"would be laying claim to..."why the v-ing
Susan realized neither she nor Edie would be laying claim to his heart any time soon?
A lot of times I don't quite understand why people use "was doing" or "will be doing" tense. well, here's an example. Why doesn't Susan simply say "would lay claim..." Thanks

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Answer

The -ing form is proper here because it is an imaginary situation that could have been happening at that exact moment. "I broke my arm yesterday; otherwise, we would be going to the ballgame".

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Sometimes in the English language we use extra words to make a strong point in our sentences.
Your sentence actually is showing two points. It is showing a present tense (the here and now) and a future tense (to lay claim to his heart). This usually only happens in a thought sentence or a writer's sentence to show what she or he wants to say. If Susan said it out loud and not on paper or in a thought she would say, "Neither Edie nor I will lay claim to his heart any time soon."

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