Tense in BE

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 5/30/07, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Have we ever discussed the (formerly?) regional use of the present progressive
> for the simple present in certain verbs that traditionally don't use it?
>
> E.g., the current MacDonald's slogan, "I'm lovin' it!" instead of SE "I love it!"

The slogan has been around since 2003, when McDonald's reworked Justin
Timberlake's song "I'm Lovin' It" into a jingle for their global ad
campaign. Timberlake's use of the progressive aspect for the stative
verb "love" can be understood as part of his carefully cultivated
"blaccent", as the kids call it.

Similar to "lovin' it" is "diggin' it", as well as a newer entry in
hiphop/youth slang, "feelin' it" (transitive "feel" roughly means "to
like, enjoy, feel a connection with"), as in Jay-Z's 1996 song
"Feelin' It" ("I'm feelin' it... I know you're feelin' it").


--Ben Zimmer

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