I came across this sentence in a grammar practice book:
More and more people are owning bicycles.
I know that the verb "to own" cannot be used in the continuous aspect so shouldn't we say:
More and more people own bicycles.
own vs. owning
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
Be suspicious of any grammar book that presents you with a list of verbs that are "not used in the continuous aspect". Native English speakers do not carry a list in their heads of "verbs not to be put into the continuous aspect".
As a guideline it's probably fair to say that it's unusual, though not impossible, to see certain verbs in the continuous aspect. However, this has more to do with semantics - a verb may have a meaning which wouldn't normally be seen as compatible with the meaning of the Continuous apect.
So, you might like to think about the meaning of own to see why it might be unusual to see it in the continuous apect, and reflect on why a speaker might choose to use it in this case.
As a guideline it's probably fair to say that it's unusual, though not impossible, to see certain verbs in the continuous aspect. However, this has more to do with semantics - a verb may have a meaning which wouldn't normally be seen as compatible with the meaning of the Continuous apect.
So, you might like to think about the meaning of own to see why it might be unusual to see it in the continuous apect, and reflect on why a speaker might choose to use it in this case.
If by "Is this correct?" you simply mean "Is this a possible sentence in English?" then the simple answer is yes. The problem at advanced levels is that often the answer to the question "Is this correct?" is "It depends on what you're trying to say."
This sounds like a job for Contextman. The sentence comes from an answer key, so you need to let us know what the original question was.
This sounds like a job for Contextman. The sentence comes from an answer key, so you need to let us know what the original question was.
-
Stephen Jones
- Posts: 1421
- Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 5:25 pm
The sentence is correct. Let's see why.
What the continuous aspect does is draw attention to the time span - that is to say it says the time span within which the action is taking place has a beginning and will have an end.
In itself that does not seem to serve any useful communcative purpose but what it does allow is for the speaker to communciate a lot of information through the implications.
One implication can be that the action is transitory, and will be replaced by a more permanent state.
I'm working as a toilet cleaner at the moment.[but I normally work as a nuclear physicist and only do the other between research grants]
Spurs are playing really well.[but will revert to their standard mediocrity by the end of the season.]
I'm taking the kids to the park in the evenings.[but will go bakc to sticking them in front of the TV with a plate of Prozac when it starts to get cold again].
From these examples it immediately becomes clear why it is unusual to see 'own' used in the continuous aspect for in well-ordered societies one's ownership is considered timeless. One is not worried about having one's property confiscated the next week.
So when we look at the phrase
More and more people are owning bicycles
we can see that what is subject to change is not the individual's ownership of his particular bicycle but the total number of people who own bicycles.
How you teach this is up to you. As it's an advanced book, I would suggest you can certainly point out to your students that the continous implies change and that we use it here because something is changing, whereas normally ownership describes an unchangeable state and so is rarely used with the continous aspect.
What the continuous aspect does is draw attention to the time span - that is to say it says the time span within which the action is taking place has a beginning and will have an end.
In itself that does not seem to serve any useful communcative purpose but what it does allow is for the speaker to communciate a lot of information through the implications.
One implication can be that the action is transitory, and will be replaced by a more permanent state.
I'm working as a toilet cleaner at the moment.[but I normally work as a nuclear physicist and only do the other between research grants]
Spurs are playing really well.[but will revert to their standard mediocrity by the end of the season.]
I'm taking the kids to the park in the evenings.[but will go bakc to sticking them in front of the TV with a plate of Prozac when it starts to get cold again].
From these examples it immediately becomes clear why it is unusual to see 'own' used in the continuous aspect for in well-ordered societies one's ownership is considered timeless. One is not worried about having one's property confiscated the next week.
So when we look at the phrase
More and more people are owning bicycles
we can see that what is subject to change is not the individual's ownership of his particular bicycle but the total number of people who own bicycles.
How you teach this is up to you. As it's an advanced book, I would suggest you can certainly point out to your students that the continous implies change and that we use it here because something is changing, whereas normally ownership describes an unchangeable state and so is rarely used with the continous aspect.
The reason why I have to see things in 'black and white terms' is because I'm preparing my students for the Police Academy entrance exams. One of these exams is a 45 multiple choice English grammar test. In this test they don't let you motivate your choice. For them the answer is either right or wrong. If you are interested I can post one of these tests...
Thank you all for your explanations. You've been a great help.
Thank you all for your explanations. You've been a great help.