Punctual occurrences and the Progressive
With punctual verbs such as tap, kick, fire, sneeze, bounce, flash, hit and the progressive, the situation is interpreted as iterative, that is, repeated:
Someone is tapping on the wall next door.
The rain is hitting the windows harder now. [FP6]
These categories are approximate, rather than absolute. Some processes appear to be more punctual than others. Some end-points appear to be more final than others. It would, for instance, be unusual to hear He’s slamming the door for it is not possible to keep on slamming the same door unless you keep on opening it. He kept slamming the door would imply this process, but would nonetheless be unusual. A multiple situation in which several doors slammed can be expressed by the Past tense, as in the following:
Behind the swing door, cupboards opened and slammed shut. Pots cracked against work tops.
Punctual verbs are frequently used metaphorically with the progressive, in which case the resulting situation may perhaps be considered durative:
The recession is hitting the stores hard. (= affecting adversely) [ABE]
