European nations acquired colonies in southwest Asia mainly to

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.

ah, shun the horrid gulf! by scylla fly.

i believe it is "“i’ll beat thee, but i would infect my hands.”

explanation:

the tree invited all its friends to its lumber party. the party was at saruman's tower in isengard because saruman had killed some trees