TENSES 1 Definition of Tenses

2. TENSES 2.1 Definition of Tenses Tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time that indicates when the situation take place. Tenses are part of grammar. Mastering tenses are very important because if we do not use appropriate tenses, it can cause misunderstanding especially in written language. George 1980:192 states that Tenses mean time. However, it should be pointed out that time in relation to action is a concept that exists in the mind of the speaker, reader or listener. Tenses, in actual usage, refer consistently only to grammatical form Halliday, 2002:9. 2.2 Kind of Tenses Traditional English, according to Anderson, 1997:2 tense can be devided into three main time periods: the present, past and future. The basic pattern is reffered to simple shapes. In each of these basic pattern can also be seen aspects of how the incident took place which is being lasts, over, or still in progress. When associated with mood tense is formed precisely in the real main patterns and the like which aspects in general pattern of tense as follows: Simple Present Tense The simple present tense of most verbs require an ending in the third person singular. This is true whether subject is pronoun he, she, it or a singular noun, the first and second person pronoun I, we, you, the third person they, and plural nouns require no ending in the present tense Murphy, 2003:4 For example: Universitas Sumatera Utara • He always eats an egg for breakfast. always = he eats an egg for breakfast all the time • She plays badminton every Sunday it is her habit to play badminton every Sunday a Pattern: Positive : Subject + Infinitive + Object Negative : Subject + DoDoes + Not Infinitive + Object Introgative : DoDoes + Subject + Infinitive + Object? b Function Question words when, where, who, what, which, how, are placed before the auxiliary : do does. Example : It is used to express habitual action: 1 I usually get up at 7 in the morning It is used to express the general truth: 2 A week has seven days It is used for a planned future action or series of actions 3 I have a date next Saturday at the time Present Continuous Tense Present continuous tense is a construction. It is made up of the auxiliary be + the-ing present participle form of the verb Azhar, 2002:13. Universitas Sumatera Utara a Pattern Positive : Subject + isamare + Verb ing + Object Negative : Subject + isamare + not ? Verb ing + Object Introgative : Isamare + Subject + Verb ing + Object? b Function Question words when, where, who, why, what, which, how, are placed before to be : isamare. This pattern is used to express an activity or state in progress or around the time of speaking 1 She is cooking for dinner now. It is used to express temporer action 2 I am playing basketball at the court It is used to express a future action that has been planned 3 My father and mt mother are leaving for America next week Present Perfect Tense The present perfect tense is a construction made up auxiliary have + the past participle form of the main verb Coghill, 2003:96 a Pattern Positive: Subject + havehas + Verb 3 + Object Negative: Subject + havehas + Not + Verb 3 + Object Introgative: Havehas + Subject + Verb 3 + Object? Universitas Sumatera Utara b Function Havehas are used to indicate an action took place at an indefinite time or over period at time: 1 We have occupied this house for 3 years It is used to indicate an action start in the past, but still occurs in the present: 2 The students have finished doing their exercise Used in intransitive verb: 3 I have been a student in this University since 2011 Present Perfect Continuous Tense Present perfect tense is a construction made up have + been + verb-ing present participle. It emphasizes or exaggerates the progressive nature of the action-throught period of time. This tense has nearly the same meaning as normal present perfect verbs. The difference is that we use the present perfect continuous when we want to express that the action has continued for a long time Magendanz, 2003:96 a Pattern Positive: Subject +hashave + been + Verb ing + Object Negative: Subject + havehas +not + been + Verb ing + Object Introgative: Havehas + Subject + been + Verb ing + Object? b Function This pattern is used to express an action that started in the past and now it is still in progress and it is relevant in the present: Universitas Sumatera Utara 1 Diana has been working for this company for 7 years This pattern is used to express an action relevant to the present but doesn’t occur in Indonesian and can be interpreted in phrase ‘still now’. 2 I have been reading a novel. I am still reading it I have read a book. Past Tense Past tense is used to declare the events that have “past”. Past may refer to maybe yesterday, an hour ago, two years ago, two centuries ago and so on Netufe, 2001:9 a Pattern Positive: Subject + Verb 2 + Object Negative: Subject + did + not + infinitive + Object Introgative: Did + Subject + infinitive + Object? b Function The simple past is used to express the idea that an action started and finished at a spesific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind Handoko, 2004:25 Example: 1 Last year, I traveled to Korea We use the simple past to list a series completed actions in the past. These actions happened 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on. Swan, 2005:448 Universitas Sumatera Utara Example: 1 She arrived from the airport at 6.00, checked into the guest house at 8.00 and met her friend at 9.00 The simple past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc. Past Perfect Tense An aspect of the verb that designates an action which has been completed before another past action. Formed with the auxiliary had and the past participle of a verb, the past perfect indicates a time further back in the past than the present perfect or the simple past tense Frank, 1972:82-83. a Pattern Positive: Subject + had + Verb 3 + Object Negative: Subject + had + not + Verb 3 + Object Introgative: Had + Subject + Verb 3 + Object? b Function The past perfect expresses the idea that something occured before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past. Examples: 1 I had never seen such a beautiful lake before I went to Danau Linting 2 I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet Universitas Sumatera Utara With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous use of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past. Examples: 1 He had sold the car when I came to see it yesterday afternoon 2 I had got a permanent job before I bought this house last month Past Continuous Tense The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but had not finished Murphy, 2003:2 a Pattern Positive: Subject + waswere + Verb ing Negative: Subject + waswere + not + Verb ing Introgative: Waswere + Subject + Verb ing ? b Function The past continuous tense expresses an action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows and understands the time we are talking about. Universitas Sumatera Utara Examples: 1 He was swimming with his friends at 5 o’clock p.m. yesterday 2 I was wating for a train at 8 o’clock yesterday morning Past Perfect Continuous Tense The past perfect continuous is formed with the past perfect tense of the verb to be = had been + the present participle -ing Thompson, 1993:13 Example: 1 I had been praying a Pattern Positive: Subject + had + Verb 3 Negative: Subject + had + not + Verb 3 Introgative: Had + Subject + Verb 3 ? b Function We use the past perfect cotinuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. “For five minutes” or “for two weeks” are both durations which can be used with the past perfect continuous. However, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past Thompson, 1993:14 Examples: 1 Diana had been typing the monthly report for 2 hours at 11 o’clock this morning 2 She had been working at that company for 4 years when it went out of business Universitas Sumatera Utara Using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect. Examples: 1 Isabella was tired because she had been swimming 2 Dumbledore failed the final test because he had not been attending the class Future Tense Simple future has two different forms in English: “will” and “be going to”. Although the two forms sometimes can be used interchangeably, they often express two different meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and practice, the differences will become clear. Both “will” and “be going to” refer to a specific time in the future Baun, 1990:5 a Pattern Positive: S + willshall + V 1 or S + iaamare + going to + V 1 Negative: Willshall + not + V 1 or S + isamare + not + going to + V 1 Introgative: Willshall + S + V 1 or Isamare + S + going to + V 1 ? b Function The simple future tense is often used with will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will. We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Universitas Sumatera Utara Examples: 1 Hold on. I will get a chair 2 I will see what I can do to help them. We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it: 1 I think I will go to the restaurant tomorrow 2 I think I will have a nice trip next week We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. There is no plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Examples: 1 It will rain tonight 2 They will not come to the meeting tomorrow When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples: 1 I will be in New York tomorrow 2 Will you be at school tomorrow? Future Perfect Tense The future perfect tense is used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before another event in the future. It is a grammatical combination of the future tense, or other marking of future time and the perfect itself, a combination of tense and aspect Frank, 1972:85-87. Universitas Sumatera Utara Subject + shallwill + have + past participle I shall have gone a Pattern Positive: Subject + willshall + have + Verb 3 Negative: Subject + willshall + not + Verb 3 Introgative: Willshall + Subject + have + Verb 3 ? b Function The future perfect tense expresses an action in the future before another action in the future. Examples: 1 The airplane will leave the airport at 8am. You will arrive at the airport at 8.20 am. When you arrive, the airplane will have left 2 You can call me at 9 in the morning. I will have arrive at the campus at 8.30 pm. Future Continuous Tense Future continuous has two different forms: “will be doing” and “be going to be doing.” Baun, 1990:8 Basic form: Subject + will + be + Verb continuous form a Pattern Positive: Subject + willshall + be + Verb ing Negative: Subject +willshall + not + be + Verb ing Introgative: Willshall + Subject + be + Verb ing ? Universitas Sumatera Utara b Function It is used to express an action which will occur in future and is thought to be completed in future. It expresses a sense of completion of an action which will occur in future. Examples: 1 I will be waiting for him when his train arrives tonight 2 I will not be waiting for him when his train arrives tonight Future continuous is interrupted by a short action in the future. In addition to using short actions as interruptions, you can also use a specific time as an interruption. Exmples: 1 Tonight at 7pm, I am going to be eating dinner 2 At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the rain Future Perfect Continuous Tense Future perfect continuous has two different forms: “will have been doing” and “be going to have been doing.” Baun, 1990:10 a Pattern Positive: Subject + will have been + Verb 1 Verb ing + Object + time reference Negative: Subject + will not have been + Verb 1 Verb ing + Object + time reference Introgative: Will + Subject + heave been + Verb 1 Verb ing + Object + time reference? Universitas Sumatera Utara b Function It is used to express a continued or on going action that will start in future and is thought to be continued till sometime in future. Examples: 1 I will have been waiting for him for 2 hour 2 She will not have been playing tennis for 1 hour Universitas Sumatera Utara 3. DATA AND ANALYSIS 3.1 Data