In Old English, the progressive form is generally said to be in free variation with the simple form. But a more careful examination of the progressive form within 'the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles", 'Orosius', and 'Blicking Homilies' helps us note a few tendencies with respect to its semantic interpretation. We shall then make an attempt to see to what extent the type of verbs, the type of adverbials, as well as the word order pattern, contribute to the identification of a specific meaning of the progressive form in Old English.
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