Monday, February 11, 2019

stative verbs - "is being on something"


The second sentence causes me problems. I have seen it somewhere. For me it looks like the verb to be is used twice (is / being). Is it grammatically correct? If yes, what does the second usage give to the meaning?



1) The toaster is on the stand.


2) The toaster is being on the stand.




Answer



Verbs like be, know, have, love, believe, want and many others which express a state are not in their ordinary senses cast in the progressive. Some may be cast in the progressive with different meanings ...



John is being a jerk = John is behaving like a jerk, not John is a jerk.

Anne is having a baby = Anne is giving birth, not Anne possesses a baby.
I'm loving it! = I am enjoying it immensely! not I love it!



But a toaster is incapable of behaviour, so your second sentence is ungrammatical.


Grammatically, a state is one type of aspect, which you may read about here.


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