语法 Chapter 7

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CHAPTER VII VERBS (II) TENSE

7.1 Time and Tense

“Time” and “Tense” are two concepts quite different from each other and must not be confused. “Time” is a universal concept with three divisions (past time, present time and future time). It is something independent of language. “Tense” stands for a verb form or a series or verb forms used to express a time relation. Tenses vary in different language. They may indicate whether an action or state is past, present, or future, whether it is, was, or will be complete or in progress over a period of time. English verbs have 16 tense forms.

A certain tense form may refer to more than one time relation. Take “had” (the past indefinite) as an example:

He had no time to go into the matter. (past time)

If he had time now, he would go into the matter. (present time) If he had time tomorrow, he would go into the matter. (future time) 7.2 The use of the Indefinite Tenses 1) The present indefinite tense

(1) To denote a customary, permanent or repeated action, e.g.

He gets up at six and takes morning exercises at six twenty every morning. We meet three times a week.

(2) To denote a general truth or a proverb, e.g. Light travels more quickly than sound.

(3) To express ability, character, disposition, etc, e.g. She writes good English but doesn‟t speak well. The director treats his subordinates as equals.

(4) To signify an event simultaneous with the present moment, e.g. Moore gets the ball and passes it to Charles. (commentary)

We acknowledge your gift. (performative deolaration) Here comes the teacher! (exclamation)

(5) Instead of the future indefinite in adverbial clauses of time, condition, manner, concession, etc, e.g. If anything happens, I‟ll get in touch with you. (condition)

Next time I‟ll do as he says. (manner)

When we leave, we‟ll take John with us and leave Mary behind to keep you company. (time) Note 1) Noun clauses tend to contain present tense verbs when the main clause (as well as subordinate clause) refers to the future, but when the main clause refers to the present, the future indefinite is likely to be used in the subordinate clause.

Contrast:

I shall ask him what he wants tomorrow. The question is what he will want tomorrow. I hope [that] he succeeds (=will succeed).

Note 2) There are three exceptions to the rule that future indefinite cannot appear in adverbial clauses introduced by “if”:

(a) Where “will” or “won‟t” has a volitional meaning, e.g.

If you will (=are willing to) help us, we can finish the work in time.


(b) Where even though the if-clause refers to the future, the condition expressed by the whole sentence obtains in the present, e.g.

If he won‟t arrive before nine, there is no point in ordering dinner for him. (= If we can make sure that he won‟t arrive before nine, then there is no point in ordering dinner for him now. )

In both these sentences, the future contingency expressed in the if-clause determines a present decision. (See GCE, 11. 68.)

Note 3) The present indefinite may sometimes be used instead of the future indefinite. It is used chiefly when something is settled as part of a programme already fixed. This usage occurs especially in sentences with verbs of motion (go, come, start, leave, etc) and containing words referring to the future. e.g.

When does the train start? – It starts at ten to eight. Their delegation arrives here tomorrow morning.

(6) Instead of the past indefinite to express vividness in narration. This is known as the “historic or dramatic present”. In using this tense, the speaker, for the time being, forgets all about time and represents what happened in the past as if it were present before his eye, e.g.

At that time in comes a messenger from the Head Office, telling me the boss wants to see me in a hurry.

(7) Generally, instead of the present perfect with such verbs as : learn, tell, hear, forget, be told, e.g.

“Well, then, what are we talking about?” –I “forget.” (Shaw) “I hear that you are going away.” (Morris)

I learn that you have moved into your new quarters. I am told that you have made rapid progress these days. He writes to say that he will go to Beijing.

Note : The verb “be” in the present indefinite may sometimes be used instead of the present perfect when followed by extinct, forgotten, dead, etc. used as predicatives, e.g.

The Town and Gown rows (i.e. the rows between the townsmen and the undergraduates) which used to provide so attractive a picture for the novelist are extinct and forgotten (=have been extinct and forgotten)

these last ten years. (Kruisinga) He is dead these forty years. (ibid.) 2) The past indefinite tense

(1) To express an action wholly completed at some point or during some period in the past. It is often associated with adverbial expressions of past time: yesterday, last week, an hour ago, the other day, in 1972, etc.,e.g.

At that time he ran a tea-house as cover for his underground work. The negotiations ended last week.

(2) To express recurrent actions in the past, e.g. While he was in Rome, he often went to the theatre. Wherever we went, we were given a welcome.

Note: A recurrent action in the past may be expressed in other ways:

(a) He was in the habit of going there twice a week.

(b) When I was a child, I used to pick up firewood there with my brother.

(c) Last winter the old man would sit by the fire and tell us all about his bitter past and happy


present.

(3) To express a series of actions taking place one after another in the past, e.g.

Early in the morning he waked up, jumped out of bed, washed and hurried to the worksite. When we were on the streets of the town for the first time, many people waved and smiled at us.

Some came up and shook hands and talked with us like old friends.

(4) Instead of the past future tense in a subordinate clause of time, condition, etc., e.g. He said he would not go with us if it rained.

They told us that they would not leave until she came back.

(5) To express an action planned or anticipated in the future when that future is viewed from a past moment

We had very little time that evening as we started the next day. (Ganshina)

He told us that school opened on the following morning.

Note: Sometimes the past indefinite is related to the attitudes of the speaker rather than to time. In the following pairs the past indefinite shows more politeness and modesty than the present indefinite:

Do you want any help from me?

Did you want any help from me? (more polite)

3) The future indefinite tense

(1) To indicate recurrent actions in the future, e.g.

We will (shall) take English clauses three times a week this term.

(2) To express the occurrence of an action or the existence of a state in the future, e.g. You will see that he is right.

Note: There are some other constructions instead of the future indefinite tense: (a) (to) be going + infinitive, e.g.

Are you going to review your lessons this afternoon? (future of present intention) It‟s going to be fine this afternoon. (future of present cause)

(b) (to) be about + infinitive, e.g.

We are about to have a meeting, so there is no time to finish it now. (near future, i.e. imminent fulfilment)

They are about to start.

This pattern is not used along with an adverbial indicating future time.

(c) (to) be + infinitive

This construction often has modal force, expressing arrangement, necessity, obligation, possibility command, predestined future, purpose, or result of development, etc.,e.g.

We are to have our teaching practice next month. (arrangement)

We are to be (=ought to be) the first to face the music if anything difficult is to be (=is necessary to be) done for the public good. (necessity and obligation)

Many interesting things are to be seen at the exhibition. (possibility)

You are always to knock before you enter my room. (command) The prince is to be the crown head some day. (pre-destined future)

The house is to be let or sold. (purpose)

I met Smith at the university, who was to have a great influence on me in later years. (result of development)


(d) The present indefinite tense of some verbs of motion, such as “sail”, “go”, “start”. Besides verbs of motion, some other verbs in the present indefinite may also be used to refer to the future indefinite. The use, however, is chiefly found in spoken English, e.g.

th

Parliament doesn‟t meet until Feb. 14. School recommences on Jan.15th.

Your subscription expires on the 16th inst. He returns in a few days.

(d) The present continuous tense of some verbs, such as “arrive”, “go”, “come”, “leave”, “do”, “give”, “land”, “stop”, “start”, “take”, “meet”, “eat”, “publish”, “see (=pay a visit to) ”, “spend”, “play”, “dine”, “pay”, “join”, “move”, e.g.

Our dean is giving a report this afternoon. What are you doing on Sunday? I‟m seeing the manager this evening. He is playing the flute tomorrow.

Note: There is a tendency to use the present continuous tense for some preplanned future, if the action of the verb is under man‟s control.

4) The past future tense

The past future is used to express an action or state that is future from the standpoint of the past. It is usually used in indirect speech, e.g.

They reaffirmed that they would never surrender. 7.3 The Use of the Continuous Tenses

1) The present continuous tense

(1) To express an action actually going on at the moment of speaking, e.g. Where is the teacher?-----he is giving a coaching in the next room. Listen! Someone is knocking at the door!

(2) To express an action going on in the present period, but not necessarily so at the present moment, e.g.

I came to Changsha last week, I am attending a conference here.

(3) To denote a repeated action often with an emotional suggestion when modified by an “adverb of frequency” (always, constantly, continually, etc.),

They are always slandering our work. (condemnation) You are continually finding fault with me. (irritation)

He is perpetually complaining. (annoyance)

He is constantly thinking of how he could do more for others. (praise)

(4) Instead of the future continuous in adverbial clauses of time and condition, etc., e.g. If I am sleeping when he comes, wake me up, please.

While she is writing the letter, you may do a bit of reading in her bedroom.

(5) Replacing the future indefinite in colloquial English with verbs denoting an action which can be preplanned or prearranged, e.g.

We‟re inviting some second graders to attend the meeting next Friday. 2) The past continuous tense

(1) To denote a concrete action going on at a given past moment, e.g.

Before the cottage-door in the sunshine, a great finishing-net was drying, fastened to two wooden stakes. (Hitchens)


If the given past moment at which the action was going on is not clear from the context, it may be fixed:

(a) By an adverb or adverbial expression of definite time, such as ten minutes ago, then, at 8 o‟clock, etc., e.g.

At that time rain was failing heavily.

We were talking about the matter ten minutes ago.

(b) By another action denoted by the past indefinite either in the subordinate or in the main clause, e.g.

Comrade Bethune was operating on a wounded soldier, when gun shots sounded.

As I was witting at breakfast this morning, there came a knock at my door. (Dickens) Note: The past continuous is generally more descriptive than the past indefinite.

Consequently, the latter is used when only a simple narrative is intended. But the former is to be preferred when you want to describe the „background‟ of something you are going to relate.

(2) To express an action characteristic of the subject at a given period of time in the past, e.g.

We were living there at that time.

(3) To denote an action filling up a whole period of time, but only when the action is considered in its progress, e.g.

What were you doing all day yesterday? ------I was working at the new grammar. What were you going yesterday? Reading the whole day, I suppose?

(4) To express an action in the immediate future viewed from the past with verbs of motion. (go, come, start, leave, etc.)

They were just coming to see us when we went to see them. I was afraid it was going to rain.

(5) To express the evolution of the situation resulting from some mutually related actions going before, when modified by “soon”, “the next moment”, “a few minutes later”, etc., e.g. The bus came round the corner and I got on. Ten minutes later I was walking into the bank where I work.

3) The future continuous tense

(1) To indicate an action going on at a given moment in the future, e.g. We shall be having an English lesson this time tomorrow.

You will probably be working when I ring you up.

(2) To denote an action which is supposed, planned, or anticipated in the future, e.g. My daughter will be coming home soon. “When shall you be going ?”---“Tomorrow.”

Notice that future continuous may also express supposition referring to the present, e.g. It‟s nine already. The child will be sleeping now.

Note 1) The future continuous is also used to ask about a person‟s intention before a request (to borrow something, etc.) is made to him, e.g.

Will you be using your bicycle today? (If not, will you let me use it for a few hours?)

This is considered a more polite form than “Are you going to use your bicycle today?” Note 2) Examine the following sentences. The difference among them, though slight, is yet noticeable:

(1) he will come. (2) He is coming.


(3) He will be coming

The first sentence expresses a vague future; the second sentence, an immediate future; and the third sentence, a near but not necessarily immediate future.

4) The past future continuous tense

The past future continuous denotes an action going on at a definite future moment viewed from the past, e.g.

He said he would be going over our papers the next morning. 7.4 The Use of the Perfect Tense 1) The present perfect tense

The present perfect tense is used to refer to an action or state in the past but connected with the present situation in its consequences. It denotes:

(1) An action already completed, e.g.

I have torn the paper in two. (Now the paper is torn in two.) The rain has stopped. (Now it is not raining any longer.)

(2) A past experience, e.g.

He has travelled a great deal, and seen a great deal of the world, I should think. (Bronte) Have you ever been to the club?

(3) Habitual or repeated actions in a period leading up to the present, e.g. I have always walked to work.

(4) An action accomplished in the past, but the period in which it occurred has not yet ended, e.g.

We have had quite a few grammar classes this term. (said before the end of the term) How much have you done this morning? (said during the morning)

(5) A state or action begun in the past and continued up to or into the present, e.g. For more than a week my pen has lain untouched. (Glassing)

I came back at noon and have been ever since.

He has taught English for ten years. (He is still teaching and may continue to teach it.) I have worked with her since I came here.

If we omit the adverbial expressing a period of time (“for ten years”, “since I came here”) in the last two sentences, the present perfect tense will denote past experience, and the meaning will be different, that is, “He is no longer teaching English now.” and “I am no longer working with her now.”

However, sometimes in a certain context the present perfect tense may denote an action begun in the past and continued up to or into the present even if there is no adverbial expressing a period of time in the sentence, e.g.

A: Adam has not been t the reading-room for a week. Why?

B: He has been busy reading proofs of a newly compiled grammar. (He is still busy with the proof-reading. Here the period of time “for a week” is understood as it is already said in the preceding sentence.)

(4) An action already completed at a given future time in an adverbial of time, condition, etc.

e.g.

I shall go as soon as I have finished my lessons.

If you have read the material before I leave, give it to me.

Note 1) The present perfect must not be used with any word denoting an absolute past time.


It is wrong to say:

He has come a moment ago. Our friend has arrived yesterday.

Note 2) The present perfect may be used with adverbs of duration or adverbs of indefinite time: already, yet, ever, never, always, sometimes, since, lately, just, often, seldom, once, twice, “for” phrase, etc., e.g.

“I have given my answer already,” the boy said. I have met him hundreds of times.

He has been here for the past three weeks.

Note 3) The present perfect is not used in real question (i.e. not rhetorical questions) beginning with “when”. Use past indefinite if it refers to the past.

But with other interrogatives (where, why, what, how, etc.) either the present perfect or the past indefinite may be used. E.g.

Where did you go?

Where has he gone?

How did you make such great achievements?

What have I said to make you so unhappy?

But: In rhetorical questions the present perfect tense may be used along with “when”, e.g. When have I told a lie? (=I have never told a lie.) 2) The past perfect tense

The past perfect tense is used to express a past action accomplished before a given past moment. The past given moment may be indicated:

(1) By means of an adverbial expression, e.g.

By eight o‟clock this morning we had already gathered in the hall.

The plant had fulfilled its yearly plan of production by the 20th of December.

(2) By another action (in the past tense), e.g.

When I came to the classroom, everybody had gone to the sound lab.

Note 1) The past indefinite is sometimes used instead of the past perfect in clauses beginning with “after”, e.g.

After we [had] had a short rest, the discussion began.

He left the room after he [had] turned off the light.

Note 2) The past perfect tense is usually used in the principal clause with adverbs hardly, scarcely, no sooner. In the subordinate clause the past indefinite is often use, e.g.

I had hardly (scarcely) entered the classroom when the class began.

No sooner had he come than I told him the news. 3) The future perfect tense

The future perfect is used to express an action already completed at a given future moment. The given future moment may be indicated:

(1) By an adverbial expression, e.g.

By the end of this term we shall have learned about 2,500 new words. (2) By another action, e.g.

Be quick or the train will have left by the time we get to the station.

The future perfect may denote an action began before a given future moment and continued up to or into that moment, e.g.


By the end of this year, I shall have been here two years.

4) The past future perfect tense

The past future perfect bears the same relation to the past future that the future perfect bears to the future indefinite. It is often used in indirect speech, e.g.

He said that by the end of the next year he would have been there ten years.

He knew that at eight o‟clock on the following night he would have finished all his work. 7.5 The Use of the Perfect Continuous Tenses

1) The present perfect continuous tense

The present perfect continuous is chiefly used to express an action begun in the past and continued into the present. Emphasis is laid on the continuity of the action, e.g.

He has been living here since he came to the city.

(1) The starting point or the duration is indicated by an adverb or an adverbial expression, e.g.

Where have you been working all the time?

(2) The starting point is indicated by another action expressed in an adverbial clause introduced by “since”. e.g.

The enemy soldiers have been firing blindly in all directions since they were thrown into great confusion.

The present perfect continuous may also express an action begun in the past, continued up to the present, but no longer going on at the present moment, e.g.

Where were you just now? We have been waiting for you.

“You have been travelling all day, you must be tired.”

Note: This tense is often used with adverbials like how long? Since, for…, these ten days, all the time, etc. But if the context is clear, such adverbials are not used, e.g.

Human society has been making unceasing progress.

I have been telling you hundreds of times to be more attentive. 2) The past perfect continuous tense

The past perfect continuous is used to express an action begun before a given past moment and continued up to or into that moment.

They had been climbing for two hours when they at last reached the summit of the mountain.

The moon which had been shining high up in the sky suddenly disappeared.

She had been working at her report when I went to see her. 3) The future perfect continuous tense

The future perfect continuous expresses an action begun before a given moment in the future and continued into the future moment, e.g.

It is two o‟clock now, and I have been working already for three hours; at five o‟clock I shall have been working for six hours.

4) The past future perfect continuous tense

The past future perfect continuous is used in the same way as the future perfect continuous except that it is used in indirect speech with a main verb in the past, e. g.

He said that by the end of that year he would have been working in the factory for twenty years.

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