# He worries / is worried / is being worried ....



## Prower

What is the difference here?

He is worried about you.
He worries about you.


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## AlanT

Hi Prower,

He is worried about you, right now.
He worries about you, all the time.

Hope that helps,

Alan


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## Prower

Thanks. What about?

He is being worried - He is worried.


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## AlanT

Ack! That one's tougher, dear Prower.

They usually mean pretty much the same thing, although in some situations they _could _signify:


He is being worried, but he doesn't _have_ to be worried.

He is worried. He can't help himself.

Alan


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## Parla

AlanT said:


> He is worried about you, right now.
> 
> He worries about you, all the time.



I agree with the first interpretation, but not the second.

"He worries about you" could well mean repeatedly and chronically, yet not continuously.


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## srta chicken

"He is being worried..." is not commonly heard, at least not around here.  I would avoid it.  Instead, use "He is worried...".


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## Prower

srta chicken said:


> "He is being worried..." is not commonly heard, at least not around here.  I would avoid it.  Instead, use "He is worried...".



I just remember the diference between
I am angry (means - always)
He is being angry. (means - now)


I thought I could apply it to this situation as well.


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## Prower

AlanT said:


> He is being worried, but he doesn't _have_ to be worried.


It is very interesting. I don't quite see what you mean.

What if

He is worried, but he doesn't _have_ to be worried.

What is the difference?

*I heard someone say*

Are you being angry with me? (I thought it was intended to underline the on-going action. Or is it a bit different because of the adjective *angry*?)


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## JamesM

I think "angry" is different.  "Are you getting angry with me?" sounds natural to me.  "Are you being angry with me?" doesn't.  I am either getting angry or I am angry but I'm not being angry.


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## Prower

JamesM said:


> I think "angry" is different.  "Are you getting angry with me?" sounds natural to me.  "Are you being angry with me?" doesn't.  I am either getting angry or I am angry but I'm not being angry.


Well, it is very strange as the person who said that is from Florida and is a US born person......


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## JamesM

That's language. 

To "be" something often implies some feigning or acting. "Are you being shy?" can mean that the person is adopting a shy attitude either out of discomfort or manipulation, but is not typically shy. 

"Are you being angry", to me, sounds like the person is saying that you are pretending to be angry, or adopting an angry tone as a ploy. It may not mean that for everyone.

Although we share a language we don't all use it the same way. I can imagine someone might say something in Russian in Kiev in a different way from a person in Moscow, even though it's all Russian.  There's 2,500 miles between Los Angeles, California and Tampa, Florida and a lot of variations in American English in between.


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## Prower

JamesM said:


> Although we share a language we don't all use it the same way. I can imagine someone might say something in Russian in Kiev in a different way from a person in Moscow, even though it's all Russian.


It depends on the thing being in the focus. I can imagine there may be used different words but constructions. Here we deal with a construction which is more significant than words by themselves. 
============
I thought that

Are are angry with me. (Means all the time.)
Are you being angry with me. (Means a certain limited period of time)


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## JamesM

It doesn't mean that to me or to most people I know. "Are you angry with me?" is talking about a temporary condition. "Why are you always angry with me?" would be a natural question to indicate a chronic problem. "Why are you angry with me?" would be talking about the current moment and this specific situation.

I think you've taken a rule and generalized it too far.

"Why are you so difficult?" Chronic, long-term
"Why are you being so difficult?" Temporary, current situation

This works with "difficult", as an example, but it doesn't work with everything.


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## Prower

JamesM said:


> This works with "difficult", as an example, but it doesn't work with everything.



Any idea why it works with "difficult" and doesn't work with "angry"?


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## EStjarn

Prower said:


> Any idea why it works with "difficult" and doesn't work with "angry"?


 
I suggest it is because when we say someone is angry, we're describing their emotional state, and when say someone is difficult or shy, we're describing their behavior. When we are angry, we feel anger, but when we are difficult or shy, we don't "feel difficulty or shyness."


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## JamesM

I agree.  I think the assumption is that an emotion is a temporary condition.


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## Prower

EStjarn said:


> When we are angry, we feel anger, but when we are difficult or shy, we don't "feel difficulty or shyness."


Why? To be shy can mean to feel shyness. Isn't it an emotion?


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## EStjarn

I think that when we say someone is shy, we are saying something about that person's behavior. At times we may be implying that the shyness is due to feelings of fear, but not always. For instance, for some people it comes natural to automatically describe a quiet person as shy, without considering what the person actually feels.


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## Prower

Having been re-reading this thread I realized that there is something more to ask about.


JamesM said:


> "Why are you always angry with me?" would be a natural question to indicate a chronic problem.
> "Why are you angry with me?" would be talking about the current moment and this specific situation.


If it is so, then why - *He is (always) worried about you *- can't mean an unlimited period of time? In both cases PRESENT SIMPLE is used.



AlanT said:


> He is worried about you, right now.


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## JamesM

I don't see where anyone said that "He is always worried about you" can't mean an unlimited period of time. The addition of "always" changes the meaning of the sentence.   

"He (always) worries about you" sounds more idiomatic to me than "He is always worried about you" but I can imagine contexts where I would use the second version.


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## Prower

I concluded it from the post #2 

Then they can mean 

He is worried about you - all the time.
He worries about you - all the time.


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## JamesM

No.

Adding "always" changes the meaning.

"He is worried about you" - He is currently worried about you.
"He is *always* worried about you" - He worries about you chronically.

I'm not sure what the source of your confusion is.

Think of the difference between:

"I am sleepy" - I am sleepy right now.

and

"I am always sleepy" - I am chronically sleepy.


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## Prower

The confusion is PRESENT SIMPLE. It seems that with the verb TO BE it can mean both - NOW and Always. But with other verbs it is not so. It would be wrong to say

I read now. (instead of - I am reading now)


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## JamesM

Ah!  Thanks.  Now I understand.

Yes, with "I am" it seems that a temporary state such as sleepy, hungry, angry, annoyed, tired or late means "currently" unless you add a modifier.  I suppose that's not much help because you then have to know whether something is considered a temporary state or a permanent one.

"I am late" - I am late right now  (temporary condition)
"I am always late" - I am chronically late  (habitual action)

but

"I am punctual" - I am on time as a habit (habitual action)
"I am particular about what I eat" - I am always particular (habitual action)


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## moundflower

I think "is being worried" is ungrammatical.  Also, "is worried" changes depending on whether it's followed by "about" or "by."  "By" makes it passive.


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## JamesM

Yes, but in the case of "He is being worried" I don't think the same holds true, Prower.  (Incidentally, I don't think it's technically ungrammatical, just unnatural-sounding.)


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## Prower

Well, after a great deal of discussion has taken place, I realize that again I need to ask for a distinguishing indicator regarding


*He is worried about you.
He worries about you.
*

Now we have agreed that 

He is worried about you. - can mean both 1) Always 2) Now

Is there any way to know which one is meant if the context is scanty. 
==============================

For example 
*The gorvenent is worried about it.*

How shall I understand it? 
1) Is it worried always?
2) Is it worried now? (limited period)
3) Why and how shall I see the meaning?

Thanks in advance.


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## JamesM

Prower said:


> Well, after a great deal of discussion has taken place, I realize that again I need to ask for a distinguishing indicator regarding
> 
> 
> *He is worried about you.*
> *He worries about you.*
> 
> 
> Now we have agreed that
> 
> He is worried about you. - can mean both 1) Always 2) Now


 
Ahem... where did we agree that? 



			
				AlanT said:
			
		

> He is worried about you, right now.






			
				JamesM said:
			
		

> "He is worried about you" - He is currently worried about you.


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## Prower

James it's here.


JamesM said:


> "He is worried about you" - He is currently worried about you.
> "He is *always* worried about you" - He worries about you chronically.


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## JamesM

You are ignoring the word "always". As I said before:



> Adding "always" changes the meaning.
> 
> "He is worried about you" - He is currently worried about you.
> "He is *always* worried about you" - He worries about you chronically.


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## Sedulia

"He is being worried" to me is very odd. The only way I can imagine its being used is for example, "He is being worried by his daughter" in a sort of active way. I don't think many native speakers would say that.


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## Prower

JamesM said:


> You are ignoring the word "always". As I said before:


It's not that I am ignoring it. It's just that if it (this sentence) can be changed by this word then it has an inclination to convey two meanings/time aspects.

I think you agree that if we add "yesterday" to 

I have seen you (yesterday).

it won't make sense. 

Hence, "He is worried about you" can potentially be interpreted either as ALWAYS or as NOW. (this is just my thought)

*But I see that you are saying that

He is worried about you. (Should be understood as NOW)
UNLESS we add always
He is always worried about you (Means ALWAYS)*

Confirm my conclusion, please.


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## JamesM

Yes, that's what I was saying. Also, "He is always worried about you" is not the typical way it would be said.  It would more likely be "He worries about you" to indicate that he worries about you all the time.

As I and others have said, "He is being worried about..." is odd-sounding and unnatural.


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## Prower

James thank you. A few more things

1) Am I right to think that this construction can work fine with transitive verbs

*I am being burdened by him.* (I think that TO WORRY is not a transitive verb that's why it is not ok to say - *I am being worried.*

2) You suggested this 

*Are you getting angry with me?*

When shall I say that? At the beginning of a person's anger or when his anger is in bloom?

As this construction - getting + adjective - implies an action in progression, doesn't it?

3) You say that - I am punctual. - means always.
What if I want to say *I am punctual today*, meaning that it is like that only today?


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## Prower

JamesM said:


> Yes, with "I am" it seems that a temporary state such as sleepy, hungry, angry, annoyed, tired or late means "currently" unless you add a modifier.



James is it right to add here PARTICIPLE 1?

*This is a rising man.* 

Seems like it means both - 1)Now 2) Always

Right?


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## pob14

Prower said:


> 3) You say that - I am punctual. - means always.
> What if I want to say *I am punctual today*, meaning that it is like that only today?


"Punctual" means "habitually on time."  You can't be "punctual today," unless perhaps you're making a joke at your own expense. 

*I was on time today for all my appointments*.


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## JamesM

Prower said:


> James thank you. A few more things
> 
> 1) Am I right to think that this construction can work fine with transitive verbs
> 
> *I am being burdened by him.* (I think that TO WORRY is not a transitive verb that's why it is not ok to say - *I am being worried.*


 
I don't think it has anything to do with transitive/intransitive. "Worry" can be transitive, as in "The child's aggressive behavior is worrying his teachers". I wouldn't try to make an assumption regarding transitive/intransitive here.



> 2) You suggested this
> 
> *Are you getting angry with me?*
> 
> When shall I say that? At the beginning of a person's anger or when his anger is in bloom?As this construction - getting + adjective - implies an action in progression, doesn't it?


 
I think it's most common to say that as you notice the change in temperament, which would be as the person is beginning to get angry. "He is getting..." in this type of context means the same as "He is becoming..."

(We're drifting off-topic here.)



> 3) You say that - I am punctual. - means always.
> What if I want to say *I am punctual today*, meaning that it is like that only today?


 
pob14 answered that well.


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## Prower

pob14 said:


> "Punctual" means "habitually on time."  You can't be "punctual today," unless perhaps you're making a joke at your own expense.
> 
> *I was on time today for all my appointments*.



Well, let's imagine that I am a person who is not ever on time BUT yesterday I came on time, it means that I was punctual yesterday. 

Isn't it possible?


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## Matching Mole

In these contexts "being" implies to me that the subject is _intentionally putting himself in a state_ (or worry, of anger), somewhat as if he were making an occupation of it. This seems to work less well with "worry", but with "anger" it seems quite a valid description that the other forms don't really imply. A similar and more usual example with the same effect, is "Are you being difficult?" (although we don't say "Are you difficult with me?", so the use of "being" is necessary).

I agree with James on the last point. "Always" (or an equivalent adverb) is essential if "is worried" is to be taken to be habitual. Adverbs of time modify the scope of tenses.


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## JamesM

Prower said:


> Well, let's imagine that I am a person who is not ever on time BUT yesterday I came on time, it means that I was punctual yesterday.
> 
> Isn't it possible?



Maybe if we use another word you will see how odd it can sound.

"I'm loyal to my friends." - habitual pattern or characteristic.
"I'm loyal today to my friends." - ????

How can someone be loyal only today?  Loyalty is demonstrated over time.  It's not something you haven't done before today but now you're suddenly loyal and might not be loyal again tomorrow.  Making such a statement would either be laughable or nonsense.

Punctuality is the same, although not to the same degree.

It is possible to say anything, Prower.  I can say "I compound the licorice skies melting on my veranda".   They are all English words used with proper syntax.  There is nothing wrong with the sentence grammatically.  The only problem is that it doesn't communicate anything sensible.


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## Prower

I thought there was only I doing it, but now I see you have the same hobby. I also compound the licorice skies melting on my veranda.)

Thanks James, seems like I got a great piece of info which can diminish the biggest part of my ignorance regarding this matter.


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## panjandrum

This thread is rambling far from its original theme and has been closed.


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