Model II

In oppositions by Model II a verb in a dynamic tense is used to denote the going-on, the development of the process expressed by it, while a verb in a static tense indicates, together with other words in the sentence, a relatively static feature or relationship characteristic of the subject.

Present Static and Present Dynamic

In sentences of the types "The column stands seventeen feet high" (I. Stone) and "The clock says twenty minutes past five" (E. Hemingway) dynamic tenses are not used because the verbal processes in them are not represented as progressing, changing: the first sentence actually means "The column is seventeen feet high", the second "The time by the clock is twenty minutes past five". In other words, the verb stand is used, together with other words, to denote a certain feature charac­teristic of the subject column and considered as not changing, the verb say expressing a relationship between the hands of the clock and its dial. This relationship, though lasting not longer than one minute, is also considered as not changing, as relatively static.

Some other examples in which the Dynamic Present is practically never used:

1. The bedroom slippers fit me perfectly (W. S. Maugham) (The slippers are a perfect fit); 2. "How do you spell comparatively?" (R. Mac-aulay) Cvyhat is the spelling of comparatively?); 3. I love him so be­cause his eyes are big and his hair waves (W. S. Maugham) (He has waving hair); 4. "What time do you make it now?" — "Ten eight." — "Ten eighteen by mine" (G. Greene) (What is the time by your watch?); 5. "What do you read it?" Captain Lynch asked anxiously.—"Twenty-nine ten" (J. London) (What is the reading of the barometer?).

Consider now the following oppositions:

1. "I call it natural. Look at a man who's growing old; notice how very gracefully he does it" (J. Galsworthy) (A man who is in the process of growing old // how graceful and gradual the process of his growing old is); 2. The child gets along so well, and learns so fast, because all the time he is copying the people around him. These people are already speaking the language he is learning (L. Strong) (The process of the child's learning the language is fast // the language which he is in the process of learning); 3. "I don't know how to be sensible. It rains so" (Th. White)//"It's raining," she murmured (K. Mansfield) (The rain

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is so fast // Rain is in the process of falling); 4. "Epic; yes, that's it. It's the epic I'm searching for. And how I search for it" (F. Norris) (I am in the process of searching for epic // The process of searching for epic is intensive); 5. "As soon as we talk about anything interesting, you complain we're talking shop" (J. Braine) (As soon as the topic of our talk is anything interesting you complain we are in the process of talk­ing shop).

Model II also explains the use of the Present Dynamic to express verbal processes of unlimited duration, as in:

1. "Those stars, they aren't dim and weak. They are burning with fire" (I. Stone) (They are in the process of burning); 2. There are at least four billion suns in the Milky Way — which is only one gallaxy. Many of these suns are thousands of times larger than our own, and vast millions of them have whole planetary systems, including literally billions of satellites, and all of this revolves at the rate of about a million miles an hour (M. Golden) //It is far more logical to assume that these same life-serving conditions are repeated in at least fifty billion plan­ets out of the hundreds of trillions that are revolving in space, we are not alone (M. Golden) (It is characteristic of the planetary systems to revolve at the rate of about a million miles an hour // At least fifty billion planets are in the process of revolving in space); 3. And the earth spins so fast that the surface at its equator is travelling at rather more than a thousand miles an hour (H. Wells) (The spinning of the earth is so fast that its surface at the equator is in the process of travelling more than a thousand miles an hour).