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- Title
The Present Progressive in Discourse: Grammar Versus Usage Revisited.
- Authors
Bland, Susan Kesner
- Abstract
The articles focuses on the frequent use of stative verbs in progressive forms. Even though the students who learn English as second language (ESL) find it difficult to adjust the usage with what is found in grammar books, the use of stative verbs in progressive forms is acceptable. There are discourse contexts which necessitate the use of stative verbs like resemble, feel, and many others, in progressive forms. The problem for the ESL teachers and learners arises from the perception about the usage of English progressive. The author offers a principled explanation of the usage of progressive form of verbs in discourse. The generalization about the progressive is that progressive form focuses on a change or changes of state. So, when the speaker wishes to focus on a change of state, he uses progressive forms of verbs whether or not the verb is grammatically stative. It is the demands of discourse which justifies the use of stative verbs in progressive forms.
- Subjects
ENGLISH language -- Verb; VERBS; ENGLISH language; TENSE in the English language; ENGLISH grammar; ENGLISH language usage; ENGLISH grammar -- Terminology; GRAMMAR; VERBALS (Grammar); ASPECT (Grammar)
- Publication
TESOL Quarterly, 1988, Vol 22, Issue 1, p53
- ISSN
0039-8322
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/3587061