D E P A R T A M E N T O DE L Í NG UA E L I T E R A T U R A E S T R A N G E I R A S
THE D I F F E R E N C E S B E T W E E N THE E N G L I S H AN D P O R T U G U E S E P R E S E N T TENSES: A S Y S T E M I C A N A L Y S I S
Tese s u b m e t i d a a U n i v e r s i d a d e Federal de Santa Ca ta r i n a para a o bt e n ç ã o do grau de M e s tr e em Letras N I C O L E T A T H E O D O R O N I C O L A C Õ P U L O S F lo r i a n o p ó l i s Santa C a t a r i n a - Brasil N o v e m b r o - 1980
" MESTRE EM LETRAS"
E S P E C I A L I D A D E L Í N G U A E L I T E R A T U R A ING LE S A E A P R O V A D A EM SUA F ORMA FINAL PELO P R O G R A M A DE P Õ S - G R A D U A Ç Ã O .
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PROFA. DRA. R O S A W E I N G 9 LD K O N D E R O R I E N T A D O R A
B A N C A EXAMINADORA:
PROF. M A R T I NflBY GATE M. A,
T he od o r o e A n a s t á c i a
e irmãos
X U n i v e r s i d a d e Federal de S anta Ca ta r i n a que me p o s s i b i l i t o u a r e a l i z a ç ã o deste trabalho.
À A s s o c i a ç ã o Ca ta r i n e n s e de Fundações E d u c a ci on a is ^ A C A F E ) p e la chance de i n g r e s s a r no Curso de P o s - g r a d u a ç ã o .
à m i n h a o r i e n t a d o r a Profa. Dra. Rosa W e i n g o l d K o n d e r . s e m cu ja a t en ç ã o e i n ce nt iv o este trabalho não seria realizado.
À sra. M a r i z a M. C. C alixto pe lo seu e f ic ie nt e tr ab al ho de d a t i l o g r a f i a .
Pag. I N T R O D UC TI ON --- --- 1 C H A P T E R 1 - Review of Concepts --- 4 1.0. S ys t e m i c A na l y s i s --- --- 4 2 .0 . Time --- 5 3.0. T e n se --- ■--- 13 4.0. Aspe ct --- --- ---24
5.0. P re s e n t Time and P resent Tenses --- -- 40
C H A P TE R 2 - The functions of the Pr es en t Tenses in E n g l is h --- -49
1.0. Simple Present --- - ---2.0. Pres en t P r o g r e s s i v e --- ■---60
3.0. Pres en t Perfect --- --- 7 --- -66
4.0. Present Perfect P r o g r e s s i v e --- -72
5.0. Forms o t h er than Pre se nt --- -74
6.0. C o n c l u s i o n --- --- -77
7.0. Corpus --- ■--- -80
C H A P T E R 3 - The Functions of the P r e s e n t Tenses in P or t u g u e s e --- ---^ 1.0. Simp le Present ---- ---^ 2.0. P resent P ro g r e s s i v e --- --- -^5
4.0. Pr es en t P er f e c t P ro g r e s s i v e --- ■--- --104 5.0. Forms o t he r than Pr es e n t --- --105 6.0. The S u b j u n c t i v e --- --111 7.0. C o n c l u s i o n ---- ■---116 8.0. Corpus --- ---119 C H A P T E R 4 - E n g li sh and P o r t u g u e s e C o m p a r e d --- 121
1.0. D i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the Simpl e P resent Tenses - - - — - — --- ---121
2.0. Di f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the P r e s en t Pr o g r e s s i v e Tenses --- --- --125
3.0. Di f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the P r e s en t Perfect Tenses --- 1--- --- --127
4.0. D i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the Pres en t Perfect. P r o g r e s s i v e Tenses ---130
5.0. Sy st e m i c D i f f e r e n c e s ; I n d i c a t i v e M o o d --- --132
C O N C L U S I O N --- ---133
Pag. D I A G R A M 1 --- 14 D I A G R A M 2 --- --- --- 16 D I A G R A M 3 --- --- --- 77 D I A G R A M 4 --- 78 DI A G R A M 5 --- --- 117 D I A G R A M 6 --- 117 TA BLE 1 --- --- --- 79 TABLE 2 --- - --- i i 7 118 T AB LE 3 --- --- 132
This is a s ys temic st udy of the functions of the E nglish and P o r t u g u e s e Tenses w h i c h h av e pr es e n t time reference. It is an attempt to exp la in the s t r u c t u r a l di ff er en ce s between the two languages in terms of the c on cepts involved in verbal s y s t e m s .
A l t h o u g h the En gl is h and P o r t u g u e s e verbal s ystems b e l on g to the same c o n c ep tu al system, they dif fe r c o n s i d e r a b l y in 'terms of the r e a l i z a t i o n of the c on c e p t u a l meanings. The m a i n d i f f e re nc es w er e found to be b e t w e e n the Po rt u g u e s e Simple
Present / P r es e n t P erfect / P re s e n t P r o g r e s s i v e and Past and the En gl is h P r e s e n t Perfect / Pr es en t Pe rf ec t Progressive. The d i f f e r en ce s are b a s i c a l l y r e l a t e d to the order r e l a t i o n s h i p s to the axis of or ie n ta ti on , and to the c o m b i n a t i o n of these tenses w it h the in di c a t i o n of e it h e r i n i ti a ti ve or te r m i n a t i v e a s p e c t .
Este ê u m es t u d o s i s t ê m i c o dos tempos g r a m a t i c a i s do P o r t u g u ê s e Inglês que a l u d e m ao tempo presente. Esta a b o r d a gem tenta ex pl i c a r as d i f er en ç as e s t ru tu ra is entre as duas lín guas em termos dos c on c ei to s em que se b a s e i a m os sistemas verbais.
Embora o inglês e o Po rt u g u ê s possxiam o m e sm o s i s t e ma conceituai, estas duas línguas d i f e r e m em termos da r e p r e s e n t a ç ã o destes conceitos. As d i fe re nç a s mais r e l e v a n t e s f o ram notadas entre o Presente, o P r e t é r i t o Perfeito, o Preteri^ to Pe rf ei to C om po st o e o P re se nt e P r o g r e s s i v o em P o rt u g u ê s e o " Pr es en t Pe rfect" e o "P re se nt Per fe ct P r o g r e s s i v e " em In- glês. Estas di ferenças estão p r i n c i p a l m e n t e ligadas às r e l a ções de o r d e m em função do eixo de o r i e n t a ç ã o e à c o m b i n a ç ã o destes tempos gram at ic ai s com a in di c a ç ã o de a specto iniciati_ vo ou terminativo.
This d i s s e r t a t i o n aims at f inding a s ys t e m i c e x p l a n a t i o n for the s t r uc tu ra l d if f e r e n c e s b et w e e n the E n g l i s h and Po rt u g u e s e tenses that have pr es e n t time reference.
The choice of a sy st em ic a pp r o a c h is the r e s u l t of the s tudy of W i l l i a m E. Bull 's m o n o g r a p h 'Time, Tense and the Verb.' and of ot her w o r k s in w h i c h the E n g l is h and P o r t u g u e s e tenses are dealt with.
The meanings, or rather, the 'uses' of tenses are u s u a l l y d e s c r i b e d in terms of com pa ti bi li t y. The c r i t e r i o n of c o m p a t i b i l i t y is not w ro n g in i t s el f and is not to be
d i s r e g ra de d. What should be p o i n t e d out as regards the
s em an ti cs of tenses is that we are dea l in g w i t h c o m p a t i b i l i t y b e t w e e n two distin ct systems: the s y s te m of tense and the s y s t e m . o f time, which, therefore, cannot be equated. What hap pe ns is that the two systems interact; ho w they interact is of c ou r s e important. As Bull (1971:2) says " D e f i n it io ns e s t a b l i s h e d by the c ri t e r i a of c o m p a t i b i l i t y are l i m i t e d to the e n u m e r a t i o n of comm o n denomi na to rs . Sy st e mi c d e f i n i t i o n s not only e nu me ra te the c om m o n d e n o m i n a t o r s but also define the u ni q u e characteristics of the s y s t e m and the u n i qu e role of each m o r p h e m e in terms of the c o n t r a s t i n g functions of the o t he r m o r p h e m e s of the same system".
If the c r i t e r i o n of c o m p a t i b i l i t y alone is inadequate for the d e s c r i p t i o n of the funct io ns of the forms of the system in one language, it is even m or e i n a d e q u a t e for the a na lysis of the d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the a na l o g o u s systems of d i f f e r e n t languages. For instance, how coulcl the formal d i f f er en ce s
b e t w e e n
I've lived in Rio since 1950 and Mo ro no Rio desde 1950
be e x p l a i n e d in terms of c o m p a t i b i l i t y ? The d i f f e r e n c e can
✓
o nl y be e x p l a i n e d s y s t e m i c a l l y , that is, by first d e f i n i n g the fu n c t i o n or functions of the E n g l i s h Pre se nt P e r f e c t in co nt ra st w i t h the functions of the ot her E n g l i s h P r e s en t
tenses, and then the functions of the Po rt u g u e s e Simple Present in contrast w i t h the functions of the other Port ug ue se Present Tenses. The d i f f e re nc e s w il l then be seen in their p r o p e r sy stemic pe rspective.
A s y stemic analysis w o u l d not be p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t the study of the concepts in vo lv ed in ver ba l systems. In Cha pt er 1, we re vi e w the co ncepts of time, tense, and aspect in the light of recent studies.
In C h a p t e r 2, w e p r e se nt a s ys t e m i c d e s c r i p t i o n of the tense forms that have or m a y have pre se nt time r e f e r e n c e in English. In C ha p t e r 3, the same is done wi th r e l a t i o n to Portuguese.
In Ch ap t e r 4, we attempt to give a systemic
e x p l a n a t i o n of the s tr uctural d i f f e re nc es between the Eng li sh and P o r t u g u e s e tense forms in question.
We will feel g r a t i f i e d if this s tudy c on t r i b u t e s to a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the verb al e x p r e s s i o n of present time in E n g l i s h and Portuguese.
C H A P T E R 1
R E VI EW OF CO NC EP TS
In this chap te r we wi ll revi ew the general concepts of time, tense and aspect and relate them to Bull's sy st em ic approach.
1*0. Sy st e m i c A na ly si s
A system is by d e f i n i t i o n closed; it is char ac te ri ze d, therefore, by havin g a finite n u m be r of terms, each term b eing e xc lu si v e of the others and p e r f o r m i n g at least one unique function.
In a s ys temic analysis, S Y S T E M and S TR UC TU RE represent the deep level and the sur fa ce r e s p e c t i v e l y of the grammar of a language. In the case of this study, the Pr e s e n t T ense forms r e p r e s e n t e d ' t h e struct ural or formal, level t hrough w h i c h the s ys te mi c or se mantic level is realized.
The analys is of the s em an ti cs of the En gl is h and
P o rt ug ue se P resent Tenses - an i n d i s p e n s a b l e p r e l i m i n a r y step - and of the d i f f e r e n c e s b et w e e n them is b a se d on litiil’s systemic approach. It s h o ul d be n o t e d that his m o n o g r a p h is the result of s e v e n t e e n years of r e s e a r c h
u n r e l a t e d families. He class if ie s the tense systems of the languages i n t o' th re e groups, E n gl i s h and P o r t u g u e s e
appea ri ng in the same group of langu ag es w h os e tense sys te m is d e f i n e d as. a 't e n s e - a s p e c t 1 system.
The functions of the P re s e n t Tenses in En g l i s h and P o r t u g u e s e and the s ys te m i c d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n them cannot be d e s c r i b e d w i t h o u t first c o n s i d e r i n g two sets of q u e s t i o n s . One is r e l a t e d to the concept of T IM E and the o th er to the type of r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n TIME and TENSE. F or emost in the first set is the d e f i n i t i o n of P R E S E N T TIME as e x p e r i e n c e d by man. The cru ci al q u e s t i o n in the
✓
sec on d is: Do tense forms express time ? If they do not, then what do they in d ic at e ?
The r e s o l u t i o n of these issues is essen ti al to the object, of this study. We have found it n e c e s s a r y then to look into the concep ts i n v o l v e d in tense systems. In this c hapter d if f e r e n t views w i l l be discussed. At the end we expect to have a r r i v e d at the general m e a n i n g s or functions of Pre se nt Tenses w h a t e v e r form they m a y have.
2 .0 . Ti me
As time and tense are g e n e r a l l y not d i s t i n g u i s h e d in the tra di ti o na l t re at me nt of tenses, the concept of time if left u nexplained.
In ‘A Gra mm ar of C o n t e m p o r a r y English', all that is said about time is that it is "a un iv e r s a l c oncept divided iiitd iiirSe units: Past Time, P resent Time (marked as a pilit Oil ii lift© p o i n t i n g i n d e f i n i t e l y into the Future) ,
is u n i v e r s a l b e c a u s e the units of time are e x t r a l i n g i s t i c . It is only in Bull's w o r k that w e find a d e t a i l e d s t u dy of how time is e x p e r i e n c e d b y man.
Time as an a bs tr ac t con ce pt is c o n c e r n e d w it h duration. It is an indivisible, i nf inite and b i d i r e c t i o n a l e n ti ty w h i c h goes b ey o n d the limits of c o n s c i o u s n e s s and h um an knowledge. T here are no l i ng ui st ic devices to r ep r e s e n t the q u i c k n e s s of thought. Thus, since a bs tract time cann ot be r e p r e s e n t e d and r e f e r r e d to, for p r a c t i c a l p ur p o s e s and un de rs ta n d i n g , time is dealt w i t h as an ob je c t i v e e n t i t y or reality. O b j e c t i v e time is r e p r e s e n t e d by one in fi ni te s t ra ig ht line and ca pa bl e of b e in g d i v i d e d into intervals. These intervals are lim it ed by the events that ma n pe rf o r m s in time.
M a n p e r c e i v e s time th ro ug h the order and s e r i a l i t y of cosm ic events or nat ur al ph enomena. The order of cosmi c events is set in direct r e l a t i o n to his ow n ob servation, or to his p o s i t i o n in space. Thus, w h a t is before, a fter or simultaneous, depends on the e xp e r i e n c e of the p e r s o n p e r c e i v i n g these
relations. The r e l a t i v i t y of the o r d e r relations is due to the fact that there are diffe re nt o r g a n i z a t i o n s of r e al i t y cr ea te d by the e x i s t e n c e of space and di s ti nc t ve lo c i t i e s of s o u n d and light. Bull e xe m p l i f i e s this by d e s c r i b i n g how two p e o p l e
p e r c e i v e the same event wh en a gun is shot. For the man shooting the gun the flash and the e x p l o s i o n are simultaneous, w h i l e for a n o th er man, one t ho u sa nd yards away, the flash occurs b e f o r e the e xp l o s i o n and b ot h the flash and the ex pl o s i o n occur at a later time. "What the first e x p e ri en ce s as simul ta ne o us ,
e x p er ie nc es as present, the first is a l r e a d y r e c o l l e c t i n g " (Bull: 12).
At the time m a n e xp e r i e n c e s s i m u l t a n e i t y wi th one event, he is able to locate h i m s e l f b e t w e e n two other events: the event prior to, and the event p o s t e r i o r to that one he
e xperiences. By l o ca ti ng h i m s e l f b e t w e e n two events, m a n is locating, h i m s e l f in time.
The fact that m a n can e xp e r i e n c e s i m u l t a n e i t y and
t here fo re loc at e h i m s e l f in time, d i s t i n g u i s h e s two ki nds of present: a TIME P resent and an O R D E R Present. The Time Present is called ' EXTENDED PRESENT' and c o m pr is es the time interval b e t w e e n two events (the re ca l l e d event A and the a n t e c i p a t e d event A'), The leng th of this i nt erval is d e t e r m i n e d by man. As Bull says, the E x t e n d e d Present needs to be c o n c e p t u a l i z e d
as s om e t h i n g like an a c c o r d i o n w h i c h can be e x p a n d e d or
c o n t r a c t e d at wi l l and w h i c h can be s h i f t e d from the 'present moment' to the 'present century.'. The O R D E R PR E S E N T or POINT
P RE S E N T ( P P ) , is r e p r e s e n t e d by the act of sp ea k i n g or the m o me nt of the utterance, or rat he r the b e g i n n i n g of the act of speaking. It is an O rder Present, b e c a u s e it dete rm in es o rder relationship.
Once at PP, m a n can p la ce h i m s e l f in re la ti on to events in four w a y s :
1) He can e x p e ri en ce an event at PP
2) He can a n t e c i p a t e an event from PP > 3) He can recall an event from PP
a b s t r a c t i o n - In this case the event ma y be c o n s i d e r e d to be out si de time and therefore, not o r i e n t e d to any point of reference.
This c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n of time does not app ea r in the o ther works, in w h i c h the w r i t er s are c o n c e r n e d only w i t h the m e a s u r e m e n t of time.
2.1. The M e a s u r e m e n t of Time and Cale nd ar s
M a n m e a s u r e s time by events or intervals of time w h i c h co nt ai n events. The e s t i m a t i o n of the length of events loads to a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n two c a te go ri es of time: Public Time and P er so n a l Time.
Public Time is b a s e d on the p e r i o d i c i t y of some natural p he nomena, w hile p e r s o n a l time is subjective, v a r y i n g c o n s i d e r a b l y a c c o r d i n g to the indiv id ua l and/or g iven conditions. Public and P er sonal time are e s t i m a t e d by m eans of Public and Pe rs o na l Calendars r es pe ctively.
The Public C a l e n d a r is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by: 1) H a vi n g fixed length
2) H a v i n g serial r e p e ti ti o ns
3) Pr es e n t i n g no inte rv a ls b e t w e e n the items in the
s e r i c s
4) B ei ng infinite in nu mb e r
The P er sonal C al e nd ar is o r g a n i z e d in agree me nt w i t h events inside the speaker. It is c h a r a c t e r i z e d
1 ) by being imprecise: in a moment
for ages (Bull:6 )
3) by b eing able to express only a pe rs o n a l judgement: That w e e k was no l o n ge r than a mome nt ( B u l l : 6 ).
L ee ch (1969:10 7-134) c l as si fi es p e r s o n a l and p u b l i c calendars into s y s t e m s i - T h e s e systems consist of units of p e r s o n a l and p ub l i c time - The A d v e r b i a i s - w h i c h come u nder the general c at e g o r i e s 'Time When', 'Duration' and
'F r e q u e n c y '.
The e x p l a n a t i o n of h o w m a n m e a s u r e s time, however, is i n co mp le te wi th o u t the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of aspect,, as will be seen in 3.7.
O r d e r and the P r i m a r y Axis of O r i e n t a t i o n
M a n locates h i m s e l f in time by p l a c i n g h i m s e l f at a d e f i n i t e point in time an d from there he may recall or a nt ec ipate. Bull calls ’this point'axis of orien ta ti on '. The p e r c e p t i o n of the event is the p er so na l axis of o ri en ta t io n; the v e r b a l i z a t i o n of the event is s equent to the perception, and c o n s i d e r e d a publ i c axis, since it can be o b s e r v e d by a no t h e r person. The 'moment of v e r b a l i z a t i o n or act of sp ea k i n g is the o b je ct i ve
r ef e r e n t of the 'Point Present' or PP and functi on s as the p r i m a r y axis of o r i e n t a t i o n for all tense systems.
Once at PP, m a n e s t a b l i s h e s order relations to this axis. There are three p o s s i b l e order re l a t i o n s h i p to P P :
2) R e c o l l e c t i o n - the event is a nt erior to PP 3) A n t e c i p a t i o n - the event is p o s t e r i o r to PP
The same o rder r e l a t i o n s h i p m ay be e s t a b l i s h e d b e t w e e n the a spects of events and P P , as w il l be seen in 4.1.
H owever, events - i n s t a n t a n e o u s or p r o l o n g e d - and aspects m a y not be o r i e n t e d to an axis. Those that are b o u n d to an axis are axis - bound:
ye sterday, went, that point, since 1978;
those that do not m a r k the axis are axis free: one day, going, a point.
2.3. The R e p r e s e n t a t i o n of Time
T r a d i t i o n a l l y , time has b e e n r e p r e s e n t e d as an infinite line d i v i d e d into past and future by a p oint r e p r e s e n t i n g the present. This is k n ow n as the line - point theory, a c c o r d i n g to w h i c h there is only one axis of or ientation: the p r e s e n t m o m e n t v i s u a l i z e d as a point. By w a y of
i l l u s t r a t i o n we will m e n t i o n J e s p e r s e n and M a t t o s o C a m ar a J r.
Otto J e s p e r s e n (1933) states that time is something, h av i n g one d i m e n s i o n and thus, c apable of being represented by one s tr a i g h t line. "It is d i v i d e d into two parts: the past and the future, the point of d i v i s i o n being the pr es en t moment, w h i c h like a m a t h e m a t i c a l point, has no d im e n s i o n but is co n t i n u a l l y flee ti ng " (256). His
relati on s are r e p r e s e n t e d on a single st ra ig ht line. This o b s c u r e s important d i f f e r e n c e s such as that b e t w e e n the Point Pre se nt and the E x t e n d e d Present.
J. M a t t o s o Cama ra Jr. (1964) says that the category- time m ar ks the pe ri o d of the ver ba l p rocess in r el a t i o n to the
m o m e n t of speech. He agrees w it h M a rc el Cohen, w h o m he cites: "Uma n o çã o temporal d es sa esp éc ie ê subjetiva: s5 tem sentido pa ra o sujeito falante, que con ce be o tempo de m a n e i r a a b s t r a ta, como uma linha, ideal, e aí traça di v isões em r el a ç ã o a si mesmo; o que esta por trás dele (no m o m e n t o em que fala), o passado; o que estã ante ele n e st e m o m e n t o preciso, o presente; o que estã adiante dele, o futuro" (166). M. C âm a r a Jr. also m a k e s use of order relations, but the d e f i n i t i o n adopted,
tho ug h m a r k i n g the m o m e n t of the u t t e r a n c e as the axis of o ri entation, does not s p e c i f y w h i c h aspect of that m o m e n t is to be t aken as the axis.
The li n e-point theory is c r i t i c i z e d by W i l l i a m Calv er (1946) who says that time is an as s y m e t r i c a l r el a t i o n b e t w e e n events, and that it cannot be either g eo m e t r i c a l or spatial b ec a u s e it is not a line. He s ug g es ts an a l t e r n a t i v e approach, f ol l o w i n g Bergson, w h i c h is "to b e g i n w i t h the frank
r e c o g n i t i o n of time as it is g iven in experience, as duration, and to use the past and the pr es e n t as the p r i m i t i v e categories, rather than the r e l a t i o n s h i p s of bef or e and after" (318) .
Bull, A ta l i b a C a s t i l h o and Leech Ad opt m o r e than one axis of orientation. Bull pr op o s e s 4 axes: PP (Point Present), RP
(Retrosp ec ti ve P o i n t ) , A P (Antec ip at ed Point) and RAP
speech: RP is p r o j e c t e d fr om PP ( R e c o l le ct io n or PP in
r etrospect); AP is p r o j e c t e d from PP (Antecipation) and RAP is p r o j e c t e d from RP (see 3.1.1.). O r d e r relations are i n d i c a t e d by the signs: 0 (zero = simultane it y) , - (Minus = before), and + (Plus = after). Thus, for instance, on the p r e s e n t time line we find PPO, PP-, and PP+. Each axis
r e p r e s e n t s one time line.
A t a l i b a Ca st i l h o p ro p o s e s three axes of o ri entation: 1) The s pe a k e r h i m s e l f
2) The m o m e n t at w h i c h a n o t h e r pr oc es s takes place
3) The m o m e n t at w h ic h the s p e a k e r ideally places himself, s hi f t i n g his thought into the Past or Future (15) . U n l i k e Bull, A t a l i b a Ca st i l h o does not pr e se nt relat io ns of b e f o r e and after. His first axis - the s peaker or m o m e n t of s pe e c h - c o r r e s p o n d s to PP, w h i l e the second, does not show o r i e n t a t i o n to the present, but to a p re vi ou s or p o s t e r i o r referent. The third axis is hy p o t h e t i c a l , d e s y n c h r o n i z e d (not o r i e n t e d to PP and p ro vi de s a p o s s i b i l i t y for m a n to v i e w time
i
b i d i r e c t i o n a l l y .
L eech (1969:148) uses only two points of refer en ce in the d e s c r i p t i o n of the E n g l is h Tense System:
1) A p r i m a r y point of r e fe re nc e - 1PR - the present moment, the " s ta rt in g point for all r e c k o n i n g of time relationship"; 2) A s e c o n d a r y point of r e f e r e n c e - 2PR - w h i c h can i nd ic a t e a
p oint or p e r i o d of time pr ior to the p re s e n t moment.
Bull's di vi si on into four lines shows h ow m a n is able to locate h i m s e l f at any s pe ci fi c point of refer en ce and from there to recall and antecipate. It is an att em pt to r e pr es en t how man
p e r c e i v e s and orga ni ze s time as an object iv e entity.
3.0. Tense
The d e f i ni ti on s of tense and the analyses of tenses are c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to the w a y in w h i c h time is represented. As shown above, there is general ag re e m e n t about time
r e la ti on s being p e r c e i v e d and e s t a b l i s h e d at the m o m e n t of speaking.
A tense s y s t e m might, therefore, be c o n c e i v e d of as c o n s i s t i n g of tense forms that rela te the time of the event to the time of speaking. H o w e v e r impo rt an t this c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n ma y be, it does not seem to be sufficient to e x p l a i n how man locates h i m s e l f in time.
3.1. Time and Tense
Bull regards tense as a c oncept w h i c h ex pr e s s e s the m a n n e r in w h i c h pe op l e e x p e r i e n c e time, but w h i c h cannot be i d e n t i f i e d w i t h time.
The E n g l is h and the P o r t u g u e s e tense systems are b a se d on the concepts of o rder and aspect. Since the vector s y st em is de fi ne d as a m eans of e s t a b l i s h i n g order; the E ng l i s h and the P o r t u g u e s e tense systems are said to be a "fu si on of two s ys tems" - the aspect - v e ct o r system.
That tense systems do not deal w i t h time is
d e m o n s t r a t e d by the fact that a tense form alone does not
answe r a w h e n question: 1
All that tense forms do is to in di ca te order relations, a-xes of o r i e n t a t i o n and aspect. The f u nction of tense forms in terms of time is t h er ef or e the
o rd er i n g of events or aspects of events r el a t i v e to an axis of orientation. An d this is w ha t is shown in Bull's h y p o t h e t i c a l tense s y s t e m r e p r o d u c e d below:
3.1.1. Bull's H y p o t h e t i c a l T ense S y s t e m (25)
oo E(PPr V)__________ E(PJOV) E(PPj+V)____________„ /
/
/ /
3
/I E(Af-V) E(AfOV)
E(|P+V)
1
I
E (Rf “V)_________ E(RPOV)_________ E (RP+V)
E(RAP-V) E(RAPQV) E(RAP-V)
The h y p o t h e t i c a l tense s y s te m has the following features:'
(A) It is b a s e d on the d e f i n i t i o n of time as an infinite series ©f intervals;
it is fedSeid Gn the concepts of axes of or ie nt at io n, i-H:tlt:r , and a s p e c t :
(C) It is a c o ns tr uc t w h i c h co nsists of four axes of orientation, or time lines;
(D) It e s t a b li s he s all the p o s s i b l e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n time and events, as o b s e r v e d by man.
- PP and RP are c o n s i d e r e d the p r i me axes of orientation b ec a u s e they have an event inside the s p e a k e r as a re fe r e n t in real life. They r ep re se n t c o nc r e t e events or events that have taken or are t a ki ng place. AP and RAP are c a l le d the p r o j e c t e d axes, since they do not s tand for actual events p e r f o r m e d by the speaker; they are, in a way, ab st ractions. ,
The a r r a n g e m e n t of this d i a g r a m is i nt en de d to show the ca pa c i t y of m a n to locate h i m s e l f at a sp ecific p o in t and from there e s t a b l i s h order relations. M o r e i m p o r ta nt ly perhaps, it shows that we can v i e w events from only one, axis of orientation at a time. For instance, the act of r e c a l l i n g takes p l a c e at PP and wh at is r e c a l l e d is o r i e n t e d to PP. But if w h a t is r e c a l l e d
i
is now RP, the speaker, in recalling, m o v e s from PP to RP, which b ecomes the r el e v a n t axis of or ientation.
The ve ct o r formulas c o n t a i n the i n d i c a t i o n of order relati ve to an axis. Thus on the p re s e n t time line.PPOV indicates Point Present, the o rder present; P P - V i ndicates not only before PP but also o r i e n t a t i o n towards PP; PP+V indicates af ter PP and o r i e n t a t i o n to PP. Aspe ct is d e r i v e d from the c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the aspects of events in r e l a t i o n to each of the four axes of orientation.
slots since no sy stemic forms we re found to fit these p os s i b i l i t i e s . N o n s y s t e m a t i c a l l y there may be a shift from P PO V to A P O V and from R P O V to RAPOV, as the dott ed lines show in the diagram, e.g.:
He will have left befo re she ar ri ve s ( P P O V — APOV) ■ iie w o u l d have left before she a r r i ve d (RPOV
—{»RAPOV)-3.1.2. O th er Views
A mo ng the authors w h o adopt only one axis of
✓
o r i e n t a t i o n we will m e n t i o n only Jespersen, Cunha,Lyons, and Comrie.
J e s p e r s e n (1951:254) defines tenses as time indicators e x p r e s s e d in verb al forms. He re cognizes 'seven times' w h ic h are r e p r e s e n t e d on a single s tr aight line:
0 >H CD <-> >H (/> +->CO +-> p 3 +-> P-, aj (Jh • p i a. 1 CD 1 0) CD i fn fH ■<u fH fn O -M <D t/i o P CD MCDh IS) ■p O) •M •M aj 4-1 ;fn CD P 4-1 P5 CU ■< " ;Ph fC| PU < Aa Ab Ac B Ca Cb Cc <D CD CD •p CD ■ CD <D 4-> ■M C H fH fn • H •H •H . 0) P 3 P (h in i/i p P p CD <d CD CL) p P P ,+J0) 4->CD ■CDP }i Hh Uh P-, P-t 1 l fn >h M 0) P Cl, 1 Cl. D1m pc </)o CD P ■< Ph 4-> </> n O d.
To the seven times he attri bu te s seven tenses using 'before' - after' relations. All the o rder r elations are p e r c e i v e d from the present. Such o r g a n i z a t i o n obscures the
fact that "Events like poin t s on a line in space, can be m e a n i n g f u l l y or ga n i z e d only in terms of one axis of orientation
at a time" ( B u l l : 24). It is to m a k e this clear that Bull has d e v i s e d four time lines.
C elso C un ha (1977) i d e n ti fi es tenses w i t h 'natural' time and says that the Present, Past and Future tenses express, respe ct iv el y , the m o me nt of speech, a time p ri or to the m o m e n t of s p ee c h and a time after the m o m e n t of speech. Only one axis and three order relations a c c ou n t for the w h ol e system.
Lyons (1971:305), however, states that the na tu ra l d i v i s i o n of time into 'Past', 'Present' and 'Future', are not n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t e d in language. He r egards tense as a
'deictic' category, that is, it relates "the time of the action, event or s tate of affairs r e f e r r e d to in the sentence, to the time of the ut te r a n c e (the tijne of the u t t e r a n c e b e i n g 'now')".
Comrie (1976:2) agrees w i t h Lyons w h e n he refer s to tenses as 'deictic' categories; they are "those features that r e la te the time of the s i t u a t i o n d e s c r i b e d to the p r e s e n t moment".
Leech (1969:134) defines tenses as "Those g r a m m a t i c a l features of the verbal group w h i c h express relations of s i m u l tan ei ty or o v e rl ap of time (e.g. relations involving the s y st em 7 “* TIM) or else relations of 'before - after' i n vo lv in g the 4"l,w
s y s t e m ^ ^ B E F ) " . Tense forms are a rr a n g e d relative to two p o in ts of Q r i e n t a t i o n - 1 PR and 2 PR - as seen in 1.3, w h i c h s o m e h o w cdfr§spc3nd to Bull's p r i me axes. A P and R A P , h o w e v e r , a r e
not c o n s i d e r e d as point s of re ference, but as order relations. Leechs's r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the r el a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n time and tense, a lt h o u g h a p p ar en tl y s i m il ar to B u l l ’s, differs c o n s i d e r a b l y from it. In,Leech's scheme, one may have more than one axis of o r i e n t a t i o n at a time, for instance:
1PR 2PR
Future Perfect - Q (148)
...
A c c o r d i n g to Castilho, three point s of orientation locate the process in time: the m o m e n t of speech (speaker), the m o m en t another p rocess takes place (sequence of tenses), and an ideal or h y p o t h e t i c a l moment. T h ese three points or ig i n a t e three ab so lu te tenses: Present, Past and Future. Like Cunha, C as ti lh o seems to id en ti fy tense with 'natural' or 'absolute' time, lie does not pr es en t order relations b e t w e e n p r o c e s s e s ; tense is rather a r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n mom en ts than b e t w e e n processes.
5.1.3. Still' § C o n t r i b u t i o n
Bull's m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n to the st udy of tenses may be g u m m e d up as h a v i n g p r o v e d that:
1 ) T ense s ystems do not deal w i t h the abstract concept of time;
2) Mo re than one axis of o r i e n t a t i o n is n e c e s s a r y to e x p lain how a tense s y s t e m works.
3) The h y p o t h e t i c a l tense s y s t e m can serve as a frame of r ef e r e n c e for the analysis of the tense s y st em of any
language.
-3.2. The Func ti on s of Tense Forms
Differ en t cr it e r i a have be en used, to d e t e r m i n e the func ti on s of tense forms. One of them, the C r i t e r i o n of m a r k ed ne ss , can be a p p l i e d eit he r to the m o r p h o l o g y of the tense forms or to the seman ti cs of their use.
T wa d d e l l (1968) uses the m o r p h o l o g i c a l c r i t e r i o n of mar ke dn es s. Ins te ad of the t ra di tional tense labels, he uses 'modifications'. The Simple Present is, in his t ermin ol og y, 'zero m od i f i c a t i o n ' .
t
A c c o r d i n g to Bull, a form is m a r k e d w h e n it p er fo r m s the f un c t i o n i n d i c a t e d by its-mark; a fo r m is u n m a r k e d w h e n it has the p o t e n t i a l to p e r f o r m o t he r f unctions w h i c h are d e t e r m i n e d by context.
Comrie (111-122) says that an u n m a r k e d form is felt to be "more usual, more normal, less s p ec if ic " than the m a r k e d one. He sets up a numb er of c ri teria that can be used to d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n a m a r k e d and u n m a r k e d
form, for intui ti on alone is not sufficient.
divides, the functions of tense forms into s y s t e m i c and no ns ys te mi c. It is b a s e d on the a ss u m p t i o n that each tense form has a "unique e xc ha ng e value used to o rg an iz e the set" ( B u l l : 70) - that is, a s ys t e m i c function. A tense form is us ed n o n s y s t e m i c a l l y "whenever it exemplifies a con ce pt of order or aspect w h i c h is in co nflict w it h the e x c h a n g e v a lu e a s s i g n e d the form in o r g a n i z i n g the set" ( B u l l :70).
e.g. :
Esta c an ta nd o agora. (Systemic) ( B u l l : 71) He is singing now.
E s t a r a c an tando agora. (Nonsystemic) He wi l l be si n gi ng now.
3.3. Factors I nv olved in Te mp or al M e a n i n g
A mo ng the factors that c o nt ri bu t e to the temporal m e a n i n g of an utterance, the most important arc common
focus, and the pr es e n c e or absence of time adverbials.
3.3.1. C o m m o n Focus
Com mo n focus is the a g r ee me nt between the s pe a k e r and the li stener as regards the axis of orientation. The axis may be e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h ou t using a morpheme. M an y
e x t r a - l i n g u i s t i c factors m a y be i n v o l v e d such as the environment, man's experience, emotions, gestures, etc. In short, c o m m u n i c a t i o n is e s t a b l i s h e d w h er e the p e o p l e i nv olved i nt er pr et events from the same axis of orientation.
3.3.2. S p e c i f i c a t i o n
The r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n tenses and a temporal lexical it em wi ll be c a l le d 'specification' after
Crystal (1966:4), who calls s p e c i f i c a t i o n the temporal elements (adverbs, a d v er bi a l p hrases or clauses) that co -occur w i t h the tense f o r m in order to p r o d u c e the de si re d meaning. He calls special a t t e n t i o n to the
’unmarked' Simple Present, w h ic h can refer to Past, P r e s e n t or Future.
Palmer (1974:44), using the c r i t e r i o n of c o m p at ib ility, di st i n g u i s h e s four kinds of adverbials:
i
- Those that m a y be u s e d w i t h the P r e se nt Tense only: e.g. Now, at this moment, at present.
- Those that ma y be u se d w i t h the Past Tense only: e.g. Last week, yesterday, last year, etc.
- Those that may be used w i t h either tense though the p e r io d includes the p r e s e nt moment;
- Those that can indicate p as t or p r e s e n t time d e p e n d i n g on the time of the utterance.
e.g. This morning, this afternoon, this summer, etc.
He also m e n t i o n s 'zero s p e c i f i c a t i o n 1 as a characteristic of the s t a t em en ts call e d 'timeless' (that are v a l i d for
I
all time), e.g. 'The sun rises in the East'. Further points on the d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n 'timeless/habitual' w il l be d i s c u s s e d in se ct io n 4.4.
L eech (1969:107-134; 1971:39-41) views ad verbiais as the p r i m a r y indicators of time. T he y are o rg a n i z e d into units of publi c and p e r s o n a l c alendars (see sec ti on 2.1.). T he y are b o u n d to e it h e r of the two points of r e ference - 1PR or 2PR; for instance, the adverbiais
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the Pe rf ec t are not the same as those< a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the Past b e c a u s e the Perfect is o r i e n t e d to 1PR w h i l e the Past is o r i e n t e d to 2PR.
I
In 'A U n i v e r s i t y Gra mm ar of English' (232), time adjuncts are c l as si fi ed into four main semantic classes: 1) Time 'when'
2) D u r a t i o n 3) Fr eq u e n c y
4) Ot her r el at io ns hi ps (sequence of tenses, d u r a t i o n up to or befo re a given time, e.g. yet, still, etc.). Time d ur a t i o n adjuncts are d i vi d e d into two groups: those d en ot in g length of time and those denoting d u r a t i o n from a p r e c e d i n g p oint of time. Th ese and the frequ en cy adjuncts will be d is c u s s e d in 4.6.1.
W i t h p o s i t i o n - b o u n d units of time, the axis ©f orientation is i n di ca te d by the tense w i t h or w i t h o u t an a dj e c t i v e e.g. C h e g o u domingo ( p a s s a d o / ú l t i m o ) /He a r r i v e d on/ la s t Sunday.
A x i s - b o u n d time units, a s s o c i a t e d w i t h tense may either:
1) Not require an a x i s - b o u n d tense form, e.g. Chegando on tem / on ar ri v i n g yesterday.
or
2) D u pl i ca te the f u n c t i o n of the tense form, e.g. Ele che go u o nt e m / he a r r iv ed yesterday.
' 1 • »
Since the prime tenses are not marked, c al endar time units - more s p e c i f i c a l l y a x i s - b o u n d units - are i m po r ta nt to locate events in time. The. c o m b i n a t i o n of c al endar time w i t h pr ime tenses may produce:
1) A time r el a t i o n s h i p (oriented to PP)
\
2) A n or der r e l a t i o n s h i p (not o r i e n t e d to PP)
A time r e l a t i o n s h i p o r i e n t e d to PP, is o bs e r v e d w h e n the two systems are s y n c h r o n i z e d w i t h PP, e.g.
Ele canta agora m es mo Me is singing right now
An o rder r e l a t i o n s h i p is p r o d u c e d w h e n the systems are not s y n c h r o n i z e d w i t h PP, and m a y be or ie n t e d to AP or RP, e.g.
Ele canta aman hã
4.0. A s p ec t
A s p e c t is c lo s e l y r e l a t e d to the se ma nt ic features of the verb and to the m e a s u r e m e n t of events.
The d e f i ni ti on s of aspect found in the l it e r a t u r e do not only differ in t e r m i n o l o g y but point to differences in c o n ce pt u al iz at io n. The m a i n divergences, however, concern aspect ua l categories, e s p e c i a l l y Pe r f e c t i v e / P e r f e c t , H a b i t u a l i t y / I t e r a t i v i t y .
4.1. De fi n i t i o n
Bull sees aspect as a c at eg or y b a s e d on the concept of order: o rder of the aspects of events r el ative to an axis of or ientation. This axis of o r i e n t a t i o n may be either PP, R P , AP or RAP. An event has three aspects: initiative, imper fe ct and terminative. There are five possible relations be tw ee n these aspects and an axis:
i
1) The i ni t i a t i o n and t e r m i n a t i o n may be p rior to the axis; 2) The' t e r m i n a t i o n m a y be s i m u l ta ne o us w i t h the axis;
3) The In it i a t i o n m ay be s i m u l t an eo u s w it h the axis; 4) The i n it i a t i o n is p o s t e r i o r to the axis;
5) The in it i a t i o n is p r i o r to the axis and t h er ef or e the Middle* of the event is s i m u l t an eo us w i t h the axis.
Only fiSur of these relat io ns are p o s s i b l e at PP: 1) The i ni t i a t i o n is p r io r to PP
2)‘ ’the t e r m i na ti on is p r i o r to PP 3jj ifig ffiiddig is s i m u l ta ne ou s w i t h PP
4) The i n i t i a t i o n (and th er e f o r e m i d d l e and termination) is p o s t e r i o r to PP.
C o mr ie (1976:3-5) p r e s e n t s some si mi l i a r i t y with Bull w h e n he admits that the s i t u a t i o n has three aspects - beginning,
i
m id d l e and end - and that these aspects are related to the time of the s i t u a t i o n (in other words, to the axis of orient at io n) .
Joos (1964) p re sents a d i f f e r e n t c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n of aspect and a new terminology. He m en t i o n s aspect and ph ase as the d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c ategories of the verb phrase. A s p e c t and p hase are d e f i n e d in terms of 'validity of the p r ed ic at io n' .
M a t t o s o Camara Jr. and E u ni ce Pontes (1972": 80) adopt the d e f i n i t i o n of 'aktionsart' ('A m a n e i r a de ser d a ' a ç ã o '), w h i c h m e an s the m a n n e r in w h i c h the v er b a l process is. seen
from the p oint of v ie w of its duration. Unlike E. P o n t e s ,however, Camara Jr. says that aspect is not n e c e s s a r i l y re la te d to time or tense. Eun ic e Pontes (1972:80-84) relates aspect to tenses: the Present, Imperfect and Past Tenses.
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A t a l i b a Castilho (1968:42) rejects the d e f i n i t i o n of aspect as 'aktionsart', because, a cc o r d i n g to him, it is c losely rel at ed to the semantics of the verb (e.g. aspectos intensivo, di minutivo,; p ej or ativo, reflexivo, recíproco, etc.) and not to the o p p o s i t i o n du r a t i o n / c o m p l e t i o n . He defines aspect as "a v i s ã o ob jetiva da rel aç ão entre o p r o c e s s o e o est ad o expressos pelo ver bo e a idêia de duração ou d e s e n v o l v i m e n t o " (14). He e m p ha si ze s the contrast b e t w e e n the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o bj ec ti ve ne ss of the a sp ec tu a l concept and the s ub j e c t i v e n e s s of the te mporal concept. A s p e c t is a le x i c o - s y n t a c t i c category, since it is i n f l u e n c e d by both the m e a n i n g of the verb stem and the synta ct ic elemen t s such as complements, adverbiais and type of clauses.
4.3.2. P e r f e c t i v e and I m p e rf ec ti ve Asp ec ts
Bull rec og ni z es two p r i m a r y aspects: P e r f e c t i v e and Imperfective. The P e r f e c t i v e m arks eit he r the
i ni t i a t i v e or the t e r m i n a t i v e aspe ct of events and is mo re likely to be l imited - it may d e scribe c om p l e t e n e s s or extend beyond PP.. The Imperfective signals the Imperfect
(middle) aspect and cannot be d e l i m i t e d owing to its i n c o m p l e t e n e s s .
A l t h o u g h Comrie's v ie w is s i m i l a r to Bull's
c o n c e r n i n g the aspects of events, their d e f i n i t i o n of the p e r f e c t i v e seems to differ. Com ri e says thatf the
p e r f e c t i v e looks at a s i t u a t i o n as a complete w h o le
w i t h o u t f oc u ss in g on any sp ec i f i c part - b e g i n n i n g , middle or end of the situation. Thus, a lt ho ug h the p e r f e c t i v e is more likely to d e s c r i b e li mi te d situations, it ma y as w el l refer to:
- Iterative situations,: e.g. He k n o c k e d at the door (series of knocks) Ele bat'eu na porta
- ’C o m p l e t e d 1 but not n e c e s s a r i l y ’c o m p l e t e 1 situations: e.g. I tried to pe rs u a d e her
Tentei p e r s u a d i - l a
- Ingr es s iv e s i t u a t i o n s :e .g . S u d d e n l y we knew w h a t was h a p p e n i n g .
De repente p er c e b c m o s o que acontecia.
- R es u l t a t i v e situations: e.g. I s u c c e d e d in p a s s in g the exam. Conseg ui p a s s a r no exame.
The I m p e r f ec ti ve looks at the s it u a t i o n from its
internal s t r u c t u r e and comprises the h a b i t u a l and the continuous. The c o n t in uo us (duration) m a y be p r o g r e s s i v e or n òn - p r o g r e s s i v e .
A c c o r d i n g to Comrie, both E n g l i s h and P o r t u g u e s e have a free p r o g r e s s i v e form. In E n g l is h this form is o b l i g a t o r y to mark pr o g r e s s i v e n e s s . In Portuguese, a n o n - p r o g r e s s i v e form may denote p r o g r e s s i v e n e s s , e.g.
J oã o está cantando ag ora João i_s singing
João canta agora now
The p r o g r e s s i v e can be mo re freely co mbined w i t h s t a t i v i t y in P o r t u g u e s e than in English, e.g. Estou te v e n d o . In E n g li sh s t a t i v i t y occurs w i t h the p r o g r e s s i v e when:
1) Em ph as is is put on a gradual process: e , 8 ’ I ’52 u n d e r s t a n d i n g more about it.
2) T e m p o r a r i n e s s ( li mi tation of d ur a t i o n is e m p h a s i z e d ) : e.g. I ’m living in F l o r i a n op ol is now.
Leech (1969:153) ass oc ia te s the Perf ec t iv e w i t h the Present Perfect, d i s t i n g u i s h i n g b e t w e e n 'state' and 'event' predi ca ti on s. The me an in gs he derives from this a s s o c i a t i o n c o r r e s p o n d to Comrie's and w i l l be dealt w i t h in 4.3. He c riticizes the d e f i n i t i o n a c c o r d i n g to w h i c h the p e r f e c t i v e
aspect refers to a past event or state w h i c h has current relevance. The 'continuous' is c h a r a c t e r i z e d by the feature s i t u a t i o n (149-151) .
It expresses:
- Duration, e.g. He is_ picking up the book.
- Li mi t e d time extension, e.g. I am living at Highgate.
- H a p p e n i n g not n e c e s s a r y complete, e.g. I was p l a y i n g the p i a n o from 10 to 12 o'clock.
- Continuo us ne s s. e.g. The earth i_s t urning on its axis.
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E uni ce Pontes (1972:80) as sociates aspect w i t h tense. The co nt ra st bet we en I m p e r f e c t i v e / P e r f e c t i v e is defi ne d as "uma ação que se p r o l o n g a no t empo / um a ação ,que se r e a l i z o u n u m pe ríodo de tempo mais determinado". The Pe rf e c t i v e is a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the Past which is c o n c e r n e d with punctual, n o n - l i n e a r or n o n - d u r a t i v e actions. The I m p e r fe ct iv e has to do with the Present
Indicative, S u b j u n c t i v e and Past Imperfect, w h ic h are concerned w it h duration, and can, therefore, be co mp ar ed to a line, of w h i c h n e i t h e r the i ni t i a t i v e nor the t e r m in at iv e point can be
defined.
IJnlike E. Pontes, M a t t o s o Câmara Jr. (1964:168) does not assoc i at e aspect with tense but with the semantics of the verb, suffixes, and auxiliaries. He is not pr im a r i l y concc rn ed w i t h the contrast P e r f e c t i v e / I m p e r f e c t i v e but w i t h s pe ci fi c
aspect: "Pontual, du ra t i v o (progressivo, cursivo, f r e q u e nt at i- vo ou i t e r a t i v o ) , per ma ns iv o, inceptivo, cessativo, res ul ta ti - vo, etc.
A t a l i b a Castilho (1968:51) prese nt s the same c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of aspect as M a t t o s o Câmara, but groups these aspects u nder the b a s i c d i c h o t o m y P e r f e ct iv e/
I m p e r f e c t i v e . The I m p e r f ec ti ve denotes d ur a t i o n and compri se s the f o ll ow in g aspects: 'inceptivo', 'cursivo' and 't e r m i n a t i v o '; the P e r f e c t i v e denotes c o m p l et en es s and comprises: 'pontual', resultativo' and 'cessativo'. The i t er at iv e aspect ma y be e i th er Pe rf e c t i v e or
Imperfective. The forms n e u t r a l i z e d for aspect are said to carry 'Indeterminate' aspect.
J o o s ' (1968:101) c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of aspect into t e m p o r a r y and g eneric has to do w i t h limit at io n of
duration. He discusses the i n a c c u r a c y of the t r a d it io na l labels: 'Progressive' - "adds the m e a n i n g that the action is done headway; 'Continuous' - "emphasizes the fact that
: t
the v e r b ' l a c k i n g this mark refers to h a b i t u a l i t y or
i t e r a t i v i t y ’Imperfect' is also in ad e q u a t e b e c a u s e the E n g l i s h m a r k e d aspect is,not co nf i n e d to a past tense as
it occurs in Latin languages, from w h i c h this label is taken. Phase is the term a d o p t e d to refer to the c o nt r as t- P e r f e c t / N o n - P e r f e c t . Cur re nt and per fe ct phases are based on the c r i t e r i o n of cause and effect w h i c h will be
d i s c u s s e d in the next section.
4.3. Pe rf e c t - N o n - Pe rf ec t
Comrie (52-60) c onsiders the Perfect a rat he r d if f e r e n t aspect from the other two, "Since it tells us n o t h i n g direc tly about the s ituation itself, but rather
relates some state to a p r e c e d i n g situation". A s s o c i a t e d with the Present, the Perfect denotes "The co nt i n u i n g present
r el e v a n c e of a past situation".
Four m ea ni ng s of the Pr es en t P erfect are lis t ed in terms of 'continuing relevance':
1) Perfect of Result - e.g. Bill has gone to A merica 2) E x p e r i e n t i a l Perf ec t - e.g. Bill has be en to A m e r i c a 3) Per fe ct of P e r s i s t e n t S i t u a t i o n - e.g. We've 1 ived here
for 10 y e a r s .
4) Perfect of Recent Past - e.g. Bill has just a r r i v e d .
T hese m ea ni ng s of the Pr es e n t Perfect m a y b§ e q u a t e d w i t h Leech's: The Perfect of Rec en t Past and the P e r fe ct of Resul t with the R e s u l t a t i v e Use, The E x p e r i e n t i a l Pe rf e c t with the Ind ef in it e Past, the P er f e c t of P e r s i s t i n g Results w i t h both 'A State L eading Up To The Present' and 'A H a bit -L eading - Up - To - The - Present'.
A l t h o u g h ad o pting a di ff e r e n t t e r m in ol og y and a rather
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c om p l e x c o n c e p t ua li za ti on , Joos (1968:138-140) also seems to be deal in g with some kind of 'relevance'. As m e n t i o n e d in the p re v i o u s Sections, Phase is the term used by Joos for the d i s t i n c t i o n P e r f e c t / N o n - P e r f e c t , w h i c h is b a se d on the criterion of cause and e f f e c t . Cu rr en t Phase (Non-Perfect or lacking h av e + - en) means that the effects of the event are 'in phase' or s i m u lt an e ou s w i t h the cause of the event w h e n the event
exhibi ts completion. E.g. The j udge came on s wiftly (the
s im u l t a n e o u s effect is that he is seen to conic, the .immediate is that he is there)* (139). Perfect Phase is d enoted
w h e n the effects of the events are 'out of phase' wi th the cause of this event, or are 'd e l a y e d '; the event seems - to use
Comrie's t e r m i n o l o g y - not 'completed' but 'c o m p l e t e '. E .g . The h i g h - b a c k e d chair has b e en p u l l e d , h e l p e d forward, the figure is seated, has b o w e d .... (139).
Tr eg i d g o (1974:98) discusses the p r o b l e m of 'current relevance' and points out that in Bull's diagram, the Pe rf ec t tenses are p l a c e d on the left, that is, they are m a r k e d w it h a m inus vector. The Present P erfect Tense, as a result, w o ul d be a'pres en t l ooking backwards into the past', and t h er ef or e a
' Retrospe ct iv e Tense' as J e s p e r s e n calls it. Since the Past is also a R e t r o s p e c t i v e Tense, the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n the Past and the P resent Pe rf ec t w o u l d be that w h i l e the Past is a s s o c i a t e d w it h D ef in i t e Past Time Reference, the Present Perfect is
a s s o c i a t e d with I ndefinite Past Time Reference. Comrie, however, views the Pr es en t Perfect as a 'Past looking forwards into the p r e s e n t '.
In P or t u g u e s e the o pp o s i t i o n .'Definite/Indefinite' is not criterial; the 'Pretérito Perfeito' is used with eith er type of r ef er en ce to indicate c om pl et e situations. Celso Cunha (19 77: 435) c ontrasts the two forms:
- The 'Pretérito P er fe it o Simples' refers to de fi ni te or past action, e.g.
V i- te uma v e z ' e estremeci de medo
- The 'Pretérito Pe rf ei t o Composto' u s u a l l y describes the
r e p e t i t i o n of an action or its c o n t i n u a t i o n up to the present, e.g.
A c c o r d i n g to Cunha (435) "o P re t é r i t o P er feito S i m p l e s , d e n ot a d o r dc uma .ação c o m p l e t a m e n t e concluída, afas ta -s e do Presente; o P r e t é r i t o Pe rf e it o Composto, e x p re ss ão de um fato repetido ou contínuo, a pr o x i m a - s e do presente".
W hi le the Pr es en t Per fe c t in En gl is h is v i e w e d (by Jespersen, Bull, and also Tregidgo) as a 'present, loo ki ng backwards into the Past', in P o r t u g u e s e the Pretéri_ to P er feito Compo st o is seen (by Cunha) a a 'past looking forwards into the present'.
4.4. H a b i t u a l i t y and Ite ra ti vi ty
W h e n there is re pe t i t i o n of the same event,
s p e c i f i c a t i o n is us ua l l y r eq u i r e d to in di ca te the frequency w i t h w h ic h the rep et it io n takes place. This f re qu en cy is
c o n c e r n e d w it h h a b i t u a l i t y and iterativity.
Comrie (1967:27) says that h a b i t u a l i t y is sometimes equ at ed with iterativity. However, the two shoul d be
d i s t i n g u i s h e d as there may be iterativity, that is,
r e p et it io n of the same event, w i t h o u t -the im pl ic a ti on of habituality. The reverse is also true, there may be
h a b i t u a l i t y wi th o u t iterativity. Th ese examples illu st ra te the two cases, that is, i te r a t i v i t y alone and h a b i t u a l i t y alone respectively.
1) The l ec turer stood up, cou gh ed five t i m e s , and said... 0 p r o f e s s o r levantou-se, tossiu cinco vezes e disse...
Ilabituality is d e f i ne d as d e s c r i b i n g "a si tu a t i o n which is c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of an e x t e n d e d ,p e r i o d of time, so e x t e n d e d in fact that the si tu a t i o n refer;ed to is v i e w e d not as an accidental p r o p e r t y of the momen t but, prec is el y, as a characteristic feature of a w h o l e period" (27-28).
A c c o r d i n g to Crystal (1966), however, h a b i t u a l i t y means f re qu en c y or i te r a t i v i t y "the em phasis be ing on specific instances" and it can be def in ed by its a n s w e r i n g the q ue st io n 'how often'? He di s s o c i a t e s habit from ha bi t ua li ty , the argument b e i n g that habit is an e x t r a - l i n g u i s t i c judgement. He makes a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n the noti on of h a b i t u a l i t y (specific frequency) and the
' ■ , Í
n o t i o n of 'timeless' (n on -specific frequency).
P a l me r (1974:62-64) also equates h a b i t u a l i t y w i t h
iterativity, but says that one can h a r dl y d i s t i ng ui sh b e t w ee n 'timeless' and 'habitual' senses, since this dif fe r en ce is a non-linguistic' one. In other words, there may
I
or ha bi t u a l activity imp li ed thro ug ho ut an p e r i o d of time d es cr ib ed by the 'timeless' that a d i s t i n c t i o n can be ma de by dividing ac ti v i t i e s into three groups:
1) Habitu al , iterative a c t iv it ie s - e.g. I
2) I n du c t i v e l y k nown facts - e.g. Oil floats on water.
3) 'General truths' .- e.g. The seVe rn flows into the A tlantic.
It seems to us that the crucial p r o b l e m is not the
d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n habit and h a b i t u a l i t y or b e t w ee n habituality and iterativity, but the d i s t i n c t i o n b etween a single event and
be either a repetitive infinite or e x t e n d e d statements. He suggests 'habitual - timeless'
the re pe t i t i o n of the same event in cases w h e r e such a d i s t i n c t i o n is m eaningful.
For Bull (52), serial events are not a ss o c i a t e d w i t h the verb form and may be d i s t i n g u i s h e d from sing l e
events through six n on - v e r b a l devies.
1) Common focus and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of the objec ti ve situation; e.g. I sleep well / Eu durmo bem;
2) By c o mb in in g a unit of m e a s u r e m e n t w i t h an Imperfective form; e.g. We do this in two hours / Nos o fazemos em duas horas.
3) By m e a s u r i n g the length of the events b etween
repetitions. e.g. He does it once in a w h i l e. / Ele o faz de vez em quando.
4) By counting the repetitions; e.g. He does it m a ny times'/ F.le o faz muitas vezes.
5) By p l a c i n g the events in a series of time intervals; e.g. He does it on Stindays / Ele o faz aos domingos. 6 ) By a ss e r t i n g that the event takes place at all times,
e.g. He always does this / Ele sempre faz isto.
4.5. Nature of Verbs and U s es of Verbs
A d i s t i n c t i o n must be m ad e b e t w e e n verbs pe r se and uses of verbs. When we deal w i t h the first, we are c o n c e r n e d w i t h the inherent m e a n i n g of the verb in
isolation, w h il e wh en s tu dying the uses of verbs, it is not only the verb that is taken into account, but also
its c om pl em en t at io n. In this study we will take into c o n s i d e r a t i o n the e n v i r o n m e n t in w h i c h verbs occur.
A c c o r d i n g to their use they m a y be c l a s s i f i e d in a nu mb e r of ways.
4.5.1. Sta ti ve and D ynamic
S tative verbs have to do wi th the e xi s t e n c e of a state. Dy na mi c verbs are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a ct i v i t i e s w h ic h are more t r a n s i t o r y than states. This n o t i o n of st at i v i t y and n o n - s t a t i v i t y a pplies to uses of verbs, since a 'stative' verb can be used dynamically. This distinction is very important in English, especially as regards the use of the progressive aspect. It sh ou l d be n o t e d h er e that not all languages, P or t u g u e s e for instance, b e ha v e in the same w a y as regards the use of the p r o g r e s s i v e w it h stat iv e verbs. But this is not the only c ri t e r i o n to be taken into c o n s i d e r a t i o n in the study
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of aspe ct ua l meaning.
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4.5.2. T e l i c / A t e l i c and C y c l i c / N o n - c y c l i c
Some authors, for instance, Comrie, A t a l i b a Casti_ lho and Vendler, m ak e a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n 'telic and atelic' verbs. Telic verbs, or rather, telic uses, have the aspectual p r o p e r t y 'termination', that is, they focus on the t e r m i na ti ve aspect. A t e l i c verbs or uses express unlimited duration, since their terminal point is not fo cu se d on. It is their i n i ti at iv e or i nc ep ti ve aspect that matters.
W il l i a m Bull c l as si fi es verbs (events) into cyclic and'non-cyclic", Cyclic verbs co m prise both the verbs that ,do not denote any in te rv al of time b e t w e e n one cycle and
the next (e.g. Spin/Girar) and those that denote an interval b e t w e e n the end of one cycle and the b e g i n n i n g of the next
(e.g. Get u p / L e v a n t a r - s e ) . N o n - c y c l i c verbs indicate
u nl i m i t e d d ur at io n (e.g. S l e e p / D o r m i r ) . The d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f eature of cyclic events is the termination, and that of the n o n - c y c l i c events is the initiation. The cyclic and non-
cyclic d i s t i n c t i o n may be ob se r v e d in, for instance, eating (comer) - n o n - c y c l i c ;eating apples (comer maçãs) ~ non- cyclic, too.
But
eating an apple (comer uma maçã) - cyclic. (46)
4.5.3. P un ctual and D ur ative
Ross M a c D o n a l d (1972) divides verbs into p un ct u a l and durative: verbs that have the inherent se ma nt i c feature
'point of t i m e ’ or 'duration of time' respectively, e.g. ex pl od e (explodir) and last ( d u r a r ) . However, wh en these verbs are c o m b i n e d w i t h sy nt a c t i c s p e c i f i c a t i o n of op po s i t e aspe ct ua l meaning, they express a new meaning, w h i c h is d if f e r e n t from either, e.g. 'It was exploding (estava explo d i n d o ) ' « In such cases the s y nt ac ti c s p e c i f i c a t i o n is
i nc o m p a t i b l e with the in herent aspect of the verb and a new moiinififj is prcufitcod, as in tho example, which denotes a iséíièã- of
explosions.-Ln
Zeno V en dl er 's s u b - c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of dynamic verbs, into ac ti v i t y and a c c o m p l i s h m e n t verbs, co rr es po nd s to Comrie's atelic and telic d istinction. A c t i v i t y verbs d es cr ib e a time c o n t i n u u m (e.g. run/correr) . Accomplishment verbs d es c r i b e a process that indicates a t e r mi na ti ve point
(e.g. draw a c i r c l e / d e s e n h a r um c i r c u l o ) . State verbs c om pr is e two classes: state v erbs p r o p e r and a c h i e v e m e n t verbs. State verbs ext en d along a p e r i o d of time, either short or long (e.g. l o v e / a m a r ) ; ac h i e v e m e n t verbs mark the p oi nt of fulfi lm en t of the state, e.g. re ac h / c h e g a r - in
'He reaches the hill to p'/Ele chega ao topo da colina.
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Comrie refers to a c h i e v e m e n t verbs as punctual. T h e y s h ou ld not b e 1v i e w e d as verbs but as situations. S i tu at io ns do not in dicate the pro ce ss and the terminal point si mu lt an eo us ly , e.g. c o u g h / t o s s i r . They simply do not have du ra ti on and therefore, no internal structure. He refers to V en d l e r ' s example 'reach the hill top' as a ^ pu nc t u a l situation. Howeyer, w h e n c om bi n e d with the
p r o g r e ss iv e, this s it u a t i o n ma y imply either 'approach to transition' or iterative meaning, e.g." (of ap pr oa ch to transition)
He's reaching the summit Ele esta c he gando no topo
.4. The p r o b l e m of the natu re and uses of verbs is c om p l e x in a c o m p a r a t i v e study like this, .since uses differ in the tiio laiiguiiges. The dif fe re nc es in use, however, can be e*p U i n e d in te'riiis of two a spectual contrasts: stative/
