I have a small question regarding the usage of the present simple, present continuous and auxiliary verbs. Is this correct English?
- Feel safe? (Do you feel safe?) → So do I!
- Feeling safe? (Are you feeling safe?) → So am I!
- Feeling safe? So do I!
In this particular case (3), a question is asked in present continuous and gets answered in simple present. The addressee is making a (powerful) statement that the he/she 'always' or 'infinitively' feels safe, not just actively at this moment.
I'm not a native English speaker, but I was under the impression that this is a perfectly accepted exception to the general rules of English language. Can anyone confirm this or explain why this is not acceptable?
Edit: The actual phrase in question is "Feeling ambitious? So do we", which is a phrase I made up myself. I replaced it with 'feeling safe' to present a more neutral case.
Best Answer
This isn't grammatical, and would only be acceptable in casual speech when people are used to letting grammatical errors go uncorrected because what was meant is obvious. In writing or non-casual speech the suggestion simply seems to be a mistake or a failure to copyedit, especially if (as it sounds) it were used as a business slogan or something similar.
The response has to agree in tense with the question:
Though this is technically present continuous, when in the context of a written statement representing a company or group it becomes an equally powerful statement as if it were in present simple, because it is always being affirmed in writing.