The difference between “He complains about”and “He is complaining about”?

differences

I learned this sentence.
1)He complains about his daughter not saying anything to him.

Can we also say the following?
2)He is complaining about his daughter not saying anything to him.

Best Answer

"He complains about" indicates that the complaint is habitual, that is that he makes his complaint frequently over a long period. In contrast "He is complaining about" indicates that he is making the complaint at the present time.

For example one might say "Every time I see Hassan he complains about his daughter not saying anything to him". Alternatively one could have a conversation like this:

"What's Hassan talking about?" "He's complaining about his daughter not saying anything to him."

In the second case the conversation could be extended by saying:

"Every time I see him he complains about his daughter not saying anything to him" which would mean that, although the question referred to the current time, the response indicates that the behaviour is habitual.