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Consider the phrases,

  • I am not having any pens.

  • Amazon is having the best prices.

Are the above phrases idiomatically correct?

Being from India, I encounter this phrase construction quite frequently. Is it a feature of Indian English? If yes, is there any reason why this phrase construction is more prevalent in India than other places?

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    It is definitely a feature of Indian English; more standard sentences would be 'I do not have any pens', and 'Amazon has the best prices'.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 31 at 9:54
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    Some people allege it is because of verb forms in languages used in India, such as Hindi/Urdu.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Jul 31 at 9:55
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    There's a question on is having but it doesn't mention India, focusing on how it's incorrect elsewhere.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jul 31 at 10:01
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    @StuartF That question was posted by ashish7249, that's an Indian name :).
    – Sahil
    Commented Jul 31 at 10:02
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    To a non-Indian English speaker both expressions sound odd. We can say things like I am having a good time, where having means 'currently experiencing', but we never use the continuous tense to refer to possessions. Similarly Amazon is having a sale today (a temporary event) but not is having low prices (in general).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 31 at 12:35

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Use of the progressive aspect or 'continuous' tense, in situations where standard English uses a simple one, is a very notable feature of Indian English and one which is immediately obvious to non-Indian speakers.

Some linguists suggest that this may be due to the way verbs are formed in Hindi/Urdu:

6.2.3 Habitual and progressive aspect in Hindi/Urdu

The complex aspect system of Hindi/Urdu contains both continuous tense forms for actions or states that are incomplete and in progress, and habitual tense forms for actions or states which occur generally or regularly (...).

The distribution and usage resembles the English system, so that the forms translate relatively easily into English. The most striking feature in verb formation in Hindi/Urdu is the existence of compound verbs, i.e. verb forms composed of two usually finite verbs or a verb and a noun. Examples of the formation of these verbs (...) are

pəsənd hona "liking be" = to like
svikar kərna "acceptance do" = to accept

[A linguist] suggests that because verbs such as hear and see can be used in the progressive form in Hindi/Urdu, a process of transfer/interference can account for the Indian English use of otherwise stative verbs in the progressive.

"Are you wanting a cup of coffee?" Overuse of the progressive aspect in Indian English

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