The Present and Past Tenses

Tense

1. The notion of time

2. Lexical denotation of time, the role of time adverbials

3. Grammatical denotation of time

4. The problem of the future tense

Time is the common aspect of our thoughts and experience, and yet it also lacks specific properties. We can’t point at something and say “this is time”. In fact, time is the most mysterious thing, which is an object of investigation for various sciences. Tense is the grammatical expression of time.

The conception of time is reflected of time is reflected in the language both lexically and grammatically. Thus Blokh distinguishes between lexical time proper and grammatical time. Such things like now, last week, very soon, this century give a temporal characteristic to the event in reference to the present moment, the moment of speech. They are called absolutive names of time.

Some scholars (Bennet, Partee) speak of extended meaning of some adverbs, for example now. Consider:

John thought that Bill had claimed that Sam would be here now.

Non-absolutive time denotation does not characterize an event as oriented towards the present moment. This denotation may be either relative or factual.

Relative adverbs are after that, before that, some time later, etc. We don’t refer to the moment of speech when we use them.

The factual expression of time directly states the time of the event. E.g. in 1995, during the War, etc.

Adverbs, sometimes called time pointers or time adverbials, are very important for time denotation, because they specify the time of the event, while the verbal category of tense gives the most abstract signification of time.

However, the most important role in temporal arrangement of the utterance is rightly attached to tense. Tense can be defined as the linguistic expression of time relation when these are realized by verb form. Tense systems vary from language to language both in the number of tenses they distinguish and in the ways these tenses reflect temporal reference. Tense is a way of expressing events as occurring at points situated along the linear flow of time. Within the linear flow a point of reference must be established with respect to which past events precede and future events follow. The normal universal point of reference is the moment of speaking or the speech time. This the “now” which is implicitly understood in everyday interaction.

According to professor … in modern English tense is realized in two stages. At the first stage the past tense is opposed to the present tense, which constitutes absolutive time system. At the second stage this process receives relative characteristics by means of opposing the future tense to the forms of no-future (this stage is called relative).

The first system has a strong member of past tense. The second system whose strong member is the future tense gives prospective evaluation. Blokh calls these system primary time and prospective time respectively.

The specific feature of the category of the primary time is that it divides all tense forms in English into two temporal plane: the plane of the present and the plane of the past. From this point of view there are two futures: the future of the present (will) and the future of the past (would), the first prospected from the present and the second prospected from the past.

The Present and Past Tenses

Even in our everyday use a phrase at the present time has a wider application than simply at the present moment of speech.

Birds have wings.

Obviously here the verb includes both the past, the present and the future time. Present time in this sense means: 1) at all times, 2) at no particular time. In fact, the form of Present Simple as a tense rarely has a direct relation to speech time. It may also have future reference:

Tomorrow is Wednesday.

Present Simple is unmarked both morphologically and semantically, while the Past Simple is. In fact, the meaning expressed by a verb in Present Simple depends greatly on whether the verb is stative or dynamic, or whether the verb is being used statively or dynamically.

The house stands on a hill. (permanent position, like “birds have wings”)

All the children stood up.

Two and two makes four.

Silk feels smooth to the touch.

Human affairs often involve states whose time is not endless, but it may be permanent. Therefore when we speak of the verbs know, belong, think, we normally use Present Simple Tense.

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