Историческое развитие и современное употребление длительных времен в английском языке

tomorrow: it is my mother’s birthday \ is anyone coming to dinner ? = shall we have any guests to dinner? It is evident that where are you going P that is, ' where are you setting out for at this moment ? ' implies ' what place will you arrive at ? ' Hence, while are you going to church ? is present if addressed to one who is just starting, it is necessarily future in are you going to church to-day ?  

The definite preterite is sometimes equivalent to an indefinite preterite with duration implied. It is sometimes equivalent to the definite perfect : / am afraid we have kept you waiting, oh no, not at all: we were looking at these photographs. Here we were looking refers to an implied while we were waiting for you, and so is

equivalent to we have been looking. The perfect is used instead of the future perfect in The definite perfect (and pluperfect) emphasizes the idea of duration up to the present moment. But as the element of duration is not essential to the definite tenses, it often implies something that has happened immediately before the present time, either a succession of detached events, as in where have you been meeting her ? [compare : have you met her lately ?\ or merely a single event : his bruised face and torn clothes showed that he had been fighting = had just been fighting \ I hear you have been getting into mischief again. But the last may also imply repetition. But this usage generally requires that the verb itself

implies or at least admits of the idea of duration. Thus in / have just received a letter from him we cannot substitute the definite form. But we can say / have been receiving letters from him, which necessarily implies repetition. But it has often peculiar shades of meaning of its own : it generally gives the impression that the future event is the result of causes with which the speakers have nothing to do ; and hence is often used to make the expression of futurity more abstract, and especially to do away with any associations with the special meanings of the auxiliaries. Thus even in the preceding example, / shall travel may be

taken to imply that the travelling will be the result of a resolution already formed, while / shall be travelling predicts it as a purely objective phenomenon. So also / suppose you will be going back to England soon means 'you will probably go back to England soon in the natural course of events/ Hence it often implies that the future action is the natural result of something in the character of the person of whom it is predicted : and now I know you will be saying you cannot afford it ! \ I expect some fine day he will be making off with the money.  

2. The modern usage of Continuous Tenses  

2.1 Main points 

Continuous tenses describe actions which continue to happen before and after a particular time.

Continuous tenses can also indicate duration and change. 

1. You use a continuous tense to indicate that an action continues to happen before and after a particular time, without stopping. You use the present continuous for actions which continue to happen before and after the moment of speaking. 

«I'm looking at the photographs my brother sent me.»

«They're having a meeting.» 

2. When you are talking about two actions in the present tense, you use the present continuous for an action that continues to happen before and after another action that interrupts it. You use the present simple for the other action. 

«The phone always rings when I'm having a bath.»

«Friends always talk to me when I'm trying to study.» 

3. When you are talking about the past, you use the past continuous for actions that continued to happen before and after another action, or before and after a particular time. This is often called the ‘interrupted past’. You use the past simple for the other action. 

«He was watching television when the doorbell rang.»

«It was 6 o'clock. The train was nearing London.» 

WARNING: If two things happened one after another, you use two verbs in the past simple tense. 

4. You can use continuous forms with modals in all their usual meanings.  

«What could he be thinking of?»

«They might be telling lies.» 

5. You use continuous tenses to express duration, when you want to emphasize how long something has been happening or will happen for. 

«We had been living in Athens for five years.»

«They'll be staying with us for a couple of weeks.»

«By 1992, he will have been working for ten years.» 

6. You use continuous tenses to describe a state or situation that is temporary. 

«I'm living in London at the moment.»

«He'll be working nights next week.»

«She's spending the summer in Europe.» 

7. You use continuous tenses to show that something is changing, developing, or progressing. 

«Her English was improving.»

«The children are growing up quickly.» 

8. As a general rule, verbs which refer to actions that require a deliberate effort can be used in continuous tenses, verbs which refer to actions that do not require a deliberate effort are not used in continuous tenses. 

«I think it's going to rain.» (‘think’ = ‘believe’. Believing does not require deliberate effort)

«Please be quiet. I'm thinking.» (‘think’ = ‘try to solve a problem’. Trying to solve a problem does require deliberate effort) 

However, many verbs are not normally used in the continuous tenses. These include verbs that refer to thinking, liking and disliking, appearance, possession, and perception. 

2.2 Present Continuous Tense 

We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use.

The Present Continuous  is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking. The Present Continuous also describes activities generally in progress (not at the moment). Another use of the tense is to talk about temporary actions or future plans.

The structure of the present continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

    be   base + ing 

How do we use the Present Continuous Tense? 

We use the present continuous tense to talk about: 

-action happening now

-action in the future 

Present continuous tense for action happening now: 

a) for action happening exactly now 

«I am eating my lunch.» 

b) for action happening around now 

The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now, and it is not permanent or habitual. 

«John is going out with Mary.»

                           

We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future - if we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words" include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking. I am taking my exam next month. 

«We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table..»

«They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working.»

«When are you starting your new job?» 

In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan were made before speaking. 

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense? 

We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's simple - we just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double the last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules how to spell the present continuous tense:

work > working

play > playing

be > being 

Exception 1: If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter

  

stop > stopping

run > running

begin > beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed:

open > opening 

Exception 2: If the base verb ends in -ie, change the -ie to -y:

lie > lying

die > dying 

Exception 3: If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:

come > coming

mistake > mistaking 

2.3 Past Continuous Tense 

We usually use the Past Continuous to talk about activities that lasted for some time in the past. The actions can be interruped by something or can be happening at the same time. We use the Past Continuous to talk about actions or situations that lasted for some time in the past, and whose duration time is unknown or unimportant. The Past Continuous is often used when one action in progress is interruped by another action in the past. We usually use when or while to link these two sentences.

The structure of the past continuous tense is:

subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb 

was

were base + ing 

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert «not» between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb.

  subject auxiliary verb  main verb 

+ I                 was                 watching   TV.

- He, she, it       was not                         helping   Mary.

? Were they       were                              playing   football? 

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense? 

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm. At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.

         

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. For example: 

I was working at 10pm last night.

They were not playing football at 9am this morning.

What were you doing when he arrived?

She was cooking when I telephoned her. 

We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. For example:

" He was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, he saw the boy in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense 

We often use the past continuous tense with the past simple tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with “when or while”. 

We can join two actions with “when”:

I was watching TV when you telephoned. 

The long action and short action are relative.

"Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds. 
 

2.4 Future Continuous Tense 

We mainly use the Future Continuous  to indicate that we will be in the middle of doing something in a specified time in the future.  

USE 1: Future actions in progress  

The first use of the Future Continuous is to express future action in progress.

Examples:  In an hour, I will be sitting in front of my TV.

In the evening, I will be baking a birthday cake.

In an hour, I will be sitting in front of my TV.  

USE 2: Guesses 

We use this tense also to make guesses about something in the present or future.

Examples:  He won't be coming any time soon. He is still at the office.

Beatrice will be getting married very soon.  

USE 3: Questions 

And the last use of the tense is to make polite questions about something or somebody.

Examples: Will you be coming home before or after 10 p.m.?

Will you be going to the supermarket? I have something to buy. 

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense? 

The structure of the future continuous tense is:

subject+ auxiliary verb WILL+      auxiliary verb BE + main verb 

will be base + ing 
 

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert “not” between “will” and “be”. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and “will”.   

+ I will   be working at 10am.

+ You will   be lying on a beach tomorrow.

- She will not be using the car.

- We will not be having dinner at home.

? Will you   be playing football?

? Will they   be watching TV? 
 

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and “will”:

I will- I'll

you will-you'll

he will-he'll

 we will-we'll

they will-they'll 

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not -I won't

you will not-you won't 

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for “I” and “we”. 

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense? 

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, “tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm: At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.” 

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about:

I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.

They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.

What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?

Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return. 
 
 

Conclutions: 

In my course paper I was investigated the features of the continuous tenses in English and its existence and development through the history. 

According to the study the following conclusions can be made: 
 

- In the modern English there are four categories of tenses: indefinite, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous. The sources of these forms are old English free syntactical combinations; 

- A sources of modern continuous forms are the old English verb “beon” in combination with the present participle, and Middle English gerundive constructions with the pretext, conveying duration unlimited in time 

- In the period of Old English, there is no a special form to express a continuous process. There we can find out rather frequent using of syntax constructions to express a continuous process. Duration expressed by simple forms and contextually determined; 

- Middle English is characterize by shortage of using the syntax construction ‘ben + present participle’. On this stage of the development of the language the meaning of continuous expresses by non-durative form of verb.  By the end of the Middle English period  two syntax constructions merge into one and take the meaning which is value in today's continuous forms. 

- In its modern meaning the continuous process fixed by the end of a Modern English period; 

-Continuous tenses describe actions which continue to happen before and after a particular time. Continuous tenses can also indicate duration and change. 

-The Present Continuous is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking;