"Unique" features of English syntax w.r.t Germanic languages

[Cecil Ward]

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Dear all,

Could anyone help me with opinions, or point me towards reading matter on the following question concerning the development of early English. I would be grateful if list members would be good enough to comment on some of the various individual assertions below..

Assertion: Amongst the Germanic languages, English possesses a number of *unique* syntactic constructions. [Is this true?]
        a) The be + -ing construction
                I am drinking a pint.
                *I drink a pint.

                I am going down the pub in five minutes.
                *I go down the pub in five minutes.

        b) Obligatory "do"-support
                I did not drink.        vs. *I drank not.
                Did you drink?  vs. *Drank you?
           This inserted "do" is semantically empty [Q: Is this true?]

        b) Optional "do"-support: optional, intensifying/reaffirmative "do"
                I did drink.    vs. I drank.

        d) various other "semantically empty" verb+verb or verb+deverbal noun constructions such as
                "have you GOT any milk?"
                 vs. ?"have you any milk?"

                "I'll have/take a look at it."
                vs. "I'll look at it."

Q1: Is this true? Do any other Germanic languages possess some of these constructions, or indeed do examples exist where such a thing is obligatory?

Q2: Is it fair to characterise these constructions as "un-Germanic"? (That is, without structural parallels within the various Germanic languages.)

Q4: Are these constructions "old"? (Any pointers to their historical origin would be appreciated.)

Q4: Can the development of these constructions be regarded as "language-internally motivated", or is it likely that external forces such as language contact were involved?

I am especially interested in the "be" + "-ing" construction. I have seen various authors' opinions as to where the "-ing"-form of the verb should best be placed in terms of word-class categories. Would anyone care to comment on the motivation behind these choices? Both traditional grammar and the linguistic theories of recent decades have used a range of terms for these forms, such as "participle" "non-finite verb", and many others. I would be grateful if anyone has any comments on alternative terms that they themselves favour.

Cecil Ward.