What is the origin in English of the present continuous tense (present progressive tense)? [more inside]
posted by mary8nne on Mar 21, 2009 - 15 answers

I often find myself tensing muscles in weird ways, generally in my throat/chest/abdomen. It is uncomfortable, and it makes me feel short of breath, but I keep doing it. How do I stop? [more inside]
posted by Alligator on Jul 1, 2008 - 10 answers

Explain tenses to me? Past/present/future, continuous/simple/perfect, and so on, in English. I can use them with fluency, but I need to be able to explain them (when each is used, how to form them). I've tried Fowler's, Chicago Manual of Style, and a number of other resources, but they seem to subtly contradict one another. Is there a simple, go-to reference for this?
posted by sarahkeebs on Sep 28, 2007 - 16 answers

is there a grammar checker out there that will check my documents for consistent tense? I have a teacher who's a real stickler, and even if I go over my paper with a fine toothed comb, I always miss one or two. Does anybody have a program I could use to save myself some points in class?
posted by gilsonal on Dec 8, 2006 - 10 answers

Verb tense in fiction [more inside]
posted by larry_darrell on Oct 19, 2005 - 23 answers