[mpsholly]

Hello,

Can you please help my daughter out with 19B, #4? She wants to know why “Stories are being told” as opposed to simply “Stories are told”. If “being” is more correct, then why isn’t it used in #13 “The towns are defended by us.”

Also, why is it “Stories” instead of “The stories”?

Thank you!

[Ben Crist]

Great question by your daughter! That shows real detail.

The answer is that all four options are correct here. We’re trying to show as many options, but I understand how that can be confusing for someone looking for the exact answer!

The key is as long as these two verbs are translated in the Present Tense, she’s good. Within the present tense, there are three modes, and you see two of them here:

1. Present tense simple mood: “tells, is told, defends, is defended”
2. Present tense progressive mood: “is telling, is being told, is defending, is being defended”
3. Present tense emphatic mood: “does tell, does get told, does defend, does get defended”

So you can get down into the weeds—isn’t grammar lovely? The good news, is all her answers are correct. All the mood changes would be determined if you had more context: a paragraph instead of a single sentence.

[mpsholly]

Thank you! The lack of exactness has been really bothering her throughout these lessons!