11 Comments
I feel like my answer of "we write a book now" should have been accepted :(
Because it is right? Also it would be in line with the answers accepted in other questions
58
Would you mind explaining why it is wrong? So far in this course besides with the word go mostly both tenses have been accepted equally. English is not my first language so that might be the reason but I don't see how the tense changes the meaning here in a way that I should have grasped.
You're right that many sentences accept simple present and present continuous translations for the Czech present tense. But they don't always work equally well on the English side.
Here, for example, to my (native AmE) ear, "We write a book now" even sounds wrong. "We write a book when we have a good story to tell" works. "We write a book every week" may be an unlikely scenario, but it works grammatically. In this exercise, the activity happens "now." If it happens now, it is in progress. If it is in progress, the present continuous generally is used, so we have... "We are writing a book now."
I have never said it is wrong. I requested an explanation about the tense and the meaning. I have never claimed I am an English language authority.
- 58
Thank you for the explanation! Turns out I tend to use simple tense in ways you're not supposed to, took me studying another language to find that out but better late than never :D
BTW you complain here that "my answer should have been accepted" but you didn't make the report. The report is the primary thing to do, not the discussion.
- 91
While I am not a native English speaker my understanding is that the tense of present progressive (He is writing a book) is used when someone is doing something right now/at the moment. Thus, it is not necessary to add the word "now" on top. Instead, thevword now used in Czech should be the indicator to use present progr. In English...
Not to worry, this is not a problem, and it is very often done. Some common everyday examples: The baby is sleeping now -- It is raining now -- He is preparing dinner now -- I am at the dentist now. (I am a native AmE speaker.)
