A progress-based analysis of the progressive in English

Much of the literatureon the English progressive has focused on the relationship between an event in progressand its potential future culmination, often overlooking its broader range of uses—event-in-progress, characterizing, and futurate readings. Event-based analyses havestruggled to establish a unified core meaning that accounts for these interpretations. In response, this study advances a process-based approach, positing that the progressiveaspect systematically emphasizes a process unfolding within a specific reference time. By foregrounding the ongoing process as the fundamental element, this account providesa cohesive explanation for the progressive across its diverse readings. Additionally, itaddresses or resolves longstanding challenges in the semantics of the progressive—suchas the Imperfective Paradox, Existential Generalization, (Un)Interruption, andContextual Influence—in a more principled manner.