time, tense, aspect2

7/29/2019 Time, Tense, Aspect2

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SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE

ENGLISH VERB

TIME, TENSE, ASPECT


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TIME

It is a universal, non-linguistic category

It can be represented by a line progressing to

infinity, with three divisions

past

present

future

Past present future


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TIME

It represents the sequentional character of theevents we perceive in the world

Events must be ordered in time (with respect toother events) e.g. an event ispastonly becauseit is put in relation to thepresent event ofspeaking

Each event can be, with respect to anotherevent, in relation of anteriority

posteriority

simultaneity


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TENSE

It is a linguistic / grammatical category (it isused only in relation to the verb)

Definition: tense is the form the verb takes to

express time

repairS (present tense)vs repairED(pasttense)

- the inflection (-s / -ed) expresses time

- goES (present tense)vswent(past tense)- the entire form of the verb may be different to

express time (went)


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TENSE

In English, there is grammatical contrast (specialforms of the verb) only for present tense (markedonly for the 3rd person, singular: -s/es) and past

tense (marked byed or a different form of theverb).

There is no future tense proper ( a specialinflection/form for the verb to express future

time). That is why, some grammarians considerthat, in English, there are only two tenses:present and past


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TENSE

In

Jane will arrive

I am going to call,

and other future constructions, the idea offuturity is expressed by certain words/phrases

(will / be going to), not by inflections or certainforms of the verb itself


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TENSE

The inflection of the verb or a different formof the verb expresses time, but not only time.They may carry, alone, or in the company of

other words, other meanings, such as: thenature of the event (if it is real orhypothetical), the speakers attitude about theevent etc.

Conclusion: tense (the form of the verb)ALONE does not mirror time.


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TENSE

Consider the following verb forms

were

starts

came

What time do they refer to: present, past of future?


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TENSE

Analyse the relation between tense and time in the followingexamples

You were there. (1)

You were there yesterday. (2)

I wish you were here (3)Everyschool yearstarts on 15th September. (4)

Schoolstartsnext week. (5)

Theycame. (6)

Theycamean hour ago. (7)If she cametomorrow! (8)

We shall have leftby the time you arrive (9)


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TENSE

Time is expressed by a combination of:

- Tense (form of the verb)

- Adverbs of time (adverbial clauses of time)present in the sentence/utterance

(2,4,5,7,8,9)

- Context


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TENSE

Context refers to:

- Linguistic (internal) context: certainwords/expressions which accompany the verb

(wish, ifetc).- External context: knowledge shared by speaker

and hearer connected to the event expressed bythe sentence/utterance (in 1 and 6 both the

speaker and the hearer know about thecircumstances in which the event ofbeing thereand coming took place)


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TENSE

Axis of orientation

If we take an event as source/ reference for thetemporal orientation of other events, we createan Axis of orientation

With respect to the source event (SE), the otherevents can be

- simultaneous

- sequentional- anterior to SE (before relation)- posterior to SE (after relation)


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TENSE

The primary Axis of orientation is the axis

created by the source event which is the

Moment of speaking (MS) or the Present point

(PP) and is called the Axis of the present

PP (now)


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TENSE

Relative to this reference point (PP/MS) the

other events can be :

- Present (simultaneous with the PPnow)

- Past (anterior to PP - at now the events are

recollected)

- Future (posterior to PPat now the events

are anticipated)


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TENSE

PP (now) is the moment of initiating a discourse.

It is a floating point; during the discourse, it

may become a retrospective point (RP a

source event in the past), or an anticipatedpoint (AP a source event in the future)


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TENSE

In other words, at PP/MS, the speaker locates

himself in time and places himself in relation

to the events expressed in the sentence.

At PP/ MS the speaker can:

- experience events (E): E = PP

- recollect events : E PP

- anticipate events : E PP


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TENSE

On the Axis ofpresent, an event can be:

- simultaneous with PP, E = PP (present tense)

- anterior to PP, E PP (present perfect)- posterior to PP E PP (future)


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TENSE

On the Axis of the past, an event can be:

- simultaneous with RP, E = RP (past tense)

- anterior to RP, E RP (past perfect)- posterior to RP, E RP (future in the

past)


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TENSE

On the Axis of the future, an event can be:

- simultaneous with AP, E = AP (no form)

- anterior to AP, E AP (future perfect)- posterior to AP, E AP (no form)


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TENSE

On the Retrospective Anticipated Axis an event

can be:

- simultaneous with RAP, E = RAP (no form)

- anterior to RAP, E RAP (modal

construction)

- posterior to RAP, E RAP (no form)


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TENSE PP (now) Axis of the present

AP

Then Axis of the future

RP

Then Axis of the past

RAP The retrospective

anticipated axis


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TENSE

To express all these types of events, placed on

different axes of time, and found in

simultaneous or sequentional relationships

with respect to the source events, there arecertain forms the verb can take. All these

forms form the System of Tense Inflections in

English


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THE SYSTEM OF TENSE INFLECTIONS IN ENGLISH

has driven drives will drive

E PP E = PP E PP Axis of the present

will have driven Axis of the future

E AP E = AP E AP

had driven

drove would drive

E RP E = RP E RP Axis of the past

would have driven E RAP E = RAP E RAP The retrospective

anticipated axis


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REICHENBACHIAN TENSE THEORY

There are three basic entities to analyse the

temporal structure of a sentence:

- SpeechTime : the time at which the

(ST) sentence is uttered

- Reference Time: the division of time indicated

(RT) by the sentence (past,

present, or future)- Event Time : the moment at which the

(ET) relevant event occurs


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REICHANBACHS THEORY

Jane leftyesterday

ST: now

RT: past (adverb of time yesterday )ET: simultaneous with RT (the event did not

happen before or afterthe relevant time

specified in the sentence, yesterday)


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ELEMENTS USED TO EXPRESS ST, RT,

AND ET

ST: is always now, when the speaker

produces the utterance

RT: can be established by interpreting the

combination of tense inflection with

temporal adverbials (if any) in the context

in which the sentence is produced


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TEMPORAL ADVERBIALS USED TO SPECIFY

THE RT

a) Adverbs used to express PAST TIME- explicitly past adverbs of time (anchored in the

past, used only with past forms of verbs)

yesterday, .ago, last

- unanchored adverbs of time (they are not

anchored in the past they can be used to

refer to past, present of future, depending

on the context- on Monday, in 1989


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TEMPORAL ADVERBIALS USED TO

SPECIFY THE RTb) Adverbs used to express PRESENT TIME- explicitly present adverbs of time:

now, right now, currently, at this/themoment, at the present time, presently(UK) etc

c) Adverbs used to express FUTURE TIME

- explicitly future adverbs of time (used only to express

future time): tomorrow, next

- unanchored adverbs: in August, on Tuesday


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SPECIFY THE ET

The temporal relation between the ET and the

RT of the sentence can be expressed by:

- prepositions:

- at: to express simultaneity (ET is

simultaneous with RT)

- before: to express anteriority (ET is anterior to

RT)- after: to express posteriority (ET is posterior to

RT)


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SPECIFY THE ET

the aspectual auxiliary HAVE: it specifies that

the ET is anterior to RT

adverbs such as already

COMBINATIONS OF TENSE AND


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COMBINATIONS OF TENSE ANDTEMPORAL ADVERBIALS TO ESTABLISH

RTTense Adverb RT ExamplePresent Present Present I amreading now

Present Future Future She is leaving

tomorrow

Present Unanchored Future She leavesonTuesday

Past Past Past He made up his

minda week ago

Past Unanchored Past He cameon

Monday


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ABSTRACT TEMPORAL

REPRESENTATION (ATR)

We can attach an abstract temporal representationto a tense, ATR.

An ATR contains two components:

1) The reference component: it specifies the ST andits relation to RT. We can identify the followingsituations:

- RT = ST (the reference time of the sentence is

present)- RT ST (the reference time is past)

- RT ST (the reference time is future)


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ABSTRACT TEMPORAL

REPRESENTATION (ATR)

2) The Relation component: it specifies the

relation between ET and RT. We can identify

the following situations:

- ET = RT (ET is simultaneous with RT)

- ET RT (ET is anterior to RT)

- ET RT (ET is posterior to RT)


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POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL

COMBINATIONS

a) Present Time Axis (RT = ST)

[RT = ST, ET = RT] simple present

*RT = ST, ET RT+ present perfect

*RT = ST, ET RT+ future


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POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL

COMBINATIONS

b) Past Time Axis (RT ST)

*RT ST, ET = RT+ past tense

*RT ST, ET RT+ past perfect

*RT ST, ET RT+ future in the past


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POSSIBLE STRUCTURAL

COMBINATIONS

c) Future Axis of Time (RT ST)

*RT ST, ET = RT+

*RT ST, ET RT+ future perfect

*RT ST, ET RT+


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ATR - PRACTICE

1) Give the ATR of the following sentence

Jane swam at midnight

a) The reference component

ST: now

RT: past; RT ST; swam + the unanchored

adverb midnight


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ATR - PRACTICE

b) The relation component

ET = RT; the preposition atsimultaneity

The ATR is

[RTST, swam + midnight; ET = RT, at]


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ATR - PRACTICE

2) Give the ATRs of the following sentences

Mike learnt the irregular verb yesterday

We had arrived before Jane went to bed

He fixed the engine before you rang up Simon

The postman will have delivered the letters by

the time you come home tomorrowJane has already read a quite interesting novel


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TENSE - CONCLUSIONS

Tense- locates the time of the event described in the

sentence relative to the ST; it indicates when theevents takes place with respect to ST: the event

can be anterior, simultaneous, or posterior to ST- is a deictic category: it presents the events

described in the sentence as being near thespeaker (e.g. present tense) or distantfrom the

speaker (e.g. past tense) and this can only beinterpreted in the context in which the utteranceis produced.


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ASPECT

- it is a linguistic / grammatical category related

to the verb.

- it is more complex than TENSE (it provides

different nuances of meaning)

- tense places the event described in the

sentence on the axis of time, indicating its

position with respect to the ST


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ASPECT

- unlike tense, aspect concerns:

the internal temporal constituency of the eventexpressed by the verb (if the action is completed

or in progress) if the verb expresses a habitual event or a single

event

if the event has consequences at a relevant time

of the sentence if the event has effects on the speaker (irritation,

annoyance etc)


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ASPECT

- It I a non-deictic category (it does not express

any relation between the time of he event and

the ST)


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ASPECT

PERFECTIVE VS IMPERFECTIVE

The main aspectual opposition is a semantic

one, between

- Perfective and

- Imperfective structures


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1) PERFECTIVE

I wrote a letter yesterday

- Perfective provides a unifying , summarizing view uponthe event with respect to a chosen RT

- It presents the event in its totality; there is no relevantinformation about the internal temporal structure ofthe event: beginning, middle, and end

- The event is looked at from outside

- The principal meaning it conveys is that the event iscompleted with respect to a chosen RT


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2) IMPERFECTIVE

I was writing a letter yesterday- It is concerned with the internal structure of the event,

with its internal temporal constituency, which is presentedas divided into internal phases: beginning, middle and end

- There is no concern for the whole situation; it does notprovide information about the end of the event

- The situation is looked at from the inside;

- the internal temporal phases of an event is dependent onthe lexical meaning of the verb: if the verb does not have

internal phases (does not have duration) it cannot be usedin the imperfective aspect

- Imperfective indicates incompleteness of the action


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FORMAL EXPRESSIONS OF THE

ASPECTUAL OPPOSITION

- English language does not have special forms

to express, totally, the semantic opposition

between perfective and imperfective

- The opposition which is grammatically

expressed (there are certain forms the verb

takes) is that between:

- Progressive and

- Non-progressive

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE

(BE + V-ing) - MEANINGSMeanings conveyed by progressive.

1) The event should be understood as unfolding,

developing, in progress with respect to a

certain RT (past, present, or future) the

subject is in the middle of doing something

She is writing a letter(RT = ST)

is writing

RT = ST (now)

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE

(BE + V-ing) - MEANINGS

She was writing a letter(RT ST)

ST (now)

was writing

RT (then)

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE


She will be writing a letter(RT ST)

ST (now)

will be writing

RT (then)

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE


2) The event should be understood as

temporary (not lasting for a long period of

time)

Im living in London

am living

RT = ST (now)

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE


3) Progressive aspect in a certain linguistic

context (accompanied by adverbs expressing

frequencyalways, for ever, continuously)

can conveys the idea of the speakersirritation, annoyance

Her babyisalwayscrying in the morning

PROGRESSIVE


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PROGRESSIVE


4) When used with non-durative/instantaneous

verbs, progressive usually conveys the idea of

repetition

He is kicking her under the table


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ASPECTUAL CLASSIFICATION OF VERB PHRASES

VENDLERS CLASSIFICATION

1) + progressive (verbs taking progressive)- activity verbs: the event goes on in time in a

homogeneous way: running, playingthe piano, driving a car , walking

Mike was drawing- accomplishments: the event does not go on

in a homogeneous way, it reaches aclimax ; it implies a definite time to

accomplish the eventMike was drawing a circle


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VENDLERS CLASSIFICATION2) progressive (verbs not taking progressive)

- state verbs: the situation lasts for aperiod of time: know, love,believe, hate, have, desire,want,

Jane likes Jim-achievements: the situation occurs at a

single moment of time (has noduration): recognize, realize, identify,lose, find, reach the top

Do you realize you were wrong?*Are you realizing you were wrong?


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KENNYS CLASSIFICATION

1) Activities (+ progressive)

2) Performances

- accomplishments (+ progressive)

- achievements (- progressive)

3) States (- progressive)


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MOURELATOS CLASSIFICATION

1) States (- progressive)2) Occurences

- processes( activities)

John is running- events( performances)

- developments(accomplishments)

Peter ran a mile

-punctual occurences (achievements)The postman arrived

ASPECTUAL CLASSES OF VERBS


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ASPECTUAL CLASSES OF VERBS

AND THE PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

1) STATE VERBS

- They have a timeless interpretation

- Take no progressive (usually)

- The situation expressed cannot be controlled

- When used in the progressive, the state is

interpreted as temporary

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:

SUBCLASSES OF STATE VERBS

a) State verbs containing property designating

adjectives: intelligent, polite, talletc.

- they are, more or less, permanent

properties

- usually take no progressive

He is taller than me

* He is being taller than me

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


- when in progressive, they receive a processinterpretation:

- the subject is seen as a stage-level object

- the verb describes a process unfolding at the RT

- the process is oftemporal limited character

Mike is a fool (state, generalproperty)

Mike is being a fool(a temporaryprocess developing now)

(= Mike is acting like a fool)

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


b) Mental cognition verbs:know, believe, think,

regret, understand, hope, imagineetc.

- usually no progressive

He knowsvery few things about plants

* He is knowing

- when in progressive, they are interpreted

as processes

He is knowing more and more about plants

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


c) Physical cognition verbs (verbs of perception):see, hear, smell, taste, feel


The coffee tastes delicious (state)*. is tasting

- when in progressive, they denote temporaryprocesses

Ana is tasting the coffee

Deborah is feeling very uncomfortable

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


d) Emotive verbs: desire, hate, like, love, wish

etc.

the same interpretation

I miss you (state)

Im missing you dreadfully (process )

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


e) Locative verbs: sit, stand, lie, perch, rest- usually no progressive

A beautiful plain lies in front of our eyes

My house stands on the highest hill in theregion

- can be used in the progressive when the verbrefers to a movable object, which has recentlymoved, or might be expected to move in the near

future

His socks are lying under the bed

STATE VERBS:


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STATE VERBS:


f) Other property designating verbs:belong,contain, cost, have, possess, own, weigh


Itbelongs to me*Itis belonging

- in the progressive they denote a temporaryproperty

Are you belonging to College?

Im having 100 pairs of trousers.


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PROCESS VERBS

2) PROCESS VERBS- when the process is unfolding with respect to aRT, progressive is used

Dont call at 3 p.m. She willbe sleeping.

- when used in the non-progressive, the verbrecategorizes as a state

Compare

Im rubbing the furniture (process)This bootrubs my heel (state)


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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

3) ACCOMPLISHMENTS

- in the progressive they become simple

processes unfolding at the RT of the sentence

(they recategorize from accomplishments toprocesses)

She was reading a novel

(there is no information whether the goal will

be reached or not)


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ACHIEVEMENTS

4) ACHIEVEMENTS- when they refer to a unique action, they cannottake progressive (they have no duration)

Jane bangs the door (only once!)- in the progressive, they express a repeatedprocess

Jane is banging the door (repeatedly)

time, tense, aspect2

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