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1a Do be quiet! I'm trying to hear what the man's saying. 1b Do you think I look any thinner? I'm slimming. 1c We're eating in the kitchen during this cold weather. The progressive forms represent actions or events, or series of actions or events, viewed at some point between their beginning and end. They imply that an action or series of actions has already begun but is not yet completed. At the same time, they indicate that the duration of the action or series of actions is limited. In sentence 1a, the progressive form indicates an activity in progress at the very moment of speaking; while in 1b, it indicates a temporary activity over a more extended period of time. Sentence 1c refers to a series of actions of limited duration: the repeated act of eating, whenever it occurs, occurs in the kitchen, but this is viewed as a temporary arrangement ('during this cold weather'). 1c is, in other words, concerned with habitual activity, but habitual activity over a limited period of time. It should be clear from the above examples and comments that the progressive forms do not necessarily indicate that an action is being performed at the very moment of speaking. This is so in 1a, where we could say I'm trying at this very moment to listen to what the man is saying (at this very moment). But we would not say I'm slimming at this very moment' in 1b, and in 1c, it is very possible that we are not engaged in eating in the kitchen at the very moment of speaking. The one feathre that is common to all three sentences, however, is that the action or series of actions is regarded as incomplete or temporary (of limited duration). We can contrast the meaning and use of the simple and progresive forms in sentences like the following: a They spend a lot of money on improving their house. b They're spending a lot of money on improving their house. Sentence a is a general observation on a more or less permanent state of affairs, whereas b implies that their spending money on their house is a temporary phenomenon. There is a difference in the facts of the situation, and this determines the choice of verb form. In other cases, however, the choice of verb form may depend entirely on the speaker's viewpoint, as explaind earlier. c I place a bell jar over the candle, and after a few seconds the water gradually rises. d I'm placing a bell jar over the candle. There! Can you see what's happening? The water's gradually rising. Here the facts of the situation are the same in both cases, but the speaker lookis at those facts differently. |