A Contrastive Study of Progressive Aspect in English and Chinese

田中锋

Abstract： Aspect， which is different from tense， deals with the internal structure of an action and allows people to describe or understand how an event unfolds over time. This paper examines the similarities and differences between English and Chinese progressive aspect in terms of form， meaning and use. The main findings are that in the first place the progressive aspect in both English and Chinese expresses the same core meaning， which is to describe the incomplete or ongoing state of an event or action. Secondly， the progressive aspect in English must be realized by grammatical device with inflectional changes， whereas in Chinese， it can be realized without verbal inflections （only with aspect markers）. Thirdly， there exist differences between the English and Chinese progressive aspect in some specific usages. This contrastive study aims to deepen the understanding of the two languages， and provide practical and effective pedagogical suggestions for Chinese learners of English studying the progressive aspect.

Key words： Progressive aspect， English， Chinese， form， meaning， use

1. Introduction

English and Chinese are of two different language families： English belongs to the Indo-European language family， while Chinese to the Sino-Tibetan language family. English is between an analytic language and a synthetic language， whereas Chinese is the most typical analytic language without any inflectional morphemes. They are different in various categories， especially in expressing number， case， tense， and aspect. This paper mainly examines one grammatical structure， progressive aspect between English and Chinese at three levels： form， meaning， and use. Firstly， it gives an overview of the progressive aspect in English and Chinese respectively. Subsequently， it conducts a contrastive study based on the characteristics of the progressive aspect between English and Chinese. Lastly， after analyzing the similarities and differences of the progressive aspect， it aims to deepen the understanding of the two languages and further provide effective pedagogical suggestions for Chinese English Language Learners （ELLs）.

2. The Progressive Aspect in English

Aspect， different from tense， deals with the internal structure of an action and expresses how the speaker views the action of the verb. According to Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman （1999）， there are four aspects in English： simple， perfect， progressive and their combination， perfect progressive.

2.1 The Form of The Progressive Aspect

The progressive aspect is formed with the auxiliary be and the present participle （verb+-ing）. It combines with present， past and future three tenses to form tense-aspect expressions （Cowan， 2008）. Specifically speaking， the present progressive （sometimes called present continuous） tense is formed with a present form of be （i.e.， am， is， or are） and the present participle of the main verb， e.g.， He is reading a book now； likewise， the past progressive tense is formed with a past form of be （was or were） and a present participle， e.g.， He was studying for his exam when I saw him this afternoon； and the future progressive tense consists of will followed by be and a present participle， e.g.， The president will be meeting his staff at ten oclock tomorrow.

2.2 The Meaning of The Progressive Aspect

The core meaning of the progressive aspect is “incomplete or imperfective， where the event or state is viewed as some portion of a whole and where there is room for further development or change （Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman， 1999）”. It indicates the action in progress at different times （Quirk et al.， 1985）： the present progressive expresses ongoing action at the time of speaking （e.g.， Shes working on the report right now）； the past progressive expresses ongoing action in the past， including in relation to another action （e.g.， Karen was washing her hair when the phone rang）； and the future progressive expresses ongoing action in the （often near） future （e.g.， He will be taking a test at 8 a.m. tomorrow）.

Besides the core meaning1 of the progressive aspect， it also includes several additional or peripheral meanings （Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman， 1999； Cowan， 2008）. For the present progressive， it can express planned future events （e.g.， She is flying to Paris tomorrow）； emotional comment on habitual actions （e.g.， She is always calling me up late at night）； an informal， polite tone （e.g.， Were hoping you can solve this problem for us）； or hedge， soften a definitive opinion （e.g.， Im thinking that I should pass on that）. For the past progressive， it can create social distancing （e.g.， I was hoping you could lend me $10）.

2.3 The Use of The Progressive Aspect

Verbs can be divided into four categories based on their inherent lexical aspect （Vendler， 1967）： activity （e.g.， run， walk， swim， study）， accomplishment （e.g.， paint， make， build， write）， achievement/punctual （e.g.， recognize， realize， lose， find）， and state （e.g.， have， contain， seem， want）. In terms of the use of the progressive aspect with these verbs （Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman， 1999）， firstly it is extensively used with activity verbs， which reinforces the fact that the action has duration （e.g.， Meg is washing her car）. Secondly， it can also take accomplishment verbs to focus on progress toward a particular end that has not yet been completed （e.g.， The contractors are building the new civic center）. Thirdly， with achievement verbs， because they are punctual， the progressive gives the meaning of iteration （e.g.， He is nodding his head in agreement） or inception of an event （e.g.， Joe is realizing his mistake）. Fourthly， it has been said that the progressive is rarely used with stative verbs due to a fundamental semantic conflict between a grammatical aspect that denotes a limited duration and a lexical aspect that expresses a stable state （e.g.， *I am knowing the answer）.

However， according to Kesner Bland （1988） and Gavis （1997）， the progressive can co-occur with stative verbs （called “progressive statives”） to achieve certain effects： to intensify the emotion expressed by the verb （e.g.， Im hating this rule）； to indicate current behavior as opposed to general description （e.g.， Hes being rude）； to emphasize conscious involvement （e.g.， What we are seeing is a red dwarf star）； to show vividness （e.g.， One night in the middle of the night， Im hearing dripping）； to mitigate criticism and avoid imposition， to name a few. These usages are largely associated with spoken and informal registers （Biber， 1995） and are often employed in personal and/or expressive narratives （Chafe， 1994）.

Additionally， the use of the progressive aspect often co-occurs with certain adverbs/adverbials （Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman， 1999）. Firstly， the present progressive is usually associated with present-time adverbials such as now， right now， currently， at present （e.g.， Im working on my project right now. or Hes currently living with his parents.） to emphasize the ongoing or temporary nature of the event or action. Secondly， certain adverbs of indefinite time still or anymore often co-occur with the present progressive because both of the two adverbs have semantically incomplete connotations. For instances， a. Chris is still working on her M.A. thesis. The use with still signals a state of affairs that is somehow persisting in the present， perhaps longer than anticipated； b. Chris is not working on her M.A. thesis anymore. The use with anymore indicates non-completion， and one is led to believe that the task has been abandoned. Thirdly， usually with a future-time adverbial， the present progressive expresses planned future events （e.g.， Shes coming tomorrow）. Fourthly， usually co-occurring with frequency adverbs always or forever， the present progressive intensifies the emotion （approving or disapproving） on present habit （e.g.， Hes always delivering in a clutch situation. or Hes forever acting up at these affairs）. It is difficult to see how the core meaning applies to the uses of the progressive in the last two types， so the third and the fourth are more marked uses of the progressive： to speak about a future event or habitual actions.

3. The Progressive Aspect in Chinese1

In Chinese， there is no inflectional morphology to express tense， number， gender， or case. Hence， aspect is a special grammaticalised category in Chinese. Generally speaking， Chinese uses four aspect markers or particles to indicate different aspects： le， guo， zai， and zhe. They do not relate the situation described by the sentence to the time of utterance， but express various perspectives on the situation. In other words， they express various aspects rather than tense relations （Li & Thompson， 1981）. Among the four aspect markers， le and guo express a “perfective” aspect， whereas zai and zhe somehow characterize the situation as “imperfective”， “progressive” or “durative”.

3.1 The Form of the Progressive Aspect

In Chinese， there are two2 aspect markers that signal the progressive or durative nature of an event （Zhu 1982； Li 1990， 1993）： zai and zhe. For zai， it can only occur pre-verbally， as in （1）.

Lisi zai kan shu.

Lisi ZAI read book

Lisi is reading a book.

While for zhe， it can only occur post-verbally （like a suffix attached to a particular verb）， as in （2）.

waimian xia-zhe xue.

Outside fall-ZHE snow

It is snowing outside.

Also， zhe is usually used in the “V1+-zhe+V2” sentence patterns （e.g.， xiao-zhe shuo， smile-ZHE speak， speaking with a smile）.

In addition， zai and zhe can be used together in a single sentence （Chen， 1978）， as in （3）.

wo zai kan-zhe shu.

I ZAI read-ZHE book

I am reading a book.

3.2 The Meaning of the Progressive Aspect

The core meaning of the progressive aspect in Chinese is an action or state in continuance or in progress. However， the foci of sentences differ when combined with the two aspect markers respectively： zai and zhe.

Compare the following two sentences （4a） and （4b）：

a. ta zai chuan pi xie.

S/He ZAI put-on leather shoe

S/He is putting on his/her leather shoes.

b. ta chuan-zhe pi xie.

S/He wear-ZHE leather shoe

S/He is wearing his/her leather shoes.

Although in Chinese the verbs used in （4a） and （4b） are the same： chuan， the foci are different when connected with the two different progressive markers. The former sentence with zai emphasizes on the action （putting on） is in progress or incomplete， while the latter sentence with zhe explicates the durative state of the action （wearing）. Therefore， zai indicates activity-progressive while zhe indicates activity-durative. Smith （1991） proposed that zai has a dynamic meaning （functioning as a typical progressive）， whereas zhe has a static meaning （describing the durative state of the event）. The sentences in （5a） and （5b） also demonstrate this difference.

a. ta zai na baozhi.

S/He ZAI pick-up newspaper

S/He is picking up newspapers.

b. ta na-zhe baozhi.

S/He hold-ZHE newspaper

S/He is holding newspapers.

Obviously， when the same verb na is combined with zai， it emphasizes on the action of na （pick up）； when na is combined with –zhe， it underscores the durative state of na （hold）.

Moreover， as mentioned in 3.1， zhe is also frequently used in the “V1+-zhe+V2” sentence structures. Here zhe indicates the durative state of the action V1， functioning as background information of V2 （i.e.， main action： V2， accompanying action： V1）. See the examples （6a） and （6b）.

a. zuo-zhe jiang

sit-ZHE talk

talking while sitting

b. xiao-zhe shuo

smile-ZHE speak

speaking with a smile

In （6a）， zhe indicates the durative state of the action zuo （sit）， providing background information of jiang （talk）， i.e.， talking is the main action while sitting is the accompanying action. Likewise， in （6b）， xiao-zhe （with a smile） provides background information for shuo （speaking）.

3.3 The Use of the Progressive Aspect

According to semantic analysis of the two progressive markers zai and zhe in 3.2， although both of them share the same core meaning： “imperfective”， “ongoing”， it seems that zai has a more dynamic meaning （“progressive”） while zhe a more static meaning （“durative”）. However， it would appear that the dynamicity or stativity comes from the verb to which the aspect markers apply， rather than from the markers themselves. The usage or the choice of the progressive markers in a sentence depends on the meaning of the verb （Li & Thompson， 1981）. Therefore， this section will correlate the occurrence of the progressive markers with various semantic types1 of verbs.

Firstly， zai can only co-occur with activity verbs to indicate the activity is in progress （which in turn justify that zai seems more dynamic）. Here activity verbs are defined as the verbs that “generally signal the active participation and involvement of an animate subject in an event” （Li & Thompson， 1981）. Specially speaking， they not only include the obvious action verbs such as pao （run）， da （hit）， but also other verbs representing activities that needs peoples active participation， such as xinshang （appreciate）， yanjiu （research）， and xuexi （learn）. However， such verbs as shoudao （receive）， zhidao （know）， and tingshuo （hear about some information） are not included because they do not signal the active participation of an animate subject. See the examples （7a） and （7b）.

a. wo zai lianxi paobu.

I ZAI practice run

I am practicing running.

b. *wo zai shoudao yi feng xin.

I ZAI receive one CL2 letter

In （7a）， lianxi （practice） is an activity verb since it needs a persons active participation， involvement and effort. Thus the progressive marker zai can take it to signal the ongoing action. However， in （7b）， shoudao （receive） is not an activity verb because the animate subject （i.e.， “I”） is simply the passive receiver of a letter （no active participation involved in this event）. As a result， zai cannot take it to form progressive aspect. Example （7b） is an ungrammatical sentence.

Secondly， verbs of posture， which includes zuo （sit）， zhan （stand）， dun （squat）， xie （rest）， gui （kneel）， tang （lie）， ting （stop）， and shui （sleep）， may co-occur with the progressive marker –zhe to signal the ongoing posture or physical disposition of an entity at a location （i.e.， the durative state of the posture）， as in the examples （8a） and （8b）.

a. ta zai chuang shang tang-zhe.

S/He at bed on lie-ZHE

S/He is lying on the bed.

b. wo zai jiaoshi li zuo-zhe.

I at classroom in sit-ZHE

I am sitting in the classroom.

Thirdly， if an activity verb can denote a state associated with its activity meaning， it can take –zhe as the progressive marker to emphasize on the durative state of the activity. As shown in （4a） and （4b）， the same activity verb chuan can mean either “put on” or “be wearing”. With the former meaning， the verb， which denotes an action， takes zai as the progressive marker， but with the latter meaning， the verb， which signals a state associated with the action “put on”， takes –zhe to focus on the durative state.

It is important to notice that not all activity verbs can be used to denote a state. For instance， the action verb tiao （jump） can only take zai as the progressive marker. Furthermore， most of the non-activity verbs， such as shoudao （receive）， zhidao （know）， cannot take any progressive aspect marker.

Fourthly， in complex sentences， -zhe can be used in the first of two clauses to signal that one event provides a durative background for another event， as in （9） （which is the same usage as in the sentence pattern “V1+-zhe+V2”： see 6a and 6b）.

xiao gou yao-zhe weiba pao le

small dog wag-ZHE tail run LE3

The small dog ran away wagging its tail.

In （9）， yao-zhe weiba （the wagging of the tail）， which is used in the first clause， is presented as the ongoing background to the running away.

In this construction， -zhe can be used with many different types of verbs， even with some activity verbs that cannot denote a state， such as ting （listen）. However， verbs that describe instantaneous， non-repeatable activities cannot occur as the durative-background verb， such as si （die）.

In addition to the interaction with different semantic types of verbs， the aspect marker zai always co-occur with the adverb zheng （at the moment） to describe the activity is in progress. The adverb zheng functions as an intensifier to underline that right now this person is occupied with something， as in （10）.

wo zheng zai chi wufan.

I now ZAI eat lunch

Im eating lunch now.

On the surface， the sentence signals the ongoing action of “I” （eat lunch）. However， with the addition of the adverb zheng， the underlying meaning is intensified： do not disturb or bother me because I am eating lunch right now.

Finally， regarding to the register， the use of -zhe is much more common in written than in spoken language， whereas zai is more common in spoken than in written language （Klein， Li & Hendriks， 2000）.

4. Contrastive analysis

After analyzing the characteristics of English and Chinese progressive aspect， this section will summarize the differences between them in terms of form， meaning and use.

4.1 Form differences between English and Chinese

The progressive aspect in English must be realized in the form of be + -ing. It is prescriptive and obligatory. And when combined with the three tenses， it needs inflectional changes on the auxiliary be to form present progressive （am/is/are + -ing）， past progressive （was/were + -ing）， and future progressive （will be + -ing）. However， Chinese does not have any inflectional morphology. Instead， it uses the two aspect markers： zai （pre-verbally） and –zhe （post-verbally） to signal the progressive aspect， and employs time adverbials or context information to indicate the tense changes to further signal the present， past， or future progressive， as in （11）.

zuotian zhege shihou wo zai shuijiao

yesterday this time I ZAI sleep

I was sleeping at this time yesterday.

In （11）， it uses the aspect marker zai to signal the progressive aspect， and it adopts the time adverbial zuotian zhege shihou （at this time yesterday） to indicate an action in progress happened in the past （i.e.， past progressive）.

4.2 Meaning/Use differences between English and Chinese

It can be seen that the core meanings expressed by English and Chinese progressive aspects are similar： “incomplete”， “imperfective”， or “durative”， which reflects the concept of language universality. Nevertheless， it should not be neglected that the marginal meanings/usages between English and Chinese progressive aspects are different.

Firstly， Chinese progressive aspect cannot co-occur with achievement （punctual） verbs that describe instantaneous， non-repeatable activities， such as si （die）， and dao （arrive）. The aspect markers cannot focus on the process leading up to an endpoint （Smith， 1991）. See the examples （12a） and （12b）.

a. *ta zai si.

S/He ZAI die

b. *ta si-zhe.

S/He die-ZHE

Apparently， neither of the sentences in （12） is grammatical. Likewise， it is not allowable to say *wo zai dao （I ZAI arrive） or *wo dao-zhe （I arrive-ZHE）.

However， in English， it is acceptable and grammatical to say Hes dying or Im arriving by using the present progressive. And the meaning is to express future planned events.

Secondly， the progressive aspect in English can also be used to express modality： intensify the emotional comment on habitual actions （usually co-occurring with frequency adverbs always or forever）； hedge， soften a definitive opinion or create social distancing， while Chinese cannot use the progressive aspect markers -zhe or zai to achieve these effects.

Generally speaking， the difference between Chinese progressive and English progressive appears to be the different degrees of grammaticalization. For instance， Chinese zai still has the status of a lexical item （locative preposition）， and in some cases it is still difficult to distinguish whether it is used as a progressive aspect marker or a locative preposition （Li， 1993）. On the other hand， English progressive can refer not only to a process leading up to the endpoint but also to habituals and futurates， which indicates a higher level of grammaticalization.

Additionally， the progressive marker -zhe can be used in complex sentences or the sentence pattern “V1+-zhe+V2” to provide ongoing background for another event or action. However， English uses present perfect or simple past tense to signal background information in narratives.

5. Conclusion

Based on the above contrastive analysis， although the core meanings expressed by English and Chinese progressive aspect are almost the same， the usages do not correspond with each other， especially for the marginal usages respectively. Moreover， due to English as an inflectional language， the progressive aspect must be realized with morphological changes on the auxiliary be and main verbs， whereas in Chinese， it is realized with the aspect markers： zai and –zhe instead of inflectional changes on verbs.

Therefore， for Chinese ELLs， the anticipated difficulty or error might lies in the mastering of form and peripheral meanings/uses of the progressive aspect in English. For instance， the Chinese learners of English might omit the auxiliary be or use the unconjugated form of be when forming the progressive aspect. Also， the long-term challenge of learning the progressive aspect centers on “the boundary problem”： how to distinguish the different uses between the simple present versus the present progressive， the simple past versus the past progressive， and ways of expressing future actions/events （simple future， future progressive， and present progressive， etc.）.

To address these problems， students can first be taught to associate the core meanings with the basic forms of the progressive aspect. Then， they can be helped to understand the more peripheral uses that are not easily explicable from a core-meaning perspective （e.g.， expressing future events and habitual actions）. Furthermore， it is very important that as new tense-aspect combinations are introduced， they are contrasted with what has been presented previously. Meanwhile， it is of benefit to provide communicative， interactive and contextualized activities that mirror real-life scenarios for learners of English to practice and consolidate their grammatical knowledge with a specific focus on form， meaning or use. For example， a good activity for mixing the present progressive with activity verbs and simple present with stative verbs is a report of the current local or international weather （Its raining in London； Its snowing in Moscow； The temperature is 29 degrees in Singapore； etc.） Besides， role-play can also be useful for practicing sentences with the past progressive and simple past. The student who plays an investigator asks another student a series of questions about what he or she was doing at the time of a crime （accident， etc.）： “What were you doing when you heard the alarm go off？”， “What was your wife doing？”， “Where were you standing exactly when he was talking to Mrs. Jones？” （Cowen， 2008）.

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