Habits and Annoying Behaviour: will / would, be always + -ing, keep (on) + -ing

• In US logistics, we often deal with frustrating counterparties. We use specific structures to express repetitive, annoying habits of difficult partners.
• Structure
• Function
• Example in US Logistics
• will / would
• Typical or predictable annoying habits
• That broker will always change the rate after booking.
• be always + -ing
• Exaggerated frequency of annoying actions
• He is always ignoring my emails during peak hours.
• keep (on) + -ing
• Persistent repetition despite warnings
• The dispatcher kept on calling the driver every ten minutes.
• Remember
• Use 'will' for present annoying habits and 'would' for past annoying habits.
• Use 'be always + -ing' to emphasize irritation about frequent actions.
• Use 'keep (on) + -ing' when someone repeats an irritating action stubbornly.
• Do not use 'will' for past habits; use 'would' or 'used to'.
• Examples
• That freight broker in Chicago will constantly demand updates at midnight.
• When we worked with them in Boston, they were always missing appointment windows.
• The carrier sales rep kept on sending unrealistic loads to our team.
• Common mistakes
• That broker always changes the rate after booking.
• That broker is always changing the rate after booking.
• He will call me yesterday when I was off duty.
• He would call me yesterday when I was off duty.

Complete the sentences

• That unreliable broker in Atlanta (will) ____ always cancel loads at the last minute.
• Our dispatcher in Denver (be always) ____ complaining about constant check-ins from the client.
• Back in Philadelphia, that high-maintenance shipper (would) ____ demand two free hours of detention every single day.
• The new carrier sales rep (keep on) ____ calling my personal phone after hours.
• Why (that difficult driver) ____ always ignoring our dispatch instructions in Seattle?
• Last year, those passive-aggressive brokers (keep) ____ sending emails without any load details.

Sources: photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels