VOA慢速英语--The Progressive: Activities and Places

 

Imagine you want to talk about what someone is doing. Perhaps you want to add information about where that action is happening.

This week on Everyday Grammar, we will explore how English speakers use progressive¹ verbs with expressions of place. Here are two examples. You might hear someone say, “He is working outside.” Or the person could say, “He is outside working.”

Sentences like these will be the subject of our report today.

But first, let us begin with a few definitions².

Definitions

Progressive verbs show that an action is in progress during a certain period of time. Progressive verbs are sometimes called continuous³ verbs.

The form of the progressive is be + -ing. This is known as the present participle. If you want to learn more about progressive verbs, you can find a report about them on our website.

Expressions of place are words or groups of words that show where something is happening. Examples include phrases or terms with the words “in,” “on,” or “at” – such as “in her office,” “at the book store,” and so on.

Expressions of place can sometimes move in a sentence, and even come in between progressive verbs, as we will find.

Examples

Imagine the following situation. You are watching a television show about an American family. Perhaps the actors say the following lines:

1: What is Dad doing?

2: He is sleeping upstairs.

Now imagine the exchange is a little different, as in:

1: Where is Dad?

2: He is upstairs sleeping.

You might notice that the second speaker used the exact same words in both examples, but the words were in a different order.

You heard, “He is sleeping upstairs” and “He is upstairs sleeping.”

In other words, the expression of place comes between the auxiliary⁴ verb “be,” and the –ing form. In our examples, the word upstairs comes between is and sleeping.

Now, let’s consider a more difficult example.

Imagine you hear the actors in the same fictional⁵ television show say the following:

1: What was Dad doing when you came home?

2: He was working on a project in the garage.

Now consider the following:

1: Where was Dad when you came home?

2: He was in the garage working on a project.

Once again, you might notice that the speaker changed the order of the words. The expression of place in the garage came between the words was and working.

Small Difference

You might be asking yourself if there is a difference in meaning in the two sentences.

The basic meaning is the same. However, there is a small difference in the focus.

So, if we examine our earlier example:

1: What was Dad doing when you came home?

2: He was working on a project in the garage.

The focus of both the question and the answer is on what the Dad was doing.

The other example went like this:

1: Where was Dad when you came home?

2 : He was in the garage working on a project.

The focus of both the question and the answer is on where Dad is.

If this subject seems like it might be difficult, do not fear. To begin with, you can try to find examples that you hear in movies or television shows. Ask yourself if the expression of place comes after the progressive verb, or between the auxiliary verb “be” and the –ing form.

This idea will help you understand sentences that might at first seem strange to you. But these sentences can become clearer if you find the progressive verb and expression of place.

That’s all for now. Next week at 10 a.m., we will be in this production studio recording⁶ a new Everyday Grammar.

I’m Alice Bryant.

And I’m John Russell.

Words in This Story

upstairs – adv. on or to a higher floor of a building

auxiliary – adj. providing additional⁷ support or help

fictional – adj. make-believe; not real

garage – n. a building or part of a building in which a car or other vehicle is kept

basic – adj. simple; required by everyone or everything

focus –n. a subject that is being discussed or studied : the subject on which people's attention is focused — usually singular⁸

studio – n. a room where an artist works⁹

a.m. – abbreviation before high noon; the first 12 hours of the day

1 progressive   

adj.先进的；前进的，渐进的；进行式的

参考例句：

• There is often a progressive loss of sight in old age.上了年纪的人视力逐步减退。
• It's a progressive idea.这是一种进步的思想。

2 definitions   

定义( definition的名词复数 )； 规定； 清晰（度）； 解释

参考例句：

• Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。
• Definitions in this dictionary are printed in roman type. 这本词典里的释义是用罗马体印刷的。

3 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

4 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

5 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

6 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

7 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

8 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

9 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。