She is always in the news.

English grammar and usage issues

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GBShaw
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She is always in the news.

Unread post by GBShaw »

The meaning of ALWAYS is at all times; on every occasion. If you say a person is always doing something, or something is always happening, you mean that they do it, or it happens, very often, and that this is annoying.

But in a dictionary I find this sentence:

-She is always in the news.

A person can't be logically like this; is it a typo?
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Joe
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Re: She is always in the news.

Unread post by Joe »

Not a typo, perfectly normal, idiomatic English.

The "annoying" aspect that you mention is usually with present continuous tense (as in fact you describe), for example:
It's always raining in England.
He's always correcting my grammar.
She's always popping up in the news.

(But always + present continuous is not only for annoying actions, they can be good too: He's always helping me.)

The example sentence you give is present simple, which is not the same pattern as your explanation ("If you say a person is always doing something"):
- She is always in the news.
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GBShaw
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Posts: 7
Joined: 04 May 2013, 06:33
Status: Other

Re: She is always in the news.

Unread post by GBShaw »

Thanks.

In fact, I understood this meaning as an undergraduate; but doesn't that sentence mean SHE is at all times in the news? This is not logical....
GBShaw
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Re: She is always in the news.

Unread post by GBShaw »

Is the sentence OK for the same reason that the following is OK?:

Those kids are always up to no good.
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