Progressive tenses - formed from the verb 'be' and the suffix 'ing' - are used for ongoing situations, for example, 'I'm writing this article for you to read'. But its use has been increasing rapidly. Bas Aarts says that this might have to do with advertising. A fast-food chain uses the expression 'I'm loving it' in English-speaking countries. But the verb 'love' expresses a state of being – as opposed to doing – and is usually used in the simple form, for example, 'I love it'. These days, people are using stative verbs in the progressive more and more.

Before you despair and throw your English book in the bin, be assured that some words take a very long time to change. According to Professor Mark Pagel at Reading University in the UK, pronouns like 'I', 'you' and 'we' evolve slowly – a thousand years ago we would be using similar or sometimes identical sounds. Nouns and adjectives, on the other hand, get replaced rapidly – and in 500 years or so we'll probably be using different words to the ones we have now. But let's leave the problem for the future generations.

词汇表 grammar 语法

vocabulary 词汇

urban slang 现代俚语

code 代码，语言，代号

cool 酷的，时尚的

term 表达，术语

old-fashioned 过时的，老派的

modal verb 情态动词

on the way out 即将过时，即将被淘汰

linguistics 语言学

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