Does anybody know why English has progressive tenses when the other Germanic languages don't. And also where it came from?
Origins of the progressive tense in English
English
[edit] History
One hypothesis regarding the origin of the development of the English progressive aspect was the Old English construction that used a form of beon/wesan (to be/to become) with a present participle (-ende). Although there is some debate among scholars, it is generally thought that such a construction in Old English was not analogous to progressive aspect signaled in present-day-English (a more modern development), but rather carried the meaning of a simple stative verb, where the past participle functioned as an adjective, and was predominantly used for translating the corresponding construction in Latin texts (Brinton, 1988, p. 109).
The likely source of the English's current progressive aspect is the Celtic languages that were spoken in Britain during much of English's history, all of which formed it similarly; this would explain why English is the only Germanic language with this feature. [1]
[edit] History
One hypothesis regarding the origin of the development of the English progressive aspect was the Old English construction that used a form of beon/wesan (to be/to become) with a present participle (-ende). Although there is some debate among scholars, it is generally thought that such a construction in Old English was not analogous to progressive aspect signaled in present-day-English (a more modern development), but rather carried the meaning of a simple stative verb, where the past participle functioned as an adjective, and was predominantly used for translating the corresponding construction in Latin texts (Brinton, 1988, p. 109).
The likely source of the English's current progressive aspect is the Celtic languages that were spoken in Britain during much of English's history, all of which formed it similarly; this would explain why English is the only Germanic language with this feature. [1]
My understanding is that it originated from:
a form of “be” + a preposition + a gerund
So an expression that at one time would have been:
“The maid is at (or in) milking”
became over time:
“The maid is a-milking” (still used poetically and occasionally in Appalachian English)
and ended up in Modern English as:
“The maid is milking”
This would explain why it has the form of the gerund.
a form of “be” + a preposition + a gerund
So an expression that at one time would have been:
“The maid is at (or in) milking”
became over time:
“The maid is a-milking” (still used poetically and occasionally in Appalachian English)
and ended up in Modern English as:
“The maid is milking”
This would explain why it has the form of the gerund.
billgregg : « My understanding is that it originated from: a form of “be” + a preposition + a gerund ».
Ou peut-être encore (auxiliaire être) + (préposition) + (nom verbal) ?
Exemple : « Wære þu to-dæg on hutunge ? » ~ {As-tu été à la chasse aujourd'hui ?}.
<on hutunge> —> <on hunting> —> <a-hunting> —> <hunting>.
Comme on trouvait aussi (auxiliaire être) + (préposition) + (participe présent), comme dans : « se ðe wið hine sprecende wæs » ~ {qui parlait avec lui}, on peut imaginer que les formes en <ing>/<ung> & <ande>/<ende>/<inde> ont fusionné pour aboutir à <ing>.
Ou peut-être encore (auxiliaire être) + (préposition) + (nom verbal) ?
Exemple : « Wære þu to-dæg on hutunge ? » ~ {As-tu été à la chasse aujourd'hui ?}.
<on hutunge> —> <on hunting> —> <a-hunting> —> <hunting>.
Comme on trouvait aussi (auxiliaire être) + (préposition) + (participe présent), comme dans : « se ðe wið hine sprecende wæs » ~ {qui parlait avec lui}, on peut imaginer que les formes en <ing>/<ung> & <ande>/<ende>/<inde> ont fusionné pour aboutir à <ing>.
I'd like to know more about the derivation of the progressive tenses from Celtic, but it seems unlikely since English took remarkably little from the Celtic languages, apart from place names.