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Originally Posted by tdol It is one way of looking at them, but if you transform the a bit, then it suggests that the structure underlying is not identical, unless you susbtitue a completely different word for 'going'. You can say 'my determination was to argue', but no similar sentence can be generated with the first examples. Also, the time of the future is important as for the very near future, then would they be adjectives or verbs? (Putting on my coat- I'm going to meet my father at the station. Is this an intention pure and simple?)
BTW- 'hoping' and 'intending' can be grammatically correct if circumstances demand the use of the progressive. Most verbs that don't usually take this form can under certain circumstances. IMO, there's nothing wrong with saying 'I am hoping to get the cheque in this morning's post', where the progressive adds to the expectation and urgency.  |
Thanks TDOL. Your points are noted, but I still think that there is something
uncommon or unusual here. If we ask which is the
MAIN verb in the following sentences:
1a He
was hoping to eat. (Main verb hope)
1b. He
was eating. (Main verb eat)
1c. He was
going to eat. (
Main verb?)
2. He
ought to eat. (Main verb eat)
3. He
should eat. (Main verb eat)
4. He
must eat. (Main verb eat)
5. He
will eat. (Main verb eat)
6. He was about to eat. (No auxiliary used, simple past of "be")
I think that (1c) is not in the nature of (1a) and (1b), but is similar to (2) thru (5). "Going"
acts like the modal auxiliaries, and conveys the same genre of meaning: intention, obligation, compulsion, possibility, etc.
(A) If we take the main verb in (1c) as "go", it means the
substantive action is the movement "go", which is not the case. In (1a) the substantive
action is "hope"; in (1b) the substantve
action is "eat", and so is the case with (1c) and (2) thru (5).
(B) The meaning of "going" here is definitely not as in "I am going home".
(C) We can't stop at "He is going......", just as we can't stop at "He ought/should/must/will......."
(D) The usage of "going" as meaning "intending" is so
ubiquitous that I believe it is a case of its serving or acting as an auxiliary.
Is this worthy of serious thought and argument?
