Present and Past Continuous Tenses in English and Maithili

Abstract

This study entitled "Present and Past Continuous Tenses in English and Maithili" has been carried out to compare and contrast between the present and past continuous tenses of the English and Maithili languages. The researcher collected data from both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources of the data were native speakers of the Maithili language from Siraha district of Terai. The research was based on the responses obtained from sixty informants. The secondary sources of the data were different books, journals and theses. The researcher used stratified random sampling procedure to sample the population. From the study it was found that both languages have present and past continuous tenses. The sentences of present and past continuous tenses of both languages can be changed into negative, interrogative and interrogative-negative forms. And it was also found that English is an S-VO language whereas Maithili is an S-O-V one. Both of the languages differ structurally. The thesis consists of four chapters. They are introduction, methodology, analysis and interpretation, findings and recommendation. The first chapter encompasses general background, review of related literature, objectives of the study, significance of study and definition of specific terms. The second chapter deals with methodology. It encompasses sources of data, sampling procedure, research tools and process of data collection and limitations of study. The third chapter which is the core of the thesis includes the analysis and interpretation of the data.The fourth chapter incorporates findings, recommendations and pedagogical implications of the study. The tables and references are included in the final part of this study.