Job Discussion Forums

[sarina]

I am currently having a (heated) debate with an American colleague over terminology. We both are accustomed to using the term "continuous" as in "past continuous"- but I also accept that many people are equally as comfortable using the term "progressive" - my own professors at uni. preferred this term. He however, feels that "progressive" is a "newly invented term" - (I'm not so sure of this - I think Europeans tend to use this term), and we should just stick to "continuous" - I passionately believe in regional diversity and feel that as long as the tense/aspect is taught correctly I will use any term the students are familiar or comfortable with. Can anyone offer info. about what they are more familiar with/ how long this terms have been in usage?(particularly "progressive")

[Capergirl]

Continuous and progressive are just two words that mean the exact same thing. Some grammar books use continuous, some use progressive. I teach my students both terms so that they will not get confused down the road.

[denise]

I, too, use them interchangeably, and I was not aware that there was a debate about which was correct. As long as you're consistent--i.e., if you say "continuous" one day, don't go and say "progressive" the next day--the debate about which term is older/more correct/more accepted shouldn't really affect the students.

d

[Bindair Dundat]

[ls650]

[Ludwig]

In my experience both are used with equal frequency. What is important to remember at all times, however, is that the 'progressive'/'continuous' part is not a tense, but rather signals aspect.

[ls650]

[Bindair Dundat]

[Ludwig]

Sorry, 'Is650', I thought this usual pre-TEFL certificate-type knowledge. It is quite simple really (although 'Bindair Dundat' is quite obviously far off the mark); aspect refers to how an event is spread out (or not, as the case may be) over the time captured by the tense in which the aspect appears.

Thus to 'swat a fly' is instantaneous aspect, which can be expressed within simple past tense (I swatted a fly), or any other (such as 'future' 'will' (though of course I would argue that English has no future tenses), 'I will swat a fly').

Take a look at, say, the following:

http://www.helsinki.fi/~mpalande/meaning_of_tense_and_aspect.html

or:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect

(The latter lists most if not all types of aspect commonly recognised by linguists working within language typology.)

[biffinbridge]

Who cares?

[waxwing]

I care. If I hadn't had 'aspect' explained to me, I would be in big trouble trying to explain the system of English tenses to Russian teenagers. I mean, haven't you ever drawn that table with tense down the side and aspect along the top? So much easier to understand like that.

[Stephen Jones]

The article as it stands in the wikipedia had some awful parts so I've deleted them, and substituted my own text. Don't know how long mine will stay up though.

The bit from other contributors I like most is:

[Boy Wonder]

I think you should all go and get 'linguissed' down your local boozer.
I'm with biffinbridge.....who does care....Millwall are on the telly in 2 hours....come on the lions...do those red scum...good and proper!

[stillnosheep]

Ludwig should really refrain from insulting people. (Full stop). He only ends up getting a spanking every time.

Superb post bindair, both on aspects and on the subtleties of language and on using the best tools for the job, (troth on aspects and on ....? (tee hee)).

Personally I just love language, love playing with it, love the subtleties of English especiallly; maybe so many of them because it's just such a mongrel language; the mangled *beep* mutant offspring of so many many cunning linguists.

Of course what I'm best at is the mangling part ..,

[ls650]