present progressive tense

[simon1234]

Hi there,
I don't know why the present progressive tense was used in the following conversation.

Josh: Hey, I hear you and Stephanie are really getting serious.

Michael: Yeah, I think she'll be impressed with my new exercise program.
Josh: What? What are you talking about? What exercise program? What did you tell her?
Michael: Well, you know, I enjoy staying in shape. [Right] First, I usually get up every morning at 5:30 a.m.


tkssimon

 

[TheParser]

Hi there,
I don't know why the present progressive tense was used in the following conversation.

Josh: Hey, I hear you and Stephanie are really getting serious.

Michael: Yeah, I think she'll be impressed with my new exercise program.
Josh: What? What are you talking about? What exercise program? What did you tell her?
Michael: Well, you know, I enjoy staying in shape. [Right] First, I usually get up every morning at 5:30 a.m.


tkssimon

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Simon.

(1) Am I correct in thinking that your question is about the use of

the present progressive in "I hear (that) you and Stephanie ARE really

GETTING serious"?


(a) Do you feel that another tense should be used? Could you tell us

which one you prefer?

(2) I believe that sentences of that kind are very common:

You are really getting on my nerves.

I hear that Tom is really doing well at his new job.

They say that the oil spill is really getting worse.

(3) Mr. Michael Swan in his popular Practical English Usage says

the present progressive is fine when we want to emphasize the idea of

change or development. His examples:

More and more people ARE PREFERRING to take early retirement.
The water IS TASTING better today.

(a) Maybe (only my opinion) your sentence means something like:

I hear that you and Stephanie are becoming more and more serious

with each passing day.

***** Thank you *****

 

[mmasny]

I can be wrong, but I think this is a good example of the progressive aspect as opposed to the continuous. As TheParser said it denotes progression, not continuity, so the simple aspect may be mistaken for it if the speaker makes this distinction:
continuity - continuous
anything else - simple

I am not sure about it though. The above doesn't actually convince me. But I never really aunderstood these things.

 

[Tdol]

Do you see the progressive and the continuous as distinct forms?

 

[mmasny]

I'm not sure. But I read somewhere they are or could be. Probably wikipedia.