International Crises and Verb Forms
2022-03-04
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1An international crisis - the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine - has been one of the top stories in the news in recent days.
2In today's report, we will explore some of the language that is often used during such crises.
3You will learn about verb forms, including the simple present, present continuous, and present perfect continuous.
4Live reporting plays an important part in the news coverage of international crises.
5Reporters generally discuss events that are ongoing, events that happened in the recent past, and events that are likely to happen in the near future.
6Let's listen to a VOA news report and explore some of the verb forms.
7We are here reporting from the train station in the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv.
8It's a quiet morning here after several days of violence...
9We understand that Russia and Ukrainian officials will be speaking today, and in the meantime many families are using this brief time of quietness to try to get out.
10Notice that the reporter used several different verb forms.
11The report began with the present continuous verb form.
12The reporter said, "We are here reporting..." because the action of reporting is ongoing.
13The next sentence used the simple form of the verb be: "It is a quiet morning here..."
14In this case, the reporter uses the simple present form to describe the general state or mood in the area at the present time.
15Then the reporter uses an interesting verb: understand.
16She says, "We understand..."
17This term is common in reporting.
18But it has a slightly different meaning from what you might expect.
19In this case, "understand" means to think or believe something based on what you have heard, read, or seen.
20"Understand" is a stative verb: a verb that describes a state.
21It is used in its simple form.
22That is why the reporter said "we understand" instead of something like, "we are understanding."
23The reporter then uses the future continuous, as in "Russian and Ukrainian officials will be speaking today..."
24In this case, the future verb form suggests that the activity will take place at some point later in the day and will last for some amount of time - perhaps a long time, perhaps a short amount of time.
25During crises, speeches or talks by politicians or experts might include some different verb forms or language than what a live reporter might use.
26Let's listen to a few words from President Joe Biden's speech regarding the invasion of Ukraine.
27For weeks, we have been warning that this would happen, and now it's unfolding largely as we predicted.
28In this case, President Biden used the present perfect continuous, as in "we have been warning..."
29This suggests that the action began at some point in the past and continues up to or near the present moment in time.
30Because the action began at an unclear time, English speakers sometimes use a time expression along with the verb form.
31Biden, for example, gives a general sense of time by using the words "For weeks."
32The same structure of time expression + present perfect continuous appears in all kinds of discussions about crises.
33For example, you might hear or read something like:
34"For years, experts have been expecting..."
35Or
36"For months, officials have been discussing..."
37The next time that you watch the news during a crisis, pay careful attention to the verb forms that speakers use.
38Ask yourself why the speaker used that verb form instead of another.
39This process will improve your understanding of the news.
40It also will help you understand verb forms when speaking in everyday situations or when reading.
41I'm John Russell.
1An international crisis - the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine - has been one of the top stories in the news in recent days. 2In today's report, we will explore some of the language that is often used during such crises. You will learn about verb forms, including the simple present, present continuous, and present perfect continuous. 3Live reporting 4Live reporting plays an important part in the news coverage of international crises. Reporters generally discuss events that are ongoing, events that happened in the recent past, and events that are likely to happen in the near future. 5Let's listen to a VOA news report and explore some of the verb forms. 6We are here reporting from the train station in the capital of Ukraine, the city of Kyiv. It's a quiet morning here after several days of violence... 7We understand that Russia and Ukrainian officials will be speaking today, and in the meantime many families are using this brief time of quietness to try to get out. 8Notice that the reporter used several different verb forms. 9The report began with the present continuous verb form. The reporter said, "We are here reporting..." because the action of reporting is ongoing. 10The next sentence used the simple form of the verb be: "It is a quiet morning here..." 11In this case, the reporter uses the simple present form to describe the general state or mood in the area at the present time. Then the reporter uses an interesting verb: understand. She says, "We understand..." 12This term is common in reporting. But it has a slightly different meaning from what you might expect. 13In this case, "understand" means to think or believe something based on what you have heard, read, or seen. 14"Understand" is a stative verb: a verb that describes a state. It is used in its simple form. That is why the reporter said "we understand" instead of something like, "we are understanding." 15The reporter then uses the future continuous, as in "Russian and Ukrainian officials will be speaking today..." 16In this case, the future verb form suggests that the activity will take place at some point later in the day and will last for some amount of time - perhaps a long time, perhaps a short amount of time. 17Present perfect continuous 18During crises, speeches or talks by politicians or experts might include some different verb forms or language than what a live reporter might use. 19Let's listen to a few words from President Joe Biden's speech regarding the invasion of Ukraine. 20For weeks, we have been warning that this would happen, and now it's unfolding largely as we predicted. 21In this case, President Biden used the present perfect continuous, as in "we have been warning..." 22This suggests that the action began at some point in the past and continues up to or near the present moment in time. 23Because the action began at an unclear time, English speakers sometimes use a time expression along with the verb form. 24Biden, for example, gives a general sense of time by using the words "For weeks." 25The same structure of time expression + present perfect continuous appears in all kinds of discussions about crises. For example, you might hear or read something like: 26"For years, experts have been expecting..." 27Or 28"For months, officials have been discussing..." 29Closing thoughts 30The next time that you watch the news during a crisis, pay careful attention to the verb forms that speakers use. Ask yourself why the speaker used that verb form instead of another. 31This process will improve your understanding of the news. It also will help you understand verb forms when speaking in everyday situations or when reading. 32I'm John Russell. 33John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 34____________________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36present continuous - n. (grammar) a verb tense that is used to refer to an action or a state that is continuing to happen; it consists of a form of the verb "be" followed by the main verb's present participle. 37present perfect continuous - n. (grammar) a verb form that is formed with has/have been and a present participle 38meantime - n. during the time before something happens or before a specified period ends 39unfold - v. to happen as time passes