Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English

The present form here ties the situation described closely to the situation of utterance. The past tense form makes the situation described more remote from the situation of utterance. Situation in the future are treated differently they are inherently non-factual. The author means that the verb form that is traditionally called «future tense» is actually expressed vie a modal verb which indicates the relative possibility of the event.

If we look inside the situation we shall talk about aspect [32; 63-68]. Aspect is divided by author into two parts:

1. Lexical aspect (stative and dynamic verbs);

2. Grammatical:

- progressive viewed from the inside in progress;

- perfect viewed from outside in retrospect.

Tense is the location of a situation, aspect - the inside of a situation.

In parts «Meaning in Contexts» [32; 68-72] Yuri G. shows how to use the stylistic potential of tense and aspect in the practical approach. There is a major qualitative difference between studying the components of English Verb and studying how to use them basically. When we construct a piece of connected speech or writing, whether in monologue or dialogue, we are constantly tapping the lexical and grammatical resources of English verb to find of making our composition and particular effect. More clearly Peter Verdonk marks in his «Stylistics», Oxford, 2002:

«Style involves a choice of form without a change of message.

It includes the motives for choice and its effect. If all differences in form are correlated with differences in meaning, then the style of a piece of writing is simply its meaning. The work may stand out because of its meaning, or the author may be exceptionally skilled in finding the right words for his meaning and we take pleasure in his art, but the wrong choice would have meant something less - they would not conveyed the meaning» [40; 7-8].

Describing how to use deferent styles in a magazine article, news reports, academic writing, narratives, spoken discuses and others Yuri G. gives some easy explanations:

- information that is treated as part of the «background» will tend to be expressed in the past tease;

- information that is current concern, in the «foreground» will be expressed in the present tense;

- background scene-stting, particularly in stories, is often expressed in the past progressive;

- ongoing current situations are described in the present progressive;

- viewing recent changes from the current situation is typically expressed by perfect aspect.

Following the description of basic verbal forms, Yuri G. conveys not only specific features of verbal forms and structures according to tenses and aspects, but includes a piece of information on how meanings of verbal forms can be shaped bf context and communicative purpose - stylistic potential of verbal forms.

Written in a clear style and natural, intelligible language [38; 41] «A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language» is presented by Randolph Quirk and his team in 1986. «In the fourth chapter we examine the semantics of the verb phrase, and in particular of the finite verb phrase», wrote Quirk R. [29; 175]. Some points from this interesting material about time, tense and aspect will be very useful for discussion in our paper. The authors give us a lot of tables and diagrams, examples with the main aim to explain verbal system clearly and lucidly. Beginning from the present tense the authors line down that on the semantic level of interpretation «present» is the most general and unmarked category.

e.g.: John spends a lot of money. (true for past, present, future)

cf.: John spent a lot of money. (true for past only)

The authors prefer to follow those grammarians who have treated «tense» only as a category realized by verb inflection, and in their Grammar they do not talk about «future» [29; 176] as a formal category but they do say about expressing the semantic category of future time. We can add the same points of view given by T.A. Rastorguieva and L.S. Barkhudarov. [31; 28]

e.g.: Today is Monday, and tomorrow is Tuesday.

What are you doing tomorrow?

The semantic categories of past, present, future apply not so much to time, as to happenings which take place in time, and which are denoted by verbs.

e.g.: Mary hoped for success. (refers to «a past hope of Mary)

Peter knows a great deal. (refers to Peter's present knowledge)

The home team will be defeated, (refers to «a future defeat of the home»)

The authors shall distinguish different categories under the title of situation types that is they talk of dynamic (count) and stative (noncount) meaning rather then dynamic and stative verbs. This is because one verb may shift from one category to another, for example,

- the stative meaning of «have» is «possess»;

- the dynamic meaning of «have» is «eat».

e.g.: The chair has beautiful carved legs quite frequently. (has=possess, that is «having carved legs» is a state)

We have dinner at Maxim's quite frequently.

(have dinner= eat, that is «having dinner» is an event)

All these verbs are divided into dynamic and stative verbs, which are presented in two tables. We mean, that these two tables are not convenient for teaching and studying and we have replaced and reconstructed them according to our require (Tables 2-3).

Meanings of the simple present tense with reference to present time can be divided into:

l. The state present, or so-called «eternal truths» or «timeless present»:

e.g.: Honestly is the best policy.

Two and three is five.

2. The instantaneous present implies that event has little or no duration and is completed approximately at the moment of speech:

- commentaries, demonstrations, special exclamatory sentences, performatives.

e.g.: Black passes the ball to Fernanders…

Here comes the winner!

3. Special non present uses of the present tense:

- the so-called historical present with stylistic effect, which conveys something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account. It is found with verbs of communication: say, tell, etc, and the result - the information communicated - is still operative.

e.g.: The Bible speaks…

Historical present describes the past as if it is happening now.

4. The simple present in fictional narrative: the events narrated by means of the historical present are real, but narrated by fictional «historical present» are imaginary. It is the stylistic effect.

e.g.: Millinson enters. The girls immediately pretend to be working hard… (we can present the event of the play before our eyes)

Meanings of the past tense with reference to past time (Table 3) combine two features:

a) the event / state must take place in the past with the gap between its completion and the present moment;

b) the speaker or writer must have in mind a definite time at which the event / state took place («last week, in 1932, several weeks ago, etc) but stylistically the past tense itself means the definite past time.

e.g.: Did you lock the front door? - an immediate situation.

Byron died in Grees. - historical statements.

Rome was not built in a day. - presupposing.

The habitual and state meanings can be paraphrased by means of «used to» (transference, transposition, transmission) used to live

e.g.: In those days we - in the counry.

lived

Meanings of the past tense with reference to the present and future time:

- the phenomenon «backshift» (Did you say you have / had no money?)

- the attitudinal past (Do/Did you want to see me now?)

- the hypothetical past (if-clauses, expectations - «I wish I had a memory like yours».)

To adhere to the main point from «A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language» it is essential to exhibit some facts from chapter «Perfective and progressive ASPECT.» [29; 31]. The term «aspect» refers to a grammatical category which reflects the way in which the verb action is regarded and experienced with respect to t i m e. The two aspect constructions of English: perfective and the progressive, can be seen as realizing a basic contrast if aspect between the action viewed as complete (perfective), and the action viewed as incomplete, i.e. progressive. The morphological realization of tense and syntactic realization of aspect are very closely connected. Quirk R. marks that approximately 10% of finite verb phrases are only perfective. Perfective aspect indicates ANTERIOR TIME - time preceding whatever time orientation is signaled by tense or by other elements of the sentence or its context.

We may now focus on the difference between two constructions:

1. State leading up to the present:

e.g.: That house has been empty for ages. - the state continues at least up to the present.

cf.: That house was empty for ages.-but now it has been sold.

2. Identifinite events in a period leading up to the present:

e.g.: Have ever been to Florence? - the indefinite past.

cf.: Did you go to florence? - last summer! - we have to imagine the definite past.

3. Habit event (recurrent) in a period leading up to the present:

e.g.: Mr Terry has sung in this choir ever since he was boy. - the period identified must continue up to the present.

cf.: The journal was published every month from 1850 to 1888. - the definite past.

Progressive aspect stylistically more frequent in conversations than in scientific discourse. A count of a large number of verb constructions has indicated that less then 5% of verb phrases are progressive, whereas 95% are nonprogressive [32; 29].

The meaning of the progressive can be separated into 3 components:

1. The happening has duration: Joan is singing well.

2. The happening has limited duration: Joan was singing well.

3. Incompletion - the happening is not necessary complete:

e.g.; Joan was reading the novel yesterday evening.

According to the chapter the progressive aspect can be divided into:

1. Stative progressive:

e.g.: We are living in the country. - temporal residence.

cf.: We live in the country.-permanent residence.

2. Event progressive:

e.g.: The referee is/was blowing of whistle. - repeated blowing.

cf.: The referee slows his whistle. - only one time!

3. Habit progressive:

e.g.: At that time she was having regular singing lessons.

Whenever I see her, she's working in the garden.

The «temporal frame» of the present progressive is normally «now», recurrent or imaginary, in accordance with the interpretation of the habitual, the historical, the fiction meanings.

The authors give a piece of information about the perfective progressive meaning that the features of the progressive and the perfective aspects are combined in the same phrase. This problem will be debated by Ukrainian and Russian scientists.

R. Quirk and his team give a lot of information about time, tense and aspect; the tables in which English verbs are divided into stative and dynamic types; difficult theme as «aspect» is presented in clear and lucid language. There are some problems which are debated up to now, for example, «the reality of the perfective progressive».

1.3 The analysis of the stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English by home linguists

N.N. Rayevska [3; 30] is a well-known Ukrainian (Kiev) scholar who specialized in the study of English language and wrote two monographs:

1. The Essays on Stylistic Grammar of Modern English (1976) [3]

2. Modern English Grammar(1976) [30]

These monographs introduce the results of N.N. Rayevska's philological observations which convey theoretical grammar problems of verbal system and their stylistic possibilities and potentialities. All these features are very useful for insight into writer's context and understanding of their artists' intentions. In Modern English Grammar N.N. Rayevska accentuates:

«A major question in learning the grammar of the English verb is therefore to look for the difference of distribution various context, liguistic or situational, where each verb - form occurs» [30; 137]. The result according to these points can be seen in Table 4-8.

The results according to the functional and semantic transpositions can be seen in Tables 9-10.

Some words about trabsposition itself.

Transposition is a divergense between the traditional usage of a neutral word and its situational (stylistic) usage.

Transposition of verbs is more varied than other parts of speech. It is explained by a greater number of grammatical categories the meanings of which may be transposed. One of peculiar features of English tense forms is their polysemantism: the same form may realize various meanings in spoken English and other styles.

Deviation from the general meaning makes verbs stylistically coloured. Two types of transposition are presented in our table: functional and semantic - where inherent resources and devices of - English verbs create and establish a lot of subtle meaningful nuances by means of Morphology.

N.N. Rayevska throws light upon the nature of the functional and semantic peripheral field of the verbal voice and marks off it in her diagram where paradigmatic verbal forms and language units of the other levels are unified and consolidated together in the functional-semantic field of the voices hip. As innovation we have completed Table 11 «The Stylistic Potential of Peripheral Elements of the Passive Voice in Modern Enflish» and mean that it will enrich the verbal system and help and stimulate students' intensification of its usage in the frames of Theoretical English Grammar.

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