The variety of the verbs and the progressive form

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5.1. The variety of the verbs and the progressive form
To understand the progressive form, we need the variety of the verbs. It is explained here shortly.
The English verbs can be classified into the two roughly, the action verb and the the stative verb. See the following diagram.

(1)

Action verb --- arrive, bake, eat

Stative verb --- know, see, think

In the above, the action verb and the stative verb are classified and the three verbs are put. In the literal sense of them, the action verb means the act, the stative verb means the state.

Now, the progressive form is used with the action verbs, because the stative verbs themselves means some duration. The progressive form means paying attention to the act and that extends to the duration, thus, the stative verbs do not need it.

The action verbs do not have the duration, that is, it has the meaning as the point. The progressive form extends its point to the line.

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