Please somebody tell me which of the following sentences is correct:
Tom and Jenny are fighting every day.
Tom and Jenny fight every day.
I personally think that only sentence 2 is correct but my teacher told me that both sentences are right. She said that the first sentence doesnât mean that Tom and Jenny are really fighting. Her explanation doesnât really make sense to me. I think the simple present tense should be used becuase of the time expression âevery dayâ.
I can understand your confusion. The simple present often refers to an action that is repeated âevery dayâ as in (2) and the continuous present often refers to something that is happening now as in (1). But both sentences are grammatically fine. Both refer to the repetition of the fighting. In (2) the reference is only to the fact that the two people fight every day. In (1) the reference is to the fact that these two people fight every day AND also the writer/speaker suggests that he wishes this repeated fighting would stop because this annoys him and he doesnât like it. Here is another example: That dog is barking every single day and it gets on my nerves and I would really like it to sop,
I have just read the comment from Bev, which coincided with my message. I have to say that the point about sounding ânaturalâ is not really relevant as both constructions are valid and have different implications.
To the me the first sentence doesnt sound well, even though some people consider it right.
But should be:
Tom and jenny use to fight everyday.
The question 2 is correct to me.
âuse toâ is simply an incorrect usage (with the affirmative form).
It should always read âused toâ and as Alan has explained, it refers to the past.
âUse toâ is used with the negative form and the question form
We didnât use to fight every day.
Didnât you use to fight every day?
We used to fight every day.
I always have problems with these these negative and interrogative forms. I think many people are unsure of their ground, and there is quite a bit of discussion on the web, and no complete consensus as far as I can see.
Both âdidnât use toâ and âdidnât used toâ look clumsy to me written down. As far as I can tell, more people prefer âuseâ, but Collins, for one, seems to allow both: collinsdictionary.com/dictio ⌠sh/used-to
Similarly, both âdidnât you use to?â and âdidnât you used to?â look clumsy to me written down.
In writing, for the negative form I would use âused not toâ. For the interrogative form I would like to use âused you to?â, but I fear that risks looking pedantic.
For me, âwe never used toâ does not suffer from the same awkwardness of form as âwe didnât use/used toâ. However, whether one would want to routinely use âneverâ as an alternative to âdidnâtâ is debatable.
Also, for me, in this particular example, there is a slight awkwardness about the combination âneverâ and âevery dayâ that results in the sentence sounding like an inferior way of saying âWe didnât fight every dayâ.
The âproblemsâ that I mention relate solely to the negative and interrogative forms, as described earlier. There is no problem with affirmative sentences such as âWe used to fight every dayâ, âYou used to love meâ, or whatever. Some people may have no difficulty or uncertainty with âdidnât use toâ or âdid you use to?â. For me, personally, they look awkward in writing. In speech, âuseâ and âusedâ are virtually indistinguishable in that pattern, so some people may not really be clear which one they are saying.
