Re: Are "semi-creoles" widespread?

Nathan Sanders <nsanders@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Perhaps once you consult such a grammar textbook (not that anyone
expects you to actually do so), you'll discover that progressive and
continuous are aspects, not tenses.

It used to be called "continuous form <of such and such tense>"
when I learned English in school. I don't think I ever heard
"aspect" as a grammatical term before encountering Russian.

Here's your progressive/continuous "want", in perfectly normal English:

We've all been wanting you to do actual research in
linguistics, but you continue to disappoint us.

Thanks. "They'll be wanting..." also comes to mind, now that I
think about it.

"am wanting" gets over half a million Google hits
"is wanting" gets almost a million
"are wanting" gets more than a million and a half
"was/were wanting" together are just over a million
"been wanting" is at two million
"be wanting" is almost at a million

So we have a grand total of around *seven million* hits for the
progressive of "wanting",

Er, we all understand that the numbers Google shows are "estimates"
and are frequently overestimated by an order of magnitude or
two--right? Also, some of these hits are bound to refer to the
adjective "wanting".

But, yes, I'm stunned at what "I am wanting" turns up. I would
have considered usages such as "I am wanting to register a domain
name" to be ungrammatical. Normally my intuitions about English
grammar aren't that far off. What's going on here?

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: WINDOWS XP HOME EDITION
    ... > MY OUTLOOK EXPRESS I HAVE THE OUTLOOK EXPRESS 6,I WAS ... > WANTING TO KNOW IF YOU CAN PUT SOME SOFTWARE IN IT ON MY ... Is English a second or third language for you? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: China Still Presses Crusade Against Falun Gong.
    ... caused by your superiors' not wanting you to reveal yourself on the ... Internet, perhaps? ... English not being your first language. ...
    (soc.culture.china)
  • Re: Are "semi-creoles" widespread?
    ... continuous are aspects, not tenses. ... "aspect" as a grammatical term before encountering Russian. ... "are wanting" gets more than a million and a half ... Normally my intuitions about English ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: What is "found wanting" here?
    ... you are always reliable providing so useful tips on English ... Social phobia --- People with social phobia fear social situations ... What I couldn't get is "found wanting" here. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Are "semi-creoles" widespread?
    ... The way English grammar is traditionally taught is filled with errors, ... but seven million raw hits is a significant number ("Saddam ... wanting" and "you are wanting". ...
    (sci.lang)