Download Verbs and verb tenses

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SUPPLEMENTARY READING: VERBS AND VERB TENSES
Introduction
This supplementary reading is a basic introduction to the subject. Some of you may
already know quite a lot about the English tenses, but what you know will depend on
your background (your previous education and reading, for example). Some graduate
students might already be teachers of English and have a strong grasp of the English
tense system. If so, you will find this reading easy. You may, however, find that there are
slight differences in terminology from what you are used to, and this reading may refresh
your memory of some points as well as prepare you for some of the special features of
Hallidayan linguistics with respect to tense and aspect.
You may be surprised to see that, although there is quite a lot about verbs and
verbal groups in The Functional Analysis of English, there is very little specifically about
tenses. We hope that this reading will partly fill the gap.
We have attached three appendices to this supplementary reading: (1) a list of the
main tenses in English in the active voice; (2) a list of the verb forms in English in the
passive voice; and (3) some notes on irregular verbs in English. You may find these
useful for reference.
Tense and aspect
We usually refer to tenses by names that incorporate aspect, such as the present
continuous tense, where ‘present’ refers to time and ‘continuous’ refers to aspect. Tense
is the grammatical category relating to time (past, present and future) and aspect is the
category used for reference to other temporal features, such as whether an event or
process extends over a period (known as progressive or continuous aspect). The other
main aspect for which there is a term in English is perfect, used most often for a state
resulting from an event that happened earlier than the moment of speaking or before
another stated event in the past.
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
I have just finished reading David Copperfield.

We have already seen the pyramids.

The stranger’s clothes were dusty and muddy, as if he had travelled a long way.
Some languages have specific means of expressing a wide variety of aspects. In English
we can express these aspects, but certain tenses can express more than one aspect and
these are not recognized in their names. For example, the past simple tense can be used
for an event that is considered by the speaker to have been the case for a long period of
time in the past (Shakespeare lived from 1569 to 1613), or for a single completed event in
the past (‘You killed my grandmother!’ cried little Claus) or for a series of repeated
events in the past (Every day, she danced and every evening, he told her a story).
Halliday incorporates aspect in his system network for FINITENESS. Here we
reproduce the section relating to participles, the next section of this reading:
Infinitives and participles
There are three types of non-finite verb in English and each can be used with Finite
auxiliaries to make a tense. They are infinitives, present participles (often known as the
-ing form) and past participles (often known as the -en form).
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All present participles end in -ing, but most past participles end in -ed and only some
irregular verbs have participles that end in -en; for example been, seen, eaten. -en is the
chosen form to avoid confusion with the past simple tense, which also usually ends in
-ed. (See Appendix III for more examples of irregular verbs.)
The infinitive is the form of the verb that is listed in a dictionary. In a clause it may
form part of a verb group, where it may follow a modal operator (as in will go, can play,
etc.):

We will tie a rope around your waist, and then he can pull you up again.
An infinitive can also be used with the preposition to as in the following example:

The soldier bought some new clothes to wear at the wedding.
The -ing form (e.g. playing, thinking, speaking) is used with a finite operator and
sometimes other auxiliaries to form the progressive (continuous) tenses. Notice that
although it is called the present participle, it is used in both present, past and future
continuous verbs:

The nightingales are singing near the Convent of the Sacred Heart.

Little Claus was crying as he walked through the dark wood.

I will be teaching my son to wash, iron and darn.
When it is not used as part of a tense, the -ing form can function as a non-finite verb,
stand alone to form the head of a nominal group (a gerund), or modify a noun, as in the
following examples:

Beating a kettle drum, the old man led the way. (non-finite verb, realizing a
material process)

They couldn’t tell when the singing came to an end. (nominal group, Subject of
came)

Birthday fireworks lit up the faces of the marching protesters. (Epithet, modifying
protesters)
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The past participle (-en form) is used to construct the perfect tenses when combined with
the verb have as operator (as in I have finished, He has lost, They hadn’t eaten, etc.). In
addition to its place in the perfective forms of the verb, the past participle combines with
forms of the verb be in the passive, which can exist in any tense (as in It was trapped, We
had been educated, They will not be admitted). Like the -ing form, it can also function as
a non-finite verb, stand as a head of a nominal group, and modify a noun:

Held in custody for five and a half years, the banker was yesterday granted a final
appeal by the High Court. (non-finite verb, realizing a material process)

There is evidence of contact between the accused and the victim. (nominal group,
in this example linked with another nominal group)

Another half-hour’s walk brings us to the deserted village of Holyoak. (Epithet,
modifying village)
Halliday’s approach to tense
Generally, in An Introduction to Functional Grammar (IFG), Halliday refers to the
English tenses by the same names as those used by most modern grammarians and
teachers of English. These are the names used in the Table of English verb tenses at the
end of this reading (Appendix I).
However, Halliday develops the account of verb tenses in two major ways. The
first can be found in Chapter 4 of IFG, where he introduces the terms primary tense and
secondary tense to describe different parts of the verbal group. The term primary tense is
used for the tense of the Finite operator, which he sees as indicating ‘past, present or
future at the moment of speaking’ or ‘time relative to “now”’. The secondary tenses are
carried by any auxiliaries in addition to the Finite. Thus, what is known as the future
perfect tense (e.g. will have worked) is re-analyzed as follows:
primary tense
secondary tenses
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will
have
worked
In the next example, we have an even longer verbal group:

By tomorrow, I will have been working in Hong Kong for four years.
The analysis, slightly simplified would be:
primary tense
secondary tenses
will
have
been
working
Future
present
past
present
The meaning behind this is that will projects a point of time in the future in relation to the
time of speaking, have been (have + -en) refers to a period of time preceding that point of
future time, and the been working (be + -ing) suggests that the action is continuing on
into that point of time in the future (named as ‘tomorrow’ at the time of speaking but
which will be present by then).
This type of analysis is very complex and, at the time of writing, may be largely
irrelevant to most applications. It may prove to be important for the computer generation
of natural language, and it plays a part in the construction of system networks in their
present form. In Chapter 6, where Halliday introduces the logical structure of the verbal
group, he discusses the serial nature of English tenses, claiming that it shows how the
systems for TENSE allow the other auxiliary verbs to stand in relation to the Finite. This is
generally considered to be a difficult area of systemic grammar so we shall not discuss it
further here. It will, no doubt, be the subject of future research (see, for example, Fawcett
2013).
Some thoughts on the naming of tenses
Whatever model of linguistics we study, from traditional school grammar to the most up
to date functional lexicogrammar, there is a problem with the basic terminology of verb
tenses in English. The problem is that we cannot escape from the words past, present and
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future. These three words are normally applied to verb tenses, giving the impression that
there is a definite fixed correspondence between the tense and the time it represents,
which is not actually the case.
Although there is a strong correspondence between tenses and time (in relation to the
moment of speaking), it is not a one-to-one correspondence, and the use of tenses also
varies according to register and genre. To take an extreme example, you may have
noticed that historians have a strong tendency to use present tenses to relate past
narratives, a characteristic many people find very annoying.
However, the reality is much more complicated than that. To take a very
straightforward example, consider the following:
1. We leave tomorrow for Athens.
2. We are leaving tomorrow for Athens.
3. We shall leave tomorrow for Athens.
Each example (1, 2 and 3) predicts an event expected to take place on the day after the
time of speaking, that is in the future from the speaker’s viewpoint, yet each uses a
different tense. The tense in (1) is called the present simple, the tense in (2) is the present
progressive (sometimes called the present continuous) and the tense in (3) is usually
called the future tense, even though it is actually constructed with a modal verb (will) and
an infinitive (leave). The time is simply indicated by the adjunct tomorrow. Contextually,
each example might seem more appropriate in certain circumstances, but this is irrelevant
to the fact that only in the case of (3) does the name of the tense match the time of the
event.
To take another example, consider some of the various meanings that can be given to
the same tense, in this case, the present simple:
4. The year depends only on the time the earth takes to travel round the sun.
5. The world’s greatest sports people compete in the Olympic Games.
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6. I promise that I will do my best to do my duty to God and to Australia ...
In (4) the two verbs in the present simple tense (depends, takes) are used for happenings
that are considered to be the case yesterday, today and in the future as far as we can see
without ceasing as long as the solar system in its present form continues. In (5), the
present simple tense (compete) is used for a variety of events that happen from time to
time, in the past and (possibly) the present and (we expect) in the future, but not
continuously. In (6), part of the Australian Boy Scouts’ promise, the tense in the verb
promise is used for a single process taking place at the moment of speaking (‘now’ from
the point of view of the speaker). As we have seen above, in certain situations the present
simple tense can also be used for a future event. Note that in the examples we have given
it is not essential to include time adjuncts in the clause.
The examples we have looked at so far concern usage and context, but even
grammatically, English does not always select tense to match time, for example, in clause
complexes with a dependent clause of time or condition, the dominant clause may be in
the future tense, but the dependent clause will usually (but not always) be in the present
even when it refers to a future time. See the following examples (present tenses with
future meanings underlined):
7. When the poppies bloom again, I’ll remember you.
NOT *When the poppies will bloom again, I will remember you.
8. I have guns and I will use them if I am pushed.
NOT *I will use them if I will be pushed.
We are not suggesting that there is any possibility of changing the names of English
tenses; they are too well established, but simply that we must be aware of the complexity
of the meanings that most verb tenses can express and not expect a one-to-one relation
with time.
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It may help to remember that the names of the tenses exist for purely historical
reasons. They were transferred into English from the work of Latin grammarians who
were describing a very different language, one where each tense used the base lexical
form of the verb without auxiliaries, and indicated the tenses by the use of inflections
(endings) attached to the word. From a single instance of a one-word Latin verb, you
know the person, the tense, and whether it is in the active or passive voice, as well as the
lexical meaning. This is not true for English.
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APPENDIX I
MAIN TENSES IN ENGLISH: ACTIVE VOICE
Regular verbs
SIMPLE TENSES
Present Simple
Past Simple
I work (he/she/it works)
I worked
PROGRESSIVE TENSES (BE -ing) also called CONTINUOUS TENSES
I am working
Present Progressive
you/we/they are working
he/she/it is working
Past Progressive
I/he/she/it was working
you/we/they were working
PERFECT TENSES: HAVE (+ -en)
Note: regular verb past participle ends in -ed
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
I have worked
you/we/they have worked
he/she/it has worked
I had worked
you/he/she/it/they had worked
PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSES (HAVE + been + -ing)
Present Perfect Progressive
I have been working
you/he/she/it/they have been working
he/she/it has been working
Past Perfect Progressive
I had been working
you/he/she/it/they had been working
MODAL FORM (MODAL + infinitive) Examples with will
(Future simple)
I shall/will work
(Future progressive)
I will be working
(Future perfect progressive)
I will have been working
(Future perfect)
I will have worked
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APPENDIX II
MAIN VERB FORMS IN ENGLISH: PASSIVE VOICE: REGULAR VERBS
The form of the passive voice consists of:
The appropriate tense of the verb ‘BE’ + the past participle of a transitive lexical verb
Examples:
Tense
Active voice
Passive voice
PRESENT SIMPLE
We play tennis
Tennis is played
PAST SIMPLE
We played tennis
Tennis was played
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
He is playing tennis
Tennis is being played
PAST CONTINUOUS
He was playing tennis
Tennis was being played
PRESENT PERFECT
We have played tennis
Tennis has been played
PAST PERFECT
We had played tennis
Tennis had been played
MODAL FORMS
We will play tennis
Tennis will be played
I might play tennis
Tennis might be played
They may be playing tennis
Tennis may be being played
She must have played tennis
Tennis must have been played
Note: The passive voice also appears in non-finite forms. See the following examples:
1. She enjoyed being taught a foreign language.
(Compare: She enjoyed teaching it to others.)
2. The Professor wanted the essay to be finished by Friday.
(Compare: The Professor wanted to finish the essay by Friday.)
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APPENDIX III
COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS
Note 1: Many verbs in English are irregular. Here we offer a sample, placed in groups of
similar types. A complete list can be found in some learners’ dictionaries.
Note 2: The present tense is not mentioned in these lists because it is the same as the
infinitive except that it takes the inflexion -s after singular Subjects.
Group 1
CUT – CUT
In this group the simple past tense form and the past simple form are the same as the
infinitive.
infinitive
simple past tense past participle
burst
burst
burst
cost
cost
cost
cut
cut
cut
hit
hit
hit
hurt
hurt
hurt
let
let
let
put
put
put
shut
shut
shut
set
set
set
slit
slit
slit
read
read
read
Note: Pronunciation difference of ‘read’ infinitive.
Group 2
BUY – BOUGHT
In this group the past simple tense and the past participles are the same and both end in
-ght, pronounced /t/.
infinitive simple past tense past participle
buy
bought
bought
bring
brought
brought
fight
fought
fought
seek
sought
sought
think
thought
thought
catch
caught
caught
teach
taught
taught
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Group 3
RING – RANG – RUNG
infinitive past simple tense past participle
ring
rang
rung
sing
sang
sung
spring
sprang
sprung
drink
drank
drunk
shrink
shrank
shrunk
sink
sank
sunk
begin
began
begun
Group 4
BLOW – BLEW – BLOWN
infinitive past simple tense past participle
blow
blew
blown
fly
flew
flown
grow
grew
grown
know
know
known
throw
threw
thrown
Note: Two similar verbs are:
draw – drew – drawn
see – saw – seen
Group 5
This is a tiny group of two verbs. The only things they have in common are that their
infinitives rhyme, and they both have past participles ending in -en. Their past simple
forms are quite different from each other. Remember that in grammatical terminology the
past participle form is often known as the -en form, and these verbs actually have past
participles ending in -en. Other past participles ending in -en include spoken, written,
smitten and bitten.
infinitive past simple tenses past participle
eat
ate
eaten
beat
beat
beaten
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Group 6
BEND – BENT – BENT
In this group the simple past tense and the past participle are the same and they both end
in the letter ‘t’.
infinitive past simple tense past participle
bend
bent
bent
build
built
built
feel
felt
felt
keep
kept
kept
leave
left
left
light
lit
lit
mean
meant
meant
send
sent
sent
spend
spent
spent
sleep
slept
slept
spill
spilt
spilt
weep
wept
wept
burn
burnt
burnt
learn
*learnt
*learnt
Note: *There is also an alternative regular form of this verb:
learn – learned – learned