> > I have a question about Swedish.
> > Danish has a progressive tense construction 'Jeg er ved at
skrive'
> >
I think the matter of aspect expressions in scandinavian languages
deserves a thorogh discussion, because they play a fairly great role
in dayly practical language.
Norwegian does not have that locativ progressive expressiion, but
lot of others, like:
Jeg er i ferd med å skrive brev - I am in the way of writing a letter
jeg driver og skriver brev - I act and write a letter
Jeg sitter og skriver brev - I sit and write a letter
Without these extentions, the act is usually interpreted as
perfective.
With verbs of motion and prosess verbs, the difference between
imperfective and perfectiv usually is expressed with adverbs or
prepositions, ex.
Jeg går opp - I go up (and reach my goal)
Jeg går oppover - I am going upwords
Huset brenner - The house is burning
Huset brenner ned - The house is burning down
Huset brenner opp - The house is burning down (Actually you can use
the adverb opp-up here in the same sence, becuse it marks aspect and
not direction)