Universidade Federal FluminenseInstituto de LetrasEnglish VIITeacher: Kátia ValérioStudents: Carolinne Aprachmian

Nina Fraga

Chapter 6 – Grammar bite A – Tense.

IntroductionThere are six major kinds of variation in the structure of

verb phrases

1. Tense

Tense is the grammatical expression of the location of events in time. It anchors (or ‘grounds’) an event to the speaker’s experience of the world by relating the event time to a point of reference. English has two tenses, the present and the past.

2. Aspect

While tense is used to locate events in time, aspect is concerned with the way in which the event is viewed with regard to such considerations as duration and completion.

Compare, for instance, the following representations of a situation:1. He locked the safe. 1. He was locking the safe.

3. Voice

There are two voices in English, the active voice and the passive voice:Active Voice [1] Paul congratulated DavidPassive Voice [2] David was congratulated by Paul

4. Modality

Modality is to be understood as a semantic category which covers such notions as possibility, probability, necessity, volition, obligation and permission. In very general terms, modality may be taken to express a relation with reality, while a non-modal utterance treats the process as reality.

5. Negation

Negation is largely a feature of clauses: a clause is either possitive ornegative. The most common way of making a clause negative is to insert the enagtive particle not after the operator, which is the verb used for clause-negations and for forming questions.

6. Finite clause type (mood)

English verbs have three moods: declarative , imperative/subjunctive and interrogative.

Mood is the form of the verb that shows the mode or manner in which a thought is expressed.

Declarative : You sawImperative/subjunctive: SeeInterrogative: Did you see?

Could you think of examples in which the presenttense refers to past or future?

People commonly assume that present tense verbsrefer to present time . However this is not always true.

Present tense verbs are sometimes used to refer to a time in past.

As in:-> present (habitual) time with present tense

“Another one bites the dust” – Bites the dust(Queen)

-> past time with present tense

“Her friends say she couldn’t be happier about the new baby.” (Angelina Jolie’s friends talking about her pregnancy- www.hollywoodlife.com)

In terms of time, different forms can be used to express the same meaning

1. Future expressed with a present tense verb

“Elephant Man goes to court tomorrow on rape charge” (go-jamaica.com)

2. Future expressed with the modal will + infinitive

And I will love you baby alwaysAnd I'll be there forever and a day alwaysI'll be there till the stars don't shineTill the heavens burst and the words don't rhymeAnd I know when I die you'll be on my mindAnd I'll love you always” (Bon Jovi – Always)

A. Tense

Tense and time distinctions: simple present and past tense

Simple present tense and present time

There are three major meanings for simple present tense when it refers to present time:

1. It can describe a state that exists at the present time2. It can refer to a habitual action3. It can describe an action that is happening at the present time

So, let’s match the colums.

1. A state that exists at the present time

2. Habitualaction

3. Action that is happening at the present time

( ) He dances and moves about a lot.( ) The pigment occurs in the epidermal cells.( ) I want a packet of crisps.( ) Oh, my goodness. There he goes. Look at him walk.( ) She’s vegetarian but she eats chicken. ( ) Here comes your mother.

( 2 ) He dances and moves about a lot.( 1) The pigment occurs in the epidermal cells.( 1 ) I want a packet of crisps.( 3 ) Oh, my goodness. There he goes. Look at him walk.( 2 ) She’s vegetarian but she eats chicken. ( 3 ) Here comes your mother.

What tense do you think is most common in fiction?

“Elizabeth was surprized, but agreed to do it immediately. Miss Bingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility; MrDarcy looked up.” (Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen)

Examples:

“ She smiled appropriately as they met at the door. “Mark, I’m Reggie Love.” She offered her hand, he took it reluctanly, and she squeezed hard and shook firm.” (The Client – John Grisham)

Simple past tense and past time

Simple past tense is most often used to refer to past time. In fictionalnarrative and description, the use of simple past tense is common for describing imagined past states and events

“Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they wereall talking about it behind my back. The attack had scared everybody.” (Percy Jackson and the lightning thief – Rick Riordan)

“She was a good deal frightened by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly; so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit.”

(Alice’s adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll)

Simple past tense is sometimes used for a situation at the presenttime. It’s usually used with verbs like think, wonder, and want.

Simple past tense and past time

But why??

-> Did you want a cup of tea?

-> I just wanted to thank you guys for allowing me to tape-record you.

The clause refers to a current state of mind, but the past tense conveys tentativeness and shows that the speaker is being polite.

“I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to reply to my problem in such a prompt manner.”

(http://www.soulmateoracle.com)

“I just called to say I love youI just called to say how much I care”

(I just called to say I love you – Stevie Wonder)

Simple present tense used for:

Past time (common in conversation)

And the daughter got home from school one day and said to her mother that she wanted to be like her. And then the momwent, okay dear.

And the daughter comes home from school one day and says, mum I want to be like you. And the mum goes, okay dear.

“Actress Lindsay Lohan reacts with her attorney Shawn Chapman Holley after the sentencing by Superior Court Judge Marsha Reveduring a hearing in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, July 6, 2010”

(http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2010/07/lindsay-lohan-goes-to-court)

Past time (common in conversation)

Simple present tense used for:

“And the little girls goes and asks her mother: “Mom, what happened to all that dog food Fido wouldn’t eat?” The mother answers: “Shut up and eat your meatloaf.”

Jokes:

“ And the little girl went and asked her mother: ““Mom, what happened to all that dog food Fido wouldn’t eat?” The mother answered: “Shut up and eat your meatloaf.””

Tense in reported speech

The tense of the verb in the indirect quote agrees with the past tense of the reporting verb.

1. I won’t be able to help you tomorrow2. I’m going to the hospital3. I had seen her before4. I’ve just called my lawyer

Let’s put some sentences in the reported speech?Nancy is our speaker

1. Nancy said she wouldn’t be able to help you the next day2. She said she was going to the hospital3. She said she had seen her before4. She said she had just called her lawyer

Tense in reported speech

Reported speech also occurs with other tenses.

Present tense:

-> She said she feels good now.-> Graham said the owl’s messy habit makes them the ideal

bird for the study.

• Emphasizing that the circumstances expressed are still continuing.

Past tense:

-> He says he bought another Amiga.

Future time:

Is usually marked in the verb phrase with a modal (such as will orshal) or a semi-modal ( such as be going to)

Modal:“But you forget, mamma,” said Elizabeth, “that we shall meet him

at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long has promised to introduce him.” (Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen)

“Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, allthe evil things in the world will have full sway?”

(Dracula – Bram Stocker)

Semi-modal: “Michael Morse thought he was going to have surgery, miss 9-12

months” (Washington Post – Sports)

“Watcha think I was gonna doPack my things and leave without you”

(David Guetta – Without you)

Future time:

The semi-modal be going to can also be used for past tense(refers to a projected future time seen from a point in the past)

Tense use across registers

Present tense is particularly common in:

Conversation

Academic Prose

Used to refer to the immediate context and currentstates or events

Used to convey general truths

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Tense use across registers

Past tense is particularly common in:

Fiction

“Mr. Enfield and the lawyer were on the other side of the by street; but when they came abreast of the entry, the former lifted up his cane and pointed.”

(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson)