In order to emphasise the annoying aspect of a habit – be it someone else's or one's own – a continuous tense instead of a simple one is used:
People are always asking me silly questions!
I am always making the same mistakes!
I am angry with those people or with myself, with the subject of the verb. IN THE PASSIVE, the first sentence should become:
I am always being asked silly questions!
Doesn't this sentence sound awkward? Because the agent of the passive – they who I am angry with – have disappeared from the sentence, and it is not the grammatical subject – myself – I am angry with.
Shouldn't a sentence with a simple verb form be preferred?
I am always asked silly questions!
Best Answer
Strictly speaking, this issue is a matter of opinion. But I think it's worth noting these figures from Google Books...
You might say the sample size is too small to draw any conclusions, but it does suggest we're almost four times more likely to use the continuous form in relaxed, informal conversational contexts than we are in more formal contexts.
I think it's specifically the word always that "licenses" the continuous form in this context. Compare...