Tense and aspect

1. Tense and aspect RubaKamel Abo Daher Submitted to: Prof: WaleedAmer

2. What is tense? • Tense is a grammatical device used by a language to denote time by means of contrast in verb forms. Thus in English the contrast between the form "go(es)" and "went " points to time , it expresses tense. The first from basically refers to the present simple and the second to the past simple. • In Arabic, the from يذهب] j∂ðh∂bu] and ] ذهب∂h∂b∂] denote time and is therefore tense. The first from is connected with the present time whereas the second is with the past time.(Aziz,1989:p.39) . • In determining how a verb from refers to time we must know the point of reference which indicates what is meant by past, present and future .

3. Division of timePastـــــــــــــــــــــــــــ presentــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــfuture • In this figure which is quoted from (Quirk et,al 1985,p.75). The point of reference is the moment of speaking which determines the present as the moment identical with the point of reference, the past as the time which precedes the point of reference, and the future as the time which follows the point of reference. • Ps. The moment of speaking can’t be expressed by tense, it must be accompanied with aspect • Tenses using the moment of speaking as the point of reference are termed "absolute"; those usage of moments as point of reference are termed "relative". English tenses are basically " absolute". They take the moment of speaking as their reference. Arabic tenses are usually relative, they may take other moments in the sentences as their point of reference.

4. Tense in English • If we look at the five forms of the English verb: • go ,goes, went, going and gone, • we find that only the contrast between "go", "goes","went" expresses time ( Leech,1975,p.83). • The contrast between "go“ and "goes" denotes person, but not time . • I go, She goes, both forms refer to the present. The form "went", on the other hand, refers to the past. The other two forms (-ing) and (-edz), (the present and past participle)" going " and" gone" are non –finite . They do not normally refer to time but to aspect. On the basis of the two verb forms (go)(es):went, we have two tenses in English: the present tense(go, gose)and the past tense(went)

5. The present Tense • The present tense has its point of reference to the present moment of speaking. It is an absolute tense: but it refers to present time in general. This tense expresses repeated actions, habits, customs and even mere ability in the present. It may refer to future time. e.gAli leaves for Paris next month.

6. In the Simple Present, only the third person singular is marked for tense by the suffix -{S3}, e.g.: I play, we play, you play, they play, he plays, she plays, it plays. • PS. This means that the present tense consists of tense and person. • The morpheme {-S3} has the same allomorphs in the same distribution as the plural suffix {-S1} and possessive suffix -{S2} of the noun: /-s/, /-z/, /-iz/, as in sleeps, brushes, changes, raises. These are the allomorphs of the subject verb agreement s.

7. Simple Present Tense is used: 1 When you are referring to habitual actions--actions that you always or never do He always comes late to class. 2 When you are referring to unchanging truths The sun rises in the east.

8. Simple Present Tense is used: 3 • When you are making general statements of fact They are friendly.

9. Indicators simple present tense

10. Form simple present tense

11. The majority of modal auxiliaries are said to have tense. Can, may, shall, will, must are used in the present tense and here are the semantic usages of present tense. They precede the main verb and give it special shades of meaning like futurity, volition, possibility, probability, permission, and necessity. The auxiliaries can, may, shall, will, and must are not inflected for tense, e.g.: I can, we can; you can; they can, he can, she can, it can. • Ps. It’s not necessarily to have tense being inflected, for e.g. I shall study English. Shall here is present tense and study is simple aspect and it’s not inflected • The three quasi auxiliaries be, do, have often function as auxiliaries. The present form of Have and do are only inflected for third person singular nouns, and words for which the third person singular pronouns will substitute and word groups. I have, we have, you have, they have, he has, she has, it has; I do, we do, you do, they do, he does, she does, it does. Be has three suppletive forms in the present tense am, is, are as follows: I am, we are, you are, they are, he is, she is, it is. So here we have the base+ the person inflection.

12. Quasi auxiliaries may precede the verb stem, the present participle, and the past participle, e.g.: I do insist; They are playing; He has eaten. • The quasi auxiliary do is used in questions, negative sentences, and emphatic affirmations. • Do you know the answer? • She didn't do it. • I did see him.

13. The past Tense • It refers to the moment before the time of speaking: it is an absolute tense. The time is the definite past, expressed or implied. However, there are three less basic uses of the past tense which refers to the present. They are found in : • a- indirect speech: e.g., She said that he had come. • b- polite attitude : e.g., Would you please close the door?

14. The Simple Past Tense is Used: • 1- When an activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past--in other words, when an activity or situation is completed in the past We arrived three weeks ago. 2- To refer to past habits (a custom that is in the past) She always wrote a letter to her mother on Sunday night.

15. Diagram--time on a line NOW X Future Past Simple Past Tense

16. The past • The Simple Past form takes two forms: regular and irregular. • The regular form ends with the suffix {-ed} as in played, walked, closed. The past tense suffix -ed is pronounced [t] after a voiceless consonant as in stopped, possessed, marked; it is pronounced [d] after a voiced consonant as in believed, closed, played, and it is pronounced [id] after another /t/, /d/ as in started, landed. These three allomorphs are also called the homophones for the same bound morpheme –ed. • The irregular past tense takes on numerous forms: some verbs remain the same, some form their past by a suppletive form, some replace their entire stem by a wholly different stem as in go, went, e.g., went, ran, taught, wrote, smelt, took, made, said, left, sent, spoke, met, drew, began, set. • The past tense form of the verb is not inflected (marked) for the first, second or third person nouns or pronouns. • English native speakers, mainly the new generations, they cancelled the tense inflection and they replaces it with lexical meanings, for example: I go to university yesterday.

17. The past tense form of the modal auxiliaries can, may, shall, will, must are could, might, should, would, ought. Must and ought (to) do not have parallel forms, like the others. To express the past tense of must, in the sense of necessity, one says had to, e.g.: You ought to take the medicine. This an unfulfilled action You ought to /should have taken the medicine. Here it’s an advice for an action that doesn’t happen • The past tense form of the quasi auxiliaries be, do and have are: had; was, were; did. These past forms may precede the verb stem, the present participle, and the past participle. The quasi auxiliary do is used in questions, negative sentences, and emphatic affirmations. Did you know the answer? She didn't do it. I did see him. • These past tense forms are not marked in accordance with the subject.( zero agreenment)

18. The Present Perfect A verb form very commonly used in English to refer to the past!

19. The Present Perfect is Used: • When an activity happened at an unspecified time in the past (before the present) • E.g. They have already seen that movie • When an activity has been repeated several times before now E.g. We have visited Cairo many times • When an activity was very recently completed before now E.g. I have just eaten • When an activity is not completed in the past E.g. I have studied Spanish for many years

20. Indicators Present Perfect Tense

21. Form 1have or has + past participle linguistically: have is the present tense and studied is the perfective aspect

22. Form 2 Present Perfect Tense

23. Diagram 1--time on a line NOW X ? Past Future Present Perfect Tense

24. The Present Progressive Tense Sometimes called the Present Continuous Tense

25. The Present Progressive Tense is Used: • When an activity is in progress now at the moment of speaking e.g. I’m explaining something to the class right now. • When an activity began before now and continues into the future without stopping. e.g. He’s taking 16 credits this semester. • When an activity is temporary. • When an activity is developing and changing. e.g. She is understanding English more and more because she moved into the dorm.

26. Indicators Present Progressive Tense

27. Diagram--time on a line NOW Past Future

28. Tense in Arabic The present, The past

29. In Arabic there are two verb forms: the perfect الماضي ) al-m∂dhi ) and the imperfect المضارع ∂] lmudhri∂] which express, among other things, time reference. The perfect كَتَبَ ] k∂t∂b∂]and the imperfect ] يكتُب ] j∂ktubu] express present \past contrast when they are used as absolute tenses, i.e. taking the moment of speaking as their reference point.

30. It should be noted, however, that the same two forms may be used for relative tenses, in which case the point of reference is not the present moment of speaking but other points in the sentence. • Here are two examples which illustrate absolute relative tense of the imperfect يذهب) goes) [j∂ðha∂bu] • يَذهب أَخي إلى هُناك كُل يومٍ My brother goes there every day [j∂ðhabu ∂kielahun∂kkul∂j∂w∂m] this gives positive interference with the addition of the -s, and negative interference without the addition of the -s. • (Absolute: point of reference is the moment of speaking(now) • علمتُ آنذاك أنّ أخي يذهب هناك كُل يومthen I knew that my brother went there everyday . [∂limtu ∂n∂ða:k ∂nd ∂khij∂ðh∂buelahuna:kkul∂ j∂wn] and this give either negative or positive interference. • (Relative: point of reference past علم: the past refers to the past )

31. The verb form called the present indicative ( ( المُضارع basically refers to present time. If the point of reference is the moment of speaking: a- As in English , the present tense may refer to the general present, namely a repeated action, a fact or an ability in the present. e.g.أذهب إلى السوق مرة كل أسبوع I go to the market once a week . ∂] ðhabuela ∂lsuqm∂r∂ kulisbua] قلما يحضر علي الاجتماعات Ali rarely comes to the Meeting ,] q∂l∂m∂ j∂hdh∂r ∂li ∂lijtima: ∂t] and قلما here refers to habits. So here we have a similarity in the semantic features of both Arabic and English. The present tense

32. . b- Unlike the English present tenses, the Arabic present tense may often refer to the present moment . E.g. إنه يكتب قصيدة طويلةHe is writing along poem ]en∂huj∂ktubuq∂seedat∂weal∂]. ليلى تعمل في المطبخLayla is working in the kitchen. {Leila t∂m∂lfilm∂tbakh]. we can refer to present continues by using adverbs like:الآن, الوقت الحاليor the context of the verb.

33. The past tense • The perfect fromالماضي basically refers to action, states, and/or situations, before the present (absolute tense ) . This tense has the following uses: • a- All types of acts are completed before the present moment: long acts , which indicate definite past time. • عاشت هدى في باريس السنة الماضية[ashathuda fi bareas ∂ls∂n∂ ∂L m∂dhiyah] Huda lived in Paris last year. • وصل القطار قبل قليل[w∂s∂l∂ ∂L qit∂rq∂bl∂ q∂leal] The train arrived a short time ago • b- past actions in the indefinite past. They may be with present by means of their effect or result. Such action are usually expressed in English by the perfect aspect and the present tenseقد]q∂d] Is occasionally used with the perfect form, but its use is restricted to affirmative statements . • The plane has arrived. وصلت الطائرة الان] w∂s∂l∂teltaira ∂la:n∂] the perfective aspect in Arabic is expressed lexically while in English we have grammatical infections. • I have lost my book. فقدت كتابي] f∂q∂tukita:bi] . • I have not done this. ما فعلتُ هذا] ma f∂َ ∂ltuhaða]

34. Comparison of Tenses in English and Arabic 1- In absolute tenses, the present tense in English and Arabic refer to general present time, which includes the present moment .This may express facts, habits, customs, repeated, but not necessarily actions happening at the present moment .

35. 2- The Arabic present tense often refers to an action taking place at the moment of speaking (now). In English, this use of the present tense is confined to a limited number of verb notably verbs of sensation. The English equivalent is expressed by the progressive aspect. Look to the next examples: • Layla is preparing the tea. ] تعد ليلى الشاي الآنt∂idu Leila ∂l shi ∂la:n]. • Ali is working in the garden now.علي يعمل في الحديقة الآن ∂] Li y∂َ ∂m∂lufilh∂diqa ∂la:n].

36. 3- Both in English and Arabic, the present tense may refer to future time, usually with the help of an adverbial of futurity. e.g. My brother leaves for Cairo tomorrow.]يغادر أخي إلى القاهرة غداَ jugha:dir ∂kh: elaelq∂h:rdqh∂dan] 4- Definite English past tense refers to a definite past which excludes the present moment. The Arabic past tense may refer to definite past . e.g. I saw this man last yearرأيت هذا الرجل في العام الماضي .] r∂eituhaðd ∂lr∂julfil a:m elma:dhi ] 5- The Arabic past tense in contrast with the English past tense may also refer to an indefinite past time normally connected with the present in one way or another . e.g. I have seen this man twice: his face is familiar to me. رأيت هذا الرجل مرتين , وجهه مألوف عندي] :r∂eituhað∂ ∂lr∂َ ∂gulm∂r∂tein,w∂َ ∂ghahum∂lufendi] The English equivalent is normally expressed by means of the present tense and the perfect aspect. I have not finished the story yet.لم أنته من القصة بعد] L∂m ∂nt∂hi min ∂lqus∂ b∂du ]

37. 6- Often Arabic uses the past tense, where English uses the present tense . This is found in the proverbs, maxims, and what is in print. It is also true of certain verbs of emotion. • Shakespeare says. قال شكسبير] qa:l∂ sh∂kespear ] • I love this girl. لقد أحببت هذاالطفل'] l∂q∂d ∂hbabtuha:ðihi ∂lfata:t] • 7- Probably the most important difference between the English and the Arabic tenses is that the English tenses are absolute: the relative tenses are expressed by means of different forms, the non-finite forms. The Arabic tenses uses the same forms in absolute and relative constructions. The following examples of transformation from direct to indirect speech illustrate this point . • He said "Ali likes jazz music."( direct speech). He said that Ali liked jazz music."( indirect speech). In the indirect speech " likes" becomes" liked" because the action is now in the past, and the tense is absolute; it uses two different forms . In Arabic the is not necessary because the same form may be used in absolute tenses (direct speech here) and relative tenses ( as in the direct speech below). In both the direct and the indirect speech in the above examples, the imperfect يحب is used first absolutely, then relative.

38. Futurity in English and Arabic

39. future simple1.Will and shall+ verb stem • Will and shall are semantically used to express colorless neutral future. • 1a. I shall be 22 years old by next birthday. • b. You will be pleased to see them. • Syntactically, Will is used with all persons in case of semantically expressing determination and persistence. • 2a. I will be obeyed. (I am determined to be obeyed ) • b. He will do as he likes (he is determined to do as he likes)

40. Future simple in English • Following Quirk (1973), shallis used to express willingnesson the part of speaker in 2nd and 3rd person. By way of illustration consider the examples in (3): • 3a. He shall return the good to the store and refund his money. • b. You shall behave as you like. • An offerin the present and future can be expressed by shall in the first and third persons and will in the second. • 4a. Shall I offer you another chance? • b. Will you have a rest for ten minutes? • c. Shall she make you a cup of tea?

41. Future simple in English • A promise or threat in the futurecan be expressed in the second and third person by shalland in the first person by will. • 5a. You shall be punished if you do this again. • b. I will be there to help. • This form of futurity also expresses a requestin present and future. This can be expressed by will in the second person. • 6a. Will you please open the door? • b. Will you kindly send me an application form?

42. Future simple in Arabic • Shifting to Arabic the construction, which is equivalent to the English will and shall + bare infinitive is sawfa + imperfect indicative form of the verb. This construction is used in SA to refer to neutral future. Consider: • 7. sawfayusaferzayd-un ?ilamesrmostaqbal-an سوف يسافرُ زيدٌ إلى مصر مستقبلاً • Will travel Zayd-nom[1] to Egypt future-acc • ‘Zayd will travel to Egypt in future’ [1] • ‘Nom’ stands for the nominative case which is syntactically assigned to the subject. ‘Acc’ means accusative Case which is assigned to the object, and gen means genitive Case, which is assigned to the construct states, etc.

43. Future simple in Arabic In expressing willingness, SA uses the imperfect indicative form of the verb followed by the complementizerann or the derived nominal. Consider: • 9a. yuridzaydann yu9id al-beDaa?aيريدُ زيد أن يرجع البضاعة • want zayd that return the-good • ‘Zaydshall return the good’ • yuridzayd ?e9adat l-beDa9a يريد زيد إرجاع البضاعة • Want Zayd returning the-good • ‘Zaydshall return the good’

44. The constructions in (9a and b) are also used in expressing offer in SA along with the question particle ?a + the imperfect indicative form of the verb followed by either the complementizerannor the derived nominal. Consider: • 10a. Oriid-u annamnaHak-a forSa-tan oxraأريد أن أمنحكَ فرصةَ أخرى • want-I that I-grant-you chance another • ‘I shall offer you another chance’ • b. Oriid-u manH-a-ka-a forSa-tan oxraأريد منحك فرصة أخرى • want-I that I-granting-you chance another • ‘I shall offer you another chance’ • C. ?a toriid-u δorb-a kob-in men δ-δai? أتريد شرب كوبٍ من الشاي ؟ • Will want-you drinking-acc cup-gen of the-tea • Will you want to drink a cup of tea? • d. ?a toriid-u ann taδrab-a koban men δ-δai? أتريد أن تشرب كوبً من الشاي؟ • Will want-you that drink cup-acc of the-tea • Will you want to drink a cup of tea?

45. 2. Shall/will + progressive • This construction is used to express actions that will be going on at a certain time in future. It also indicates a future action that is part of a plan or an arrangement as in (11): • 11. a. We shall be playing tennis at 5 p.m. next Friday. • b. We shall be travelling all night.

46. 2. Shall/will + progressive • Following Quirk, (1973), (1988) the shall/will be V+ing construction is also used to avoid the interpretation of volition, insistence, etc that future simple is characterized with. Consider example (12): • 12a. I ‘ll do my best. • B. I ‘ll be doing my best.

47. 2. Shall/will +progressive • The tense in (12a I’ll do my best) involves possible volitional interpretation. However the tense in (12b I’ll be doing my best ) expresses future interpretation only Future continuous is expressed in SA by the near future particle saplus imperfect indicative verbfollowed by a point of time: • 13 . Sa yal9ab fariiqu-naa l-kora-ta 9nda s-sa9a s-sabe9amasaa?-an سيلعب فريقنا الكرة عند الساعة السابعة مساءاَ • Will play team-our the ball-acc at the hour the seven evening-accYad-an Tomorrow-acc • ‘Our team will be playing football at 7 o’clock tomorrow’

48. 3.3.Future perfective in English • This construction refers to an action that will have happened before some other future actions happen or before some point of time arrives. • 14a. They shall have played two games of tennis before we arrive there. • b. They will have graduated by the end of April.

49. Future perfective in SA • The construction which comprises the near future particle sa+defective verb in the imperfect indicative form (yakuun) followed by the expletive qadand the past form of the verb semantically expresses future perfect in Arabic. Consider: • 15. sayakuun-u qad ?anhuu l-9amal-a fi l-maδruu9-i fi mares سيكونو قد أنهو المشروع في مارس القدام • will be finished-they the work-acc in the project-gen in March l-qadem. the next. • ‘They will have finished the project by next March’

50. Future perfective in SA • It is noteworthy that the future perfect form can also be semantically expressed by the future construction saor sawfa+ the present form of the verb followed by a derived nominal. For convenience consider the following example: • 16. sa- yunhuubenaa?-a l-bayt-i fi mayoul-qademسوف ينهوو بناء البيتِ في مايو القدام • Will-finish-they building-acc the-home-gen in May thenext • ‘They will have finished building the house by next May’