j. Use of had to mark the simple past primarily among preadolescents as in
“then we had went outside” for SE “then we went outside” Rickford, 1999: 6. In Standard English, had is used as perfective aspect marker. In past tense
is marked by the regular form of past tense verb V-ed or the irregular form of verb.
k. Use of double modals, as may can, might can, might could common in
Southern White vernaculars for Standard English “might be able to” or must
don‟t more unique to AAVE for Standard English “must not” Rickford, 1999: 6. Single modal is more common to Standard English speaker.
l. Use of quasi modals liketa and poseta
, as in “I liketa drowned” for Standard English
“I nearly drowned” and “You don‟t poseta do it that way” for SE “You‟re not supposed to do it that way” Rickford, 1999:7.
b. Verbal tense marking:
In the Standard English, tense brings its own characteristics. English verbs are also known for its regularity and irregularity. Regular verb means the form of
the past tense and past participle of the verb is same with suffix –ded. In irregular
verb, the past tense and the past participle of the verb has different pattern. The present tense uses the base of the verb or V1 and the third person singular use V1
+ ses. The past tense use past verb or V2. In perfective, it uses past participle or V3. In African American Vernacular English, the markers of the verb tense are
found different to Standard English as follows: a.
Absence of third person singular present tense –s, as in “He walk
ø ”
for Standard English
“He walks.” The use of don‟t instead of “doesn‟t” as in “He
don‟t sing” or have instead of “has” as in “She have it” is related, since “doesn‟t” and “hasn‟t” include third singular –s Rickford, 1999: 7. In simple
present tense which refers to present time. The verb after the third person singular he, she, it should be ended by
–s Quirk et al, 1972:85. b.
Generalization of is and was to use with plural and second person subjects i.e., instead of are and were
as in “They is some crazy folk” for Standard English
“They are crazy folk” or “We was there” for Standard English “We were there
” Rickford, 1999: 7. c.
Use of past tense or preterite form V-ed as past participle V- en, as in “He
had bit ” for Standard English “He had bitten,” or “She has ran” for Standard
E nglish “She has run” Rickford, 1999: 7. To form perfective sentences, it
needs have has had + past participle. The form of past participle itself can be divided into regular verb, it is usually ended with
–d-ed and irregular verb, there are not basic rules to form it.
d. Use of past participle form V-en as past tense or preterite form V-ed, as in
“She seen him yesterday” for Standard English “She saw him yesterday” Rickford, 1999: 7. On the contrast of above characteristic, which shows the
use of past tense as past participle, African American Vernacular English speaker usually uses past participle form V-en as past tense.
e. Use of verb stem V as past tense or preterite form V-
ed, as in “He come down here yesterday” for Standard English “He came down here yesterday.”
Rickford, 1999: 7. The verb base or verb stem can also be used as past tense marker for African American Vernacular English speakers.
