1、Tense and Aspect,Past, present, future,now,PAST TIME,FUTURE TIME,preceding now,following now,PRESENT TIME,including now,On this semantic level of interpretation, present is the most general and unmarked category. Albatrosses were large birds. The speaker does not commit himself to the continuation o

2、f the past state of affairs it describes into the present, while it does not exclude the possibility of such a continuation. It is possible to assert: Albatrosses were, are, and always will be large birds.,Basic concepts: tense and aspect,One way of expressing the notion of time linguistically is by

3、 means of tense. Aspect is a grammatical term indicates whether an action or state at a given time is veiwed as completed or incomplete.,Tense,Present tense Past tense,Aspect,Progressive aspect Perfective aspect (Perfective progressive aspect),Referring to the present,Eternal present Habitual behavi

4、or Temporary habit Momentary behavior Instantaneous behavior Behavior of the present moment,Eternal truths,Using the simple present to the stative verbs to express eternal truths or proverbs, as well as in scientific, mathematical, geographical and other statements made for all time. E.g. Honesty is

5、 the best policy. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Authors often use a kind of timeless present in addressing their readers about the contents of their books. E.g. The last example shows that,Habitual behavior,Using the simple present to dynamic verbs to express habitual or recurrent present. e.g. F

6、ather doesnt smoke. Percy often goes to his office by underground. Verbs of stative meaning may sometimes be used in a habitual sense when accompanied by a frequency adverbial: E.g. She is seldom alone. Using the present progressive to express a temporary habit. e.g. Hes working in a chemical factor

7、y these days.,Momentary vs. Instantaneous behavior,INSTANTANEOUS PRESENT occurs where the verb refers to a single action begun and completed approximately at the moment of speech. 1) some cases are bound to be simultaneity between the event described and the speech event itself. e.g. I resign. 2) In

8、 other cases, there is an implication of simultaneity which gives the utterance with the instantaneous present a somewhat theatrical quality. e.g. Carlos wins! ,Rather restricted situations occur 1) commentaries: Fernandez shoots! 2) demonstrations and other self-commentaries: I enclose a form of ap

9、plication. 3) special exclamatory sentences with initial adverbials: Here comes the winner! 4) performatives: apologize, advise, request, predict, etc.,Using the simple present to stative verbs to express a momentary phenomenon existing at the time of speaking e.g. Whats the matter with you? You loo

10、k pale. Using the simple present to dynamic verbs to denote instantaneous actions. e.g. I declear the meeting open. Haper passes the ball to Jenning; Jennings shoots and the goalkeeper leaps for it but - yes, its a goal.,Behaviors of the present moment,Using the present progressive to durative dynam

11、ic verbs to denote what is going on at the present moment. E.g. - What are you doing? - Im writing a letter.,Referring to the past,Habitual behavior Temporary habits Immediate vs. Historic At a definite point or period of time state exists action in completion action in progressive Information recei

12、ved in the past present effect present result,Habitual behavior,Using the simple past to denote a habitual or recurrent action in the past. e.g. In those days they sowed wheat by hand. He worked in a bank all his life.,Temporary habit,Using the past progressive to denote a temporarily habitual actio

13、n in the past. E.g. George was getting up at five every day that week.,Immediate vs. Historic,Communicative verbs such as “tell, talk, say, exaggerate” with the present progressive to denote an action in the immediate past. e.g. I dont know what you are talking about. say, understand, hear, learn wi

14、th the simple present, the simple past, present perfective Martin tells me the Smiths are moving from No. 20. Braham is/was the last great representative of German classicism. The Book of Genesis speaks of the terrible fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.,Historic present describing the past as if it is happ

15、ening now: conveying sth. Of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account, such as story-telling, news reporting, to add vividness to the description e.g. I was just dozing off in front of the television when my wife rushes in shouting that the kitchen is on fire.,At a definite point or period o

16、f time in the past,Using the simple past to denote an event/state happened or existed at a definite point or period of time in the past. e.g. He left 10 minutes ago. Using the past perfective to denote a state/action in completion before a specific past. e.g. I had written the article when he came.

17、Using the past progressive to denote an event/action in progress at a definite point or period of time in the past. E.g. What were you doing yesterday at 7pm?,Information received in the past,Commucative verbs such as “tell, say, hear, learn, write” with the simple present to express the present eff

18、ect of information received in the past. e.g. Alice tells me youre entering college next year. I hear poor old Mrs. Smith has lost her son. The finished use of the present perfective to refer to the present result of a past event still operate at the present moment.,Referring to the future,The plane

19、 leaves for Ankara at 8 oclock tonight. The simple present suggests that the event is unalterably fixed in advance. Usu. The future usage of the simple present is in dependent clause, e.g. Hell do it if you pay him.,I hope that I bet that see to it/make sure/make certain, etc. if/when + conditional/

20、temporal clause Using the present progressive to denote distant future, which is connected with a definite plan,arrangement or programme e.g. Ill think about it while youre writing the report. if you are standing at the corner, Ill give you a lift. Using the past progressive to denote a future actio

21、n in the past according to a plan or arrangement, which is found in some adverbial clauses of time or condition. e.g. They were leaving a few days later.,Referring to continuous actions,Using the present progressive to momentary verbs to express repetition or a series of momentary actions With the u

22、nfinished use of the present perfective (progressive) to denote an action/state extends over a period lasting up to the present moment, possibly extending into the future. e.g. Hes turned off the light. Hes lived here since 1960. Using the past perfective to denote an action/state over a period up t

23、o a past moment and possibly into the future in the past. e.g. By 6 oclock they had worked 12 hours.,Using the perfective aspect accompanied by “since-phrase/clause” 1)since-clause with the simple past of non-continual dynamic verbs to refer to a continuous state/action from a point in past time til

24、l now. e.g. I havent seen him since his wedding day/since I met you. 2)since-clause with the present perfective of continuous dynamic verbs/ stative verbs To refer to the continuous action or state extends up to the present moment. e.g. He has written to me frequently since I have been ill.,3) since

25、-clause with the simple past of dynamic verb of continuous activity or of stative verb to refer to the end/completion of a continuous state/action e.g. He has written to me frequently since I was ill.,Other usages,Collocating the progressive with such adverbials of frequency as “always, constantly,

26、continuously, forever”, to express emotional feelings(annoyance, disapproval, etc.) on the part of the speaker. e.g. My brother was always losing his keys. She is constantly complaining about the house.,The attitudinal past,Using the past to independent clauses to express a question, request or sugg

27、estion so as to make it less direct, and thus implying a polite, tentative attitude on the part of the speaker. e.g. -Did you want me? - Yes, I wondered if you could give me some help. Using the present progressive is still politer. e.g. Im hoping youll give us some advice. Im wondering if I may have a word with you.,The hypothetical past,Using the simple past to denote a non-fact in constructions “its time, I wish, Id rather”, and in a conditional clause which is not likely to be fulfilled. e.g. Id rat