Transpositions in use of aspect forms

Likewise continuous forms do not always express continuity of the action and are frequently used to convey the emotional state of the speaker.

Commonly, the present continuous tense denotes an action which takes place at the moment of speaking. But it may also denote a habitual action (John is constantly grumbling), an action which occupies a long period of time (Sam is wooing Mary now), and an action of the near future (Pete is starting a new life tomorrow). In such cases the present continuous tense becomes synonymous with the present or future indefinite. But there is a difference. While the sentence "John constantly grumbles" is a mere statement, the sentence "John is constantly grumbling" introduces the negative connota­tions of irritation, condemnation, regret, sadness and others.

There is a rule that verbs of sense perception and mental activity are not used in the continuous tense forms. This rule is often broken by the speaker intentionally or subconsciously. In both cases verbal forms convey additional stylistic meanings of subjective modality (I am seeing you = I am not blind; I am understanding you = You need not go into further details; I am feeling your touch = So tender you are, etc.).

So continuous forms may express:

• conviction, determination, persistence: Well, she's never coming here again, I tell you that straight; (Maugham)

• impatience, irritation:

—I didn't mean to hurt you.

— You did. You're doing nothing else; (Shaw)

• surprise, indignation, disapproval:

Women kill me. They are always leaving their goddam bags out in the middle of the aisle. (Salinger)

Present Continuous may be used instead of the Present Indefinite form to characterize the current emotional state or behaviour:

—How is Carol?

—Blooming, Charley said. She is being so brave. (Shaw)

You are being very absurd, Laura, he said coldly. (Mansfield)

Verbs of physical and mental perception do not regularly have continuous forms. When they do, however, we observe a semi-marked structure that is highly emphatic due to the incompatible combination of lexical meaning and grammatical form.

Why, you must be the famous Captain Butler we have been hearing so much about—the blockade runner. (Mitchell)

I must say you're disappointing me, my dear fellow. (Berger)

The Continuous and the Indefinite Forms as Stylistic Variant

There are a number of verbs whose lexical meaning makes it possible to use them either in the Indefinite or Continuous forms; they are stative verbs, i.e. they denote a passing state, among them beat (with reference to one's heart, pulse, etc.), breathe, dream, feel, live, long, shake, smile, talk, tremble and a few others. The Continuous form is more emotional and personal than the Indefinite; it gives special force and vividness to the utterance and is used to emphasize the nature of an action which the speaker feels will be repeated and continued.

E.g.: Cf. I long for you every moment. — I am longing for you every moment. Also: - How are you feeling now? - You're looking great. - He's living with you?

H. Poutsma compares this use of the Continuous form to the use of do to empha­size the intensity of an action and gives us the following two examples: - Oh, how the stars were shining! - How the diamond did twinkle and glitter.

In other cases the Continuous form may be less categorical and direct, less forceful and pressing than the Indefinite form, as in / am wanting to get married as compared with / want to get married.

Sometimes the Continuous form is felt as more polite than the Indefinite form: E.g.: Cf. How are you liking us? - How do you like us?

Stylistic Variants to Express Future Actions

Shall and will, as we know, are actually modals, and some linguists (e.g. L.S. Barkhudarov) have come to the conclusion that there is no Future Tense in English. Indeed, you will not is used colloquially to express prohibition.

E.g.: You will of course not meet him until he has spoken to me.

Shall in the second person is used when we wish to show that the person addressed is to act according to the will and desire of the speaker: You shall apologize to him! The speaker insists that the person addressed must apologize whether he wants to or not. Some authors call this usage "The Emphatic Future [98, p. 183]. G.W. Turner remarks: "The future includes an element of promise (shown in the use of will in English) but as, in many varieties of English, will be­comes a simple mark of futurity, something more expressive seems to be required We say "I am going to...", until this itself is now becoming a simple and colloquial­ly normal future."

Informal Variants of Present Perfect

To quote G.W. Turner again, 'We do not feel dispassionate about the completion of a task. "I have written my essay" would be weak in conversation, where "I've finished writing my essay" would be normal. Among the first phrases a child learns is "all gone", and he goes on to "this book's all torn" or "I've got all dirty", where "all" is perhaps more than anything else an intensifier of the participle or adjective and emphasizes the completeness of the state described".

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