The present dynamic to refer to simultaneous processes

In about 11% of its uses the Present Dynamic refers to a process simultaneous with some other action or state denoted by a verb in the Present Static or, rarely, the Present Dynamic tense. Most frequently, simultaneous processes are expressed in complex sentences with a when-while-, or as-clause. The tense is, however, also common in other syn­tactic structures, for example:

1. "You don't really know what you're crying for" (E. Delafield); 2. "I expect they're wondering how we're getting on up here"(S. Gibbons); 3."I'm unstrung Mr. Annixter, and I'm running for my life" (F. Norris); 4."You're not thinking what you're saying" (Th. Dreiser); 5."Remember only that I'm thinking and striving for you all the time" (A. Cronin); 6. "Now that his son is recovering he is also recovering" (A. Cronin).

In Sentences with an As-, When-, or While-clause. In sentences with an as-, when-, or while-clause a verb in the Present Dynamic usu­ally denotes a habitual process. Processes actual only at the moment of speaking are, however, common in stage directions (examples a). In dialogue they are extremely rare (the sources analysed contain only two examples — b):

(a) 1. Foreson is going Left as Vane mounts the stage (J. Galsworthy);

2. As J entree is hammering at the door, it suddenly opens (O'Casey);

3. He is crossing to the outer door when she intercepts him (B. Shaw);

4. She is going when he puts out his hand (B. Shaw); 5. While he is speak­ing, Herbert appears from the wings Right (J. Galsworthy);

(b) But while I am tracing the progress of the wonderful Art-revo- lution of these modern times, I am forgetting the calm and corrupt days of old (Ch. Dickens); "All this time, while you are eloquent, my tea is getting cold" (Ch. Dickens).

Relative frequency of the Present Dynamic in sentences with an as-, when-, or while-clause:

Sentences with a when-clause .... 93.0% Sentences with a while-clause .... 5.3% Sentences with an as-clause ……………………………..1.7%

The Present Dynamic in sentences with a when-clause is used in the following patterns (Table XI):

One will notice that Patterns 6 and 10 in which the processes in both clauses are denoted by verbs in the Present Dynamic are relatively rare (5% and 2%, respectively).

Examples of Pattern l __

( ~~ v when): 1. The tenses are employed when the speaker is being most objective (B. Charleston); 2. "You know how a strubborn horse breathes when they're choking him round the neck with a rope?" (J. Reed); 3. She knows I often do that when I'm sit­ting up for you" (A. Cronin); 4. "My mind is free when I'm washing a car or tinkering with a carburettor" (W. S. Maugham).

Examples of Pattern 2 (~~ ^ when); l."He is very clever, he invents gadgets for planes that no one will have anything to do with, and when he isn't doing that he drinks" (W. S. Maugham); 2. "She gives lessons too. Ah, sometimes when I'm dusting in her room I think her fingers will drop off. She plays all day long" (K. Mansfield); 3. When the waiter is not smearing over the table or flicking over a dead fly or two, he stands with one hand on the back of the chair, waiting (K. Mansfield).

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Table XI

Nos	Pattern	Example	%
1	__ ~~ v when	He sings when he is working	35
2	~~ ^ when	When he is working he sings	17
3	__ ~~ ^ when	When he sings he is working	14
4	~’~ v when	She arrives when he is working	8
5	~~ v when	He is working when he sings	7
6	~~ ^ when	When he is working he is singing	5
7	~~ ^ when	When he is working she arrives	4
8	~.~ v when	He is working when she arrives	4
9	~’~ ^ when	When she arrives he is working	4
10	~~ v when	He is singing when he is working	о

Examles of Pattern 3 __

( ~~ ^ when): 1." I sometimes wonder how you behave when you're alone. When I'm there you're acting" (W. S. Mau­gham); 2. When we speak of "thunder growling behing the hills", we are implying that thunder is an animal and can growl (J. Warriner);

3. "When people say love can endure after passion is dead they're talking of something else, affection, kindliness, community in taste and in- terest, and habit" (W. S. Maugham).

Examples of Patterns 4 and 5 (~’~ v when), (~~ v when) : 1. The seals are often attacked when they are lying out on the land (H. Mckay); 2. "They usually do that when they are taking a prisoner off" (E. Wal­lace); 3. "They think I'm joking when I say I like beer" (J. Braine);

4. Of what are we really thinking when we use the Perfect Tense? (B. Mc-Kerow).

Examples of Patterns 6 (~~ ^ when) and 7 (~~ ^ when): 1. " When he's sleeping he's always calling me pet names" (F. Meier); 2. "When they're not cutting up human lamb, they're discussing the high cost of living" (E. Wallace); 3. When I am having supper with a duke I become as far as it is in my power a duke myself (A. Munthe).

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Examples of Patterns 8 (~.~ v when), 9 (~’~ ^ when), and 10 (~~ v when); l."That is what is happening when she screams" (E. Hemingway); 2. When we say "alive", we are in a manner preserving the Anglo-Saxon dative (J. Greenough); 3. The Tories are always boasting about the social services when they are not attacking them for being too expen­sive (D. Worker).

The Present Dynamic in Sentences with a While- or an As-clause:

1. Men can go without food for a long time. While they are without food they are using up the food the body has already stored (H. McKay);

2. The present is a point we can never grasp, because it slips into the past, while we are thinking of it (P. Roberts); 3. "What are the land­lords doing while these meetings are going on?" (M. Endicott); 4. And the process of the influence of the Irish language upon English still goes on, though slowly — for as time passes, Irish words are being adopted even in the English of the best educated people (J. Joyce).