2. Introduction
There 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. 3. Voice
There are two voices in English, the active voice and the passive voice:
Active Voice [1] Paul congratulated David
Passive 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.
4. 5. Negation
Negation is largely a feature of clauses: a clause is either possitive or
negative. 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 saw
Imperative/subjunctive: See
Interrogative: Did you see?
5. People commonly assume that present tense verbs
refer to present time . However this is not always true.
Could you think of examples in which the present
tense refers to past or future?
6. 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)
7. 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 always
And I'll be there forever and a day always
I'll be there till the stars don't shine
Till the heavens burst and the words don't rhyme
And I know when I die you'll be on my mind
And I'll love you always” (Bon Jovi – Always)
8. 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 time
2. It can refer to a habitual action
3. It can describe an action that is happening at the present time
9. So, let’s match the colums.
1. A state that exists at the 2. Habitual 3. Action that is happening
present time action 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.
10. What tense do you think is most common in fiction?
Examples:
“Elizabeth was surprized, but agreed to do it immediately. Miss
Bingley succeeded no less in the real object of her civility; Mr
Darcy looked up.” (Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen)
“ 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)
11. Simple past tense and past time
Simple past tense is most often used to refer to past time. In fictional
narrative 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 were
all 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)
12. Simple past tense and past time
Simple past tense is sometimes used for a situation at the present
time. It’s usually used with verbs like think, wonder, and want.
But why??
-> Did you want a cup of tea?
-> I just wanted to thank you guys for allowing me to tape-record you.
13. 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 you
I just called to say how much I care”
(I just called to say I love you – Stevie Wonder)
14. 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 mom
went, 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 Reve
during a hearing in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, July 6, 2010”
(http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2010/07/lindsay-lohan-goes-to-
court)
15. Simple present tense used for:
Past time (common in conversation)
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.””
“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.”
16.
17. Tense in reported speech
The tense of the verb in the indirect quote agrees with the past tense of
the reporting verb.
Let’s put some sentences in the reported speech?
Nancy is our speaker
1. I won’t be able to help you tomorrow
2. I’m going to the hospital
3. I had seen her before
4. I’ve just called my lawyer
1. Nancy said she wouldn’t be able to help you the next day
2. She said she was going to the hospital
3. She said she had seen her before
4. She said she had just called her lawyer
18. 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.
19. Future time:
Is usually marked in the verb phrase with a modal (such as will or
shal) 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, all
the evil things in the world will have full sway?”
(Dracula – Bram Stocker)
20. 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)
Semi-modal:
“Michael Morse thought he was going to have surgery, miss 9-12
months” (Washington Post – Sports)
“Watcha think I was gonna do
Pack my things and leave without you”
(David Guetta – Without you)
21. Tense use across registers
Present tense is particularly common in:
Conversation
Used to refer to the immediate context and current
states or events
Academic Prose
Used to convey general truths
22. Next-generation science e-books may help keep young people
engaged: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=textbooks-come-alive
"Principles of Biology integrates text with videos, simulations, interactive
exercises, illustrations and tests and also includes classic and current papers
from Nature and related journals. Future titles in the life and physical sciences are
in the works."
Everyday stress: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=this-is-your-
brain-in-meltdown
"The entrance exam to medical school consists of a five-hour fusillade of
hundreds of questions that, even with the best preparation, often leaves the test
taker discombobulated and anxious. For some would-be physicians, the relentless
pressure causes their reasoning abilities to slow and even shut down entirely. The
experience—known variously as choking, brain freeze, nerves, jitters, folding,
blanking out, the yips or a dozen other descriptive terms—is all too familiar to
virtually anyone who has flubbed a speech, bumped up against writer’s block or
struggled through a lengthy exam."
23. 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)
