The Functional Extension of English Progressive Aspect Towards Subjectification

Subjectification not only manifests the regularity of semantic changes but also is one of the major directions towards which a grammatical marker undergoes further grammaticalization.Through analyzing the functional extension of English progressive aspect,the present analysis addresses the regularity of further grammaticalization.We argue that the three major functional extensions of English progressive aspect,namely future marker,tactfulness,and temporariness,all are related to subjectification.