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REPRESENTING TIME

IN our world view we think of time as a ru nn ing str eam, wh ich can

be illustrated by a line with double arrow-heads, indicating the

moment now th e time of speak ing or writin g.

When we talk about an event an activity or a state we

u su ally need to ind icate wheth er it exists in th e presen t, existed in

the past or is likely to exist in the future. This is indicated within

the claus e partly by the verb ph rase a nd partly by adjun cts referring

to time adverbs, noun phrases and prepositional phrases. Time

adjun cts will be discuss ed later.

The System of Tense

The t ime of th e event is expressed with in th e verb ph ras e by a set

of forms kn own as the ten se forms . Lets look again a t th e stru ctur eof th e verb ph ras e.

(modal) (have + -en ) (be + -ing ) (be + -en )main verb

The system of tense depends on the choice of elements from

th e above. Within th is system we need to m ake a d istin ction between

a bs olu t e t ens e a n d re la t ive t ens e .

pas t pre s e n t fu t u re

n o w

The Verb

PhraseII

4

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Ab s olu t e Te ns e

Absolute tense is denoted by the fi n it e the first element of the

verb phrase and locates an event in time related to the time of

speaking or writing the time now. The th ree absolu te tenses a re:

1 . Pres ent : location at the moment of speaking or writing or an

extend ed period including th e mom ent of speak ing or writing

2 . Pa s t : a time before the moment of speaking or writing

3 . Fut ure : a time after the moment of speaking or writing

Re la t ive Tens e

Rela t ive tenses make fur the r d is t inc t ions wi th in the absolu te

tense and are denoted by the choice of elements (have + -en ) and

(be + -ing ) (have + -en ) encodes p a s t n es s while (be + -ing )

encodes p res ent nes s .

Any te ns e ch oice follow ing th e fin ite ta k es th e refe rence poin t

from th e poin t es ta blis hed by th e fin ite .

The three absolute tense forms are usually called the present

simple, the past simple and the future simple. The following tableillustrates the commonly used forms of the tenses.

Rela tiv e Abs olu te Ex a m ple Conven tio na l

Ten s e Ten s e Na m e

- pr es en t p la y / p la y s present indefinite

presen t in pr es en t is playing present continuous

pas t in pr es en t has played present perfect

p res en t in p a st in p r es en t has been playing present perfect continuous

- pas t p la y ed past indefinite

presen t in pas t was playing past continuous

pas t in pas t had played past perfect

p res en t in pa s t in p a st had been playing past perfect continuous

- fu tu r e w ill play future indefinite

presen t in fu tu r e w ill be play ing future continuous

pas t in fu tu r e w ill have played future perfect

p re sen t in p a st in fu t u r e w ill have been playing future perfect continuous

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THE VERB PRRASEII

Lets s ee how the concept of ab solut e tens e an d relative tens e

helps us in understanding time indications of events activities

and states. Look at these two sentences:

(i) The gardener was wa ter ing the p lants when we reached

there .

(ii) The gardner h ad watered th e plants before we reached th ere.

The tense in was watering is present in past an d i t expresses

th at th e activity of watering was tak ing place was pres ent atth e time of our reach ing there in t he pa st.

The tense in had watered is pas t in p ast an d i t expresses that

th e activity of watering h ad alread y tak en place was pa st at

the time of our reaching there which was in the past. Thus, the

activity referred to by had watered is two steps in the past.

Rela t ive Fut ure

This is a time which is later than the absolute. I t is expressed by

the form be +going t o + main ve rb. The two common forms are:

1 . Fu t u r e in p r es en t : i s go ing to + main verb

It is goin g to rain .

2 . Fu t u re in p as t: wa s g o ing t o + main verb

It was going to rain.

Tense and Modals

Modals relate to th e spea kers a ttitud e at th e time of sp eaking.

This is p resen t in t he a bsolute ten se. Hence, it will not b e wrong to

say that with modals absolute tense is normally neutralised.

But originally could, might, should a n d would were the past

tens e forms ofca n , m ay , shall a n d w ill an d even n ow at least could,

mightan d w ouldfu nction as past tense forms in dependent c lau ses.Look a t th ese examples:

(i) He said, We cann ot finish it in time.

He said that they could not finish that in time.

(ii) She s aid, I ma y be a little late.

She s aid tha t sh e might be a little late.

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(iii) Th ey said, We will definitely h elp you.

They said that they would definitely help us.

However, mos t of th e time, could , would a n d m ig h t function

a s s e pa r a t e m oda ls r a th e r tha n a s pa s t t e nse fo r m s o f c an , will

a n d m ay .

All modals frequently combine with relative present tense and

relative pas t ten se.

(i) She might be coming by the next t ra in.(ii) They should h ave writ ten to u s ear l ier.

Tense in Non-finite Verb Phrases

Tense is selected by the finite, and as non-finite verb phrases do

not h ave a finite componen t, th ey can not s elect for abs olu te tens e.

However, they can select for relative tense which is a function of

the auxi l ia r ie s . Because of the absence of the absolu te tense

componen t, th e location of the process in time in n on-finite clau ses

depend s on th e tense in th e finite clau ses. Thu s th e relative present

(be + -ing ) and the relative past (have + -en ) of the non-finite

clauses take the absolute tense past, present or future from

th e finite or ma in clau se. Look a t th ese examples:

(i) Being an insider, he knew the tr icks of the trade.

(ii) Being an insider, he kn ows th e tr icks of the trade.

(iii) Being an ins ider, he will know the tricks of the tra de.

Th e n on-fin ite clau ses in (i), (ii) an d (iii) can be p ar ap h ras ed a s (i)

h e w as an insider, (ii) he is an ins ider, an d (iii) h e w ill be an insider.

USING TENSES

The s election of tens e depen ds on t he p rocess t ype involved as well as

th e context. But before entering into deta ils, lets s ee what th e various

types indefinite, continuous and perfect express in general.

Ind efin it e Tens es

Ind efinite tenses ha ve verb ph ras es in which on ly an a bsolute tens e

is selected. They express:

1. Relat ive perma nence of the sta te nam ed by the main verb.

I live in Delhi.

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2. Completion of the single event na med by the main verb.

The batsman leans forward and dr ives the ball towards

mid-off.

3. Relative perman ence of series of events n amed by the ma in verb.

I write to my father every week.

Cont inuous Tenses

Continu ous t enses h ave verb phr ases in which the relative presentis selected along with an abs olu te tens e. They express:

1 . Temporar iness of the s ta te named by the main verb .

The Ganga is flowing pretty fast today.

2. Incompleteness of the single event na med by the main verb.

Dont dist u rb m e, I am writing a letter.

3. Incompleteness of ser ies of events n amed by the m ain verb.

You a re visitin g Delh i very often th ese d ays .

Per fec t Tens es

Perfect tenses have verb phrases in which the re la t ive past is

selected along with an abs olu te tens e. They express:

1 . Tha t th e event named by the main verb is seen as re la ted to

some later event.

It h as rain ed h eavily an d rivers a re overflowin g their ban ks .

2. That th e exact t ime of the event na med by the main verb is not

known or is seen as not important or as irrelevant.

He has lived in this town for some time.

Tense and Process Types

The normal tense selection for reference to the time now is the

presen t continu ous for action processes a s well as for chan ge type

relational p rocesses.

(i) The children are playing in th e garden.

(ii) The leaves are turn ing brown.

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But it is the presen t indefinite for men tal processes as well as

for relational pr ocesses except th e cha nge type.

(i) I want you to finish i t in t ime.

(ii) This place looks fan tast ic.

Now we will look at some of the other combinations of tense

selection and process types and their implications.

Pres ent Ind efin i t e w i t h Ac t ion Pr oces s es

The pr esent indefinite tens e with action processes is us ed for actions

which are repeated regularly over a period of time including the

time now .

I u su ally work eight h ours a d ay.

I t i s a l so used for ac t ions which a re presented as genera l

or u niversal.

The ear th goes roun d the su n.

Water freezes at 0 Celsius.

It is also u sed in comm entaries an d d emonstra tions for reference

to the time now.

To make an omelette, I break two eggs into a bowl and beat

them like th is.

It is u sed for fu tu re time reference when the event is sch edu led.

The n ext train for Mu mb ai leaves at 10.35 a.m.

Cont inuous Tenses wi th Menta l Processes

When a continuous tense is used with mental processes it often

carries the sense ofstarting to. Look a t th is senten ce:

It seems he is liking his job.

As h as been s aid earlier, cont inu ous tens es carry an imp lication

tha t the process i s tempora ry . With menta l processes th is i s

exploited to express a certain tenta tiveness in polite requ ests an d

suggestions.

I was wondering if you could lend me a hundred rupees for a

couple of weeks.

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THE VERB PRRASEII

Cont inuous Tenses wi th Rela t iona l Processes

When continuous tenses are used with the linking verb be , they

suggest a kind of temporary behaviour.

(i) He w as being naughty.

(ii) He is acting sm art .

CIRCUMSTANTIAL ADJUNCTS OF TIME

There are three kinds of circumstantial adjuncts which are used

to indicate the time of the event.

1 . Those which express the dura t ion of the event and an swer

quest ions with how long

2. Those which express the location of the event in t ime an d an swer

ques tions with wh en

3. Those which express the frequency of the event an d an swer

quest ions with how often

Duration of the Event

Dura tion of th e event is u su ally express ed by prepositional ph ras es.

The f o l lowing p r e pos i t ions a r e u se d to e xp r e s s du r a t ion a s

mentioned against them.

for : a whole per iod of t ime

during : a per iod of t ime bu t n ot necessa r ily the whole per iod

since : pe riod s ta rt ing from tha t poin t

until : per iod ending only when that point is reached

Location of the Event

Loca t ion of th e event in t ime i s a lso express ed by prep os i t ion a l

ph r a se s . The f o l lowing p r e pos i t ions a r e c om m only use d f o r

t h i s p u r p o s e .

a t : for c lock t imes

on : wit h d ay or da t e

in : within a par t icu lar per iod of t ime

At is also u sed idioma tically in some express ions atnight, a t

the weekend etc.

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All the t hr ee prepositions can be u sed with th e word t ime .

on time : pu nctu al; come when one sh ould come

in tim e : not be late

at the/ that time : a t a par t icular moment

Frequency of the Event

Frequency is usually expressed by adverbs, adverb phrases and

nou n p hra ses a nd ma y begin with inclu sive referrers like all, both ,

each , either, every , neither.

Relative frequ ency is u su ally expres sed b y mid-position a dverbs

like always , often , sometimes , generally etc.