Lecture 11Tense and Aspect (I)

Exercises

11.1 Uses of the simple present

11.2 Uses of the simple past

11.3 Uses of the present progressive

11.4 Uses of the past progressive

1. You indulge your son so much that you him harm.A. are doing B. have done C. will have done D. are going to do2. The film ___ how a college student _____ a criminal.A. shows is becoming B. showswill become C. will showwill become D. shows becomes

3. Our team____ every match so far this year, but we still have two more games to play.A. was winning B. has won C. won D. had won4. The company ____ a rise in salary for ages, but nothing has happened yet.A. has been promising B. was promising C. promised D. was promised

5. I ____ a radio talk on NBA when my sister came home and started playing her violin.A. listened to B. was hearing C. was listening to D. have heardADBAC6. The moment he mailed the letter, he was soorry that he ____it.A. wrote B. had been writing C. had written D. was writing

7. I am sorry to have begun the meeting before you came. I thought _____.A. you did not come B. you should not come C. you were not coming D. you are not coming8. While I ____ my glasses, I ____ a pen.A. was finding; found B. was looking for; foundC. was looking for; looked for D. found; found

9. Jack ____ her but he changed his mind.A. would be called B. will call C. was calling D. was going to call10. They were friends sharing weal and foe, for they ____ each others life in a battle.A. were saved B. have saved C. had been saved D. had saved CCBDD

11.1 Uses of the simple present

The simple present narrates complete events that will not continue to change or develop.

It is not marked for the progressive or the perfective aspect, denoting the following meanings:

1) Timeless presentIt is often found in the expressionof eternal truths and proverbs, as well as in scientific, mathematical, geographical and other statements made for all time. This use mostlyapplies to stative verbs.e.g. Honesty is the best policy.

Translate the following proverbs:.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. A watched pot never boils. A barking dog never bites.

No rabbit eats the grass near its own burrow. Bad news travels fast. Haste makes waste.

2) Habitual present This use usually is typically associated with dynamic verb.e.g. Father doesnt smoke.Percy often goes to his office by underground.

3) Momentary and instantaneous present A. The simple present can also be used to denote a momentary phenomenon that exists at the time of speaking. This phenomenon usually has some duration and therefore is mostly associated with stative verbs. e.g. What do you think, Jane?

B. The instantaneous present implies that the event takes place singly and once-for-all within the moment of speaking. It has little or no duration and therefore is confined to dynamic verbs denoting short actions.e.g. I declare the meeting openThis use is rather restricted, occurring normally in certain speech situations suchas radio and television commentaries of

fast-moving sports, the running commentary of conjurors and demonstrators, and some formal declarations.

4) Simple present referring to the future: This use is limited to future events conceived of as certain, either because they are determined in advance by calendar or timetable, or because they are part of a plan

or an arrangement thought of as unalterable. Usually there is one time adverbial denoting the future time. e.g. I have a meeting next Wednesday at that time.

There are some subclauses used for future:a) I hope/ I bet + that + present tense e.g. I hope you have a good time.

b) see (to it)/make sure /make certain + that-clause e.g. Ill see to it you dont get lost.c) if/when + conditional/temporal clauses e.g. If it is fine tomorrow, we will go to the countryside.a.Besides temporal clauses and conditional clauses, adverbial clauses of concession, comparison usually use the simple present to denote future.

e.g. Whatever they say, I wont pay. Next time Ill do as he says. The harder you exercise, the better youll feel.

b. In addition, such nominal clauses as that clause, what clause can also use the simple present to denote future.e.g. In a few minutes Ill ask him what he wants tomorrow.

c. Take care that is distinguished from hope that, bet that, see (to it) that, in that it is always followed by the simple present. e.g. Take care that she doesnt fall.

d. When can introduce adverbial clause of time and nominal clauses (subjective clauses, objective clauses). Verbs in the adverbial clauses must use the simple present instead of the future time.

e.g. When he comes, I tell him to fetch the police.So do verbs in conditional clauses.e.g. I shall tell him if he comes.

However, if when heads a nominal clauses, it depends on the specific context. e.g. Can you tell me when the bank opens? When shell be back depends much on the weather.

5) Simple present referring to the past

This use is usually found with communication verbs such as tell, say, hear, learn, write to express the present effect of information received in the past. e.g. I hear poor old Mrs. Smith has lost her son.

11.2 Uses of the simple past The simple past also narrates complete facts/events that have already finished, but the core meaning of the sentence has a sense of distance. (time, concepts, social distance)

The simple past is not marked for the progressive or the perfective aspect, denoting the following meanings:

1) Past event and past habitThe basic use is to denote a single event or state that happened or existed at a difinite point or period of time in the past.This is what we call the event/state past.e.g. He left ten minutes ago.

It can also be used to denote a habitual or recurrent action in the past, known as the habitual past. Neither of the uses are connected with the present moment.e.g. He worked in a bank all his life. NOTE: Neither the event/state past nor the habitual past has any connection with the present moment, so what is denoted by the simple past must be something no longer existent atthe moment of speaking.

e.g. His father was an English teacher all his life . he is now dead. His father has been an English teacher all his life. He is still alive.2) Attitudinal and hypothetical pastA.In specific contexts, the simple past can denote the present or the future time. One is associated with the present time in independent clauses expressing a question, request or suggestion, known as the attitudinal past.

Its effect is to make the question, request or suggestion less direct, implying a polite, somewhat tentative attitude on the part of the speaker.e.g. I wondered if you could give me some help.B. The other is hypothetical past, referring not to a fact but to a non-fact, and is typically found in subjunctive clauses.e.g. Its time you had a holiday.

Just like the simple present, the simple past can also denote past, present or future eternal truth, which is called (generic preterite tense)(neutral preterite tense)e.g. Fingers were made before forks.God made the country and man made the town.Faint heart never won fair lady.The course of true love never did run smooth.

Some people dont use the simple past:Care killed the cat. Hang sorrow! Care will kill the cat. And therefore lets be merry.

11.3 Uses of the present progressive The progressive aspect denotes incomplete, unfinished, or temporary state, that is, the event concerned is a part of the whole and can develop further. 1) Denoting an action in progress at the moment of speakingIt is usually used with dynamic verbs. The differences between the simple present and the present progressive referring to present time are that

A. the former carries a permanent meaning and the latter a temporary meaning.e.g. He lives with his parents.(permanent residence --because it costs him too much to live alone) He is livng with his parents. (temporary residence until he gets a better job )B. an action vs. a habite.g. Why are you wearing glasses? (present/at this moment)Why do you wear glasses?(habitual)

C. specific event vs. general situatione.g. what are you doing for Thanksgiving? (a specific holiday the forthcoming)What do you do for Thanksgiving? (the holiday in each year)D. action vs. statee.g. I am thinking about the answer.I think it is 144.

2) Denoting an action in progress at a period of time including the present

Here it can express an action that is going on over a period of time including the present but not necessarily at the moment of speaking, e.g. He is working in a chemical factory these days.

When accompanied by adverbial of frequency such as always, continually, constantly or forever often imparts an emotional coloring, often of annoyance or disapproval.e.g. She is constantly complaining about the house.

3) Denoting a future happening according to a definite plan or arrangement The present progressive used to refer to the future, more often than not the near rather than distant future, in connection with a definite plan, arrangement or program, usually occurs in situations with obvious future reference.e.g. Im going to Qingdao for the summer holiday.

The present progressive denoting futurity also occurs in temporal and conditional clauses, on condition that there is future reference in the main clausee.g. If you are standing at the corner, Ill give you a lift.

4) Denoting other meaningsa) to denote an action in the immediate past, which is generally expressed by communication verbs such as tell, talk, say, exaggerate.e.g. I dont know what you are talking about.b) It can be used to make even politer requests than does the attitudinal past with such few examples as hope, wondere.g. Im hoping youll give us some advice.

11.4 Uses of the past progressive

1) Denoting an action in progress at a definite point or period of past time This is the most common use. Here the past time reference is usually indicated by a temporal adverbial or implied by the context. e.g. They were building a dam last year.

2) Denoting a past habitual actiona) It is most clearly characterized by its temporariness, in contrast with the past habit denoted by the simple past.e.g. George was getting up at five every day that week.b) It can collocate with such adverbials of frequency as always, constantly, continually, forever, to express emotional feelings, especially feelings of annoyance or disapproval on the part of the speaker.

e.g. My brother was always losing his keys.3) Denoting futurity in the past It can be used to denote a future action in the past according to a definite plan or arrangement. This use is also found in some adverbial clauses of time or condition.e.g. They were leaving a few days later.

4) Making politer requests and express hypothetical meanings

To express hypothetical meanings, the past progressive only occurs in certain conditional clauses and in subclauses after I wish, Id rather, its time.e.g. Id rather you were going at once.

5) Contrasts between the past progressive and the simple past

a) To denote an action in completion, we use the simple past; to denote an action in progress, we use the past progressive.e.g. I was reading a novel yesterday. I read a novel yesterday.

b) To state a mere past fact, we use the simple past; to lay emphasis on the duration of the action, we use the past progressive.e.g. It rained/was raining all night.c) When two actions co-occur in a sentence, the action of shorter duration is to be denoted by the simple past, while that of longer duration by the past progressive.e.g. I broke a glass while I was cooking the dinner.

d) In colloquial speech, the past progressive is sometimes used to show what one says is casual, unimportant and aimless, whereas the use of the simple past means differently. e.g. I was talking to Margaret the other day.I talked to Margaret the other day.

e) Compare the time sequence of the two actions in the following sentences.e.g. When we arrived, she was making some fresh coffee.When we arrived, she made some fresh coffee.In the first sentence, the action of making coffee was already in progress when we arrived, whereas in the second sentence, the action of making coffee followed our arrival in time sequence.