"...the RAF will be sitting on its arse..." is actually an example of the future continuous tense. An example of this very form is shown on the British Council website:

LearnEnglish by the British Council - Future Continuous

Now, if we were to look at the future perfect tense, that would be "the RAF will have sat on its arse..."

Take a D. See me. :=

O.F.F.S.

bloody 10 chars

Past or present tense?


:E

The progressive form of a verb indicates something that was happening, is happening or will be happening. Used in the past, it suggests an activity that was left unfinished or still happening at the time in question. So 'I polished my shoes' suggests that it's done and over, whereas 'I was polishing my shoes' leads one think that in this context that shoe polishing wasn't finished and the sentence is about to move to something else that happened whilst the polishing was going on.

English active progressive verb forms are constructed with the present participle (-ing ending) and not the past participle (-ed ending). Now, the verb 'to sit' is irregular in that its past participle does not end in -ed, it is 'sat'. In other words, you say 'I sat' rather than 'I sitted'. So we use the present participle 'sitting' to construct a progressive verb - 'I was sitting', not 'I was sat'. Similarly, in the present tense don't say 'I am sat'. In the future don't say 'I'll be sat'.

'I was sat' doesn't even sound right, it's affected and it's wrong. What's even worse is that people that should know better are starting to do it, even people on the BBC. I shall be writing a stiff letter (progressive?).

Things are different if the sentence is passive - i.e. something is having something done to it. 'The driver was parking her car' - active progressive. 'The car was parked on the hill by its driver' - passive, no longer progressive so past participle is OK. To avoid the ugliness of 'was parked', why not say 'had been parked'?

In other words, having sat it will remain satted (sic) never to move again.

Looking at some trouser seats and wooden chairs of times past that will not be all together new.

Interestingly, if we put an H after the S then the I and the A reverse positions in Courtney's masterly exposition above. I haven't tried all permutations though :)

It all went wrong when ISS was scrapped.

Jeeeez, all I said was..........................:E

Yeah, I know, Wyler. And, to be fair, your meaning was pefctly clear.

Next week we'll be looking at the use of 'less' and 'fewer'.

:cool:

Has ISS it been scapped? I was satting at my computer to work on an assignment when I hear that? Is that the absurd person singular?*



*applogies to Alan Aykborne

Surely the apostrophe is a more urgent matter?

Wales

The Waleses

Flt Lt Wales's wife

The Waleses' child

Moby Dick

Ah, Nantucket sleighride.

Starbuck's sharpening his harpoon...

Spot on, Buddy!

You know you've become a 3rd rate air force when people obsess about drunken spelling and grammar when the organisation is going to hell in a handcart.

WW beet me too it.

You know you have become a third rate Air Force when....

Once upon a time you used to fly in an aircraft that carried nuclear weapons and you were trained, tested and trusted to carry and drop them in the event of a serious war.

Now, I can't get my new ID card from Handbrake House without handing in my old one because I cannot be trusted to cut the old one up!!!

When the CDS and other Defence Chiefs advise against attempting a no fly zone over Syria because their Air Defences are of too good a quality.:\

FB:)

The last two posts there are spot on. It all suddenly looks a bit sad. Hey, but the guys and galls on the front line are still top notch at their day job.

Party Animal, one of the best points seen here to date. :D

here's something from the good old days with Raymond Baxxter commentating!

FB

You know you have become a Third Rate Air Force when....

....people can come up with 8 pages (& counting:{) of examples of how you have become...etc.