[Grammar] be + having to

[vaibhavmaskar]

1. I am having to do his work.

2. I was having to do his work.

3. I will be having to do his work.

Is it ok to use these form in general speaking english?

 

[bhaisahab]

1. I am having to do his work.

2. I was having to do his work.

3. I will be having to do his work.

Is it OK to use these form in general speaking English?

No. Use 1. I have to... 2. I had to... 3. I will have to...

 

[bhaisahab]

On second thoughts 1 is possible.

 

[5jj]

It's time for one of my rare disagreements with what bhai says.

The non-progressive form is nearly always correct, and is the safest choice for learners, but the progressive form is possible if the speaker wishes to draw attention to the limited duration of the obligation. There are 180 citations for the present and 140 for the past progressive forms in the British National Corpus.

There are only five citations for 'will be having to'. We appear not to use this form much.

 

[Matthew Wai]

On second thoughts 1 is possible.

Is it possible because "The present progressive tense is also used to talk about things that are planned for the future."(quoted from a grammar book)?

Source: BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMAR for English Language Learners, Saddleback Educational Publishing.

 

[5jj]

It's also possible for an ongoing present sitatuon of limited duration: My wife is away this week, so I'm having to pour my own beer.

If you quote from a book, please cite your source, Matthew.

 

[Barb_D]

My wife is away this week, so i'm having to pour my own beer.

Oh, the humanity! The humanity! :cheers: