ABSTRACT
Summary. Why has the McDonald’s slogan I’m lovin’ it! attracted the attention of editors and grammar buffs? This chapter considers what linguists call the ‘progressive’ (and sometimes ‘continuous’) aspect, which in English is the use of be + ing form of the verb. What is the progressive used for and what is the controversy around its use with verbs like love? The mystery surrounding the progressive in English has to do with the fact that we find the progressive used with verbs which current theories of grammar predict it should not be used with. And when it does seem to occur with such verbs, it becomes difficult to explain why it turns up with them in the first place.
