I tried using 「くれている」 as the answer to this review and it was not accepted. Is this sentence not grammatically correct in this context?
友達は毎週土曜日に私の母にクッキーをくれている。
I’m basing this opinion on the ている③ lesson which states that for continuously repeated actions, this form can be used.
In this case, the friend gives the mom cookies every week on the same day. Is it incorrect because the friend doesn’t do the action every day?
Thanks.
I believe what you tried to answer with would come across as “is being given,” as if you were to say the passage literally as your friend is handing said cookies to your mom. That’s, from what I understand, how てる/ている works.
Take my opinion with a grain of salt, though, as I do not consider myself an expert 
Edit: Upon further thought, I can kinda see your answer working in the intended way, but now I’m just uncertain. I’ll let the BunPros handle this one, haha
Edit 2: Ok, upon further examination of the grammar point you linked, it seems like there’s a nuance of like, “default” or “automatic” to the repeating activity, as if it’s so regular as to be taken of a matter of course? I think? It’d be weird for something like giving cookies to someone to be expressed this way, I think… it’d be like your friend is paying off some strange bakery debt to your mom with cookies 
The idea of continuous expressed by ている is different from habitual, which is expressed by the plain form of verbs. A person giving someone cookies every Saturday is an habitual activity, not a continuous one. They are not continually engaged in the activity of giving cookies every Saturday, it’s an activity they engage in once per week.
I get what you’re saying, but the grammar point says that 毎週 is a valid time word for ている
It also clarifies one of the example sentences as being a habit of the speaker
Oh, I see what you’re saying now. From that perspective, you’re right. It wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to say 毎週土曜日に私の母にクッキーをくれている. It would sort of be like the difference between the English phrases, “My friend brings cookies to my mother every Saturday,” and, “My friend is bringing cookies to my mother every Saturday.” They mean practically the same thing. The nuance difference is subtle, and in my opnion, unreliable. Sometimes speakers pick the gerundive over the present without much thought to it.
The key difference to note is that ～ている uses the stative verb いる. When you say 連用形＋ている you’re saying you “exist in a state of (doing/being) …” This differs from simply saying, “I do/am …” but as you found, the difference is subtle, especially where recurring activities are concerned. The speaker’s choice of word often comes down to how permanent or established the action or state is in their mind. Also, as the Bunpro “caution” note there points out, when ている is used for habitual activities, it’s usually together with a time expression to clarify. That’s because ている has a strong sense of being in that state or doing that action continuously.
If we reduce the uses to simple sentences, we can see the distinction a little clearer.
- 食べる
I eat
- 食べている
I am eating
- 毎朝七時に食べる
I eat at 7 o’clock every morning (I perform the action of eating at 7 o’clock every morning)
- 毎朝七時に食べている
I am eating at 7 o’clock every morning (I am in a state of performing the action of eating at 7 o’clock every morning)
In the case of #1, the sense of time is either absent entirely, or it’s indicative of a recurring, habitual activity. For #2, the sense of time is continuous. The speaker is currently eating and will continue to be for some indefinite period of time. #3 is the same as #1, except the time expression pushes the meaning fully into the habitual sense. Finally, #4 actually has the same continuous meaning as #2, but the time expression now acts as a boundary for the period of time the verb expresses. Instead of the time period being indefinite, it’s now “every morning at 7 o’clock.” The distinction for #3 and #4 is blurry for sure, I think that’s why the Bunpro team added the cautionary note to the ている grammar point.
When you answered that question, did you try entering くれている? If so, was it marked wrong or did you get a hint steering you back toward くれる? I ask because it’s clear from the expected answer they’re wanting to quiz you on the habitual meaning of the plain form of the verb in that sentence, but as you discovered, it’s not necessarily wrong to use the continuous form there if the speaker thinks the activity will continue for the foreseeable future.
くれている was straight up marked wrong. Using the hotkey for viewing alternate grammar also only showed くれる and くれます (I think, I only remember there were two alternating examples).
OK, to me that seems like a hole in the recognized answers then. In my opinion, you should have been given a hint to steer you toward the plain form of the verb instead of just being wrong. When this happens to me I use the Report+ button in the lower right-hand corner that shows up when you get an answer wrong to report the alternate answer, or to make a suggestion about how the team can imrpove the experience for learners.
