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A Contrastive Analysis of the Imperfective Aspect in Chinese and English: Theoretical and Pedagogical Issues



Author(s)

I-hao Woo

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DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2015.09.006

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, U.S.A.

This study addresses several theoretical issues and pedagogical implications of the imperfective morpheme -zhe in Mandarin Chinese and English present participle -ing. It first compares the similarities and differences between these two morphemes. The study then provides several teaching suggestions for a Chinese as Foreign/Second Language (CFL/CSL) class. The similarities between these two morphemes in Chinese and English not only show evidence of Universal Grammar (UG), but have important pedagogical implications.

comparative linguistics, the progressive aspect, foreign language pedagogy