Find the error, correct it, and explain why it is an error.

Question

The team we played against was not having a chance to beat us.

I believe the error is was not having and it should be did not have.

Why is it an error?

Answer 1

You are right, the correct sentence should be:

'The team we played against did not have a chance to bet us.'

You use past continuous (was not having) to express length of time, an exhausting or pleasant activity, or intense emotion, whereas past simple is used to express a fact, condition, or idea. The situation that the team did not have a chance is a fact, condition or idea; it is not a long activity, action, or intense emotion. Moreover, 'to have' is used like a static verb here and not like an action verb. Therefore, you cannot use the continuous form. 'To have' can be used like an action verb, e.g. 'They were having a party last weekend'. In that case, 'having a party' becomes an activity rather than a condition and can therefore be used in its continuous form. There are other static verbs that work the same way. You can find more information about this topic in grammar books looking for 'static and action verbs'.