Saturday 1 November 2014

Grammatical Reactances Of Figures: Unfolding In Time

Halliday & Matthiessen (1999: 135):
In material clauses, the unmarked present tense is present-in-present (he is mowing the lawn; I’m doing the job), whereas with the other process types it is the simple present (mental: she believes he’s mowing the lawn; relational: he has a lawnmower; I’m busy).