leat a 350 Tense and Aspect INTRODUCTION Use of verb forms is one of the two or three most difficult areas for English language learners to master. New research indicates that several factors are responsible for the difficulties in learning to use appropriate verb forms. In order to understand the dif ficulties and how to deal with them, we first have to examine basic concepts of tense and aspect underlying these forms and their uses, ———— BASIC CONCEPTS: TENSE AND ASPECT ‘Verb forms ~ main verbs and combinations of auxiliary verbs and main verbs ~ indi- cate both the time of the action expressed by the verb and the speaker's view of that ac- tion in time, for example, as completed or ongoing, habitual or repeated, Two concepts are used to describe time and action in verbs ~ fense and aspect. In what follows, we look at each in turn, Tense Tense in verbs expresses the time that an action occurs in relation to the moment of speaking. It has three dimensions ~ present, past, and future. These can be represented as in the diagram in (1), some form of which is often used in English language teach- ing textbooks. a Past | Future Present (Moment of speaking) In fact, however, of the three times shown in (1), only two are expressed in English by inflections on the verb — present and past. Thus, present time, for third person singular, is indicated by adding -s to a regular verb, as in (2a), and past time is indicated by add- ing -ed to a regular verb, as in (2b), or changing the form of an irregular verb such as 0, as in (2c). Many languages also express future time by changing the form of a verb, but English generally expresses future time with the modal auxiliary verb will, shown in (2d), or the semimodal be going to, in (2e).Tense and Aspect (2) a. He helps her. present tense b. He helped her. past tense regular verb c. He went to the game, past tense irregular verb 4, He will help her. future time €.He is going to help her. future time In addition to verb form, time is also signaled by time adverbs, such as yesterday, today, tomorrow, at naon, and three o’clock, and by prepositional phrases, such as for three years and since two o'clock. Aspect Aspect expresses how the speaker views the action of the verb. For example, an ac~ tion that is seen as bounded and complete is perfect in aspect. If the action is seen as incomplete, it is imperfect in aspect; if seen as repeated, itis iterative; if seen as occurring regularly, it is habitual. All of these aspects are represented in the verbs of different languages. In English, two aspects are expressed through auxiliary verbs and the form of main verbs: a progressive, oF continuous, aspect represents ongoing action, and a perfect as~ pect represents action that is complete. The progressive aspect is indicated with be + present participle (-ing), and the perfect aspect is indicated with have + past participle ed). As we will see, these two forms in English encompass a range of aspectual mean- ings that in othet languages may be expressed by distinet forms. For example, an action that occurs repeatedly (e.g., The shutter was banging against the wall) would have an iterative aspect marker attached to a verb in a language like Hausa,? but in English this ‘meaning is encompassed within the progressive aspect. ‘Tense/time and aspect intersect in English. The examples in (3) illustrate how the pro- gressive aspect describes ongoing action that happens at the time of speaking, in the past, and in the future. Tense/Time Aspect (3) a. She is running right now. present progressive b. She was running an hour ago. past progressive ¢. She will be running in about an hour. future progressive More than one aspect may combine with tense/time. To signify a point in the future when a period of ongoing action will be complete requires both the perfect and pro- gressive aspects along with the future time indicator will, as shown in (4). Time Aspect (4) She will have been working. future perfect, progressive The intersection of tense/time and aspeet explains much about verb forms but leaves us with questions. For example, why do native speakers interpret the act in a sentence like (Sa) as complete but that in (5b), which has the same verb form (have + past participle), as extending to the present? To answer this, we need to look at one other coneept — lexi cal aspect. (5) a. John has written only one novel since 1998. b, John has owned only one car since 1998. 351352 Chapter 16 Lexical Aspect Verbs can be classified by the type of act they denote. That is, a verb can be classified based on answers to questions such as the following: Does the act have duration? Does it have an end point? Does it involve change? The resulting properties, called semantic features, make up the lexical aspect of verbs. The basic categories of English verbs from this standpoint of lexical aspect are stative and dynamic? Stative Verbs Verbs such as contain, hope, know, need, own, resemble, and understand express states or situations rather than actions. These stative verbs can signify cognitive, emotional, and physical states. They have the following characteristics, which can serve as tests for stative verbs: + The states expressed are continuous and unchanging while they last, which usually is for a long or indefinite time. + They do not have an end point. Verbs expressing something that has no end point are referred to as atelic verbs. + Thus, stative verbs occur with start and stop but not with finish (He stopped loving Susan but not *#e finished loving Susan). + Itis possible to ask the question How long have/has known/needed/owned ... ?) + They do not normally occur in progressive aspect forms (*She és having a@ car). + They cannot occur with most manner adverbs (*She understood methodically). * They usually cannot occur in pseudocleft sentences (e.g., *What Bill did was re- semble his brother; for more on pseudoclefts, see Chapter 22). (eg., How long have you For convenience, in this chapter we refer to “the action” expressed by verbs rather than to “the action or state.” The context clarifies whether states and statives are included. Dynamic Verbs Stative verbs contrast with dynamic verbs ~ verbs that require some input of action by the subject. Dynamic verbs can be further classified in terms of their lexical aspect features into three subcategories, each with its characteristics, or tests. ACTIVITY VERBS Activity verbs, which include develop, grow, sit, and work, are dynamic verbs with the following characteristics: * The actions they express can go on for an indefinite period of time. * Like stative verbs, they are atelic, lacking an end point. The actions expressed either are continuous —as is the case with, for example, observe, pull, run, sit, stare, swim, ‘walk, and work — or changing — as, for example, with decline, develop, and grow, * It is possible to ask the question How long did... ? (e.g.. How long did you work! stare at the wall? How long did it grow? ), + Activity verbs can occur in the progressive aspect. ACHIEVEMENT VERBS Achievement verbs describe actions that occur instantaneously (e.g, He solved the problem, She turned on the light, He spotted the airplane). These verbs fall into two classes. Achievement verbs that are punctual, including bounce, faint, hit, and kick, express an action that is instantaneous, ending as soon as it begins. Achievement verbsTense and Aspect that are change of state, like find (a solution) and cross (the finish line), involve a preliminary activity that culminates in the act denoted by the verb, Thus, a person searches before finding the solution, and runs toward the finish line before crossing it, Other characteristics of achievement verbs include the following: + Achievement verbs are telic verbs. In contrast to stative and activity verbs, they do have an end point. This is obviously true whether the verbs are instantaneous ot change of state. + They usually cannot occur with stop or start (e.g., *He stopped recognizing the thief, *He started catching the kitten), + With these verbs, it is possible to ask the question At what time did... ? (@84 At what time did he faint? ) or How long did it take to... ? (¢.g., How long did it take to find a solution? ), With punctual verbs, progressive aspect form is understood as meaning repeated (rather than ongoing) action (¢.g., He is kicking the tires). With change of state verbs, pro- gressive aspect may or may not be possible, depending on whether the activity leading up to the achievement is treated as being the same activity ~ for example, His train és arriving at noon, but not *She is recognizing the thief. ACCOMPLISHMENT VERBS Accomplishment verbs terminate in an end point that is logical in terms of their action, Thus, in the sentence He wrote a best seller, the action has a logical end point when the writing of the best seller is completed. Examples of accomplishment verbs include at- tend, build, draw, make, paint, recover ( from an illness), solve, and write. Accomplish« ment verbs are telic verbs. Other characteristics of accomplishment verbs include: * Since their action goes on for a certain amount of time and ends with completion, with accomplishment verbs it is possible to ask the question How long did it take to... ? (eg, How Jong did it take him to write the best seller?). + The activity expressed by an accomplishment verb can occur with start, stap, and finish. However, with these verbs, stopping and finishing are different, and if the ac- tion is stopped, the accomplishment does not occur. For example, if a person stops painting a picture, then, of course it isn’t finished, and the action has therefore not been accomplished. * With accomplishment verbs, the subject performs the action of the verb in a certain amount of time, not for a certain amount of time (They built the stadium in less than a year, not *They built the stadium for less than a year). Expressing More Than One Type of Action Itis possible for some verbs to express more than one type of meaning. There are two reasons for this. First, some verbs can be seen as belonging to two semantic classes. For ‘example, know, see, and understand, are basically stative verbs, since they denote con- ditions that do not change — for example, J see poorly = I have poor vision, However, they can also express a dynamic event that occurs instantaneously — for example, [see 4 parking spot over there, In this case, they are achievement verbs. Second, certain verbs will express a different meaning when constituents are added to the sentence they appear in. Activity verbs, for example, can express accomplishments. Thus, ‘run is an activity verb in the sentence He ran, but if the prepositional phrase to the post office is added (ie, He ran to the post office), it expresses an accomplishment. Only some 353Chapter 16 prepositional phrases will have this effect. The sentence He ran throughlin the post office is still an activity. The addition of an object NP after an activity verb like sing creates the context for an accomplishment, He sang is an activity, but He sang a song is an accomplish- ment. The grammatical features of the noun —count or noncount, singular or plural —can also play a role. With noncount nouns and plural count nouns (e.g., They sang folk music! songs), we are dealing with an activity. With singular or plural count nouns preceded by articles or numbers (eg., They sang a song/two songs), we have an accomplishment. Effects of Lexical Aspect An understanding of lexical aspect enables us to answer the question posed at the end of the section on aspect: Why do native speakers get different interpretations for the actions in the two sentences there, repeated here as (6a) and (6b)? Both sentences have the same verb form — have + past participle, or “present perfect tense" — so why is the action in (6a) interpreted as complete, but that in (6b) as continuing? (6) a. John has written only one novel since 1998. b, John has owned only one car since 1998. ‘The answer lies in the lexical aspect of the verbs write and owe. Write, as it appears in sen- tence (6a), describes an accomplishment. Hence, it expresses a completed activity. Own isa stative verb, Stative verbs have indefinite duration, so we infer that John still has that car. Understanding how lexical aspect affects the interpretation of verb action will help teachers to explain why we can get different interpretations of verbs that have the same form, as illustrated in (6). ESL/EFL courses and materials often ignore lexical aspect and its effects. With an understanding of how lexical aspect factors into the learning of tense, teachers can address these shortcomings in textbooks, answer students” questions fully, and design materials that enhance students’ ability to use verb forms accurately. SUMMARY BASIC CONCEPTS: TENSE AND ASPECT Tense in verbs expresses time. It is referenced to the moment of speaking. Past Future: Present (Moment of speaking) English marks only past and present time by inflections on verbs. Aspect expresses how the speaker views the action of the verb — for example, as complete (perfect aspect), incomplete (imperfect aspect), ongoing (progressive as- pect), repetitive (iterative aspect), or regular (habitual aspect). English expresses progressive aspect by he + present participle and perfect aspect by have + past participle. These aspects combine with tense/time. He is writing a letter. progressive aspect, present He was writing a letter. progressive aspect, past He will be writing the letter. progressive aspect, futureTense and Aspect 355 He has read the book. perfect aspect, present He had read the book. perfect aspect, past He will have read the book. _ perfect aspect, future Lexical aspect refers to semantic properties of verbs, for example, whether or not an action is characterized by duration, an end point, or change. Thus, aspectual concepts are also conveyed through lexical aspect. Verbs fall into four categories in terms of lexical aspect ~ stative verbs and three types of dynamic verbs: * Stative verbs describe states or situations rather than actions. States are continu- ous and unchanging and can be emotional, physical, or cognitive. He owns a large blue car. She hates her boss. * Activity verbs express actions that go on for a potentially indefinite period of time. The actions are constant (e-g., run, swim, walk) or involve an inherent change (e., decline, develop, grow). He is walking around the park. This plant is really growing fast, + Achievement verbs describe an action that occurs instantaneously — either punctu- ally (e.g., bounce, hit, kick) or as a change of state (eg., find). Change of state ac- tions involve a preliminary activity that is terminated by the achievement verb, He bounced the ball several times. punctual She crossed the finish tine, change of state * Accomplishment verbs have a termination that is logical in terms of their action, as is the case, for example, with build (a house) or paint (a picture). He wrote a book about language teaching. She made a model of the house. A verb may fall into more than one category. He ran in the halt. activity verb He ran to the post office. accomplishment verb BEEsaoH Identify the tense/time and aspect of each verb in the following sentences. Example: He had been studying for three hours. Answer: past; perfect, progressive 1. He will be working on that project tomorrow. 2. They have locked up the store. 3. He will have finished it by then. 4. Tom was writing the introduction to the report. 5. They had cleaned the rooms,356 Chapter 16 Identify each of the following sentences as expressing a state, an activity, an achievement, or an accomplishment. Example: He reached the summit of the mountain around three o'clock. Answer: achievement 1. He observed the bacteria under the microscope. 2. Olivia hated her boss with a passion. 3. John eventually recovered from a bad case of pneumonia. 4. She suddenly spotted the horse at the end of the pasture. 5. He did the crossword puzzle in less than an hour. 6. He hit the ball against the backboard. 7, At the party he recited poetry, 8. At the party he recited a poem. TENSES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Explanations in English language teaching textbooks are, and traditionally have been, in terms of the unified phenomenon of “verb tenses.” Thus, aspect is not discussed with much clarity, and lexical aspect is rarely mentioned at all. Instead, the aspect terms progressive, ot continuous, and perfect are combined with the three times ~ past, pres~ ent, and future — to produce, along with each time on its own, the 12 so-called tenses of English, shown in (7). (7) a. simple present b. simple past cc. future She works, She worked. She will work. d. present progressive €. past progressive f, future progressive g. present perfect h. past perfect i, future perfect j. present perfect progressive k. past perfect progressive 1. future perfect progressive She is working. She was working. She will be working. She has worked. She had worked. She will have worked. She has been working. She had been working. She will have been working. Because English language instruction on verb forms is in terms of these twelve tenses, the rest of this explanation is devoted to presenting each tense and its meanings, basic and otherwise. We will use the tense designations in (7). At times, we will refer to the concepts of tense, aspect, and lexical aspect discussed earlier, and it may be useful to keep these in mind. THE SIMPLE TENSES In the simple present and simple past tenses, verbs are inflected for tense. These two tenses are called “simple” because they do not involve aspect. We look at each in turn,Tense and Aspect Simple Present As noted earlier, the simple present tense is represented by the third person singular -s inflection on verbs. It has a range of meanings, some much more common than others. Basic Meanings ‘The simple present tense expresses states, as exemplified in (8), and habitual action, as in (9). Notice that the verbs in (8) are stative verbs. The habitual action meaning of the simple present, the most commonly targeted one in textbooks, generally requires the presence of time expressions (e.g., every Friday, regularly, always + time), as il- lustrated in (9). (8) a, The lake looks like it’s frozen. states b. He seems to be confused. ¢. She owns three rare Chinese vases, (9) a. He eats steak and kidney pie every Sunday. habitual actions b. They always go to the mosque on Friday. Ina third meaning usually included in textbooks, the simple present expresses what are often referred to as general statements of fact or scientific truths. This meaning, exemplified in (10), is actually a variation of the first meaning mentioned, since these statements of fact and scientific truths are usually expressed either with stative verbs such as be, exist, equal, thrive, and so on, or with ergative verbs that carry an inherent change of state meaning such as boil, cool, dissolve, expand, freeze, grow, harden, rise, and so on. Unfortunately, not many textbooks explain this or list the verbs that these sentences typically contai (10) a. Salt crystals dissolve in water. 'b. Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade, the equivalent to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. ©. The square root of 81 és 9. d, Warm air rises. Another meaning of the simple present tense that is also common and included in text- ‘books is that of fiuture action. In this meaning, exemplified in (11), the simple present tense is accompanied by time expressions such as at eight o'clock, at dawn, or tomorrow. (11) a, The bus leaves at 8:00 p.m. b. The game starts at 2:30. Additional Uses of the Simple Present ‘The simple present tense also appears in particular contexts or genres of conversation or writing, some of which are not included in ESL/EFL textbooks. INSTANTANEOUS PRESENT ‘The simple present occurs in the running commentary produced by a speaker to pro- vide an ongoing account of what he or she is watching. For example, in (12) a sports- caster is describing a football game as it unfolds in front of his eyes. This is referred to as the instantaneous present. (12) Esiason lets fly and . . . Emory has the ball. He shakes one, . . . two tackles, and . . . he’s in for the touchdown!Chapter 16 CONVERSATIONAL HISTORICAL PRESENT The simple present can also express something that happened in the past. As such, it occurs largely in conversation in which it gives a sense of immediacy to a past event; this meaning is therefore sometimes referred to as the conversational historical pres- ent. The example in (13) is a description of a robbery, given by a witness. (13) So I was standing there buying some groceries, right? And all of a sudden this guy comes in the door. He pulls out this gun, see. It’s one of those, like . . . sawed-off shotguns. And he points it at the cashier, and felds him to hand over all the money. So, of course, everybody in the store freaks out! [NARRATIVE PRESENT Another restricted use is that of the narrative present. Here the simple present narrates the plot of a movie, play, or novel that the speaker has seen or read, regardless of the time in which the plot is set. This is sometimes referred to as the narrative, or histori- cal, present. It is exemplified in (14), the first paragraph of a book review. (14) The story opens in 1989 on All Souls’ Day, the day of the dead, when people carry flowers to the cemeteries. Like Grass {the author], the hero, Alexander Reshcki, is an exile from Gdansk living in West Germany. A widower in his sixties, he is a professor of art history at the University of Bochum. The Polish widow Alexandra is a restorer and gilder by profession. She is not quite sixty when Alexander meets her in the market." STAGE PLAY AND SCREENPLAY DIRECTIONS The simple present is used in directions for actors in plays, as in (15). Directions about exiting or entering the stage usually begin with the verb (eg., Enter the crowd, rather than The crowd enters). (15) They fight. Tybalt falls. Directions for action and camera placement in screenplays for films are predominantly in the simple present tense, although the progressive is used when it is necessary 10 specify motion in progress, as at the beginning of the close shot in the scene in (16) (16) CLOSE SHOT THE TOP OF THE DESK Visser is pushing the fish away from his side of the desk with the eraser end of apencil. MARTY: What did you . ..? BACK TO MARTY Suill looking at the picture. He traces the outline of the desk with the eraser end of the pencil. WITH COMMUNICATION VERBS The simple present can occur with some communication verbs — for example, inform, Say, suggest, tell, and write* —to refer to a past communication, as in (17). (17) Mary tells me you have been to China. How fascinating! Simple Past As discussed earlier, the simple past tense is represented by the -ed inflection on regu- lar verbs and by other changes in the case of irregular verbs.Tense and Aspect Basic Meaning ‘The simple past expresses action carried out prior to the time of speaking as shown in (18). (18) Last night we ate dinner in that Italian restaurant you like so much. ‘The simple past tense frequently occurs with expressions that indicate a specific point in time when the action was carried out, such as yesterday, a week ago, last Monday, at four o'clock, in the morning, on Tuesday, and so on. The sentences in (19), with verbs from each category, show this use of time expressions. Since states have unlimited duration, the presence of a time adverb such as then with a stative, as in (19a), leaves open the possibility that the state still exists, Since telic verbs (i.e., achievement and accomplishment verbs) have inherent end points, they commonly occur with an adverts that specifies the time of this end point, as in (19c) and (19d). (19) a. I Loved her then. stative verb b. Iran three miles yesterday. activity verb c. They built that house a long time ago. accomplishment verb 4d. We reached the summit just before noon. achievement verb Additional Uses of the Simple Past The simple past is used instead of the simple present in some contexts that require a shift of tense ~ reported speech and unreal conditionals ~ or that are determined by pragmatic factors such as politeness. In general, past tenses often replace the corre~ sponding present tenses in such contexts. REPORTED SPEECH In keeping with the sequence of tense requirement of reported speech, when speech is reported, the simple present is backshifted to the simple past. Thus, in (20), simple present am becomes simple past was. This requirement for reported speech is followed especially in writing. (For more on reported speech, see Sequence of Tense Rules in this chapter.) (20) a. John said, “I am a doctor.” quoted speech 'b. John said that he was a doctor. reported speech UNREAL CONDITIONALS In clauses introduced by if, the simple past expresses an unreal condition, as illustrated in (21). (Unreal conditionals are discussed further in Chapter 19.) (21) If I made a mistake like that, my wife would never let me hear the end of it. POLITE REQUESTS AND QUESTIONS Particularly with requests and questions, the simple past is often used instead of the simple present to express a more deferential, polite tone. Thus, (22b) and (22d), with simple past verbs, are more polite than the corresponding (22a) and (22c). (22) a. I want to ask you a favor. b. Lwanted to ask you a favor. more polite ©. Do you want to see me now? d. Did you want to see me now? more polite 359360 Chapter 16 SUMMARY THE SIMPLE TENSES The simple present tense is represented by the third person singular -s inflection on regular verbs. Its most common meanings are: + states The lake looks like it’s frozen. He seems to be confused. * habitual action He watches TV every night after dinner. '* general statements of fact Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade, the equivalent of 212 degrees Fahrenheit, The square root of 81 is 9. + future action with time expressions Your plane leaves at noon. We arrive on Friday. Additional uses of the simple present tense include: + the conversational historical present (describing action in the past) He comes in and starts shouting at the hotel clerk. He’s really angry, you know. So the manger calls the cops. + the narrative present (for plot synopses) The second act of Verdi's opera Otello takes place in the castle. lago urges Cassio to ask Desdemona to plead with her husband, Otello, to restore his rank, and watches him go in search of Desdemona. + stage and screen play directions They fight. Tybalt falls. + with communication verbs (tell, say, etc.) Alan tells me that you are a talented artist. The simple past tense is represented by the -ed inflection on regular verbs. Its basic ‘meaning is to express action prior to the time of speaking. We ate dinner in that lalian restaurant you like so much. Additional uses of the simple past include: * reported speech John said, “I'm a doctor.” quoted speech John said that he was a doctor. reported speech * unreal conditionals If Lever said something like that, she would kill me, * polite requests and questions Did you want to speak with him now?Tense and Aspect EXERCISE 16, 3 Identify the meanings of the simple present or past tense forms in each of the following sentences. Example: If water is heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, it boils. Answer: scientific truth (present tense) 1. A: What happened? B: It was the same old story. She comes in and starts chewing me out about the sale ! lost. So, | don't like that, right? So, | tell her that | don't have to take that sort of talk from her. And, you know what? She says I'm right. I don’t, because I don't work there anymore, I'm fired, 2. If were John, I would accept her offer. 3. Did you want to pay for that now or later? 4. He listens to that program on NPR every Sunday night. 5. In this darkly comic short story collection, Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, weaves memory, fantasy, and stark realism to paint a complex, grimly ironic portrait of life in and around the Spokane Indian Reservation. The author introduces us to characters raised on humiliation and government cheese, like Thomas Builds-the-Fire, who tells his stories long after people stop listening. 6. He seems to be perfectly healthy. EXPRESSING FUTURE TIME Action that will occur at some time in the future can be expressed a number of ways in English, but the two most common are with the modal will and the semimodal be going to, Will and Be Going To In (23a), future action is indicated by will, and in (23b), in the same sentence. (23) a, He will go to the ball, b. He is going to go to the ball. is indicated by be going 10 The choice between will and be going to depends largely upon whether the speaker is expressing just probable occurrence or planned activity. Will tends to be used for the former, be going to for the latter. Sentence (24a), with be going to, is preferable to (24b), with will, because the visit is a planned activity, (For further discussion, see Chapter 14). (24) a. I'm going to go to Paris next week. I have business there, b. I'll go to Paris next week, I have business there, Simple Present ‘As we have already seen, the simple present tense used with a time expression can also indicate future action, as illustrated in (25). (25) He arrives here on Thursday. On Saturday he flies back to Lima. 361