State and events
Broadly, verbs refer:
a. To an event - Happening thought of a single occurrence, with definite beginning and end e.g. become, get, leave, hit, close, take.
b. To a state - state of affairs which continues over a period and does not need to have well-defined beginning and end, e.g. be, remain, contain, resemble, seem.
_______ state Napoleon was a Corsican
. single event Columbus discovered America
.............. set of habit Paganini played the violin
Present time: I adore your drawings!
The following are the main ways of referring to something which occurs at the present time:
A. Present State (the simple present tense)
I am hungry.
Do you like my hat?
A cube has eight corners. (General truth)
B. Present Event (the simple present tense)
I declare the meeting closed.
She serves and it's an ace!
(Formal declarations, sports commentaries, demonstrations, etc.
C. Present Habit (the simple present tense)
I work in two elementary schools.
Do you drink beer?
It rains a lot in this part of the world.
(Note: here, ‘habit’ means a repetition of events.)
D. Temporary present (the present progressive)
Look! It’s snowing.
The children are sleeping soundly now.
They are living in a rented house. (Temporarily - for a short period of time)
E. Temporary habit (the Present Progressive)
I’m playing golf regularly these days.
She’s now working at the moment.
He’s walking to work while his car is being repaired.
State whether the following underlined verbs express state, event, habit or temporary meaning. (Board Exam question 2075)
i. As a lawyer, my sister pleads before the court.
ii. The children are sleeping soundly now.
iii. Oh, yes, now, I remember what had happened.
iv. Do you like my profession?
The Past Tense: The parcel arrived last week
The past tense refers to a definite time in the past, which may be identified by
a. a past-time adverbial in the same sentence,
Chandra came to England in 1955.
The parcel arrived last week.
b. the preceding language context, or
John has become engaged: it took us completely by surprise.
c. the context outside language
Did you get any letters? (Past tense without language context)
The present perfect: I have written the letter
Four related uses of the present perfect may be noted:
A. Past event with results in the present time
The taxi has arrived. (i.e., it’s now here)
All police leave has been cancelled. (i.e., ‘the police remain on duty’)
Her doll has been broken (i.e., ‘it’s still not mended’)
This is the most common use of the present perfect.
B. Indefinite Events in a period leading up to the present time
Have you (ever) been to Pokhara?
All the family have suffered from the same illness (in the last five years)
C. Habit in period leading up to the present time
She has attended lectures regularly (this term)
He’s played regularly at Wimbledon since he was eighteen.
D. State leading up to the present time
That supermarket – how long has it been open?
She’s always had a vivid imagination.
The perfect progressive: I have been writing a letter.
The present perfect progressive with event verbs usually suggests an action continuing into the present:
I have been studying for the exams.
She has been reading her book. (Normally-still reading it)
The past perfect: I had written the letter
The past perfect means ‘past in the past’; that is, a time further in the past as seen from a definite time in the past:
The house had been empty for several months (when we bought it).
The goalkeeper had injured his leg and couldn’t play.
It had been raining and the streets were still wet.
Future Time
There are five main ways of expressing future time in the English verb phrase:
A. Will or shall (neutral future of prediction)
Temperature tomorrow will be much the same as today.
We shall hear the results of the election within a week.
B. Be going to
Be going to + infinitive tends to indicate the future as a fulfillment of the present. It refers to a future resulting from a present intention:
Aren’t you going to put a coat on? It’s cold out.
She says she’s going to be a doctor when she grows up.
C. Progressive aspect
The present progressive is used for future events arising from a present plan, Programme, or arrangement:
We’re inviting several people to a party.
She’s going to back to Montreal in a couple of days.
Why are you doing for lunch?
D. Simple present tense
The simple present tense is used for the future in certain types of sub-ordinate clause, especially adverbial time clauses (when she comes in) and conditional clauses (if she comes in)
I’ll get her to phone you when/if/after she comes in.
I hope the train is on time. (I hope the train will be on time.)
Tomorrow is Wednesday.
The term finishes at the beginning of July.
E. Will/shall + progressive aspect (shall is rather formal)
Will or shall followed by the progressive can be used in a regular way to add the temporary meaning of the progressive to the future meaning of the will construction
Don’t call her at seven o’clock – they’ll be eating dinner then.
The future in the past (was going to and was about to usually convey the idea that anticipated happening didn’t take place)
They were just going to arrest him, when he escaped from the building.
The priceless tapestry was about to catch fire, but was fortunately save through the prompt action of the fire service.
The past in the future
The past in the future is expressed by will + perfect infinitive:
I am hoping that by the end of the month you will have finished your report.
In three months’ time, the plant will have taken root.
State which specific time (past, present, future, future in the past or past in the future) the following expression indicate. (Board Exam 2078)
i. She was about to leave when I reached there.
ii. They are coming back this week.
iii. Oh, it’s goal! What a terrific goal!
iv. By the time we reach there, they’ll have already gone.
