The正在constructionandV+着.doc

The 正在construction and V+着y: progressive aspect; duration and progression How do I form a sentence that implies progressive action? The following is the sentence pattern for indicating a progressive action such as I am reading a book. S. 正 在 V. 着 O. 呢. w? 我 zhèng 正 zài 在 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书 ne 呢。 I JUST NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF READ ZHE BOOK NE Is there any difference in meaning between the use of正, 在, 着 and呢? The above sentence can be expressed in the eleven ways following, without changing its meaning. 1. S. 正 在 V. O. 呢. w? 我 zhèng 正 zài 在 kàn 看 shū 书 ne 呢。 I JUST NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF READ BOOK NE. 2. S. 正 V. 着 O. 呢. w? 我 zhèng 正 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书 ne 呢。 I JUST NOW READ ZHE BOOK NE 3. S. 在 V. 着 O. 呢. w? 我 zài 在 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书 ne 呢。 I IN THE MIDDLE OF READ ZHE BOOK NE. 4. S. V. 着 O. 呢. w? 我 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书 ne 呢。 I READ ZHE BOOK NE 5 S. 正 V. O. 呢. w? 我 zhèng 正 kàn 看 shū 书 ne 呢。 I JUST NOW READ BOOK NE. 8. S. 正 在 V. 着 O. w? 我 zhèng 正 zài 在 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书。 I JUST NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF READ ZHE BOOK. 9. S. 正 V. 着 O. w? 我 zhèng 正 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书。 I JUST NOW READ ZHE BOOK. 10. S. 在 V. O. w? 我 zài 在 kàn 看 shū 书 ne 呢。 I IN THE MIDDLE OF READ BOOK. 11. S. 在 V. 着 O. w? 我 zài 在 kàn 看 zhe 着 shū 书。 I IN THE MIDDLE OF READ ZHE BOOK. Do any of the functional elements 正, 在, 着 and呢imply longer or shorter duration? Duration has little to do with any difference in indication of time by正, 在, 着or呢, but is determined by the action itself. For instance, studying for a university degree takes longer than watching a film. The functional elements of the ‘ongoing’ aspect words 正 zhèng, 在 zài, 着zhe and 呢ne can apply to both long and short duration. However, 着 zhe is often omitted when describing a longer duration, as indicated in the following examples. S. 正 在 V. 着 O. 呢. w? 我 zhèng 正 zài 在 kàn 看 zhe 着 diànyǐng 电影 ne 呢。 HE　 JUST NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF WATCH ZHE FILM NE. He is watching a fil