E019 Eternal Flame

Welcome to English with Kimberley.

In this episode, I want to talk about how easy it is to work out the difference between a verb that ends in ‘-ing’ and a verb that ends without ‘-ing’.

For example, what do you think the difference is between, ‘I live in Australia’ and, ‘I am living in Australia’?

Hey! Let’s start with this quiz first.

Which one of these sentences is different?

a) The temperature in Australian has been slightly rising since 1910.

b) Australians eat a lot of meat.

c) 90 per cent of Australians live on the coast of Australia.

or d) Koalas sleep for twenty hours a day.

Well, this is a bit difficult, isn’t it? I’ll just repeat the question for you.

But, here’s a clue. Listen to see how the main verbs end in each sentence.

So, which one of these sentences is different?

a) The Temperature in Australian has been slightly rising since 1910.

b) Australians eat a lot of meat.

c) 90 per cent of Australians live on the coast of Australia.

or d) Koalas sleep for twenty hours a day.

OK. Did you get a) ‘The temperature in Australia has been slightly rising since 1910.’?

Can you see that the main part of the verb (rising) ends in an ‘-ing’, while the others don’t?

The ‘-ing’ in a verb is called the present participle and makes what is called the continuous verb tense too. For example, the present perfect continuous with, ‘has been rising’.

At a very basic level, I often tell people that if a verb ends in ‘-ing’ it is because what is happening is temporary and if there is no ‘-ing’, it is permanent or seen as forever at the time we say or write it.

So, what’s the difference between someone saying, ‘I live in Perth’ and ‘I am living in Perth’?

If I’m an international student I’m likely to say, ‘I am living in Perth’ because when I finish my study I’ll go back to my home country – because it’s only temporary, see.

On the other hand, if my home is in Perth and I have no intention of moving cities at the time of speaking or writing, I’m likely to say, ‘I live in Perth’ because this is where I live, it’s my home and I’m not thinking of moving any time soon – see, it’s permanent.

Similarly, ‘The temperature in Australia has been slightly rising’ is temporary too because surely the temperature must stop rising at some point – either naturally or because we try and stop it from rising.

On the other hand, koalas will always sleep for twenty hours a day, Australians will always eat a lot of meat and around 90% of Australians will always live on the coast – at least as we see it now!

So, finally, here’s a quiz just for fun.

What do we call the ‘-ing’ in verb endings?

Is it…

a) the past perfect?

b) the simple participle?

c) the past participle?

or d) the present participle?

Let’s hear the question again.

What do we call the ‘-ing’ in verb endings?

Is it…

a) the past perfect?

b) the simple participle?

c) the past participle?

or d) the present participle?

Did you get d) ‘the present participle’? Bravo!

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You can also find a script of this podcast at www.goaustralia.biz

I hope you have enjoyed this podcast and you’ll join me again.

Sources:

Experienceoz. (2017). Australia Facts – Interesting Facts about Australia. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from https://www.experienceoz.com.au/en/australia-facts

Bureau of Meteorology. (2017). State of the Climate 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/