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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > DOUBT    

DOUBT



helenarechena
Portugal

DOUBT
 

Hi everyone:

"Presently she ___ (attend) school".
 
The correct answer to fill in the blank is IS ATTENDING, but... is it acceptable when a students fills it with ATTENDS??
 
Thanks in advance...

15 Sep 2010      





anitarobi
Croatia

with presently, I wouldn �t be happy with attends...it �s an ongoing process, so it �s continuous...

15 Sep 2010     



pilarmham
Spain

I �d say "presently" talks about the future, so I would choose "she is attending", but I �m not so sure about American English.

15 Sep 2010     



GIOVANNI
Canada

� �She is attending � � because it is an ongoing process.   It �s like saying presently she is reading Lord of the Rings.  She may not be reading it at the moment but she is in the process of reading it.  Presently is a key word often used in the Present Continuous. 

15 Sep 2010     



yanogator
United States

All of the answers above are grammatically correct, but in the US we also definitely use the simple present (Presently she attends school). We can defend this because it is a continuous or repeated action (She goes to school every day).
 
I hope this doesn �t confuse the issue, and I defnitely don �t want to contradict any of the other answers, but just to add some information.
 
Bruce

15 Sep 2010     



Bahrain
Bahrain

I think both is correct it is continuous action but at the same time it looks like habit . I hope it help!!

15 Sep 2010     



LuciaRaposo
Portugal

both answers are correct.... one expressing something happening at the moment, at the present time, the other describing a routine, an habit, just like yanogator has pointed out.

15 Sep 2010     



almaz
United Kingdom

"Presently" at the start of a sentence doesn �t chime well (in BE at least) and I agree with Maria (pilarmham) that it refers to the immediate future, although it comes across as a bit stodgy ("Yes, yes, I �ll be there presently!"). I �d prefer �at present � or depending on the expected duration, �at the moment �. I wouldn �t penalise your student for using the simple present considering the confusion this adverb is obviously causing. �She attends school � is a straightforward statement of fact which is true at the moment of speaking.

Alex

15 Sep 2010     



douglas
United States

I agree with Bruce.

15 Sep 2010