Usedas an adjective: to be/become/get used to

used can also be an adjective meaning 'accustomed'. It is then preceded by be, become or get in any tense and followed by the preposition to + noun/pronoun or gerund:

/ am used to noise.

I am used to working in a noisy room.

You will soon get used to the electric typewriters.

You will soon get used to typing on electric typewriters.

They soon got used to the traffic regulations.

They soon got used to driving on the left.

I am used to... etc. is a psychological statement. / am used to working in a noisy room means that I have worked in a noisy room, so the noise doesn't bother me; I don't mind it. You'll soon get used to typing on electric typewriters means that after you have used them for a while you will find them quite easy to use.

Very often I'm used to it has the meaning 'I don't mind it/It doesn't give me any trouble', as in the above examples. But it can work the other way. Imagine our canteen serves only tea with its meals. A Frenchman, newly arrived from France, might say:

I'm used to wine with my meals, so I find these lunches rather

unsatisfying.

Do not confuse subject + be/become/get + used to with subject + used to (see 162).

In the first, used is an adjective and to is a preposition. In the second, used is a verb and to is part of the following infinitive. Do not confuse these forms with the regular verb to use /ju: z/ meaning 'employ'.

17 The present tenses

There are two present tenses in English: The present continuous: I am working. The simple present: / work.

The present continuous

164 Form

The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be + the present participle:

Negative interrogative: am I not working? are you not working? is he not working? etc.

B Contractions: the verb be can be contracted as shown in 102 B, so the present continuous of any verb can be contracted:

Affirmative Negative Negative interrogative

I'm working I'm not working aren't I working?

you 're working you 're not/you aren 't working aren 't you working? he's working etc. he's not/he isn 't working etc. isn 't he working? etc.

Note the irregular contraction aren't I? for am I not?

Interrogative contractions: am, is, are may be contracted as shown in 104 B:

Why's he working? Where're you working?

165 The spelling of the present participle

A When a verb ends in a single e, this e is dropped before ing:

argue, arguing hate, hating love, loving except after age, dye and singe:

ageing dyeing singeing and verbs ending in ee:

agree, agreeing see, seeing

B When a verb of one syllable has one vowel and ends in a single consonant, this consonant is doubled before ing:

hit, hitting run, running stop, stopping Verbs of two or more syllables whose last syllable contains only one vowel and ends in a single consonant double this consonant if the stress falls on the last syllable:

admit, admitting begin, beginning prefer, preferring

but

budget, budgeting center, entering (stress not on the last syllable). A final 1 after a single vowel is, however, always doubled:

signal, signalling travel, travelling except in American English. C ing can be added to a verb ending in y without affecting the spelling of

the verb:

carry, carrying enjoy, enjoying hurry, hurrying

166 Uses of the present continuous tense

A For an action happening now: It is raining.

I am not wearing a coat as it isn't cold. Why are you sitting at my desk? What's the baby doing? ~ He's tearing up a £ 5 note.

B For an action happening about this time but not necessarily at the moment of speaking:

I am reading a play by Shaw. (This may mean 'at the moment of speaking' but may also mean 'now' in a more general sense.) He is teaching French and learning Greek. (He may not be doing either at the moment of speaking.)

When two continuous tenses having the same subject are joined by and, the auxiliary may be dropped before the second verb, as in the above example. This applies to all pairs of compound tenses: She icas knitting and listening to the radio.

For a definite arrangement in the near future (the most usual way of expressing one's immediate plans):

I'm meeting Peter tonight. He is taking me to the theatre. Are you doing anything tomorrow afternoon? ~ Yes, I'm playing tennis with Ann.

Note that the time of the action must always be mentioned, as otherwise there might be confusion between present and future meanings, come and go, however, can be used in this way without a time expression. (See 202 B.)

167 Other possible uses of the present continuous

A With a point in time to indicate an action which begins before this point and probably continues after it:

At six I am bathing the baby. (I start bathing him before six.) Similarly with a verb in the simple present:

They are flying over the desert when one of the engines fails. The present continuous is rarely used in this way except in descriptions of daily routine and in dramatic narrative, but the past continuous is often combined with a point in time or a verb in the simple past. (See 179 C, E.)

B With always:

He is always losing his keys. This form is used, chiefly in the affirmative:

1 For a frequently repeated action, usually when the frequency annoys the speaker or seems unreasonable to him: Tom is always going away for weekends (present continuous) would imply that he goes away very often, probably too often in the speaker's opinion. But it does not necessarily mean that he goes away every weekend. It is not a literal statement. Compare with always + simple present: Tom always goes away at weekends = Tom goes away every weekend. (a literal statement) I/we + always + continuous tense is also possible here. The repeated action is then often accidental:

I'm always making that mistake. 2 For an action which appears to be continuous:

He's always working = He works the whole time. This sort of action quite often annoys the speaker but doesn't necessarily do so: He's always reading could imply that he spends too much time reading, but could also be said in a tone of approval. The first person could be used here too. The action then, like the other actions here in 2, is usually deliberate.

168 Verbs not normally used in the continuous tenses

The continuous tenses are chiefly used for deliberate actions. Some verbs are, therefore, not normally used in the continuous and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs can be grouped as follows:

A Verbs of the senses (involuntary actions): feel, hear, see, smell; also notice and observe (= notice), and feel, look, taste used as link verbs (see 18 B, C). For feel, look, smell, taste, see also 169. For hear and see, see

also 170.

Verbs such as gaze, listen, look (at), observe (= watch), stare and watch imply deliberate use of the senses, and can, of course, be used in the continuous tenses:

Watch! ~ I am watching but I don't see anything unusual.

He is listening to a tape, but he's wearing earphones so nobody else

hears it.

B Verbs expressing feelings and emotions, e.g. admire (= respect), adore, appreciate (= value), care for (= like), desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind (= care), respect, value, want, wish.

But the continuous can be used with admire meaning 'look at with admiration', appreciate meaning 'increase in value', care for meaning 'look after', long for, mind meaning 'look after/concern oneself with', value meaning 'estimate the financial worth of, enjoy and sometimes like/love meaning 'enjoy', and hate meaning the opposite, though it is safer to use the simple tenses with like, love and hate:

He's enjoying his holiday in the Arctic. He hates touristy places and

he doesn 't mind the cold.

I'm minding my own business.

How are you liking/Do you like your new job? —

I'm hating it/I hate it. I just don 't like work, you see.

C Verbs of mental activity, e.g. agree, appreciate (= understand), assume, believe, expect (= think), feel (= think), feel sure/certain, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, see (= understand), see through someone (= penetrate his attempt to deceive), suppose, think (= have an opinion), trust (= believe/have confidence in), understand. But the continuous can be used with appreciate meaning 'to increase in value'. See also 171 for think, assume, expect.

D Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess:

How much do 1 owe you?

E The auxiliaries, except be and have in certain uses. (See 113 B, 115 B, 123.)

P appear (= seem), concern, consist, contain, hold (= contain), keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound (= seem/appear):

It concerns us all. This box contains explosives. But appear meaning 'to come before the public' can be used in the continuous.

169 feel, look, smell and taste used in the continuous forms

A feel

feel, when followed by an adjective indicating the subject's emotions or physical or mental condition, e.g. angry/pleased, happy/sad, hot/cold,, tense/relaxed, nervous/confident, is normally used in the simple tenses but can also be used in the continuous:

How do you feel/are you feeling? ~ I feel/am feeling better. feel meaning 'touch' (usually in order to learn something) can be used in the continuous:

The doctor was feeling her pulse. Similarly, feel for meaning 'try to find something by touching':

He was feeling for the keyhole in the dark. But feel is not used in the continuous when it means 'sense':

Don't you feel the house shaking? when it means 'think':

I feel you are wrong and when it is used as a link verb:

The water feels cold.

B look

The continuous is not used with look used as a link verb, e.g. That cake looks good, or with look on (= consider), look up to (= respect) and look down on (= despise) (see chapter 38). But look (at), look for/in/into/out and look on (= watch) are deliberate actions and can be used in the continuous tenses:

He is looking for his glasses.

I'm looking out for a better job.