On the progression of the progressive in early Modern English

Abstract

The progressive verb form in English is well worth our attention for at least two reasons. One reason is that this construction, consisting of a form of TO BE followed by the -ing-form of the next verb in the verb phrase, is one which does not have any obvious parallel in any of the languages that English is most closely related with. Hence the study of this form is important from a contrastive point of view, and for the teaching of English as a second language. Obviously, it makes a great deal of difference whether one says ‘I crossed the street when I noticed her.’ rather than ‘I was crossing the street when I noticed her.’, or ‘Mary speaks with an Irish accent.’ rather than ‘Mary is speaking with an Irish accent.’, and that is a difference which foreign learners need to be taught. Also, the frequency of the progressive has long been on the increase, an increase which seems to be continuing unabated in present-day English, which makes it all the more important that we should try to understand the use and meaning of this verb form. To further that understanding it may be helpful to study the historical development of the progressive: how it came to be what it is. 400 years ago the position of the progressive was very different from what it is today. Then Polonius could ask, ‘What do you read, my lord?’. And Hamlet himself could begin his last speech with the words ‘O, I die, Horatio’. Today the good Lord Chamberlain would have had to rephrase his question and rather ask, ‘What are you reading, my lord?’, and whatever a present-day Hamlet would say in similarly dire circumstances, he would hardly choose the non-progressive present. Not surprisingly, the terms used to refer to this construction have varied. ‘Definite’, ‘expanded’, ‘continuous’, ‘progressive’ have all been used. What is more surprising, considering what is very often the situation as regards linguistic terminology, is that the position today is characterised by something approaching consensus: the term ‘progressive’ has now been almost universally adopted, obviously because a central ICAME Journal No. 18

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