I heard someone say this yesterday during a conference call.
Problem:
The continuous inflection of the present tense is unnecessary in this statement.
Explanation:
The label “present continuous” refers to a continuous inflection of the present tense.
The phrase “are wanting” is an example of the “present continuous” form of the verb “want”.
As explained at Wikipedia, the “present continuous” form is prevalently used in English to express current action but is rare or absent in other Indo-European languages.
There are at least two hypotheses about why American English speakers often choose the “present continuous” form of a verb over the “present simple” form:
- One hypothesis is that saying something like “They are wanting …” sounds more educated to the speaker than saying simply “They want …”. One might even label this as a linguistic hypercorrection.
- Another hypothesis is that using the “present continuous” form instead of the “present simple” form effectively softens the impact on the listener or reader.
No matter which hypothesis you prefer, the “present continuous” form is often unnecessary and tends to interfere with clear, direct communication.
Solution:
“They want a response by January 31st.”