When to open the internal time window?
Abstract
Abstract This chapter focuses on the contextual functions of the progressive construction in Finnish in the framework of Cognitive Grammar. The construction, consisting of the verb olla ‘to be’ and MA-infinitive in the inessive case form, is not obligatory. The progressive construction is first put in the framework of other stative constructions. The data comes mainly from dialectal interviews. The analysis reveals several functions related to the structure of narration, and to the argumentative structure of discourse. Consequently, backgrounding and foregrounding appear to be in a continuum-like relationship in motivating the use of the progressive.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Syntax
Semantics
Linguistic Variation
Categorization
perception
and language
Language
Metaphor
and Cognition
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Human cognitive processing
- Pages
- 400–420
- Publication date
- 27 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter