the verb "to wonder"

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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > the verb "to wonder"

the verb "to wonder"

ironik

the verb "to wonder"

Hello colleagues :)

I have a little question for you. Is "to wonder" a state verb?

If yes, is this sentence incorrect?

You said you were wondering about where I live in the USA.

Thanks in advance :)

29 Sep 2011

sawer

actaully i have never thought about it before or i haven ï¿½t looked up in any grammar books but it just sounds correct to me -- i mean ï¿½ ï¿½wondering ï¿½ ï¿½ --

it looks like something i heard before, maybe in a song :)

but i cannot say that i am sure.

so i ï¿½m wondering too, whether the word wondering is correct or not :))

29 Sep 2011

maryse peyï¿½

In fact WONDER is like THINK, for example. I mean you cannot use tenses -ing as for verbs of actions.

I think you have been living in London. I thought you lived in London.

I wonder where you live. I wondered if you lived in London.

WONDER is a verb of ï¿½feeling ï¿½ rather than action.

If you say ï¿½You are always thinking ! ï¿½ or ï¿½You are always wondering ! ï¿½, you show irritation with the tense -ing.

hope this could help.

29 Sep 2011

ueslteacher

There ï¿½s no mistake in the sentence at all. I ï¿½m absolutely positive. BTW if you had checked it in a dictionary you ï¿½d have found similar examples http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com/dictionary/wonder

Here are some examples of verbs that are not usually used in continuous, but can be used in continuous with a difference in meaning (if you ï¿½re curious) http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/types.html

Sophia

29 Sep 2011

MoodyMoody

Sophia has it right; the original sentence from ironik is perfectly okay. To maryse peyï¿½, it is okay to use "be thinking" or "be wondering" if the mental processes are active.

For example, "I think about dinner" means that an image of dinner is floating in my brain; I didn ï¿½t really "do" anything. On the other hand, "I am thinking about dinner" means that I am considering whether I should cook chicken, beef, or go to a restaurant. My thought processes are active.

And maryse: did you mean "disagreement" rather than "irritation" with the tense? That ï¿½s a limitation of a thesaurus; disagreement can be used for grammar, but irritation is just an uncomfortable, slightly angry feeling that something is wrong.

29 Sep 2011

maryse peyï¿½

dear Moody Moody,

thanks for the detailed explanation. I will improve that way.

And in my sentence I wanted to say ï¿½feeling of rising anger ï¿½, so ï¿½irritation ï¿½ was for pointing out that (at least this is the explanation I was given while studying) the speaker accepts no longer the fact that the other always says ï¿½I think that... ï¿½ ï¿½I wonder if... ï¿½

Am I wrong in my understanding ?

29 Sep 2011

MoodyMoody

Irritation is fine for "feeling of rising anger." I hope I didn ï¿½t cause you irritation!

30 Sep 2011

maryse peyï¿½

dear Moody Moody

keep cool !

I was not irritated at all ! Here is the perfect post to exchange ideas, vocabulary, grammar rules, advice, information and so on !

So there is absolutely no point to be irritated ! Just some good means to share and improve !

Have a very good day.

Maryse.

30 Sep 2011

ironik

everyone, thanks so much for your help, I really appreciate it Big smile

I ï¿½m really happy I ï¿½m part of a community where I can get help from teachers all over the world!

1 Oct 2011