What is it with the present participle??

[JoanofArgos]

Can anyone explain the trend whereby students are only able to use the present participle most of the time? Is it somehow related to popular culture in some way I haven't thought of?

What I mean is, they only ever seem to write things like:

'The poem is mocking of society'
or
'This section is making the reader consider their [don't get me started] own ideas about x y or z'

Instead of 'mocks' or 'makes'?

It's driving me quite unreasonably far up the wall, and I need to know why it's become the way 18 year olds write now!

Well I just don't know but I look forward to other peoples' posts on this and I love the title of your post.

I know parents who despair of 'Is it that x, y, z...?'. I pointed out to one that I'd heard Jeremy Paxman use that framing (?) and they seemed to calm down.

Joan, you know your grammar, what's that about, too?

If it's any comfort whatsoever, I teach English up to A Level and have never noticed any of my students using the present participle in that way.

Possibly because they know I would correct it quite emphatically!

Well then, it's very odd. Writing it out makes it look as though they are all doing rather racist Pakistani impressions, now I look at it ('I am thinking that the poem is saying....')

I'm not sure I follow about the x y or z framing though?

I agree. I have noticed that it's become a lot more prevalent in (young people's) speech and assume it is reflecting that.

I don't like it though!

I've never understood the "I am loving ..." usually referring to stuff like make up or cup cakes "I am so loving Laura Mercier mineral make up"
Why not "I like"?

"Is it that you love cup cakes?" as opposed to "Do you love cup cakes?"

It's the facebook effect.

it's the present continuous - I blame McDonald's 'I'm loving it' - makes things sound more relevant to the present moment etc. Is a trend. will go away. I'm hoping