in the present continuous form to talk about the future. You can use either the present simple or the present continuous here. She hopes to become a lawyer. She’s hoping to become a lawyer.

Rich: Take a look at the activities on the Premier Skills English website because we have more examples of how continuous forms are used.

Task

Rich: This week’s task is to tell us about the biggest move you have ever been through. This can be a move involving distance such as moving house, moving city or moving country.

Jack: Or it could be a move involving your career or education. It could be moving job or moving to a different school or a new university.

Rich: There are a few questions for you to answer at the bottom of the podcast page on the website. These will help you write your answers.

Jack:  Also, we would like you to include as many examples of continuous forms as you can. We’ll check that you are using them correctly.

Football Phrase 2

Rich: The final section this week is this week’s football phrase. Have you got one Jack?

Jack: I have and if you have been listening very carefully it’s a phrase that we’ve already used in this week’s podcast. The phrase is ******** ******It’s the phrase we use to describe the period of time when football clubs can buy and sell players. The phrase has two words and the second are the things that are built into your house made of glass.

Rich: That’s an easy one this week. Let’s see how many people can get it right! If you know the answer, write your answer in the comments section at the bottom of the page. We will announce your name in next week’s podcast if you get the right answer.

Jack: Before we finish a big well done to Elghoul from Algeria, Rafael Robson from Brazil and Acicala from Spain. All of you did last week’s language task very well. 

Rich: Yes, all of you used the language of arguments we introduced last week and added the words and phrases to a new dialogue. Good job!

Jack: Right, that’s all we have time for this week. Bye for now and enjoy your football!