Peculiarities of Functioning of Lexico-Semantic Groups of Verbs in the Continuous Form in English Drama of Xvii–xx Centuries

The article identifies lexico-semantic groups of verbs which were used in the Continuous form through the Modern English period (XVII–XX centuries). It has been determined that in most cases the Continuous forms are used with the verbs of dynamic semantics. Nevertheless there has been revealed a tendency of Continuous forms to increase their use with stative verbs, which contribute to the fixing of expressive meaning in these forms.