The two most common errors in past time reference in Hong Kong seem to be: Using the present simple rather than the present perfect to refer to recent events e.g. 1. In recent years, pollution becomes worse in Hong Kong. has become 2. China pursued an open-door policy over the last decade. has pursued 3. Recently, many problems occurred in our workplace. have occurred 4. The economy of the Philippines gets stronger in the past few years. has been getting 5. I still not finished this week s homework. have still not finished Overuse of the past perfect to describe the earlier of two past events e.g. 1. When I was at school, I had been a good student. was 2. A few years ago, a scientist had tried to teach a monkey how to talk. tried 3. The Chinese government had introduced the one-child policy in the 1960s. introduced 4. We had done this task many times before. have done 5. I had seen Martin in the morning and met him later that day for dinner. saw Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 1
Many students overuse the past perfect because they have been taught to apply too inflexibly the rule that the earlier of two past events automatically takes the past perfect. This is a very misleading rule. In fact, past events that follow a narrative time sequence normally take the simple past tense unless the events are being reported or meaning demands otherwise. Compare these two sentences, where the second is reporting the events: 1. The thief smashed a window, climbed into the house, stole some money and escaped. narrative 2. The police said that the thief had smashed a window, climbed into the house, stolen some money and escaped. report Compare these two sentences, noting the differences in meaning: 1. When I looked up, the tiger had disappeared. no tiger in sight 2. When I looked up, the tiger disappeared. the tiger disappeared as the subject looked up Chinese students of English also seem to encounter another problem with verb tense formation; they cannot hear the inflections ( ed-past tense endings, for example) and thus often omit them. This is not a serious problem in speaking but it is more serious in writing, and is another good reason for proofreading your work carefully before submitting it: 1. After studying in this university, I realize that English is important. realized 2. As I discuss earlier in this paper, Hong Kong s economy grew impressively in the 1970s. discussed 3. I pass my Use of English exam in 1994. passed 4. In the 1970s, the Chinese economy lack investment capital. lacked 5. When I was younger, I can swim very well. could Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 2
Activity 1 Tick the correct sentence in each of the pairs below. 1. When I was at school, I had been a good student. When I was at school, I was a good student. 2. In recent years, computers have become more common. In recent years, computers become more common. 3. Hong Kong s economy has declined recently. Hong Kong s economy had declined recently. 4. In 1994, management recognized that the company should expand. In 1994, management had recognized that the company should expand. 5. As I mentioned before, the life of a student is not easy. As I had mentioned before, the life of a student is not easy. 6. In the past few years, the situation becomes worse. In the past few years, the situation has become worse. 7. I passed the examination in English last year. I had passed the examination in English last year. 8. Before going to bed, he has locked the door and has closed the windows. Before going to bed, he locked the door and closed the windows. 9. I was lucky because I can pass the English exam. I was lucky because I could pass the English exam. 10. The doctor has warned him years ago but he continued to smoke heavily and that s what killed him. The doctor had warned him years ago but he continued to smoke heavily and that s what killed him. Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 3
Aspect Another important part of time reference in English is aspect; that is, whether an action or state is seen as finished (perfect) or on-going (continuous). The perfect aspect The perfect is formed by combining auxiliary have and the past participle of the main verb. Auxiliary have has two present tense forms has (third person singular) and have (all other subjects) and one past tense form, had. In general, the concept conveyed by the perfect aspect is of a completed action; that is, an action which is not in progress at the time of speaking. For example: 1. We have cooked all the food. 2. He has worked hard at his job. 3. She has had a lot of success. In all the sentences above, despite the fact that they are presented without reference to context, there is a clear sense that the actions are complete rather than in progress. The present perfect simple conveys a sense of completion of action, but within an unspecified period of time. By contrast, the past simple conveys the notion that both action and time period should be regarded as complete. For example: 1. We cooked all the food before we left. 2. He worked very hard at his previous job. 3. She tried but failed in the A-level examination. The perfect aspect, then, is a grammatical device that helps us to build bridges between past and present time. However, aspect is not a purely grammatical phenomenon. It has an important lexical dimension too. Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 4
Verbs in the three utterances above are all of the dynamic type; that is, the verbs by definition carry a sense of action taking place over a period of time they carry a sense of duration. When used in the perfect form these verbs convey a sense of completion. By contrast, stative verbs those representing cognitive states, emotions and possession when used in the perfect form present a writer or speaker s up-to-this-moment view of a situation. For example: 1. I ve known him for years. 2. She s owned the house since 1978. 3. She has been active all her life. 4. He s had a very interesting life. 5. You ve hated him for years. This is close to the sense of ongoingness conveyed by the progressive aspect; however, stative verbs cannot normally take the progressive ing form. For example: 1. She s been owning the house since 1978. 2. I ve been knowing him for years. 3. She s been liking him for a long time. However, a stative verb can take progressive form to create an intensifying effect: 1. I ve been loving you for too long. 2. I ve been wanting you for too long. 3. I ve been seeing you for too long. Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 5
However, stative verbs do not usually take on the progressive form because they represent fixed states rather than processes. Stative verbs may be divided into two categories: verbs of cognition and verbs of relation: Verbs of cognition believe hate know like see want Verbs of relation be belong contain have (in the sense of possess) own possess resemble Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 6
Activity 2 Tick the verbs that can take the progressive aspect. Place a cross by those that cannot or do not normally take it. What factors decide if a verb can take the progressive aspect? Verbs or 1 Deserve 2 Deteriorate 3 Dislike 4 Increase 5 Knock 6 Owe 7 Possess 8 Perceive 9 Prefer 10 Protest 11 Smash 12 Sneeze Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 7
The progressive aspect The progressive aspect is formed by combining the appropriate form of auxiliary be and the -ing participle of the main verb. The progressive emphasizes the ongoing nature of an action denoted by dynamic verbs. 1. (a) I ve taught English for many years. (b) I ve been teaching English for many years. 2. (a) I ve lived in this house for twenty years. (b) I ve been living in this house for twenty years. Activity 3 In the gaps in the sentences below and using the verbs in brackets supply the present perfect or present perfect progressive as appropriate. 1. The job s finished at last. I have completed my assignment. (complete) 2. I have been writing this assignment since last week and I ve still got a lot left to write. (write) 3. Peter is still in the café. He has been drinking coffee all morning! (drink) 4. I have cleaned the car so we re now ready to begin our journey. (clean) 5. Look at the blood on your face. You must have been fighting. (fight) Tense and Aspect (Past Time Reference) Answer Key Page 8