Post on 24-Jan-2023
А. К. КОРСАКОВ
УПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕ ВРЕМЕН В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ
ИЗДАНИЕ ВТОРОЕ, ДОПОЛНЕННОЕ
Рекомендовано Министерством высшего и среднегоспециального образования УССР в качестве учебного пособия длястудентов факультетов романо-германской филологииуниверситетов
КиевГоловное издательство издательского объединения
«Вища школа» 1978
4И(Англ.) К69
В пособии представлена система видо-временных форминдикатива современного английского языка. Языковойматериал (глагол) классифицируется по семантическим исинтаксическим моделям, которые подаются в книге попринципу убывающей частотности употребления.
Учебное пособие содержит также упражнения,иллюстрирующие временные отношения между глагольнымипроцессами, определение их видового характера,установление моделей видового противопоставления,употребление глагольных форм в заданных ситуациях.
Во второе издание (1-е изд.— 1969 г.) включеныразделы, в которых дается теоретическое обоснованиесодержания различных форм будущего- и предбудущего-в-прошедшем, а также рассматриваются связи междулексическим содержанием глаголов и его употреблением вглагольных формах, традиционно называемых«продолженными» и «простыми».
Рассчитано на студентов факультетов романо-германской филологии университетов.
Редакция литературы по иностранным языкам Зав.редакцией М. М . Азаренко
К 70104—033М211(04) — 78 115-78
С) Издательское объединение «Вища школа», 1978
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
This textbook is intended primarily for studentsof the English departments of universities andforeign language teacher training colleges. It dealswith the meaning and use of tenses in Modern Englishand is based on the results of the author's researchwork in this branch of linguistics.
The book is an о b j e с t і v e description ofone of the most important and complicated parts ofthe English language, revealing to the student theway in which the language a c t u a l l y works. Objec-tivity of description is safeguarded by theprinciples chosen in the analysis and representationof the uses of tenses. These principles are brieflyexplained below.
(1) A sufficient quantity of examples has beenaccumulated and filed. Text amounting to about50,000 pages (mainly fiction; partly, philological,technical and philosophical literature as well asnewspapers) has been used for this purpose. Thenumber of examples was considered to be sufficientwhen, with the amount of pages of text doubled, nonew patterns (semantic1, syntactic, distributional)1 For the tense usually known as the Present Continuous some ofthe semantic patterns are: processes of various length,processes actual at the moment of speaking, processes not actualat the moment of speaking, non-repeated processes, repeatedprocesses, simultaneous processes, sequent processes, processesreferring to objectively past time, processes referring toobjectively future time, terminative processes, non-terminativeprocesses, processes whose subject is a living being, processeswhose subject is an inanimate thing, processes consciouslycontrolled by the subject, processes not controlled consciouslyby the subject, processes in emotionally coloured sentences,processes in emotionally neutral sentences, and so on, and soforth.
were found in the new text. Different tenses,however, required different quantitative approachbecause of the differences in their relativefrequency, as illustrated by the following data: oneinstance of the Present Perfect Continuous Tenseoccurs on every 24 pages, one instance of the PastPerfect Continuous on every 26 pages, one instanceof the Future Continuous on every 86 pages, oneinstance of the Future Perfect on every 475 pages,one instance of the Past Indefinite on every 1/23 ofa page. The total number of the instances of thesetenses on 50,000 pages will be, respectively: 2000,1900,600, 100, and 1,150,000. It is obvious thatconsecutive selection of such tenses as the PastIndefinite on 50,000 pages was not only impossiblebut also not necessary, and accordingly it was doneonly for the Present Perfect Continuous (2,093instances, total), Past Perfect Continuous (1,901),Future Continuous (578), Future Perfect (105), andFuture Perfect Continuous (3). The other tenses wereselected at random: all instances of all tenses onthe first 1,000 pages and two—three examples of eachpattern from each new source. Continuous counts werealso made of all verbs which are traditionally saidnot to be used in Continuous Tenses, as well as ofadverbials of time used with the Present Continuous,Past Continuous, Present Perfect, and the PastPerfect tenses.
When the 50,000 pages of sources were thusanalysed, the author had about 70,000 cards ofexamples covering all typical uses of tensesarranged into batches in accordance with thepatterns (semantic, syntactic, and distributional)established, as well as thousands of cardscontaining statistic data on the frequency ofcertain language phenomena investigated (thefrequency of different verbs in different tenses, of
combinations of different tenses with adverbials oftime, of different syntactic patterns, and so on).
(2) The second stage of analysis consisted inchecking all the existing points of view and rulesconcerning the meaning and use of different tenses,the supreme judge being the o b j e c t i v e languageitself. If a point of view or a rule concerning atense complied with its actual use in a 11 typicalpatterns, the point of view or the rule was consid-ered as v a 1 і d, or e s s e n t і a 1 for thegrammatical content of the tense; if, however, apoint of view or a rule was compatible o n l y withs o m e typical patterns and incompatible with o t h e rtypical patterns, it was rejected as n o n - v a l i d ,or n o n - e s s e n t i a l for the grammatical content ofthe tense. An analysis establishing nonessentialcharacter of the most important of the existingtraditional points of view is given in the book inspecial sections appendixed to the parts dealingwith the temporal and aspectual content of thetenses (pages 19—20, 41—45).
(3) The third stage of the analysis was anestablishment of the invariant temporal andaspectual meanings of the tenses, that is themeanings present in all the typical uses of thetenses. The procedure consisted in studying thesemantic patterns, putting forward a hypothesis andchecking it on the examples filed. If thehypothetical meaning was not present in a 1 1typical uses of the tense or else if it could beexpressed by other tenses, it was rejected as n o n -e s s e n t i a l . Another hypothesis was then advancedand checked in the way just stated, and so on, tillthe invariant temporal and aspectual meanings werefound. The supreme judge at this stage ofinvestigation was, thus, also the language itself.The procedures of establishing of the invariantmeanings is briefly described on pages 14—18 and 21—
41 (the temporal and the aspectual content,respectively).
The names for the tenses have been chosen toagree with the six temporal and two aspectualmeanings they denote (page 12).
(4) The second part of the book (The Use of theTenses, pages 51—200)is, mainly, a systematic arrangement of the actualuses of tenses indifferent semantic, syntactic, and distributionalpatterns with indications, in most cases, of theirrelative frequences. In this part the reader willfind an answer to the question " H o w a certain tenseis a c t u a l l y used?" He will learn for instancethat "Did you ever meet him?" is about 1.5 times morefrequent than "Have you ever met him?" (page 141 — withan explanation to it on pages 58—59); that suchverbs as to want, wonder, feel, expect, mean and others (page179) belong to those most frequently used in theBeforepresent Dynamic ("I've been wanting to talk to you"— Th. White); that the most typical special questionwith this tense is "What have you been doing?" (Th.White) but not a question beginning with "how long"or "since when" as it is often stated in somegrammar textbooks; that in about 65% of its uses thePresent Indefinite refers to c o n c r e t e , n o n - r e -p e a t e d processes relevant o n l y at the moment ofspeaking (page 62), although traditional grammarscontinue to claim that it denotes habitual actionsand states; that "He said he will come" is a perfectlygood English sentence (page 222—with a detailedexplanation on pages 201—205); and so on, and soforth.
It was found in the process of analysis thatcertain uses of tenses seem to be incompatible withtheir temporal or aspectual meaning, for example: "Iknow you for ten years already now" (Th. Dreiser);The dog raised his head higher and higher (J.
Galsworthy) (Cf.: The dog raised his head higher; Thedog was raising his head higher). In the process offurther analysis six factors were established whichinteract with the grammatical content of the tenses,influencing the choice of tense in the act ofspeaking (pages 55—60, 201—205).
As the short review above shows, the book is notonly intended to show the student h o w the Englishtenses are actually used. It will help himunderstand w h y they are used so and will serve asan introduction to him of some methods and ways oflinguistic analysis.
All the examples throughout the book, includingthe exercises (Part IV, pages 206—223), have beentaken from original sources by English and Americanauthors. Sentences for rendering into English areRussian translations by the author of thecorresponding original sentences. To make arendering as close as possible to the original andto reduce lexical difficulties, corresponding wordsand phrases are frequently given in brackets. Ofspecial importance are exercises demanding agraphical representation of temporal relationshipsof verbal processes to the moment or process ofreference as well as of their aspectual character-istics (pages 206—209). Other kinds of exercises aremostly built on the principle of contrast to tenseswith opposite temporal or aspectual meaning. If morethan one answer is possible, additional indicationsin brackets help the student to choose the tenseused in the original sentence.
The numerous frequency data given with mostsemantic, syntactic and distributional patterns willhelp the teacher to select properly the tenses andpatterns to be worked upon in the first place.
It is a pleasure for the author to thankProfessor В. I 1 у і s h and Associate Professor N.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
In the period since it first appeared in 1969the book has been widely used as, primarily, amanual of instruction for students attending coursesof lectures and seminars on the grammatical contentand use of the English tense-aspect forms, workingat their term-papers and graduation theses, orpreparing their papers for scientific circles andconferences. It has also served successfully forother students and teachers as a reference book thatprovides all kinds of scientifically well-groundedstatistical information about the use of the tensesin different patterns, both syntactic and semantic,with different verbs and adverbials.
Nevertheless, numerous letters from all over theUkraine and other Republics as well as personaltalks with students, teachers and postgraduates haverevealed a necessity for certain additions andexplanations to the material of the first edition.
Though about 70% of the text-book is dedicatedto the description .of the practical use of thetenses, it is certain theoretical aspects that havebeen found to be wanting additional elucidation, themost important of them being: a summarizingrepresentation of the English tense-aspect systemthat includes now all Future-in-the-Past andBeforefu-ture-in-the-Past tenses (pages 45—,50); asection treating of the interrelation between thelexical meaning of the verb and their use in Dynamicforms (pp. 198—200); the Passive Voice frequency ofuse data.
Since the times of Roman grammarians attemptshave been made to represent the time-relationshipsdenoted by different English tenses graphically bydividing the line of time into such blocks as pastand future, beforepast and beforefuture, afterpast,
afterfuture, and so on. Such attempts have proved tobe futile and been duly criticize1.
The book presents a completely new approach tothe problem. Since tenses are special verb formsreferring to certain time relationships and verbsare references to processes, the study of timecontent of the tenses must be, as it is in thisbook, based upon the time relations of processes to:(a) the moment of speaking (present-, past-, andfuture-time processes) and (b) one another(simultaneous, anterior, and posterior processes).The analysis given in the book shows that the timerelationships of the first kind are the base for thethree absolute tenses (the Present, the Past, andthe Future of both Aspects); anteriority andposteriority for the relative tenses (anterior: theBeforepresent, Before-past, Beforefuture, and theBeforefuture-in-the-Past; and posterior: the Future-in-the-Past). All temporal forms, except theBeforefuture tenses, are used in speech in either ofthe two aspects — the Static or the Dynamic. Anessential addition is a Table representing thetense-aspect system of the English verb (p. 50).
The author extends his deep gratitude to Prof.N. Rayevskaya and Prof. Y. Zhluktenko who reviewedthe manuscript, to Prof. Zadorozhny and Assoc. Prof.S. Gursky of the University of Lvov, as well as tomany others who gave their evaluation of the bookand made valuable suggestions in personal talks withthe author and in their letters to him.
1 E. g.: И. П. И в а н о в а. Вид и время в современноманглийском языке. Изд. Ленинградского университета, 1961, с. 22—23.
CONTENTS
General NotionsThe Verb.................................................................... 9Actions and States.......................................................... 9Qualitative Characteristics of Processes.................................... 9Verbal Modes of Action..............................................,....... 10General and Variant Lexical'Meanings of Verbs . . , . 10Terminative and Non-terminative Verbal Processes . . . 10Verbal Aspect............................................................... 1 1Finite and Non-finite Verbal Forms.......................................... 11Part I. Grammatical Content of the Finite FormsGrammatical Categories of the English Verb.................................. 12Time and Aspect Relations Denoted By the English VerbalForms............................................................І.......... 12Time Content of the Finite Verb Forms....................................... 13Time Content of Present, Past, and Future Tenses (AbsoluteTenses)..................................................................... 14Time Content of Anterior Tenses .......................................... 16Irrelevancy of the Meaning of Simultaneousness for theGrammatical Content of the Dynamic Tenses . . . . . 19Aspectual Content of Tenses................................................. 21
Present, Past and Future Tenses (Absolute Tenses) . . . .................21Beforepresent, Beforepast, and Beforefuture Tenses (Ante-rior Tenses).................................................................... 35
Irrelevancy of the Meaning Concrete Process for the Gram-matical Content of the Dynamic Tenses........................................... 41
Irrelevancy of the Meanings Resultative Connections, Cur-rent Relevance, and Completeness for the Grammatical Con-tent of the Anterior Tenses..................................................... 42
The System of the English Tenses........................................ • .............................................................................45
Part II. The Use of the TensesRelative Frequency of the Tenses............................................ 51Factors Influencing the Choice of the Tenses in Speech , . 55The Use of Absolute Static Tenses........................................... 60The Present Static.......................................................... 60The Past Static............................................................. 69The Future Static .................................................... 88The Use of Absolute Dynamic Tenses.......................................... 93The Present Dynamic......................................................... 93The Past Dynamic .........................................................108The Future Dynamic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126The Use of Anterior Static Tenses...........................................133The Beforepresent Static....................................................133The Beforepast Static.......................................................153
The Beforefuture Static.....................................................165The Use of Anterior Dynamic Tenses..........................................168The Beforepresent Dynamic.................................................168The Beforepast Dynamic......................................................184The Beforefuture Dynamic....................................................198Lexical Content of Verbs and Dynamic Tenses . . . . . . 198Part III. The Sequence of Tenses............................................201Part IV. Exercises..........................................................208
GENERAL NOTIONS
THE VERB
The verb is a word r e p r e s e n t i n g phenomena ofobjective reality as processes, that is, as changesin substances as well as in relationships betweenthem.
ACTIONS AND STATES
Processes are usually referred to as actions orstates.
The word action (L. actio, s.) literally means aprocess of being active and implies an exhibition(conscious or unconscious) of force or energy. Inthe sentences "A welcome smile lit up her eyes andlips" (G. Gordon) and "He lit a cigarette for her"(D. Cusack) the verb light refers to actions whoseactive doer is expressed, respectively, by' the nounsmile and the pronoun he.
A state (L. status condition) is a process of beingin a certain mode or form of existence conditionedby a set of temporary or permanent properties orcircumstances. Examples of states:
He had a shotgun in one hand (G. Gordon); He hada tapering face and a high forehead (Th. Wolfe);Outside, the streets are deserted and dark (G.Gordon); "You're sitting in your father's chair,Mary" (A. Cronin); A moment later he was sleeping (I.Shaw).
QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PROCESSES
Processes take place in space and time, butthough they may go on at the same time and in the
same place, the way they do so may be different dueto certain differences in their quality. Compare:
1. Alice was watching the kettle and tapping herfoot impatiently (J. Braine); 2. "The picture'sfalling!" he cried (J. Galsworthy)//"He's coming!"she whispered, "lock the door, son!" (Th. Wolfe); 3.She was crawling about the road (J. Braine) // Thefellow was rushing along (J. Galsworthy).
The processes above are either continuous (non-repeated, single-act) or intermittent (repeated,multiple-act) (Ex. 1), momentary or durative (Ex.2), relatively static or relatively dynamic (Ex. 3).
Features, such as repetition, duration, speed ofdevelopment, that characterize a processqualitatively and show how it goes on in time areknown as modes (manners, kinds) of action (L. modusactionis; German Aktionsart).
VERBAL MODES OF ACTION
In Russian some of the modes of action are denoted by the verb itself. Forinstance, verbs beginning with за- often express the ingression of a process, e.g., запевать, заиграть, засиять; such verbs as похаживать, посвистывать,покачивать imply repetition; встрепенуться, заикнуться, кувыркнуться are single-act momentary actions. Such modes of action, which are a purely lexical category,are not characteristic of the English verb.
GENERAL AND VARIANT LEXICAL MEANINGS OF VERBSA verb is a sign of a concept, which is a generalized abstraction from certain
phenomena and relations of objective reality. Being a sign for o n e concept, averb, as a language unit, has o n e lexical meaning known as general (invariant,language) lexical meaning. In particular instances of speech, however, a verb canbe used in various senses, as for instance the verb run in the sentences below:
1. He ran fast (R. Bradbury); 2. The small green car ran quietly down the widestreet (D. Russell); 3. Down below the river ran muddy and fast (E. Hemingway); 4.Just above the knuckles ran a long new scratch (A. Berkley); 5. She ran herfingers along my forehead (J. Braine); 6. His horse ran a nail in his hoof (Th.Dreiser).
Senses are given in dictionaries. The general lexical meaning of a verb is ageneralized abstraction from all the senses in which it is used in speech.
TERMINATIVE AND NON TERMINATIVE VERBAL PROCESSES
Any process of limited duration goes through the following three stages, orphases: the beginning (ingression), the going-on itself, and the end (egression).The moments of time when a process begins and
ends are known as the ingressive and theegressive limit, respectively. The threestages of a limited-in-time process arerepresented graphically in Fig. 1, the vertical lines
showing its ingressive (tothe left) and egressive (to the right) limits. A verbal process implying the
achievement of either of the qualitative limits (ingressive or egressive) will besaid to be terminative (e. g.: Он запел; Он открывал (открыл) окно), that with noimplication of a qualitative limit achieved or to be achieved will be referred toas non-terminative (e. g.: Он сидел у окна). Examples of terminative and non-terminative processes:
1. She fell backwards onto a nearby bed (W. S. Gray); Now the night wasfalling (W. S. Maugham) // Rain fell steadily (Th. Wolfe); Snow was falling lightly(P. Wodehouse); 2. She hung the dress in the wardrobe (M. Mitchell); Jane washanging up her clothes in the wardrobe
10(V Kershaw) // A bundle of dresses hung over her arm (A. Huxley); His belt
was hanging over the back of his chair (B. Shaw); 3. "And now I must go." He rose(G. Gordon); Meanwhile he was rising to his feet (Th. Dreiser) // Wood smoke rosefrom cottage chimneys (J. Galsworthy); Smoke was rising from a score offarmhouses (M. Gold).
Statistic counts show that about 80% of all English verbs can be used inspeech to refer to both terminative and non-terminative processes. About 15% ofall verbs are terminative.
VERBAL ASPECTAspect is a translation into English of the Russian word вид which is a well-
known grammatical category of Slavonic languages.In the oppositions петь — запеть, играть — заиграть, сиять — засиять the
first element represents a process in its middle stage, while the secondemphasizes its ingressive limit. Such oppositions, however, do not constitute thecategory of the Russian aspect because they cover not the whole class of verbsbut only relatively few of them. For instance, ingression is not expressed by thesecond element of the following pairs: лететь — залететь, писать — записать,чистить—зачистить.
Consider now the following oppositions: Он запел — Он запевал, Он подбежал — Онподбегал, Он достал платок — Он доставал платок. In запел emphasis is laid on theingressive, in подбежал on the egressive limit, in достал on both, because досталmeans neither начал доставать nor кончил доставать but represents the verbalprocess as a whole. The second element of the three pairs represents the processin its middle stage. This is true of the whole class of Russian verbs.Representation of processes with or without any emphasis laid on theirqualitative limits constitutes, therefore, the grammatical category of aspect ofthe Russian language.
Broadly, aspect can be defined as a system of oppositions of different verbalforms referring to different modes of action.
The base of the Russian aspect is the qualitative limit, that of the Englishaspect, as it will be shown, is the speed of the development of processes intime. Some languages, such as German, have no category of aspect whatever.
FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERBAL FORMSIn accordance with its origin (L. finitus limited), a finite verbal form is one
limited by person, number, time relations, voice, mood, and aspect. Finite formsare opposed to non-finite: the participle, the infinitive, and the gerund. Since,however, the non-finite forms are also limited by some of these categories, theterms Predicate Verbal Forms and Non-predicate Verbal Forms should be preferred,or else the term finite form should be understood as a verbal form used in thefunction of the simple predicate or the first verbal part of any other kind ofpredicate.
11PART I
GRAMMATICAL CONTENT OF THE FINITE FORMS
GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES OF THE ENGLISH VERB
The English verb has different forms to refer:
1. To the speaker or the one addressed (first and second person) or anyone oranything else (third person), e. g.: I (you) write — He writes.
2. To one or more than one person or thing, e. g.: He writes — They write.3. To different time relations, e. g.: I write — I wrote — I shall write; I
have written — I had written — I shall have written.4. To different mood relations, e. g.: If he was here now— If he were here
now.5. To different qualitative features of verbal processes, e. g.: He breathed
now very quickly, now so slowly that one began to wonder whether he was breathingat all (A. Huxley).
6. To different relations between the subject and the predicate, e. g.: Weasked him — He was asked.
Verbal forms denoting different time relations are referred to as tenses (ME tensfrom L. tempus). In present-day grammar books, however, the term tense also coversaspectual meanings of the verbal forms (Cf., e. g.: The Future Indefinite Tense and TheFuture Continuous Tense).
Since the six kinds of oppositions of verbal forms listed above aresystematic, they constitute the six grammatical categories of the English verb,namely, the categories of person, number, time relations, mood, aspect, andvoice.
TIME AND ASPECT RELATIONS DENOTED BY THE ENGLISH VERBAL FORMS
As will be shown below, the English verbal forms denote two kinds of timerelations and two aspects: any verbal process is represented both as belonging tothe present, past or future, anterior to another process of one of these time-spheres, or else posterior to a process or some situation in the past and at thesame time as either relatively static or relatively dynamic. Accordingly, thereare the following tenses in English:
Present StaticBeforepresent StaticPresent Dynamic Beforepresent Dynamic12Past Static Beforepast StaticPast Dynamic Beforepast DynamicFuture Static Beforefuture StaticFuture Dynamic (Beforefuture Dynamic)Future Static-in-the-Past Beforefuture Static-in-the-PastFuture Dynamic-in-the- (Beforefuture Dynamic-in-Past the-Past)1
Taking into consideration the fact that the Beforefuture Dynamic and theBeforefuture Dynamic-in-the-Past are practically never used, one concludes thatthere are fourteen finite verb forms in English to represent eight temporal andtwo aspectual relationships.
1 ...если мы находим, что какое-нибудь тело принадлежит к какому-нибудь подобному ряду, то егостарое название становится препятствием для понимания и должно быть заменено названием, указывающимэтот ряд. (Ф. Э н -г е л ь с. Диалектика природы. «К. Маркс и Ф. Энгельс». Соч. Изд. 2-е, т. 20, М.,1961, с. 609).
TIME CONTENT OF THE FINITE VERB FORMS
Tenses are special verb forms referring to different time-relationships.Verbs refer to processes. Therefore, to understand the time content of theEnglish verb forms one has to understand the nature of time-relationships betweenthe processes of the objective world they refer to.
Logical TimeTime is commonly represented graphically as a line stretching continuously
and infinitely from left to right1 (Fig. 2). If we mark the objective position ofthe moving matter along the line of time by a cross
(Fig. 3), we shall divide time into two infinite blocks located to the leftand right from it. These blocks are known as logical past and logical future,respectively, the dimensionless point that divides the line of time into the pastand future being logical present.
1 В применении ко времени бесконечная в обе стороны линия или бесконечный в обе стороны ряд единицимеет известный образный смысл. (Ф. Э н -г е л ь с. Анти-Дюринг. «К. Маркс и Ф. Энгельс». Соч. Изд.2-е, т. 20, М., 1961, с. 49).
Processes of the Objective World and Time RelationshipsRelative to the objective "now" of moving matter (for speech, "the moment of
speaking") processes either belong to the sphere of past or future time or takeplace at it (Fig. 4: Processes 1, 2, 3).
Besides, processes stand in certain time relations to one another. In Fig. 5processes 2, 2', 2" are simultaneous with, processes 3, 3', 3" anterior to, andprocesses 4, 4', 4" posterior to processes 1, 1', 1".
The three time relationships of the first kind (Fig. 4) are the basis for thetime content of the Absolute Tenses of Static and Dynamic Aspect (the first sixforms of the left-hand column on p. 12).
Anteriority of processes to a present-, past-, and future-time process is thecontent core of the Anterior Tenses (the forms of the right-hand column on p. 12,except those in brackets which are practically not used), including theBeforefuture Static-in-the-Past which denotes anteriority to a process futurerelative to past time.
Time relationships ofposteriority are represented in English by the Future-in-the-Past Tense, bothStatic and Dynamic, which denotes posteriority of processes to a process in thepast. Posteriority to present- and future-time processes is not represented byspecial verb forms and is referred to by the Future Tense.
Simultaneity also remains unexpressed.
Time Content of Present, Past, and Future Tenses (Absolute Tenses)There is universal agreement among linguists that any process which takes
place in a period of time including the moment of speaking, which is the objective"now" of speech, must be considered as belonging to present time. Accordingly, atense referring to it must be described as a present tense. A process whichexcludes the moment of speaking and lies to the left or right from it belongs tothe past or future time sphere. A corresponding verbal form must be described asa past or future tense.
Tenses actually used in speech do very often indeed agree with thesedefinitions, e. g.:
1. "It's a fact we aren't saving money. But nobody does nowadays" (E.Hemingway); 2. Already she was working at the fire. She worked quickly (W.Faulkner); 3. "I'll be seeing you, Jack. I'll come and see you before I go up thelake" (J. Abridge).
But very often, again, tenses actually used disagree with the definitions ofpresent, past, and future processes given above.
In the first place, the present static and the present dynamic are frequentin sentences where a verbal process actually belongs to the past (a) or future(b), e. g.:
(a) "I cantered for four or five miles... Suddenly somebody fires a volley —twenty shots at least it seems to me. I hear bullets sing in my ear, and my hatjumps to the back of my head. It was a little intrigue, you understand" (J.
Conrad); "You see, Mr. Graham, the accused told the police that he was alone.Either you are lying or he is" (G. Gordon);
(b) They talked of hardly anything, except the engagement, and Robin, and thewedding. "I'm taking her out myself, of course, in September — and Robin meets usat Colombo, and they'll be married the day after we land — and then he's takingher off for a few days' honeymoon, and I shall go up to the Estate" (E.Delafield).
In the second place, the past static and the past dynamic are frequent incases where a verbal process objectively i n c l u d e s the moment of speaking, e.g.:
(a) 1. "I've known you for years, I think," he said; "from the very firsttime we met I admired and liked you. I acknowledge your superiority ineverything" (Ch. Dickens); 2. "For years I wanted him to move out of that oldhouse there. He knows that he ought to" (Th. Dreiser); З.'Т watched you going upand down these last two weeks" (J. Lindsay);
(b) 1. "Going swimming?" — "No. Drowning myself".— "Don't do that, my boy,"he said. "I was hoping (and I am still hoping) you would stick around the officeawhile as treasurer of the company" (P. Wode-house); 2. "Do you know anythingabout books?" — "Yes, sir; I'm a good book-keeper." — "Holy Moses! Our job isgetting rid of them. My firm are publishers. We were thinking (and are stillthinking) of putting on an extra traveller" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "Gee! It's quiethere, isn't it, Miss Garfield!" — "I was wondering (and still am wondering) ifyou would like to run down and spend the rest of the day with your mother, Ivy"(S. Gibbons).
Finally verbal processes including the moment of speaking are also referredto by a future tense, e. g.:
1. It is a mistery. It always will be (F. Norris); 2. "I'll love you forever,my darling" (A. Maltz); 3. "You won't be doing that much longer," Ron remarked."Another month, isn't it?" (H. Smith).
In the first set of examples the speaker represents the processes whichobjectively belong to the past (a) and future (b) as if they were just takingplace before his and his listener's or reader's eyes, i. e. in the present. Inother words, he makes the о b j e с t і v e past and future be his m e n t a lpresent.
The second and third sets of examples contain verbal processes which includethe moment of speaking. In accordance with the accepted definition of present,past, and future time they must be considered as belonging to the present and bedenoted by present tenses. Actually, however, past and future tenses are used torefer to them. This is explained by the fact that the speaker associates theprocesses with certain particular circumstances and, thus, is m e n t a 1 1 у inthe past or future. Being m e n t a l l y in the past or future, he uses past or fu-ture tenses
Thus, the English past, present, and future tenses are signs for thespeaker's m e n t a l time which may but does frequently not coincide with theobjective time to which the process belongs.
This conclusion is confirmed by the fact that man can transfer himself intothe past and future only m e n t a l l y (mental past and fu-
15
ture), physically being always in the present. It is also evident that anypresent time to which a process referred to in speech belongs is a mentalconstruction because it never coincides with the dimensionless point of theobjective or logical time (see Fig. 3 and 4 on pages 13—14), as for instance in:
1. "Do you swear not to betray secrets entrusted to you?" —"I swear" (S.Kennedy); 2. "It's raining" (K. Mansfield); 3. Each manifestation of life is comingup and then going back (Th. Dreiser).
Time Content of Anterior TensesBeforepast and Beforefuture Tenses. For the Beforepast Static (a) and Dynamic
(b) as well as for the Beforefuture Static (c) the meaning of anteriority of aprocess denoted by a verb in these tenses to another process is evident:
(a) 1. At last she turned round to him and asked him what she had asked before(H. Walpole); 2. "I believed that, sir. I still do. It was true that he had oncebelieved it: it was a lie that he believed it now (A. Maltz); 3. He sat motionless ashe had sat in the old waiting-room (E. James);
(b) 1. As she approached the doorway the baby appeared therein. She was crying orhad been crying (A. Bennett); 2. There came a night when he confessed to Carriethat the business was not doing as well this month as it had the month before (Th.Dreiser); 3. She was sitting on a high chair, staring in front of her. She had beensitting here now for a long time (H. Walpole);
(c) 1. It may be of interest to note that by 1965, as a clean air measure, gaswill have replaced coal for heating in Moscow (D. Worker); 2. "When you get backyou will have developed a taste for being a father" (M. Wilson); 3. I shall finishmy life's work on my way back; and then I shall have lived long enough (B. Shaw).
The Beforepresent Tenses. The beforepresent tenses are never used in thepattern consisting of the verb remember plus a verb expressing a single-act processlocated in the past, e. g.:
(a) 1. "I remember that the curtains of one house weren't fully drawn (J.Braine); 2. "I remember I laughed just as big as you please" (Th. Wolfe); 3. "Iremember Edgar said he played around Wall Street" (Th. Dreiser);
(b) 1. "Frank, where's your Bible?" — "Oh, I remember. I was killing a cockroachwith it. It's on top of your wardrobe" (S. Lewis); 2. 'By the way. You rememberthat argument we were having about aggression?" (Th. White); 3. "The president,old Quarels — 'member I was teljing you about him?" (S. Lewis).
In such cases the speaker who has a mental image of something he hasperceived before and preserved in his memory is mentally in the past.
Another case where the beforepresent tenses are never used is the so-called"narration" whose function is to reproduce in speech what has been perceivedbefore and preserved in the speaker's mind, e. g.:
16(a) The man with the scarred face leant over the table and looked at my
bundle. "Orchids?" he asked (H. G. Wells);(b) Jeremy went on to the study vaguely uncomfortable and disturbed. Five
minutes later he had forgotten it all. Everything was suddenly jolly. He andGauntlet were, all in a moment, as they used to be, forgetting grudges,suspicions, accusations, inviting Ball and Hindlip in to tea; then making toasts,digging a thin spoon that bent at the waist deep into the blackberryjam pot,
bringing it out with the handle sticky and licking the jam off the handle;talking and never listening to anybody (H. Walpole).
On the other hand, only beforepresent tenses are used in sentences in whichthe verbal process cannot be associated in the speaker's mind with any particularcircumstances in the past.
One of such cases are sentences in which a verbal process is anterior to a n ymoment (not only the moment of speaking) of the period of time to which anotherprocess of general validity belongs:
(a) 1. No fox likes to eat an animal that he himself has not killed (W. S.Gray); 2. The Times' advice is like telling a man whose wallet has been stolen thathe is really very fortunate, because his neighbour has his watch stolen as well(D. Worker); 3. The drops of blood fell very slowly, as they fall from an icicleafter the sun has gone (E. Hemingway);
(b) 1. Harry says that that's how things happen. We seem to be dead asdoornails for years, then in a couple of weeks we grow yards and yards, but it'sreally the sudden effect of what's been accumulating underneath (J. Lindsay); 2.Vegetables should never be refrozen. They should be boiled without delay or usedin cooking. If they have been standing at temperatures higher than 10 to 15° C,they should not be used at all (G. Stewart); 3. H о d s о n: Usually when you'vebeen enjoying yourself, you're a bit hearty like (B. Shaw).
The other case is the use of the beforepresent tenses in purely logicalconclusions made by the speaker from some situation in the present and hisexperience in life, e. g.:
(a) 1. "What's the time? My watch has stopped" (G. Greene); 2. He looked ather hard. "Say, you haven't been sick, have you?" — Carrie nodded (Th. Dreiser);3. "Look at yourself. A woman. You've had a baby? No? To look at you, you'remarried my girl" (D. Carter);
(b) 1. Suddenly he started sniffing vigorously. "You've been drinking," hesnarled (G. Gordon); 2. "Hello," he exclaimed, "You have been crying." Her eyeswere still wet with a few vague tears (Th. Dreiser); 3. "There's a sad lovelinessin that faint hollow of your cheek, but it means you've been neglecting yourbutter and milk" (A. Cronin).
When, however, the speaker, starting from some situation in the present,associates the verbal process with some particular cirsumstances in the past, heuses a past tense. Compare:
The brother and sister descended the staircase. "Stay, Miss Ross! Agnes! Youhave forgotten your flowers» (Ch. Dickens)//Before long the stagecoach returnedfor the passengers. After many thank you's and good-bye's, they were ready tostart. Suddenly Ben shouted, "Polly! Tom! You forgot your snowshoes" (G.Stewart); A little plump woman
17came up to the bar and took Laura's arm. "Laura, darling" she said, "I've
been looking for you" (I. Shaw) // "Oh, there you are, Mike", she said, "I waslooking for you" (A. Berkley).
It should be pointed out that the context in these oppositions contains noformal signs which would have made the choice of the past or the beforepresenttense necessary — its use wholly depends on whether or not the speaker is
mentally in the past. In the first example of the first opposition the speakersees Miss Ross and Agnes' flowers. Miss Ross and Agnes are leaving home. Logicalconclusion: "You have forgotten your flowers." The situation in the secondexample is about the same: Polly and Tom who have been staying for some time atBen's place are leaving; suddenly Ben remembers that the snowshoes are in thehouse. Being mentally in the past, Ben uses a past tense. In the first example ofthe second opposition the speaker does not 'associate the verbal process with anyparticular circumstances in the past; in the second he does so (implied is "whenI met you").
The following examples make it still more evident:"Have you seen Mr. Whitford this morning?" — "He passed me (G. Meredith);
"How old is he?" — "About nineteen, I fancy; He must have had a very odd sort ofeducation; but he is a nice lad, it will be a great pleasure to John to havesomething young about the house."— "I was thinking that Mr. Dusatoy hardly wantedmore cares." — "So have I" (Miss Yonge).
Thus, whereas the beforepast and beforefuture tenses denote the objectiveanteriority of one verbal process to another, the beforepresent tenses are signsfor the anteriority of the objective time of a process to the m e n t a l present ofthe speaker.
In the following oppositions the speaker, starting with some situation in thepresent, uses the beforepresent tense when there are no associations in his mindof the verbal process he refers to with any particular circumstances in the past,i. e. when mentally he remains in the present, and a past tense in cases such
associations do exist in his mind, when a situation in the present has caused himto go mentally back into the past:
1. "Does she love this man?" — "I dorit knom. She hasn't told me" (R.Macaulay) // "Well, what does that machine do?" — "17/ be damned if I know: They didn'ttell me" (R. Gehman); 2. Elliot, besides being fond of his sister, had, as I havesaid, a strong strain of family feeling" (W. S. Maugham) // "So the oldgentleman, as I said, harnessed Johnny" (J. Joyce); "Well, as I was saying, yourgrandfather came home one night and said — Look here. Who do you suppose I sawtoday?" (Th. Wolfe); 3. "Dad! How lovely! Where have you sprung from?"(J. Gals-worthy) // "Hallo, Rose! Where did you spring from?" (J. Lindsay).
Since both Absolute Past (Static and Dynamic) and Beforepresent (Static andDynamic) Tenses refer to p a s t time processes and since they are used,respectively, when the speaker d o e s and does n o t associate the processes in hismind with particular ( d e f i n i t e ) circumstances in the past, they can be called,in that sense, the Past Defi n i t e and the Past I n d e f i n i t e Tense,respectively.
Irrelevancy o f the Meaning o f Simultaneousness for the Grammatical Content o f the DynamicTenses
The meaning of the expanded tenses was said by O. Jespersen to be "relativeduration, compared with the shorter time occupied by some other action"1. O. Jespersen
1
? O. J e s p e r s e n . The Philosophy of Grammar. Ldn, 1934, p. 278.
was followed by A. Brusendorf1 and in our country by N. F. Irtenyeva2 and V. L.Filatov3. To illustrate this meaning, sentences of the type "When I entered the room hewas following me"4 are usually given. The two verbal processes in this sentence can begraphically represented as the dot and the line standing for the shorter and thelonger process, respectively. In the case of the Past Indefinite the two processes aresaid to be represented as following each other in time: "When I entered the room hefollowed me"5. From all the authors referred to above only V. L. Filatov made anattempt to prove his point of view by analysing the use of the Past Continuous inactual instances of speech. His method, however, consists in purely statistical countsof the use of the form in different temporal meanings. The aspectual meaning of thetense and the use of other tenses in like patterns are not investigated. Therefore, itcan only give an answer to the question in what function the Past Continuous Tense ismost frequent.
1 A. B r u s e n d o r f . The Relative Aspect of the Verb in English. "Grammatical Miscellany Offeredto O. Jespersen on His 70th Birthday". Copenhagen, 1930, p. 229.
2 H. Ф. И р т е н ь е в а . Грамматика современного английского языка, М., 1956, с. 93.
3 В. Л. Ф и л а т о в . Развитие значения и употребления глагольной формы Past Continuous в английскомязыке. Автореферат кандидатской диссертации. М., 1955, с. 13; В. Л. Ф и л а т о в. К вопросу означении и употреблении Past Continuous в английском языке. «Исследования по прошедшим временамглагола в английском языке». М., МГПИ, 1960, с. 84—91.
4
5
? A. B r u s e n d o r f . Op. cit., p. 229.? A. B r u s e n d o r f . Op. cit., p. 229.
The analysis that follows shows that there are no special forms in English todenote the relation of simultaneousness as it is understood by V. L. Filatov
First,'V. L. Filatov has found that in R. Stevenson's Treasure Island the PastContinuous in the function of relative duration makes about 94% of all its uses (152out of 162)1. After a thorough check-up this figure has been found to be only 56% (97out of 173).
Second, V. L. Filatov counts the uses of the Past Continuous Tense only. He,therefore, analyses sentenses like "About noon I stopped at the captain's door withsome cooling drink and medicine. He was lying very much as we had left him",completely disregarding like examples with the Past Indefinite Tense, e. g.: "Then mymother got a candle in the bar, and, holding each other's hands, we advanced into theparlour. He lay as we had left him" (—) All other tenses can also be used to expressrelative duration, e. g.:
1. "Get your business attended to, and then return. I shall wait up for you» (O.Henry); 2. "I shall be cleaning up when you come with my luggage" (J. Galsworthy); 3."Since I've stayed in one of your homes here, I think I've grasped the reason why"(Ibidem); 4. "Young gentlemen, I've finished it while you have been barking at me" (G.Meredith); 5. Never once had Erik sensed the struggle for life in the city during allthe time he had lived there (M. Wilson); 6. Brandon had been talking to him whensuddenly Ronder had appeared in their midst (H. Walpole).
The fact that all tenses can be used to express relative duration shows stronglythat the latter is not the meaning of the expanded forms: “The proper way to disprove1 В. Л. Ф и л a T о в. К вопросу о значении и употреблении Past Continuous в английском языке, с. 90.
the claim that the peculiar function of the expanded form is to express duration, E.Calver says, is to show that the simple form also expresses duration”.
Third, V. L. Filatov does not consider at all sentences like "Does anyone know weare here?" Davy was asking him when he was getting into the water again (J. Aldridge).Such sentences, however, are a definite indication of the fact that the meaning ofrelative duration has nothing to do with the grammatical content of expanded formsbecause, first, there is no shorter action in them and, secondly, the expanded tensesin them are used to represent verbal processes as progressing. This becomes evidentafter any of the expanded forms has been replaced by the simple: "Does anyone know weare here?" Davy asked him when he was getting into the water again" (—) and "Doesanyone know we are here?" Davy was asking him when he got into the water again" (—).The two transforms are typical instances of the use of the expanded form to expressrelative duration. But the representation of the verbal processes becomes different:where the expanded form represented the process as going on, the simple one representsit in its limits, as completed.
Fourth, the sources analysed contain hundreds of examples in which the duration ofthe process denoted by the verb in the simple form is greater than that denoted by theexpanded past, e. g.:
1. He was quickly rolling a cigarette while the other man made coffee (J.London);2. One evening Mary sat in front of her mirror. George was struggling into a shirt (G.Gordon); 3. The sweat was soon pouring down Davison's face as he hurried along theinterminable windings of the alley (R. Aldington).
Relative duration in such sentences is expressed by the simple form.
Fifth, frequently a sentence or a larger context contains no process parallel tothat denoted by the verb in the expanded past, and the latter is used not relativelybut absolutely, e. g.:
1. "Well, that's a fine finish", said Drouet, "pack up and pull out, eh? You takethe cake. I bet you were knocking around with Hurstwood or you wouldn't act like that"(Th. Dreiser); 2. "What does your backsight do?" —"It tells me what you would say isgoing to happen, and the insight sometimes says what is or was happening in otherplaces" (Th. White); 3. "What has been the matter with you these last few months?" —"Nothing, darling — except of course that new corn on my little toe I was telling youabout — remember?" (M. Aden).
The point of view that the expanded tenses denote simultaneousness cannot alsoexplain their use to express series of verbal processes, as in:
1. But at that moment she woke with a start, sat up, and pulled her dress down."What was I saying?" — "You were asking me what film, and I was telling you I don'tknow" (J. Lindsay); 2. Then there was the prick of the needle and the doctor was gone.Doreen was closing the door behind her and tiptoeing back into the room (D. Cusack);3. "Good-bye, people". One of the foresters had pushed out the machine (the waterplane) and turned it a little; the other had twirled the propeller; and already theheavenly rescuer, was dashing away in a gush of foam; it was lifting from the waterand climbing (S. Lewis).
Finally, V. L. Filatov while defending his point of view refers to the authorityof Otto Jespersen and A. Brusendorf. It is true that the point of view that theexpanded forms denoted relative duration was advanced by O. Jespersen and supported byA. Brusendorf. But it is also true that neither of these linguists denied aspectual
meaning in them. "If we say he was (on) hunting,— O. Jespersen explains,— we mean thatthe hunting (which may be completed now) had begun, but was not completed at the timementioned or implied in the sentence, and this element of incompletion (at that time)is very important if we want to understand the expanded tenses, even if it is notequally manifest in all cases. But it should be noted that it is not the period oftime that is incomplete, but the action or state indicated by the verb itself"1. "Thatthese tenses,— A. Brusendorf writes, — ...have a special task to perform, express aspecial aspect (or Aktionsart) of the verb, cannot very well be doubted2.
Therefore, while V. L. Filatov himself finds the temporal meaning of relativeduration in the expanded past to be present only in about 94% of its uses3, heoverlooks completely the fact that the aspectual meaning of the process represented inits development is present in the form in 100% of its total use.
ASPECTUAL CONTENT OF TENSESThe static tenses are opposed to the dynamic tenses by four semantic models.
1 O. J e s p e r s e n . A Modern English Grammar. Vol. 4. Heidelberg, 1931, p. 179.2 A. B r u s e n d o r f Op. cit., p. 228.3 In accordance with the statistic counts data presented by Edith Raybould (1213 pages of printed text) the "classic frame" for the expanded past makes only 30% of its totaluse (94 out of 314). See: E. Raybould. Of Jane Austen's Use of English Verbal Forms."Studies in English Language and Literature". Bd. 65. W. Braumueller. Wien — Stuttgart, p. 177.
PRESENT, PAST, AND FUTURE TENSES (ABSOLUTE TENSES)Model IIn oppositions by Model I static tenses represent a verbal process with one
or both of its limits emphasized, while the dynamic forms indicate the going on,the development of the verbal process.
The representation of verbal processes by Model I corresponds to the meaningof the perfective and the imperfective aspects in Russian. Since in Russian thereis no aspectual opposition of verbal processes taking place in the present time-sphere, the examples of the present static and the present dynamic are given inthe end after the meaning of the opposition has been properly understood onexamples having aspectual correspondences in both languages.
PastStatic a n d P a s t D у n a m і с1. He awakened in the near dark (W. Faulkner)//James Brodie was awakening (A.
Cronin); 2. Slowly his eyes closed (D. Cusack)// His eyes were closing (E. Seton-Thompson); 3. She presently fell asleep (M. Mitchell) // I was falling asleep (A.Munthe); 4. She lighted the lamp (K. Mansfield) // He was lighting the slow wickof the slush-lamp (J. London); 5. She rose from her knees (J.Galsworthy)//Meanwhile he was again rising to his feet (Th. Dreiser); 6. Thelittle china clock struck half past two (H. Walpole) // The church clock wasstriking one (H. Wells).
Future Static and Future Dynamic1. "They think she'll die tonight" (D. Cusack) // "When you are old I shall be
dying" (Th. Wolfe); 2. "I'll finish my beer and then go and see what he wants"
(W. S. Maugham) // "I shall be getting things and going back" (J. Galsworthy); 3.«You won't recognize me. You'll pass without speaking" (Th. Wolfe) // «I shall bepassing here this day fortnight at exactly the same time» (Th. Hardy); 4. "You'llsay 'yes' of course. But what will you be saying 'yes' to?" (M. Wilson); 5. "Ishall start before you are up" (Ch. Dickens) // "Finish your breakfast and weshall be starting" (E. Hemingway); 6. "I'll tell them the truth" (Q. Gordon)//"Weshall be telling them the exact truth" (J. Galsworthy).
Present Static and Present Dynamic
The Present Static is opposed to the Present Dynamic by Model I in a numberof special uses as well as in common colloquial speech in case of verbalprocesses referred to the moment of speaking.
Author's Speech. Consider the following passage from Hunger by D. Lessing inwhich the author represents the main events as if they were taking place beforeher and her reader's eyes (mental present):
After some time, he becomes certain that there is one girl who has walked pasthim, then come back, and now is walking past him again. He is certain because ofher dress.. It is bright yellow with big red flowers on it. He stares round himand can see no other dress like it, so it must be the same girl. For the thirdtime she saunters by, close on the pavement, and he sees she has smart shoes onher feet and wears a crochet cap of pink wool.
Substituting the past tenses for the corresponding present forms of theheavy-typed verbs makes it evident that the aspectual opposition of the latter is
the same as that of the former: the past static represents verbal processes withemphasis on their limits, the past dynamic represents them as developing in time:
After some time he became certain that there was one girl who had walked pasthim, then come back, and was now walking past him again. He was certain because ofher dress. It was bright yellow with big flowers on it. He stared round him andcould see no other dress like it, so it must have been the same girl. For thethird time she sauntered by, close on the pavement, and he saw she had smartshoes on her feet and a crochet cap of pink wool. (Oppose: he became certain // hewas becoming certain; she was walking past him // she walked past him; he staredround him // he was staring round him; she sauntered by // she was sauntering by).
Historical Present. Frequently an author or a speaker, while he is narratingabout the past, wants to represent some of the verbal processes as if they weretaking place just before his or his listener's (reader's) eyes, i. e. at themoment of speaking. While doing so, he is using present tenses, which are knownas Historical Present (Praesens historicum). Example:
I am talking of nearly twenty years ago; but let me speak of the time forawhile as if present. That stout, round-faced little man is Mr. Latham, our banker,the great man of Wind-borough... He drives from the market place into a littleflagged court; where I buy the macaroons for Cyril ... The banker is probably going togive a dinner party. A tall gentleman of melancholy visage has seen him enter,and reconnoiters him through
22
the window with vivid interest. At some movement of Mr. Latham — who is perhapspantomimically declining goose pie — Mr. Myers shakes his head with pensivedeprication ... (Ch. Dickens)1.
It is evident that the meaning of the historical tenses corresponds strictlyto that of the respective past forms.
Comments to Demonstrations and Sports Games; Reproduction in Speech of VerbalProcesses Directly Watched by the Speaker. To express in speech what has justbeen done or will be done immediately after the moment of speaking, more exactly,a t the moment of speaking, the Present Static is commonly used in step-by-stepexplanations and comments. In reproducing verbal processes directly watched bythe speaker both Static and Dynamic Present are common.
Consider the following comments given by the circus magician:I take this hat. I place it on the table. I spread a cloth over it. I strike
the table with the stick. I remove the cloth and I pull out a rabbit (F. Sack).The circus magician here does not represent the p r o g r e s s i o n of the
processes of taking the hat, placing it on the table, spreading the cloth,striking the table, removing the cloth and pulling out a rabbit. He does not meanto say: "Look how I am doing this or that." What he actually means is: "Look whataction has j u s t been or will i m m e d i a t e l y be performed by me." This becomesmore obvious if the Past and Future Static are changed for the present form:
He took the hat. He placed it on the table. He spread a cloth over it. Hestruck the table with the stick. He removed the cloth and he pulled out a rabbit.
1 For other examples of historical present tenses see p. 14.
He'll take this hat. He'll place it on the table. He'll spread a cloth over it.He'll strike the table with the stick. He'll remove the cloth and he'll pull outa rabbit.
It will be noticed that all the verbal processes in the example analysed areterminative.
Now some examples of verbal processes directly watched by the speaker andreproduced by him in speech:
1. Lawson has the ball. He is dribbling. He shoots. The back stops the ball.He passes it to the outside right, who is gaining ground quickly (F. Sack) (Cf.:Мяч у Лосона. Лосон ведет мяч к воротам. Удар. Защитник останавливает мяч. Пасуетего правому нападающему, который быстро продвигается вперед). 2. The pitchertakes the stretch. He looks at first where Hays is taking a good lead. Here's thepitch. The batter swings and it's a hard-hit grounder to short. The shortstop isup with it. He throws to second for the force, ending the inning (W. Diver); 3."Hannam is examining the cupboard. Now the doctor is walking slowly across theroom to an identical built-in cupboard on the left-hand side of the fireplace. Heis opening the centre compartment and putting his hand inside; now he is takingout two objects and putting them into his left-hand jacket pocket" (M. Joos).
In all the above examples the Present Dynamic represents verbal processes asgoing on, developing in time, while the Present Static lays
23emphasis on their qualitative limits and indicates that they have just taken
or will immediately take place.
Stage Directions. The oppositions of the Present Static and the PresentDynamic in stage directions have also the aspectual meaning of the correspondingpast and future tenses. Compare the following examples:
1. She clasps his hands; but seeing that Frust is coming back, flits acrossto the curtain and vanishes (J. Galsworthy) // Suddenly he turns and comes backagain, full of force and decision (B. Shaw); 2, He is crossing to the outer doorwhen she interrupts him (B. Shaw) // Essie, almost in tears, crosses the room tothe door near the sofa (B. Shaw); 3. The curtain rises. In the armchair theProfessor is yawning, tall, thin, abstracted (J. Galsworthy) // He shuts thedoor; yawns; and loafs across to the sofa (B. Shaw).
Colloquial Speech. In certain established sentences processes referred to themoment of speaking are practically never denoted by verbs in the Present DynamicTense, e. g.:
1. Tremain sank down with his face in his hands. "I give up! I've done mybest, but I'm beat" (J. Lindsay). (The information conveyed by the sentence isnot that Tremain is in the process of losing more and more all hope of successbut that he has just, at the moment of speaking, lost it. Cf.: Все, сдался!); 2."I was a bit of a beast, I admit" (D. Cusack); "I confess," Mario said drily,"that these provisions surprise me a little" (G. Santayana); "Some of these, Iown, struck me as being a little old-fashioned" (M. Mitchell); 3. "My love, Iguarantee that" (Ch. Bronte); "It'll be quite safe, I assure you" (D. Cusack);"That's true, I swear it" (W. S. Maugham); 4. "I gather it was then, Maria, thatyou decided to take the law into your hands" (M. Mitchell); "I'm to leave Warley,too, I take?" (J. Braine); 5. "Crossjay, you surprise me" (G. Meredith); 6. "I
apologize, I take it back" (A. Cronin); 7. "My friend, I congratulate you" (A.Cronin) (Cf.: "Congratulations!" — H. Smith); 8. "Well, I forgive you" (F.Norris); 9. "That reminds me" (J. Galsworthy); 10. "That settles it" (J.Galsworthy).
Notice that the verbal processes in these sentences are not represented asprogressing at the moment of speaking and that the meaning of the static form isequal to that of the Past and Future Static (Cf., e. g.: "The U. S. Governmentyesterday publicly admitted that West Germany could eventually get full controlof nuclear weapons" — D. Worker; "Well, I'm a little stout, I'll admit" — Th.Dreiser).
In most cases, however, terminative processes can be denoted by verbs ineither Present Dynamic or Present Static Tense, e. g.:
1. "I'm just beginning to realize what you had to suffer with me as a nurse"(D. Cusack) //"Do you begin to see, Hugo?" (M. Wilson); 2. "What does lubricatingoil come from?" — "I am coming to that," said the refiner (H. McKay) // "Then wecome to the all-important point. This pistol that was found in your room" (C.Doyle); 3."I promise you I will do my best" (W. S. Maugham) // "If the patientreacts favourably, we shall see a remarkable imporovement very shortly. Mind you,I'm not promising a miracle" (D. Cusack); 4. "I suggest you put on the tie
21you wore when you came here" (D. Cusack) // "I don't expect anything which is
going to prove harmful to you. I'm merely suggesting that..." (Th. Dreiser); 5."They live in style, I tell you" (Th. Wolfe) // He seemed suddenly astonished atthe signs of impatience I gave. "Oh, crakee!" he cried, "I'm telling you of the
biggest thing that ever was, and you...!" (J. Conrad); 6. "Tastes like hair-oil.I warn you" (J. Braine)//"Well, nevertheless, Fry, I'm warning you" (F. Pohl).
Model IIIn oppositions by Model II a verb in a dynamic tense is used to denote the
going-on, the development of the process expressed by it, while a verb in astatic tense indicates, together with other words in the sentence, a relativelystatic feature or relationship characteristic of the subject.
Present Static and Present DynamicIn sentences of the types "The column stands seventeen feet high" (I. Stone)
and "The clock says twenty minutes past five" (E. Hemingway) dynamic tenses arenot used because the verbal processes in them are not represented as progressing,changing: the first sentence actually means "The column is seventeen feet high",the second "The time by the clock is twenty minutes past five". In other words,the verb stand is used, together with other words, to denote a certain featurecharacteristic of the subject column and considered as not changing, the verb sayexpressing a relationship between the hands of the clock and its dial. Thisrelationship, though lasting not longer than one minute, is also considered as notchanging, as relatively static.
Some other examples in which the Dynamic Present is practically never used:1. The bedroom slippers fit me perfectly (W. S. Maugham) (The slippers are a
perfect fit); 2. "How do you spell comparatively?" (R. Mac-aulay) Cvyhat is thespelling of comparatively?); 3. I love him so because his eyes are big and his
hair waves (W. S. Maugham) (He has waving hair); 4. "What time do you make itnow?" — "Ten eight." — "Ten eighteen by mine" (G. Greene) (What is the time byyour watch?); 5. "What do you read it?" Captain Lynch asked anxiously.—"Twenty-nine ten" (J. London) (What is the reading of the barometer?).
Consider now the following oppositions:1. "I call it natural. Look at a man who's growing old; notice how very
gracefully he does it" (J. Galsworthy) (A man who is in the process of growing old// how graceful and gradual the process of his growing old is); 2. The child getsalong so well, and learns so fast, because all the time he is copying the peoplearound him. These people are already speaking the language he is learning (L.Strong) (The process of the child's learning the language is fast // the languagewhich he is in the process of learning); 3. "I don't know how to be sensible. Itrains so" (Th. White)//"It's raining," she murmured (K. Mansfield) (The rain
25is so fast // Rain is in the process of falling); 4. "Epic; yes, that's it.
It's the epic I'm searching for. And how I search for it" (F. Norris) (I am in theprocess of searching for epic // The process of searching for epic is intensive);5. "As soon as we talk about anything interesting, you complain we're talkingshop" (J. Braine) (As soon as the topic of our talk is anything interesting youcomplain we are in the process of talking shop).
Model II also explains the use of the Present Dynamic to express verbalprocesses of unlimited duration, as in:
1. "Those stars, they aren't dim and weak. They are burning with fire" (I.Stone) (They are in the process of burning); 2. There are at least four billion
suns in the Milky Way — which is only one gallaxy. Many of these suns arethousands of times larger than our own, and vast millions of them have wholeplanetary systems, including literally billions of satellites, and all of thisrevolves at the rate of about a million miles an hour (M. Golden) //It is far morelogical to assume that these same life-serving conditions are repeated in atleast fifty billion planets out of the hundreds of trillions that are revolving inspace, we are not alone (M. Golden) (It is characteristic of the planetarysystems to revolve at the rate of about a million miles an hour // At least fiftybillion planets are in the process of revolving in space); 3. And the earth spinsso fast that the surface at its equator is travelling at rather more than athousand miles an hour (H. Wells) (The spinning of the earth is so fast that itssurface at the equator is in the process of travelling more than a thousand milesan hour).
Past Static and Past DynamicAs in the case of the present tenses the Past Dynamic is not used in
sentences of the types "The wolf stood three feet high at the shoulders" (E.Seton-Thompson) and "He looked at the clock. It said 7 : 25" (J. Updike). In thesesentences which are practically equivalent to "The wolf was three feet high whenstanding" and "The time by the clock was 7 : 25" (Cf.: "It's the wheel thatsqueaks that gets the oil" — H. Smith = "It's the squeaky wheels that get theoil"— H. Smith; "That lady is a musician." — "Yes, Mr. Holmes, I teach music" — A.C. Doyle) the Present Static of the heavy-typed verbs is used not to show thedevelopment in time of the processes denoted by them but to point out, together
with other words in the context, a feature or relationship characterizing thesubject and represented in speech as relatively static.
Some other typical examples in which the Past Dynamic has not been found inthe sources analysed:
1. We pulled Phuong's box together. It contained her picture books (G. Greene)(In it were her picture books); 2. The apartment consisted of two rooms, a tinykitchen, and a bathroom (W. S. Maugham); 3. Beams crossed the opening down intothe main floor (W. Heaven) (There were beams across the opening); 4. The suit didnot fit very well (J. Braine) (The suit was not a very good fit); 5. Thescoreboard read 39-4-1 l(The
26score on the board was 39-4-11); 6. The heavy boots squeaked even more loudly
on the polished floor (D. Cusack) (The squeaking of his boots was even louder onthe polished floor).
The difference in the meaning of the Past Static and the Past Dynamic tensesis quite obvious in the following oppositions:
1. Phil lay in stupor. His little hands plucked incessantly at the bed-clothes. He breathed now very quickly, now so slowly that one began to wonderwhether he was breathing at all (A. Huxley) (His breathing was now very quick,now so slow that one began to wonder whether he was in the process of breathingat all); 2. Lord Edward and his brother were taking the air in Gattenden Park.Lord Edward took it walking. The fifth Marquess took it in a bath chair drawn bya large grey donkey (A. Huxley) (Lord Edward and his brother were in the processof taking the air. Lord Edward's taking the air was by walking. The fifth Mar-
quess' taking the air was in a bath chair drawn by a donkey); 3. She was certainthat everyone in the ward was noticing how badly she walked. But she was walking— that was the important thing (D. Cusack) (Everyone was noticing how bad herwalking was. But she was in the process of walking — that was the importantthing).
Other examples of like oppositions:1. Diana Haddon was at this moment brushing her sleek fair hair before the
mirror of her dressing table. She brushed it with a fierce fatigue (E. James); 2.Hilma Tree was dancing for the second time with Harran Derrick. She danced withinfinite grace (F. Norris); 3. The fellow was moving away. He moved with the sameincomparable languor (J. Galsworthy); 4. Lieutenant Hardenburg was sitting in theorderly room with the cap and gloves on. He sat as if he was on a horse (I.Shaw); 5. He turned his head. Burnecker and Cowley were still sleeping. Cowleywas snoring, but Burnecker slept quietly (I. Shaw); 6. He groped his way to thesleeping mat. Already she was working at the fire. She worked quickly, crooningas she moved about (W. Faulkner).
Future Static and Future DynamicOnly the Future Static.is used in sentences in which the verb indicates,
together with other words of the context, a feature or relationship permanentlycharacterizing the subject, e. g.:
1. I think, even if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have atombstone and all, it'll say "Holden Caulfield" on it, and then what year I wasborn in and what year I died (J. Salinger) (The tombstone will have the words"Holden Caulfield» on it); 2. But steel will break and iron will bend (E. Seton-Thompson) (Steel and iron are liable to break and bend owing to the nature of thesubstance); 3. "My hair is brittle, with lots of split ends, and it just won'tcurl" (D. Worker) (My hair is not liable to curl).
Some of the typical examples of oppositions:1. "Here! I'll carry her. She's too heavy for you" (A. Bennett) // H ar-r y:
You'll have to carry this case, Peter. N o r a : He can't because he'll be carryingmy hatbox, besides his own case (D. Hicks) (I'll be
27the one to carry her // He will be in the process of carrying my hatbox and
his own case); 2. "I'll count slowly. I won't cheat" (D. Parker) //"Yes. In acell. But in my cell I'll be counting the days before my release. Here you'll becounting the days before ... before the tide closes in on you for good" (D.Carter) (My counting will' be slow // I shall be in the process of counting); 3.Six of them will play for Scotland at Wembley next week (D. Worker) // As well asthe four new forwards, Frank Myler and John Stopford will be playing in theirfirst Test (D. Worker) (Six of them will be among the players for Scotland //Frank Myler and John Stopford will be in the process of playing).
Model III
In oppositions by Model III some feature or relationship characterizing thesubject at a certain moment or period of time is compared with that in a periodof time anterior or posterior to it, a static form representing the subject asrelatively static, irrelative of its actual changes in respect to the anterior orposterior period of time, a dynamic form as relatively dynamic, as changing.
Present Static and Present Dynamic
In the example "You haven't the same body now that you had then. You are puttingon flesh, and it is not healthy flesh" (J. London) the italicized verbal processis not developing overtly at the moment of speaking, no changes of the subjecttaking place before the speaker's eyes. And yet Miss Mason represents Mr. Harnishas changing, seeing he looks different from what he did before when she saw himlast. Naturally, the speaker's reaction to Mr. Harnish' looks could have been"You've been putting on weight* (Cf.: "Ever since I gave up smoking, I've beenputting on weight" — J. Lindsay), "You've put on weight" (Cf.: "She's put on fourpounds" — D. Cusack), etc. In such cases the speaker would have represented Mr.Harnish as changing or changed in a period of time b e f o r e the moment ofspeaking. In her actual speech reaction, Miss Mason represents Mr. Harnish aschanging in the present.
More examples of this kind:1. "I detected more tiny crowfeet round her eyes. She's ageing fast" (J.
Lindsay); 2. "Daddy, my winter jasmine is coming into flower" (D. Worker); 3."But, my, how nice you look, Clyde. You've got such nice clothes now. And you're
getting taller" (Th. Dreiser); 4. The next forenoon Ben planted the seed. Dayafter day he waited for it to grow. At last he spied a tiny green leaf pushingits head above the earth. "It's growing! It's growing!" Ben shouted (W. S. Gray).5. "One of his eyes is damaged but, I am glad to hear, is healing well" (D.Worker); 6. "At her house she always has green hand towels. But the ones she isusing now are wearing rather thin" (D. Hicks).
28Consider now the following oppositions:1. "He's as thin as a bone. He hardly eats a bite" (Th. Wolfe) // "You're not
eating very much," she commented when she saw his ribs beginning to arc throughthe skin (I. Stone) (He is a very poor eater, no changes as to the kind of eaterhe was before being implied by the form // You are not a good eater, you were abetter eater before); 2. "My name is Foyle — I live in Darroch" (A. Cronin) //i'Where is he now?" — "He is living in Sanary" (W. S. Maugham) (My home is inDarroch, no changes of residence being implied by the static form // His home nowis in Sanary, the dynamic form implying that there has been a change ofresidence); 3. "He talks charmingly, dances divinely" (G. Meredith) // // When ababy begins to talk, he at first uses single words to proclaim what he sees orwhat he wants. Later on, as his wants and discoveries become more complicated, heputs words together. Soon he is talking fluently (A. Strong) (He is a charmingtalker, no change in his ability to talk being implied by the form // He is ableto talk fluently, the form implying that there has been a change in the child'sability to talk); 4. "I teach and do the Appeals work, that's all" (A. Maltz) //"Pete, I often think of what your Dad used to tell me about teaching. Now I'm
teaching myself, I see what he meant" (J. Updike) (I am a teacher, no changes ofthe speaker's occupation being implied by the form // Now I am a teacher myself,the form implying that there has been a change of the speaker's occupation); 5."You know", said Terry, "it's funny Dickie does not walk. The baby book says heshould when he's about a year old. Penny is walking. I saw her." — "She's agirl," said Chris. "Boys are slower" (D. Russell) (Dickie cannot walk, no changesin his ability to walk being implied by the form // Penny can walk, the formimplying that there has been a change in Penny's ability); 6. "I work in a mill,I know good cloth" (J. Braine) // "She's working now for Joe. I saw her just now"(G. Greene) (I am employed in a mill, no changes of the place of employment beingimplied by the form // She is now employed by Joe: she was unemployed before).
Frequently the speaker represents the subject as changing with respect to aposterior period of time, e. g.:
1. "Your father and mother are living, I presume?" — "Yes sir." (Th. Dreiser)(The possible change is their death); 2. "All over your country there are peoplewho have not yet begun to live, Swartz. They are your people. And they areexisting, not living. Young people like you must go to them and give them achance to live and grow and develop as social human beings. If that is done theywill release a tremendous new vitality (P. Abrahams) (Their life is butexistence, not the life of human beings, the form implying that in future thingswill be different); 3. "He's pulling down 85 dollars a month. After this let himdraw thirty-five" (J. London); 4. "This investment of mine is taking a lot ofmoney just now. I expect to get it all back shortly, but just at present I amrunning close" (Th. Dreiser).
Compare now the following oppositions:1. A season family ticket costs 150 dollars (Th. Dreiser) // To keep up such
nuclear forces is costing about 1,900 million pounds this year and29is expected to rise to 2,000 pounds by next year (D. Worker) (The price of a
family season ticket is 150 dollars, no change of price in the future beingimplied by the form // The cost of keeping up such nuclear forces is about 1,900million pounds, the dynamic form implying that in future it will be different);2. "What do you make, Ralph? Four thousand a year or four hundred thousand?" (S.Lewis) // "Why, Gray at his age of twenty-five is making 50,000 a year, andthat's only a beginning" (W. S. Maugham) (What are your yearly earnings? Nochange in the amount of the money earned in future being implied by the form //The amount of money made by Gray yearly is 50,000 dollars, the form implying thatin future it will change); 3. Another complete castle before you. This was theinner shell-keep, with its eight enormous round towers which still stand {Th.White) // The Castle is still standing, and you can see its lovely ruined wallswith ivy on them (Th. White) (The towers are not yet ruined, the form implying nochanges in the condition of the towers in future // The Castle is not yetcompletely ruined, with time there will be nothing left of it).
Past Static and Past DynamicThe types of examples with the past and present tenses opposed by Model III
are the same.In cases illustrated by the following examples the Past Static is not used:
1. There was just enough water to soak the sponge, and the enamel was comingoff the basin (K. Mansfield); 2. He noticed that her hair was graying fast (G.Gordon); 3. He was in full armour which was getting rusty (Th. White); 4. Helooked across at Piper, his lawyer. Piper was growing bald (I. Shaw); 5. The winewas so old that it was losing its color (E. Hemingway); 6. The north chimney ofthe farm was still impared, the steps were sagging more than ever (Th. Dreiser).
Examples of oppositions: 1. He was thin, quiet, attractive. He drank largely(D. Parker); Gant drank less: save for a terrific spree six or eight weeks (Th.Wolfe) // // She was drinking more these days (G. Gordon) (The amount of liquorconsumed by him was large (smaller), no change in the amount of liquor consumedis implied by the form i t s e l f / / The amount of liquor consumed by her these dayswas larger, the form i t s e l f implying a change); 2. Gant ate ravenously andwithout caution (Th. Wolfe) // She was eating better (D. Cusack) (Gant was aravenous eater, no changes being implied by the form // Jan, whose conditionseemed to have improved, was a better eater now, the form implying a change inJan); 3. The flowers of the seed ranch grew rapidly (F. Norris) // When the rainstopped and the sun shone, it was like a hothouse, seething, humid, sultry,breathless, and you had a strange feeling that everything was growing with savageviolence (W. S. Maugham) (The growth of the flowers was rapid, no changes in theintensity of the flowers growing being implied by the form // The growth ofeverything was savagely violent, the form implying that the intensity of theflowers growing
30
had been different); 4. Not so the lark. He ran up and down the large bottomof his cage, never perching aloft, but uttering a long plaintiff "cheep". Thespring was nearer now. The redpoll's caps were glowing brighter and the lark wasyet more running up and down, to the sound of his plaintiff "cheep — cheep" (E.Seton-Thompson); 5. He was tough, good-humoured, a little cynical and he smoked agreat many cigarettes (Th. Wolfe) // He refilled his pipe. These days he wassmoking far too heavily (G. Gordon); 6. It was true that he wrote a literarycolumn every Wednesday in the 'Daily Express' (J. Joyce)//When Ibsen invadedEngland ... women could not write plays. Within twenty years women were writingbetter plays than men (B. Shaw).
In the following examples with the Past Dynamic comparison is made with someposterior period of time:
1. "What's the matter with you today? An hour ago you were insisting on usbeing sympathetic" (K- Mansfield); 2. He knew that she was making more than 20,000a year and before long she would probably make 50,000 (S. Lewis); 3. That was thetime when confectioners were using blood plasma and liquid paraffin (J. Braine).
Examples of oppositions of different verbal forms:1. They earned as much as 100 dollars a week sometimes (Th. Wolfe) //"Do you
remember the first time I saw you?" — Did I remember? It was twenty years ago andI was living in Paris. I was earning barely enough money to keep body and soultogether (W. S. Maugham) (Their earnings were sometimes 100 dollars a week, nochanges of the amount of money earned in future being implied by the form//Myearnings then were barely enough to keep body and soul together. After twentyyears W. S. Maugham was a well-known author and well-to-do: the form implying the
change); 2. For hours the patrolling vultures had not seen him move; no one couldtell the signs by which they knew he still lived (J. Sommerfield); When I cameback to the front we still lived in that town (E. Hemingway) // Gant was dead.Gant was living death-in-life. In his big back room he awaited death (Th. Wolfe);In those days I was living in Jamaica (H. Wells) (He was still alive; Our livingquarters were still in that town // Gant was still alive, but death was near; Inthose days my home was in Jamaica: now it is in England); 3. On the further sideof the stream stood a small homestead (Th. Hardy) // In Charleston, at that verytime, was still standing an old and charming residence (Th. Dreiser) (Across thestream was a small homestead // There was still in Charleston, at that very time,an old charming residence: now it was no more).
Future Static and Future Dynamic
In the following examples processes denoted by verbs in the Future Dynamicare represented as changing in respect to an anterior period of time:
1. "I'm getting thin as hell over up there. Pretty soon I'll be carrying thefew thin strands from one side to the other" (M. Wilson); 2. "I'm so
31sure of myself", he concluded. "A year from now I'll be earning more than a
dozen men in the Railway Mail. You wait and see" (J. London); 3. "Yes, Malcom oldman, I'm on the bread-linel I'll soon be hanging around the back door asking youfor some stale buns!" (D. Carter).
Examples of oppositions of different verbal forms:
1. "Anthony will go to school for Coloureds" (G. Gordon) // "You will be fiveyears old next week, and next year — in a few months' time — you'll be going toschool" (G. Graham) (Anthony will be a pupil of a school for Coloureds, the formitself implying no change of Anthony's status // You will be a scholar, the formimplying a change of the boy's status, who is not a scholar as yet); 2. "I'm to bephysician to the Prince and Princess in Alladin's palace, and I shall sit alwayson your right hand when you entertain nobility" (Ch. Dickens) // "No-o," said thefat man, "long before that you'll be sitting up there on the stage, looking on inyour nice black velvet" (K- Mansfield) (My place will always be sitting on yourright hand // You will be up there on the stage, sitting and looking on: now,while you are young, you are dancing yourself); 3. "They won't work. We know.They'll be alone in that cabin all winter" (J. London) // "I'll be working thissummer" (Th. Dreiser) (They will be indolent all winter // I shall have a regularemployment this summer: now I have no job as yet).
In the examples below the verbal processes are represented as changing withrespect to a posterior period of time:
1. "You won't be doing that much longer," Ron remarked. Another month, isn'tit?" — "Three weeks, boy," Ted corrected him eagerly (H. Smith) (Ted was soonretiring on pension); 2. "I'll go abroad again — Burma! or Malay this time".—Mrs. Brodie's heart sank. "You'll not be thinking of Jhat for a bit, dear," shequavered (A. Cronin); 3. "She's a parlor maid in a house where I deliver goods.She won't be working there much longer, though" (O. Henry).
Model IV
In oppositions by Model IV, a dynamic tense points out the transitory natureof a process which can be represented as changing, as developing in time, astatic tense representing it as relatively static, irrespective of its actualnature.
Statistic counts reveal the fact that in sentences of the type "The hospitalstood on a hill" (J. Conrad) dynamic tenses are extremely rare because a necessityto represent such relationships (in this case, the relationship between thehospital and the hill) dynamically, as changing, by Model II or III hardly everpresents itself. On the other hand, in such examples as "A plain wooden chairwith a homely round back stood at the foot of the bed, and a fairly serviceablebroom was standing in one corner" (Th. Dreiser) both static and dynamic tenses arecommon. A closer look at the two sentences reveals the fact that the spacerelationship between the hospital and the hill hardly ever changes (by its naturethe relationship is non-transitory), while that between the chair or
32broom and the bed or the corner of the room is likely to change (is tran-
sitory by nature). However, as has been shown above (Model II), transitoryrelationships which cannot be represented as developing in time as in "The hallclock stood at ten minutes to nine" (H. Smith), are practically never expressed byverbs in dynamic tenses. This leads us to conclude that Model IV is limited tooppositions of t r a n s i t o r y , processes which can be represented asd e v e l o p i n g in t i m e . Examples of oppositions of static and dynamic tenses byModel IV:
(a) 1. "May I at least get my hat? It hangs on that peg opposite to us" (Ch.Dickens) // Take my waterproof to lie on: it is hanging up in the hall (B. Shaw)(My hat is on that peg, the form itself saying nothing whether the process istransitory or not // My waterproof is up in the hall, the form implying that byits nature the relationship between the'^hat and its present place in the hall istransitory); 2. "Now," said he, "jus't hand me the whip; it lies there under thehedge" (Ch. Bronte) // "Your letter is lying on my mistress' table" (G. Meredith);3. His face is rather a foolish one. He wears a uniform of dark blue (O'Casey) //He is nineteen years old and slightly built. He is wearing an old raincoat (K-Water house);
(b) 1. Anthony ran ahead. On his back he carried the new brown satchel (G.Gordon) // Mr. Langley appeared in court, sun-tanned and smartly dressed. He wascarrying a neatly rolled umbrella in one hand (D. Worker); 2. Madame was standingin front of the open wardrobe. A bundle of dresses hung over her arm (A.Huxley) // His belt was hanging over the back of his chair (I. Shaw); 3. He turnedoff into Danny's yard. The half-door stood open and the room was dim (E. Clu-er) // Even in the bewilderment of that battle he was conscious that the door wasstanding open (G. Chesterton);
(c) "I'll wear my dark-blue," she thought, and took from the wardrobe a dark-blue crepe de Chine frock (E. Delafield)” ; "Moreover, I shall have green paint onboth cheeks and be wearing my dirtiest overall, so you'll be ashamed of me, I warnyou" (H. Walpole).
The four semantic models treated of above can be illustrated by the followingoppositions:
MODEL I: I crossed the street (J. Braine)//They were crossing the street (J.London).
MODEL II: Everyone in the ward was noticing how badly she walked. But she waswalking — that was the important thing (D. Cusack).
MODEL III: Gant ate ravenously (Th. Wolfe) // And to all of them Jan'scondition improved. She was eating better (D. Cusack); On the further side of thestream stood a small homestead (Th. Hardy) // In Charleston, at that very time,was still standing an old and charming residence (Th. Dreiser).
MODEL IV: A bundle of dresses hung over her arm (A. Huxley) // // His belt washanging over the back of his chair (I. Shaw).
The meanings of the four semantic models is summarized in the table below:
Model Static tenses Dynamic tensesI A verbal process
represented at acertain moment or aperiod of time withits limitsemphasized.
A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment orperiod of time withoutemphasis on its limits.
II A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment or ina period of time as
A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment or in aperiod of time in its
a relatively staticfeature orrelationship.
progression.
III A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment or ina period of time asa relatively staticfeature orrelationship,irrelative of itsactual changes inrespect to an ante-rior or posteriorperiod of time.
A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment or in aperiod of time as afeature or relationshiphaving changed or to bechanged in respect toan anterior orposterior period oftime.
IV A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment as arelatively staticrelationship,irrelative of wheth-er or not it isactually transitoryby nature.
A verbal processrepresented at acertain moment as asingle- act transitoryrelationship.
Below the meanings of the four semantic models are represented for brevity's sake symbolically:M. I /V/ VVV . . .M. II Fv, Rv VVV ....M. Ill
Fv, Rvvar0
(ta-t; t-tp)
Fv, Rvvar
(ta-
t; t-tp)
M. IV Rvtrans0 Rv trans
Where: V — a verbal process,/V/ — a verbal process with its limits emphasized, VVV...— a verbal process
in its progression,Fv — a feature expressed, together with other words of the context, by a verb,Rv — a relationship expressed, together with other words of the context, by a
verb,var — variable, і. e. having changed or to be changed, var0 — irrelative of
its actual changes,ta — an anterior period of time; tp — a posterior period of time, trans —
transitory,trans0 — irrelative of whether it is transitory in its nature or not.
A closer examination shows that the meanings of the static and dynamic tensesopposed by the four semantic models can be generalized into o n e invariant, orgeneral meaning.
In the first place, it is evident that a process denoted by a verb in adynamic tense is represented as relatively dynamic, i. e. as changing, changed orto be changed, or transitory.
It is also evident that a static tense by Models II, III, and IV representsa feature or relationship as relatively static.
Static tenses, when opposed by Model I, lay emphasis on one of or bothqualitative limits of a verbal process (see p. 10) corresponding to the momentswhen it begins or ends. Since any process is necessarily an infinite multitude ofparticular moments, a pointing out of only one of its moments is also equivalentto the static representation of the process.
Taking into consideration that the notions relatively static and relatively dynamic arebased on the speed of development of processes (see pp. 10 and 11) and thatoppositions of the static and the dynamic tenses are systematic, we conclude thatthe static and the dynamic tenses in English constitute the grammatical categoryof a s p e c t .
Beforepresent, Beforepast, and Beforefuture Tenses (Anterior Tenses)Aspectually, the Anterior Static and the Anterior Dynamic tenses are opposed
to each other by the four semantic models treated of above1.Model IAnterior Static tenses when opposed to Anterior Dynamic tenses by Model I
represent verbal processes with and without any emphasis on their qualitativelimits, respectively.
Beforepresent Static and Beforepresent Dynamic11 The Beforefuture Static which has practically no corresponding dynamle form is treated of in the end of the section.
Compare the following oppositions:
A drunkenblackguard hasfallen into a welland been drowned (B. Shaw).
"This glass Isfalling 16 feet a secondnow. Only, you see, ithasn't been falling yetfor the hundredth partof a second" (H. G.Wells).
He tears off theenvelope and it fallsto the floor (D.Lessing).
"This glass isfalling 16 feet a secondnow" (H. G. Wells).
Annixter,instantly killed, fellhis length to theground (F. Norris).
Ike was off balanceand was falling (J.Jones).
35
In these oppositions the static tenses has fallen, falls, fell represent a verbalprocess in its limits, the dynamic tenses hasn't teen falling, is falling, was falling in itsprogress, in its going on.
More examples of the Beforepresent Static and the Beforepresent Dynamicopposed:
1. "I have built and am now profitably operating seventy-five miles ofsuburban trolley lines" (Th. Dreiser) // "I am playing a legitimate game inChicago. I've been building up an excellent street-car service" (Th. Dreiser); 2."No, it hasn't come to that yet" (J. Lindsay)//"It's been coming to that a longtime" (B. Tarkington); 3. "What have you done to my mom?" (R. Gehman) // "Whathave you been doing to this child?" (J. Updike); 4. "I've done it, father. I'vefinished first!" (A. Cronin)'// "I've been finishing a bit of work in thelibrary. I went out on the terrace for a breath" (J. Galsworthy); 5. "Well, Mr.Stener, it seems, has been loaning out a good deal to this young Cowperwood"..."Well, it seems that Stener has loaned him as much as 500,000 dollars" (Th. Drei-ser); 6. "She's put on four pounds" (D. Cusack) // "Ever since I gave up smokingI've been putting on weight" (J. Lindsay); 7. "You've just said he was nothingbut a dream" (M. Mitchell) //"I've just been saying so to Ellen — haven't I,Ellen?" (P. Wodehouse).
Beforepast Static and Beforepast Dynamic
I had begun tomistrust myself (F.Norris).
In Philadelphia, before hisfailure ... he had beenbeginning to entertain in avery pretentious way (Th.Dreiser).
She was shaken,but certainly shebegan to feel better(W. S. Maugham).
"I was beginning to worryabout you" (A. Cronin).
"My brain is ratherreeling" said Granby,"but I begin to havesome notion of what allthis nightmare isabout" (G. Chesterton).
"I'm beginning to feel anew courage", she said (W. S.Maugham).
More examples of oppositions of the Beforepast Static and the BeforepastDynamic:
1. After their wedding trip they returned to the house he had built for her(Th. Wolfe) // "He was telling me about the great railroad he
30had been building" (O. Henry); 2. On his back he carried the new brown satchel
his mother had bought him the day before (G. Gordon) //One winter afternoon shehad been buying something in a little antique shop (K. Mansfield); 3. The nextinstant he had cut the other strap (E. Voy-nich) // He had been cutting a herring-bone pattern on a piece cf pietra serena. He did not stop working (I. Stone); 4.He had gotten up and lit the lamp (O. Henry) // Everything was ruddy, shadowy, andindistinct to her, the more so since she had just been lighting the bar lamp (H.G. Wells); 5. "What a coincidence, Miss Brodiel" hehadsaid(A. Cro-nin) // The
girl had been saying "The section manager, of course, is a poor idiot —" but shestopped and looked at Erik (M. Wilson); 6. She had washed her hair beforebreakfast — she sat drinking coffee (K. Mansfield) // He found Mrs. Derick on theporch, seated in a long wicker chair. She had been washing her hair and the lightbrown locks were carefully spread in the sun (F. Norris).
In the oppositions below all static forms are opposed to the corres* pondingdynamic forms:
After Ed had toldJoe about the churchelection, Gus juststood there looking atEd (E. Caldwell).
He was laughingheartily at a storywhich he had been tel-ling Gabriel on thestairs (J. Joyce).
"I've told you thestory as he told it tome" (H. G. Wells).
"I've just had twomen in my office...They've been telling mesomething interesting"(Th. Dreiser).
"But perhapssomebody will wait forme, for he will havetold them I am out"(Th. White).
0
"Don't you dare toleave me like this! Iwon't stand for it. Itell you I won't" (Th.Dreiser) (Cf.: Сказанотебе).
"Remember this is alove story I am tellingyou" (J. Conrad).
At twelve o'clock Itold Teddy that I wassick (J. Braine).
"The captain of theboys was telling me hewas in need of a boy"(Th. Dreiser).
"I'll tell them thetruth" (G. Gordon).
"We shall betelling the exacttruth" (J. Galsworthy).
Model IIA verb in an anterior static tense is used,
together with other words of the context, to expressa feature or relationship considered as relativelystatic, while an anterior dynamic tense denotes thedevelopment, the going on of the verbal process.
37Beforepresent Static and Beforepresent
DynamicThe content side of
linguistics hasdeveloped much lessrapidly than the studyof expression (H.Gleason) (The develop-ment of the contentside of linguistics hasbeen much less rapid).
This conception hasbeen developing in man'smind for many decades (B.Price) (This conception hasbeen in the process ofdeveloping in man's mindfor many decades).
The modern viewreally rests upon amistaken idea of theway in whichcivilization develops(J. Burnot) (a mistakenidea of the way ofdevelopment ofcivilization).
The Communist Party isgrowing and developing (D.Worker) (The CommunistParty is in the process ofdevelopment).
Their language grewand developed as theirneeds became morecomplicated (L. Strong)(Their language wassubject todevelopment).
The great externalelement in Cowperwood'sfinancial success was thefact that Chicago wasdeveloping constantly (Th.Dreiser) (Chicago was inthe process of developingconstantly).
More examples of the Beforepresent Static andBeforepresent Dynamic opposed:
1. "You've complained all the while and quiterightly" (J. Lindsay) // // "Look, all this timeI've been complaining that Haviland does not care adamn" (M. Wilson) (There have been complaints fromme all the while // All this time I have been in theprocess of complaining); 2. "It has not rained heretoday" (B. Botkin) // It has been raining and islikely to start again (A. Wesker) (There has been norain here today // There has been rain f a l l i n ghere today); 3. "We've slept long", Sarie said (P.Abrahams) // "You have been sleeping as long as Ihave" (Th. Dreiser) (We have been long asleep // Youhave been in the process of sleeping as long as Ihave); 4. "Oh, you'll not learn Italian in twoweeks. I've studied it for months now" (E.
Hemingway) // "What have you been doing inItaly?"—"I have been studying architecture" (E.Hemingway) (Italian has been the subject of mystudies for years now // I have been in the processof studying architecture); 5. "I've tried for yearsto make her understand how it's with me" (Th.Dreiser) // "I've been trying to get Mamma to dosomething about it for years" (W. S. Maugham) (Ithas been my attempt for years to make her understandit // I have been in the process of trying to gether to do something, i. e. talking to her,entreating her, arguing with her, etc.); 6. "Theyhave worked hard all their life" (Th. Wolfe) //"There are some things you know more about than Ido, and I have been working for over thirty years"(I. Stone); (They have been hard-working people // Ihave been in the process of working for thirtyyears).
38Beforepast Static and Beforepast Dynamic1. From the moment of her arrival in Nice, she
had fought like a tigress for her rights (M.Mitchell) // He knew his own men would want to takethe charter because they had been fighting fortwenty years for membership in the Carbuilders'Union (A. Saxton) (She had been like a tigress infighting // They had been in the process of fightingfor membership in the Union); 2. It had rained for aweek (I. Shaw) // It had been raining for days (A.Huxley) (There had been rain for weeks // There hadbeen rain f a l l i n g for days); 3. All the week thattune had rung in her head (E. Delafield) // All daythe telephone had been ringing (J. Galsworthy)(There had been ringing sounds of that tune in herhead // The telephone had been in the process ofringing); 4. Derek, who had slept the sleep of thedead, woke (J. Galsworthy) //The dog that had beensleeping by the stove arose and yawned (Sh.
Anderson) (Derek whose sleep had been like that ofthe dead // The dog that was in the process ofsleeping); 5. He told them that Jean Hartley hadnever been at his flat but that another girl had —the girl who had smoked those cigarettes at sixo'clock (G. Gordon) // "You told the police thatthe,same girl had been drinking it as had beensmoking these cigarettes" (G. Gordon) (The girl whohad been the smoker of those cigarettes// The girlwho had been in the process of smoking thesecigarettes); 6. She had worked there on the eveningshift for the past three years (D. Worker) // Minniehad been working in the Communist Party for tenyears (A. Saxton) (She had been employed on theevening shift there // She had been in the processof performing her duties for ten years).
Models III and IVIn 95% of all their uses the anterior static
tenses are opposed aspec-tually to the dynamictenses by Models I and II, oppositions of absolutetenses by these models amounting approximately to70%.
Oppositions of the Beforepresent Static and theBeforepresent Dynamic by Model IV do not practicallyexist. This is due to certain differences in thetemporal content of the anterior and the absolutetenses. In oppositions by Model IV a relationship isreferred to a certain m o-m e n t of time, whichagrees with the meaning of absolute tenses (signsfor the mental present, past, and future) anddisagrees with the content of the beforepresenttenses (signs for a verbal process which isa n t e r i o r to the speaker's mental time and,therefore, usually referred to a p e г і о d oftime).
Dynamic tenses in oppositions by Model IIIrepresent a verbal process at a certain moment or in
a period of time as a feature or relationship havingchanged or to be changed in respect to an anterioror posterior moment or period of time. Thispractically excludes beforepresent tenses in allcases where a feature or relationship belongs tosome m о m e n, t of time in the past. If, however,the subject is being characterized dynamicallyrelative to some anterior or posterior p e r i o d oftime,
39the Beforepresent 'Dynamic (as well as the
Beforepast Dynamic) ] is common. Examples:(a) 1. "He's a Brazilian, I think. At any rate,
I know he has lived out there" (E. Voynich) // "Shehas been living in Brazil," Miss Van j Vluyckpersisted (E. Warton) (His home has been in Brazil,no changes J of the residence being implied by theform itself // Her home has been ] in Brazil, theform implying that the place of residence has beenchang- J ed); 2. The theatre is being demolished byMoss Empires to build a 1 500,000 pounds block ofoffices and shops on a site where a theatre has іstood for eighty-nine years (D. Worker) // Over two-hundred homes 1 on this estate have been standingempty for months, waiting for conver- I sion byowners (D. Worker) (where a theatre has been, nochanges of 1 the status of the theatre being impliedby the form itself // Over two- ] hundred homes havebeen empty for months: they were rented before 1 andwill be rented after conversion); 3. "She has afather, a mother, and j two brothers. They haveworked hard all their life" (Th. Wolfe) // "Yes, jMr. Hartley. I don't feel too fit." — "You've beenworking too hard ] lately. Take it easy" (G. Gordon)(They have been hard-working people no changes beingimplied by the form itself // You have been too hardat ] your work lately, the form implying that thingswere or will be differ- ] ent);
(a) 1. Mac had lived all his life in the city,and Happy Valley was | a new experience to him (D.Worker) // Roberta explained that up to ] this timeshe had been living with her parents near a towncalled Blitz, j but was now living with her friendshere (Th. Dreiser) (Mac's home 1 had all his lifebeen in the city, the form itself implying no changeof ] the place of residence // Roberta's home hadbeen near Blitz: now it J was in Lycurgus, the formimplying that there had been a change of ]residence); 2. She went into the large bedroom inwhich her mother for J many years had slept (W. S.Maugham) // Since Bunny's birth he had j beensleeping in the guest room (M. Wilson) (the bedroomwhich had 1 been her mother's sleeping room, nochanges of the relationship between j the room andKitty's mother being implied by the form itself //Since ] Bunny's birth his sleeping place had beenthe guest room, the form ] implying a change of therelationship); 3. Mrs. Sandra Hodgson was j made"redundant" two weeks ago. Sandra had worked theresince she j left school (D. Worker) // Her name wasRoberta Alden, and, as she j at once explained,previous to this shehad been working in a smallhosiery j factory (Th. Dreiser) (Sandra had hademployment in a mill since she j had left school, nochange of her status being implied by the formitself // 1 // Roberta had had employment in a smallhosiery factory, the form implying a change of herstatus).
The Beforefuture Static Tense1
In 85% of its uses the Beforefuture Staticrepresents verbal pro- I cesses with their limitsemphasized (Model I), e. g.:
1The Beforefuture Dynamic is treated of on p. 198.
1. "It was a shock, Thomas, but in a week, you'llsee, you'll have forgotten it" (G. Greene); 2. "Idaresay you'll have gone to bed by the time I'vefinished" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "In that case you'llhave lost nothing" (J. Braine).
The 15% of the form are used to represent averbal process as a relatively static feature orrelationship. For example:
1. I shall finish my life's work on my way back;and then I shall have lived long enough (B. Shaw); 2."Think of her wandering for hours lost in the darkI" — "There is no need to worry, Max, she will havesuffered at most a little discomfort and alarm" (M.Mitchell); 3. "And before this is due you shall havewatched for many years the sun set over cloudlessdays of happiness" (A. Munthe).
Irrelevancy o f the Meaning Concrete Process for theGrammatical Content o f the Dynamic Tenses
In 1929 E. Koschmieder advances the point of viewthat the so called Con-tinuous tenses denote one concrete action or statewhose progression ata certain moment of time is actuallyobserved by the speaker1. In 1930 E. Kosch-mieder is supported by B. Trnka2 and in1939 by M. Deutschbein who gives thegraphical representation of the point ofview (Fig. 6). M. Deutschbein maintains that when using a continuoustense, the speaker has necessarily chosen his mentalstandpoint (A1) so that he can observe from it the goingon of the verbal process (A—E)3. In this country this
12
3 M. Deutschbein, Aspekt und Aktionsarten imNeuenglischen, Lpzg, 1931, S. 12, 18.
? E. Koschmieder. Zeitbezug und Sprache.—"WissenschaftlicheGrundlagen". Lpzg-Berlin, 1929, S. 51.3 В. Trnka. On the Syntax ofthe English Verb from Caxton to Dryden. Prague, 1930, p. 41.
point of view is shared by D. G. Radchenko1 and I. P.Ivanova2.
As we see, the point of view sanctions the use ofdynamic tenses о n 1 у in cases of single act verbalprocesses of limited duration, that is, thosehaving a definite location on the line of time (severalmoments, minutes, hours, etc.)3, taking place ata certain moment of time corresponding tothe speaker's mental standpoint from which he canobserve their development (see Fig. 6).
It will be shown below that the absolute dynamictenses are n e u t r a l to all these "meanings", and,therefore, to the aspectual meaning of concrete process.
In the first place, these tenses are common withverbal processes of indefinite or even infiniteduration. Three examples of the Present Dynamic of suchverbal processes have already been given on page 26.Below are mofe examples with this and other dynamictenses:
1. A man's fortune or material progress is verymuch the same as his bodily growth, Either he isgrowing stronger, healthier,wiser, as the youthapproaching manhood, or he is growing weaker, older,less incisive mentally, as the man approaching old age.There are no other states (Th. Dreiser); 2. At anygiven moment, each of the three forms of matter (of theuniverse), Fire, Earth, and Water is made up of twoequal portions, one of which is taking the upward andthe other the downward path. Now, it is just the factthat the two halves of everything are being attracted nopposite directions (J. Burnot); 3. All motion in this
1 Д. Г. P а д ч e и к о. Видовое значение длительныхформ глагола в современном английском языке. Канд. дис,Черновцы, 1951, с. 190.
2 И. П. Иванова. Вид и время в современноманглийском языке. Л,, 1961, с. 77, 97.3 Е, Koschmieder. Op. cit., p. 3.
universe is in the form of successively rising andfalling. Systems after systems are coming out of thefiner forms, evolving themselves, taking the grosserforms, again melting down, as ifc were, and going backto the cause. Each manifestation of life is coming upand then going back again. (Th. Dreiser); 4. There weretwo rocks reaching up from the floor of the ocean. Theywere resting against each other with a wide openingbetween them (D. Russell); 5. The ranch hotel lay justwhere the foothills of the Sierras with their groves oflive oaks were sloping into the golden plains of theSacramento (E. Seton-Thompson). 6. "If the presenttrend continues we will become a nation of a very fewrich, with a small section of the working classemployed, and a few farmers actually farming. The restof the nation will be living in semi-starvation onpensions, relief, food stamp plans, and unemploymentbenefits" (The Worker).
The Dynamic tenses are also common in sentencescontaining repeated verbal processes, e. g.:
1 . "I'm spending an hour a day on these damn books"(J. Braine); 2. "What are you getting?" — "Fifteenpounds a week" (W. S. Maugham); 3. She is playing a lotof tennis and beats them all" (R. Macaulay); 4. I askedthe soldiers whether I could accompany them.—"Who areyou?" the lieutenant asked.— «I'm writing about thewar," I said.—"American?" — "No, English" (G. Greene);5. She realized that Agatha Payne was paying her visitstwice daily (H. Walpole);6. Jimmie Mathews wasattending classes at the Leddersford Technical College(J. Braine); 7. Amy was getting along fine; She waswashing and sewing for neighbors, and every weekLauter's boss was giving her seven dollars as anadvance on his future wages (A. Maltz); 8. "You'll beworking two days a week now, hey?" (F. Pohl); 9. "We'relosing our individuality. Soon they'll be breeding usfrom testtubes" (A. Kingsley); 10. "In five-hundredyears there may be no New York or London, but the
Siamese will be growing paddy in those fields, they'llbe carrying their produce to market on long poleswearing their pointed hats. The small boys will besitting on small buffaloes" (G. Greene).
The above examples can also serve as anillustration of the fact that the dynamic tenses arealso used to express verbal processes which are n о ttaking place at a specific moment of time. This isparticularly evident in the following sentences:
1. "I just naturally like to hustle and get thingsdone, that's all. I cannot be satisfied unless I'mfixing a fence, or cutting wood, or picking cotton orsomething" (E. Caldwell) (At the moment of speakingChristy is at Mr. Crossman's office); 2. "As I say toCook, Mr. Timothy is more of a man than he ever was.You see, when he's not walking, or taking a bath, he'seating, and when he's not eating, he's sleeping" (J.Galsworthy) (It is evident that Mr. Timothy cannot atthe same time be walking, taking his bath, eating, andsleeping); 3. She told him that she had settled downand was painting (W. S. Maugham) (The conversationbetween Susan and Larry was taking place at arestaurant).
Irrelevancy o f the Meanings Resultative Connections,Current Relevance, and Completeness for the Grammatical
Content o f the Anterior TensesThese meaningss have been and to a certain extent
still are favourites in the analysis of the grammaticalcontent of the anterior tenses, though in recent timesthey have been quickly losing ground.
The first attempt to prove that anterior tenseshave the meaning of resultative connections seems tohave been made in 1927 by W. Maurice, who distinguishesbetween objective (I have written a letter = I have aletter written) and subjective (possessed experience)
results1. Soviet anglicists speak in such cases of directand indirect results2.
The term current relevance, whose content is believedby some to constitute the meaning of the anteriortenses, appeared in the grammar of the English language3
after the work of Q. N. Vorontsova referred to in theprevious footnote. The term used by G. N. Vorontsova istransmissiveness (преемственность)4 and it covers themeanings of cause — effect connections, implication,and cumulativeness (значение накопления)5,corresponding, respectively, to direct results,indirect results and, basically, inclusiveness6.
The point of view that the anterior tenses denote averbal action completed before some moment of time wasadvanced in 1771 by James Harris7. An attempt to provethis point of view theoretically was made by I. P.Ivanova (see Footnote 2 on page 44).
Resultative Connections. Current Relevance. Theirrelevancy of these "meanings" to the grammaticalcontent of the anterior tenses will be shown below,first, by examples,in which direct and indirect resultsin the present are "expressed" by the Past Static andthe Past Dynamic tenses, second, by an analysis of some
1 W. Maurice. Present, Past, and Future VersusPerfect.—"Zeitschrift fur franzdsichen und englischenUnterricht". Bd. 26, Heft 7, Breslau, 1927, p. 524.
2 Г. H. Воронцова. Значение перфекта (PresentPerfect) в современном английском языке. Докторскаядиссертация, кн. III, М., 1950—1952, с. 74.
3 Е. g. : W. Т waddell, The English Verb.— BrownUniversity Press, Providence, 1960, p. 6.
4 Г. H. Воронцова. Очерки по грамматике английскогоязыка. М., I960, с. 203.
5 Ibidem, р. 202.6 Г. Н. Воронцова. Докт. дис, кн. IV, с. 403.7 J. Harris. Hermes or a Philosophical Inquiry
Concerning Universal Grammar. Lnd, 1771, p. 199 ff.
arguments of the advocates of the current relevancepoint of view, and, third, by examples containing theBeforepresent Static and the Beforepresent Dynamic inwhich no current relevance, including results, isexpressed whatever.
Examples in which direct and indirect results inthe present are "expressed" by the Past Static and thePast Dynamic:
1. "By the way, I brought you a box of cigars".Annixter stared as Presley laid the box on the edge ofthe washstand (F. Norris) //"I've brought you a box ofchocolates. Get through them as quickly as you can andput some weight on" (D. Cusack); 2. When Sally spiedBetsy, she ran to her and hugged her. "I'm so glad youcame", she cried (W. S. Gray) //Then she ran forward,and her mother put her arms round her and kissed her."I'm so glad you've come,darling thing" (E. Delafield);3. "We won't wait for Isabel", said Mrs. Bradley.—"Where is she?" asked Elliott.—"She went to play golfwith Larry" (W. S. Maugham) // "I think you had betterwait till Uncle Jack arrives. He has gone to buy youroutfit" (O. Wilde); 4. "Well how do you know that?"—"Iread it in a book" (P. Abrahams)//"Oh I've read aboutit and I know" (J. London) 5. "I was writing a poem" heremarked. — "Lemme see it". She wriggled off the bedand over to the table. "So you were" J. Lindsay) //"Vanamee, "I have been writing again." — "I know," hesaid, your journal" (F. Norris); 6. "I'm pretty sureabout you and Moran. I was watching you" (I. Shaw) //"There's something wrong with the guy. I've beenwatching him" (D. Carter).
Advancing her arguments in defence of the meaningof current relevance, G. N. Vorontsova maintains thatthe Beforepresent is out of the question in cases where"different entities" are expressed in speech, because"if comparison is made between different entities, itis current relevance that is excluded"1. This is illus-1
? Г. H. Воронцова. Докт. дис, кн. IV, с. 411.
trated by such examples as Он уже не тот, кем был and"The times are not what they were"1. In the followingexamples, in which different entities are expressed,the Beforepresent Tenses are used:
I. "You see I'm happy, darling. I haven't beenhappy for a long time" (E. Hemingway); 2. "And as foryou, John Silver, long you've been a mate of mine, butyou're a mate of mine no more" (R. Stevenson); 3. "I've been green, too, Miss Eyre — ay, grass green. Myspring is gone however" (Ch. Bronte); 4. "And me —you're right, Babbit, I've been going crooked, but nowI'm going straight..." (S. Lewis).
G. N. Vorontsova also maintains that theconstruction u s e d + infinitive denotes "a past that hasnot preserved any current relevance in the present" andis, actually, "an antonym of the Perfect"2. However,considering examples like "I'm just the same fullfigure that I used to be" (K. Mansfield); "You're as smartas you used to be" (J. Lindsay); "You used to be in lovewith my wife, Cherrelj you still are. Well?" —"We arejust as we were," said Adrian, "friends" (J.Gals-worthy), one is bound to conclude that since the u s ed + Infinitive construction is used to "express" currentrelevance and is an antonym of the Beforepresent Tense,the content of the latter is antonymous to the meaningof current relevance.
Finally, some examples containing the BeforepresentStatic and the Before-present Dynamic in which nocurrent relevance, including results, is expressedwhatever:
1. The seventeen-fourteen train has come and gone(J. Cheever) (The train has come ≠9 the train is at thestation, because it has gone); 2. Larry has alreadytaken the chair and placed it in front of the table (B.Shaw) (Larry has taken the chair ≠9 Larry has the chair);1 Ibidem, p. 252.
2 Г. H. Воронцова. Докт. дис, кн. IV, с. 454.
3. "Did you tell him about my seeing Mrs. Herzog comeout of his office?" — "Of course not. I've forgottenabout it" (J. Updike) (I've forgotten about it ≠9 I don'tremember, I don't know about it); 4. "I have a verybeautiful room to let, and quite unexpectedly. It hasbeen occupied by a young gentleman from Buenos Aireswhose father died, unfortunately, and implored him togo immediately" (K. Mansfield); 5. She produces adecanter of wine, which has no doubt stood there sincethe last occasion in the family (B. Shaw); 6. "Thankyou, mother. You've helped me to make up my mind. I'mgoing to Capri with Stephen next week. I've refused up tillnow" (R. Macaulay); 7. "Why, how are you, Carrie?" hesaid. "You're a daisy. Where have you been?" (Th.Dreiser); 8. "Where have you kept yourself?" (F.Norris); 9. As they enter the ball-room, the dance hasjust come to an end. Cecilia has been dancing it withStairs, and now is standing near the window (MissHungerford); 10. "Do you know what I have been doingthere while that bastard was singing? I was praying"(G. Greene) (Grangner and Fowler are out of therestaurant); 11. As she was looking through some notesMarguerite sat down beside her.— "Where have you beenkeeping yourself?" (A. Saxton).
Completeness. The statement that all anteriortenses denote exclusive verbal processes1 is based onthe arguments that, first, the inclusive meaning ispossible only with the so-called non-terminative andthe double-character verbs and, second, that it isalways due to the presence in the context of suchadverbial modifiers of incomplete time as for three years,ever since, and the like (the systematic context).
In the following examples, however, inclusiveprocesses are expressed in contexts containing verbs
1? И. П. Иванова. Вид и время, с. 115, 134, 141; 151.
which I. P. Ivanova herself considers to be terminative2
(a — with, and b — without any systematic context):(a) 1. "I haven't complained".—"You've complained
all the while" (J. Lindsay) (503); 2. "It's only commonsense; and I've given it support from the beginning"(J. Pudney) (335, 346, 348); 3. «I've liked and admiredyou from the beginning" (H. Walpole) (441); 4. Yes, itwas true that Joyce had gone rapidly downhill since1943 (J. Lindsay) (448); 5. The poor fellow's voice hadgrown sadder and sadder since the beginning of theconversation and now he definitely began to snuffle(Th. White) (448); 6. Consoles had risen almostincessantly since Timothy died (J. Galsworthy) (192,346); 7. "I guess we'll all have to go over there someday and Wipe those hoodlums out. It's been coming tothat a long time" (B. Tarkington) (192, 346, 446); 8.For months now they have been growing more and more outof key (J. Lindsay) (448); 9. The slate-grey rain hadbeen falling all day and now he stood watching it (G.Gordon) (177); 10. "When do you expect to have yourbaby?"— She had been getting bigger week after week(Th. Wolfe) (444).
(b) 1. She stood at the window and said: "Thosecypresses your grandfather planted down there have donewonderfully" (J. Galsworthy) (335, 446); 2. "I havenever been good since my brother died. I have got worseand worse" (Miss Yonge) (444); 3. "One of the thingsI've liked about him is that I can always amuse him"(W. S. Maugham) (441); 4. "I'm asking you to come back,Tony. I've missed you terribly" (M. Wilson) (431); 5.Rosa had rapidly grown worse; before midnight she wasdelirious (Ch. Dickens) (448); 6. But the circles were
2 Figures in brackets indicate the page in I. P. Ivanova's dissertation in which it is stated that the verb is terminative (И. П. Иванова . Видовременная система в современном английском языке. Докторская диссертация. Л., 1957).
much shorter now and from the way the line slanted hecould tell the fish had risen steadily while he swam(E. Hemingway) (192, 346); 7. "You mean the way welive, my job ... all this has been coming between us?"— "It's been deadening us" (J. Lindsay) (192, 346,446); 8. "What's been happening at home?" (A. Cronin)(290, 334); 9. His pride had'been destroying him. Hebowed his head and prayed (H.Walpole)(192, 230); 10 Thegirl, he felt, incarnated the class to which he hadbeen painfully and inconclusively turning (J. Lindsay)(312, 335, 347).
In the case of "non-terminative" verbs the meaningof inclusiveness in sentences like "You have been inthis house a year" is said to be brought about byadverbial modifiers of incomplete time and that, withsuch adverbials cut off, the process becomes exclusive,as in "You have been abroad?' Martin asked"1. In thefollowing examples, however, anterior tenses areinclusive in sentences containing no systematic context(examples a) and exclusive where such context ispresent (examples b):
(a) 1. "Now, Arthur, I must do this man justice.From what your mother tells me, he has been one of thebest husbands to her" (Ch. Dickens); 2. "Evidently Ishall miss my liberty (when I get married). I haveenjoyed it" (W. S. Maugham); 3. Britain's acute crisisaffects over one million families. In addition to thetotally unemployed, there are tens of thousands ofshort-time workers and thousands more have sufferedfrom overtime, bonus and piece-work cuts (D. Worker);4. He had lived a full life and would do so whateverhappened (Th. Dreiser); 5. There were lights at thefarm. Isabel had waited up for him (H. Bates); 6. "Ihaven't been living a strictly conventional life, Iwill admit. I wasn't born for that type of thing" (Th.Dreiser); 7. "We must hurry. I'm sure they have been1 И. П. Иванова. Вид и время, с. 113—114.
waiting for us" (B. Tarkington); 8. "It happened when Iwas in India. I'd been suffering from insomnia andhappened to mention it to an old Yogi I knew and hesaid he'd soon settle it" (W. S. Maugham); 9. And whilethis was certainly not the moment for which she hadbeen waiting, she was perfectly willing to accept whatwas thrust on her (M. Wilson);
(b) 1. "He's been abroad so long, he feels out of ithere. He doesn't seem able to find anyone here he hasanything in common with" (W. S. Maugham) (Eliot hadbeen back in Chicago for some time); 2. "She workedthirty weeks last year", the chairman said.— "That'sright", Michael said wearily. "And not a single weekthis year". — "Well" said the chairman with a wave."She's worked for the last five years and there's no reason tobelieve she won't continue" (I. Stone); 3. Thegramophone which had been silent for so long was playingragtime (W. S. Maugham); 4. She dressed herself in aworn shirt-waist and a small straw hat which she hadworn all summer in Columbia City (Th. Dreiser) (Carrielived now in Chicago); 5. "I have a fair job", theother said. "One I've been working towards a long while"(A. Saxton); 6. We stepped back into the dining room,and it was not necessary to go further, for the capwhich he had been wearing all day lay upon the armchair(H. Hill).
THE SYSTEM OF THE ENGLISH TENSESProcesses occur in time and space and possess
specific qualitative properties. In English,reference to certain time and process-qualityrelationships is made by special temporal andaspectual forms of the verb.
As was shown on pages 13—14, processes areeither simultaneous, anterior or posterior to oneanother, or else, relative to the objective "now" ofthe moving matter (for speech, "the moment ofspeaking"), belong to present-, past-, or future-
time. Accordingly, man conceives of the objectivetime as 12 time relationships —: 3 time-relationships of the first kind (Fig. 4) and 9 time-relationships of the second kind (Fig. 5).Naturally, man's concepts of objective time includeamong others such notions as duration of processesand distance between the time of process and themoment of speaking (as evidenced by languages whichpossess different verb forms to refer to recent,remote, and mythological past1), but in Englishneither of them is expressed categorically byspecial verb forms.
Out of the 12 time-relationships representedgraphically in Fig. 4 and 5 only 7 are used asnotional bases for the English Tenses, there beingno special verb forms to refer to simultaneousprocesses and posteriority to present- and future-time processes.
Absolute Tenses. The relations represented inFig. 4 (present-, past-, and future-time processes)are the base for the Absolute Tenses, both Staticand Dynamic. As has been shown (pp. 14—16), theAbsolute Tenses are linguistic signs for thespeaker's m e n t a l present-, past-, and future-timeprocesses. A failure to distinguish between mentaland objective time has repeatedly resulted in thedenial of any temporal content in the Present StaticTense, because it can be actually used to refer notonly to objectively present-, but also toobjectively past-, and future-time processes.2 Itshould be pointed out that for this same reason thePresent Dynamic as well as the Beforepresent Staticand Dynamic ought to have been also said, though
1
2 E. g.: P. Roberts. Understanding Grammar. N. Y.,1954, p. 135. W. F. Twaddell. The English Verb.Providence — Rhode Island, 1960, p. 5.? As in Chichewa, a language in Central Africa. (See, e.g.: E. H.
Sturte v a n t. An Introduction to Linguistic Science. YaleUniversity Press, New Haven, 1960, p. 58.
nobody has ever done so, to have no temporal contentwhatever, because they are also often used asreferences to objectively past, future, andbeforepast processes, as in:
This was the last time I ever saw my motheralive. This picture gets all mixed up in my mindwith pictures I had of her when she was younger.She'd be sitting on the sofa. And my father would besitting in the easy chair. And the living room wouldbe full of relatives. There they sit, in chairs allaround the living room, and the night is creeping upoutside, but nobody k n o w s yet. For a moment nobodyis talking. Everybody is looking at something achild cannot see. For a minute they have forgottenthe children. The silence, the darkness coming, andthe darkness in the faces f r i g h t e n s the childobscurely. He hopes that the hand that strokes hisforehead will never stop, will never die. He hopesthat there will never come a time when the old folkswon't be sitting around the living room, talkingabout where they've come from, and what they've seen,and what's happened to them. The darkness outside iswhat the old folks have been talking about. It's whatthey've come from. It'swhat they endure. The childknows that they won't talk any more because if heknows too much what's happened to them, he'll knowtoo much too soon about what's going to happen tohim (J. Baldwin).
Notice that the Future Static and the FutureDynamic are also used here to refer to processesfuture relative to p a s t time.
Actually, however, speech is a material form ofthought1. This necessarily means that any languageunit, any language form is a material sign for what
1 К. Маркс и Ф. Энгельс. Немецкая идеология. «К.Маркс и Ф. Энгельс». Соч. Изд. 2-е, т. 3. М., 1955, с.448.
is in one's mind,that the PresentTenses are signsn o t for theoutside objectivetimes, but for thespeaker's mentaltimes, which may be references to either objectivepresent (the present of the speaker's immediateperception or any other process that includes themoment of speaking), past (images preserved in thespeaker's mind), or future-time (constructions inthe speaker's mind of what is going to be after themoment of speaking) processes.
Anterior Tenses. The three time-relationships ofanteriority of a process to a past-, present-, andfuture-time process are the bases for the fourEnglish Anterior Tenses: the Beforepast,Beforepresent, Before-future (with the moment ofreference being the moment of speaking), and theBeforefuture-in-the-Past (with a past-time moment ofreference). In Fig. 7, Process 3 is anterior toProcess 2 of the future relative to past-timeProcess 1.
The anterior tenses are signs for anteriority ofa process to the speaker's mental past-, present-,and future time process. For the Before-past and theBeforefuture the meaning of anteriority is obvious(See examples on p. 16) and has been pointed out bymany grammarians.1 Not so for the Beforepresent
1 Е. g. : О. J е s р е г s е п. Essentials of EnglishGrammar. Ldn, 1948, p. 23; G. S с h e u r w e і g h s.Present-day English Grammar. Bristol, 1959, p. 327; I.P. I v a n о v a, who states that "the main content ofthe Pluperfect is anteriority", that this meaning isalso present in the Future Perfect. (И. П. И в a-H о ва. Вид и время, op. cit., pp. 133, 141).
Tenses. The meaning of anteriority to present hasbeen denied this form by many grammarians becauseany time anterior to now is p a s t time, the factthat does not permit, seemingly, to distinguishbetween the Past Tense (the Past Indefinite) and theBeforepresent Tense (the Present Perfect)1.
Any system, however, in which two tenses havethe meaning of anteriority while the third tense hasa different meaning (results + inclusiveness, etc.)is (incompatible with the law of unity of form andcontent:2 since all so-called Perfect tenses have thesame form (have -f- -. ed) they all must have the samecontent; and if the Past Perfect and the FuturePerfect denote anteriority, the Present Perfect mustalso denote anteriority.
1 In the system of Otto Jespersen, the Pluperfect and the Future Perfect denote, resp., Beforepast and Beforefuture time, whereas the Present Perfect expresses either results in the present or inclusiveness. (O. Jespersen . Essentials, op. cit., p. 243).
2 «Форма существенна. Сущность формирована. Так илииначе в зависимости от сущности...» (В. И. Лени н,соч. т. 29, с. 129).
Anteriority as the meaning of all so-called"perfect" tenses has been recognized by manygrammarians1, although the difference between theBeforepresent Static (or Dynamic) and the PastStatic (or Dynamic) has never been adequatelyexplained: anteriority has been variously connectedwith results in the present (H. Palmer, N. F.Irtenyeva), more immediate past (A. H. Marckwardt),with a grammatical category "which is different fromboth the tense and the aspect"2 or, finally, deniedrelationships with present-time processes (B.Ilyish).
The difficulty of distinguishing between theBeforepresent (Static and Dynamic) and the Past(Static and Dynamic) disappears if one takes intoconsideration that Absolute Tenses are signs for thespeaker's mental times. If, starting with somesituation in the present (Process 1 in Fig. 8), thespeaker goes mentally back into the past (Fig. 9),
1 Е. g.: Н. Е. Р а 1 m е г, A Grammar of SpokenEnglish. Cambridge, 1930, p. 147; M. M. В г у a n t. AFunctional Grammar. Boston, 1945, p.76; A. H. M a r-c kw а г d t. Introduction to the English Language. OxfordUniversity Press. N. Y., 1946, p. 143; А, И.Смирницкий. Перфект и категория временнойотнесенности. «ИЯ», № 2, М., 1955; Н. Ф. И р т е н ь ев а. Грамматика современного английского языка(теоретический курс), М., 1956, с. 22; В. I l у і s h,The Structure of Modern English. M.— L., 1965, p. 99("an action expressed by a perfect form precedes somemoment of time"); И. Б. Хлебникова . Системаанглийского глагола и сослагательное наклонение.Автореф. докт. дис. М., 1965, с. 23.
2 А. И. Смирницкий. Морфология английского языка.М., 1959, с. 314.
reproducing it in his mind (the speaker's mentalpast is simultaneous to a process of the objectivepast), he uses a Past Tense (the Past Static or thePast Dynamic); if, however, starting with somesituation in the present and thus being mentally inthe present (Fig. 8), the speaker refers to anobjectively past process without mentallyassociating it with any particular circumstances inthe past, without having in his mind an image of thepast process, that is without going mentally backinto the past, he remains mentally in the present,the objectively past process being anterior to hismental present (Fig. 10), and uses a Beforepresent(the Beforepresent Static or the BeforepresentDynamic) Tense. This has been adequately shown andillustrated on pages 14—18 and 134—137. Here is onemore example that presents the meaning of theBeforepresent in a nutshell, as it were:
He was silent for an instant and looked at thecaptain with eyes in which there was a suddenperplexity. "You know, I can't help thinking thatI've seen you before somewhere or other," hesaid. ... "I have a curious feeling as though yourface were familiar to me. But I can't situate my recollection inany place or at any time" (S. Maugham).
Compare also: "Well, I did as you advised, Iwent to see her. I thought I might calm down t h e n .But I didn't calm down [ t h e n]. I haven't calmeddown [up to now: no association with any particularcircumstances in the past]" (I. Murdoch).
Posterior Tenses. Only one of the three time-relationships of posteriority shown in Fig. 5(posteriority to a past-, present-, and future-timeprocess) has found its expression in a special verbform — the Future-in-the-Past (both Static andDynamic) Tense. The other two time-relationships ofposteriority are expressed in English by the FutureTense (Static and Dynamic).
Aspectual Verbal Forms. It has been pointed out(pp. 9—11) that aspect is a system of different verbforms referring to different qualitative propertiesof processes known as "manners of process", such asrepetition, duration, speed of development. Later itwas shown that the (be + -ing) II (be + -ing)0 verb forms areused to represent verbal processes as relativelystatic and relatively dynamic — the notions beingbased upon the speed of development of processes (p.35) and that, therefore, the two sets of formsconstitute the category of aspect.
The Tense-Aspect System. The tense-aspect systemof the English verb forms is represented summarilyin Table I (p. 50).
Thus, in contemporary English there are 8tenses: 3 absolute and 5 relative — 4 anterior and 1posterior, each of which except two (theBeforefuture Tenses that are practically not used indynamic forms) appears in either of the two aspects:the Static or the Dynamic.
In the English verb system, neither the tensenor the aspect is subordinate to the other, anyverbal form being at the same time a specific tenseand a specific aspect.
It may be therefore also said that there are 2aspects in contemporary English, each of which,except the Beforefuture forms, appears in any of the8 tenses.
Table ITHE ENGLISH-TENSE-ASPECT-SYSTEM
Temporal relationships Aspectual relationshipsStaticrepresentation ofprocesses
Dynamicrepresenta-tion ofprocesses
Absolute TensesRelation oftime ofprocess inspeaker'smind to mo-ment ofspeaking
Mental presentMental pastMental future
PresentStatic PastStaticFutureStatic
PresentDynamic PastDynamicFutureDynamic
Relative TensesAnterior TensesRelation ofobjectivetime of[process tospeaker'smental time
Anteriorityto mentalpresentAnteriorityto mental pastAnteriority tofutureAnteriorityto mentalfuturerelative topast
Beforepresent StaticBeforepastStaticBeforefutureStaticBeforefutureStatic-in-the Past
Beforepresent DynamicBeforepastDynamic(Beforefuture Dynamic)(BeforefutureDynamic-in-the-Past)
Posterior TensesPosteriorityto mentalfuturerelative topast time
FutureStatic-in-the-Past
FutureDynamic-in-the-Past
Note: The Beforefuture Dynamic and the BeforefutureDynamic-in-the-Past are practically not used.
Accordingly, a verbal form may be referred to aseither the Present Tense (of the) Static (Aspect)and so on, or the Static Aspect (of the) PresentTense and so on. However, the terms given in theTable I are recommended for general use.
PART IITHE USE OF THE TENSES RELATIVE FREQUENCY
OF THE TENSES
The relative frequency of tenses depends on thekind of literature chosen for statistic counts. Thethree tables below will illustrate this.
Table I ITHE USE OF TENSES IN FICTION1
Tenses TimePresent Past Future
Total % Total % Total %
AbsoluteStatic
10,333 25.55
23,297 57.7 1,188 3.00
AbsoluteDynamic
758 1.9 964 2.4 24 0.06
RelativeStatic
1,529 3.8 2,113 5.2 I 0.002
1 Counted were all the finite verbal forms in the text of: A. C r o n i n The Citadel. M., 1963 , 422 p. (net); J. L i n d s a y . Betrayed Spring. M., 1955, 622 p. (net); the total volume of text being approximately 1,000 pages, the total number of finiteforms (40,000) taken for 100%.
RelativeDynamic
87 0.2 70 0.17 — —
Below the data of the table are listed inaccordance with the decreasing frequency of thetenses:
Past Static 57.7%Present Static 25.5%Beforepast Static 5.2%Beforepresent Static 3.8% Future Static 3.0% Past Dynamic 2.4%Present Dynamic1.900%Beforepresent Dynamic0.200% Beforepast Dynamic0.170%Future Dynamic 0.060%Beforefuture Static0.002%Beforefuture Dynamic —
The above data show that in fiction by far themost frequently used tense is the Past Static, therest of the tenses being from approximately 2 (thePresent Static) to 23,000 (the Beforefuture Static)times less frequent.
The data also show that the frequency figuresbelow 1% illustrate the use of the respective tensesextremely vaguely. These tenses, therefore, havebeen counted in the text (fiction) amounting toabout 50,000 pages. The results of the count arearranged in Table III, the figures in the third andfourth columns indicating the number of pages pertense (pp/tense) and the frequency ratio of eachtense relative to the Beforepresent Dynamic (timesless than the Beforepresent Dynamic). Forcomparison, the pp/tense for the Past Static is alsogiven in the table.
Table I I IFREQUENCY OF USE OF ANTERIOR DYNAMIC, BEFOREFUTURE
STATIC, AND FUTURE DYNAMIC TENSES
Tense Total Pp/tense
Times lessthan theBeforepresentDynamic
BeforepresentDynamic
2,093 24 1.0
Beforepast Dynamic 1.901 26 1.1
Future Dynamic 578 86 3.5Beforefuture Static 105 475 20.0BeforefutureDynamic
3 16,700 681.0
Past Static Cf.Table II
1/23 0.002
The data of the table listed in accordance withtheir decreasingfrequency:
Present Static 90.0%Future Static 5.3%Past Static 2.0%Beforepresent Static 1.2%Present Dynamic 1.0%Future Dynamic, Beforefuture Static 0.07%Beforepast Static
0.05% Past Dynamic, Relative Dynamic —
The data show that in technical literature thePresent Static is by far the most frequently usedtense (90%), the Future Static being about 17 andthe Beforepast Static 1,760 times less frequent.
52
Table IVTHE USE OF TENSES IN TECHNICAL LITERATURE1
TimeTenses Present Past Future
Total % Total
% Total
%
Absolute Static 5,288 90 112 2.0 308 5.3Absolute Dynamic 56 1.0 — — 4 0.0
7Relative Static 70 1.2 3 0.05 4 0.0
7Relative Dynamic — — — — — —
The relative frequency list of the use of tensesin stage direction (see table V):
Present Static 93.22%Beforepresent Static 2.67%
1 Ch. D a w e s . Industrial Electricity. N. Y., 1939, 503 p. (net).
Present Dynamic 2.57%Past Static .84%Beforepresent Dynamic .31%Future Static .25%Beforepast Static .14%.
Table VTHE USE OF TENSES IN STAGE DIRECTIONS1
TimeTenses Present Past Futu
reTotal % Total % Total %
Absolute Static 4,621 93.22
44 0.84
13 .25
Absolute Dynamic 134 2.57
— — — —
Relative Static 139 2.67
7 0.14
— —
Relative Dynamic 16 0.31
— — — —
Table V IRELATIVE FREQUENCY OF TENSES (%) IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF TEXT
Tense Kind of TextFictio
nTechni
calliterature
Stagedirections
Present Static 25.55 90.0 93.22Present Dynamic 1.9 1.0 2.57Beforepresent 3.8 1.2 2.67
1 B. S h a w. Selected Works. M., 1958; English One-act Plays. M„ 1964. The total number of pagesin the two books being 740
StaticBeforepresent
Dynamic.2 — .31
Finally, in TableVI comparison is made ofrelative frequencies (%) of present andbeforepresent tenses used in fiction, technicalliterature, and stage directions.
The data of the table show that the PresentDynamic and the Beforepresent Dynamic in stagedirections are used about 1.5 times m o r ef r e q u e n t l y and the Beforepresent Static about 1.5times less frequently than in fiction.
RELATIVE FREQUENCY OF TENSES IN THE PASSIVE VOICERelative frequencies of different tense-aspect
forms (the data are based on successive selectionfrom 1,000 pages of fiction text and 500 pages oftext for each of the other functional styles) aregiven in Table VI I.
Table V I I
Tenses Relative Frequency in %Fiction
Technicaltext
Linguistictext
Newspa-pers
Plays
Past Static 62.22 11.6 9.20 44.7 17.9Present Static 15.80 64.7 73.5
026.5 63.4
Beforepast Static 12.55 0.1 0.07 5.2 1.9Future Static(incl. Future-in-the-Past)
2.94 15.0 5.76 6.5 4.9
BeforepresentStatic
2.56 7.1 9.64 11.1 9.4
Past Dynamic 2.50 — — 1.0 0.2
BeforefutureStatic (incl.Beforefuture-in-the-Past)
0.68 — 0.06 0.3 —
Present Dynamic 0.14 1.0 1.51 3.5 1.954
Only ten tense-aspect forms out of thetheoretically possible sixteen (See p. 50) are usedin the Passive Voice against fourteen in the Active.Practically n o t used are the Dynamic Anterior (theBeforepresent Dynamic, Beforefuture Dynamic,Beforepast Dynamic, and the Before-future Dynamic-in-the-Past), the Future Dynamic as well as theFuture Dynamic-in-the-Past, that is the tenses thatwould contain be + being in their structures (thethumb rule: practically no be — be tenses inEnglish), for example:
*He will have been being asked.This rule, however, is not absolutely airtight,
as is witnessed by such extremely rare (threeinstances, including two infinitives, .per 150,000pages of text) examples as:
"I shall always be being pushed away from him byher (J. Galsworthy); At the same moment an elephantcalf may be being born a mile or two away in theJungle (J. Williams); "She may have been beingblackmailed by someone" (A. Christie).
The relative frequencies of different tense-aspect verb forms are comparable with those of theActive Voice (See Tables II and IV on pp. 51 and53).
In accordance with the statistic counts (1000pages of consecutive selection) the Active Voice infiction is about 9 times more frequent than thePassive. In linguistic text the relation of Activeto Passive is about 1.4 to 1.
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHOICEOF THE TENSES IN SPEECH
A careful study of the use of tenses reveals thefact that their choice in speech depends not only onthe content of the information conveyed and themeaning of tenses but also on a number of otherfactors.
These factors are of two kinds: thoseconditioned mainly by the peculiarities of theEnglish verb system, the speaker's possibility tochoose being secondary in importance, and thosepermitting the speaker to choose, in a given speechsituation, from two or more tenses complying withthe peculiarities of the system.
Factors Conditioned Mainly by the Peculiaritiesof the English Verb System
These factors are three: one explains the use ofa tense by historical considerations, another isknown as the rules of the sequence of tenses, thethird reflects the necessity for certain sequencesof verbal forms to convey certain temporal meanings.The first and the third factors are further referredto as the historical factor and the harmony betweentense-sequence meaning and speech information. Thesequence of tenses rules are dealt with in Part III.
55The Historical Factor
The historical factor explains the use of thePresent Static, Present Dynamic, and theBeforepresent Static in adverbial clauses of timeand condition objectively referring to the future,e. g.:
1. "Tonight she'll play; I shall watch her whileshe is playing" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "If you'regetting a new frock this year, have it made at areally good place" (E. Delafield); 3. "We'll talkabout that when we've had tea" (D. Cusack).
It is to be noticed that the meanings of thefuture and the before-future in these examples areconveyed not by the heavy-typed tenses themselvesbut in conjunction with other language signalspointing to the temporal character of the clause.
The use of the future and the beforefuturetenses in these patterns is extremely rare andshould be avoided by the student. Examples:
"Jump! By Godl or I'll make you leak (from theholes made by the bullets) till folk '11 think yourfather was a water hydrant and your mother aspinkling-cart" (J. London); "If she'll live tillspring, it will be all right" (M. Le Sueur).
Harmony Between Tense-sequence Meaning and SpeechInformation
This factor explains the use of present,beforepresent, and past tenses in the subordinateobject clause to refer to future, beforefuture, andbeforepast verbal processes, respectively, as in:
1. "Will you write and tell me how you'rebehaving?" (A. Cronin); 2. "Ring me up at teno'clock tomorrow and I'll let you know what I'vebeen able to fix" (D. Cusack); 3. He had written toher how he was getting along (Th. Dreiser).
In these examples the processes in thesubordinate clauses are understood as follows:
are behaving as simultaneous with will tellhave been able as anterior to shall
letwas getting along as simultaneous with
had writtenWith the corresponding future, beforefuture, and
beforepast tenses in the subordinate clauses, the
time relations would have been understooddifferently, namely:
will be behaving as posteriorto will tell
shall have been able as anterior to sometime posterior to shall lethad been getting along as anterior to had
writtenThis can be reformulated, for Pattern 1
(Sentence 1), as follows: A present tense in asubordinate clause, with a future tense in theprincipal, is used to refer to a future verbalprocess simultaneous with that of the subordinateclause; a future tense in it represents the verbalprocess as posterior to that of the principalclause. In other words, the tense sequence "a futuretense + a present tense" in this pattern is in agreementwith the temporal meaning of simultaneity, while thesequence "a future tense + a future tense" isincompatible with it.
It is obvious that the meaning of a future verbalprocess simultaneous with that of the principalclause in this pattern is rendered not by thepresent tense (are behaving) alone but by the wholemorpho-syntactic pattern
(a future tenseprin. clause + a present tensesub. object
clause)including the present tense.More examples of the patterns containing present
and before-present (examples a) as well as past(examples b) tenses in the subordinate objectclause, with the verb of the principal clause in afuture or beforepast tense respectively:
(a) 1. "Thanks, old man. I'll see what the girlsays and let you know" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "It's donehim a lot of good already, and she'll see to it thathe goes ahead, you know" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "Everytime the wind blows and a floor creaks, we will
think the murderers are breaking in to kill us" (I.Shaw); 4. "We give you a local anesthetic for thefirst and second induction (of the air into yourlungs), and after that you Won't even know it'shappening" (D. Cusack); 5. "Wherever I am, you letme know, and I'll write and find out how you've beenconducting yourself" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "They'll knowI've been fooling them, and they're sure to get sore"(Th. Dreiser); 7. "They will think that we've had aquarrel" (Th. White); 8. Voters in St. Pancras whosowed a Tory victory at the May council electionswill find they have reaped a whirlwind on Wednesdaywhen the victors present their new rent scheme (D.Worker);
(b) 1. But they were sobbing with affection forhim. The Elmer Gantry who for years had pretendedthat he relished defying the whole college had forthose same years desired popularity (S. Lewis); 2.She had come up alone. She had said she was going tobe an independent woman (R. Macaulay).
Rarer, the subordinate clause is attributive,for example: 1. "I will keep an eye on things and Iwill mail you a monthly report on what you haveearned and what I have spent" (I. Shaw); 2. "Thevery moment I have drunk my coffee I shall leave"(W. S. Maugham); 3. It was wonderful to be rid ofthe dread that had gnawed at her every time shethought of the blood stains on her kerchief (D.Cusack).
Factors Permitting the Speaker to Choose FromTwo or More Tenses
These factors are also three: economy of speechefforts, direction of speech intentionality, andstylistic considerations.
Economy o f Speech E ff o r t s
In accordance with this factor a meaning (S) forwhich a special language form (ФS) exists can berendered in speech by another form (FS0)
57which, by itself, does not possess this meaning
and is simpler in structure), in case the meaning isadequately pointed out by contextual signals (Cs):
Фs = FS0 + Cs
The factor of economy of speech efforts isillustrated below by examples of some of the mosttypical cases in which it is involved.
Static Tenses to refer to terminative verbalprocesses represented as developing in time:
1. "I must go and get a job. Yes, I must. We getpoorer and poorer" (A. Coppard); 2. The barking camenearer and nearer (W. S. Gray);
3. The older she got, the tougher she grew (A.Cronin); 4. The standardof correct English has changed slowly but steadily sincethe openingof the twentieth century (Sh. Cody); 5. "No, no"cried Sophy, "I havenever been good since he went. I have got worse andworse" (Miss Yonge);
6. The operation, too long deferred, was nowinevitable. His diseasehad grown steadily worse (Th. Wolfe).
Past Absolute Tenses to refer to beforepastverbal processes: 1. Carrie came in after he did (Th.Dreiser); 2. His room smelled of soot and the paperof fried potatoes she brought in for supper the nightbefore (K- Mansfield); 3. Carrie was gone. A couple ofevening papers were lying where she left them (Th.Dreiser); 4. Michael glanced sideways at thecolonel. But the colonel, in the front seat of thejeep, was reading a paper-covered mystery story hehad picked up in England while they were waiting tocross the Channel (I. Shaw).
Past Absolute Tenses to refer to beforepresentverbal processes: 1. "Thank you, Mr. Cruger," shesaid. "I — I can't tell you how I've enjoyed it all the timeI was here" (D. Parker); 2. "There have been eccentricinventors, starving their families while they soughtsuch chimeras as perpetual motion» (J. London); 3."You're been bad to me, and what hurts most is thatyou were telling lies all the time" (J. Braine);
4. "Vie drawn in school when Master Urbino was notlooking" (I. Stone).Past Static in contexts with ever, never, always, before torefer to
beforepresent verbal processes:1. "Were you ever on the stage?" — "No," said
Carrie (Th. Dreiser); 2. "Did you ever read the 'BlackPig'?" asked the lieutenant. "I will get you a copy"(E. Hemingway); 3. "I never saw the inside of a tank",Reggie said (J. Braine); 4. "Can you drive?" — "Inever tried" (Th. Dreiser);
5. "Take me to the carnations now. I always likedcarnations (A. Cro-nin); 6. "I know that," he said, "I always knew it"(J. Galsworthy);
7. "Roger," he exclaimed, "she's made a man ofme. I was a machinebefore" (F. Norris); 8. "No, darling. We'll managesomehow. We starvedbefore; we can starve again" (W. S. Maugham).
In these examples ever, never, always, before, togetherwith other contextual signals, point to periods oftime a n t e r i o r to some situation in t h ep r e s e n t . This permits the speaker to use the PastStatic, which is simpler in structure and points, asthe Beforepresent does, to periods of time lying tothe left from the moment of speaking. The meaning ofconcrete associations with particular circumstances
58
in the past characteristic of the Past Staticbecomes In these cases neutralized.
Statistic counts show that with ever and never thePast Static is about 1.5 times more frequent thanthe Beforepresent. With always and before the ratio isjust the opposite.
Direction o f Speech Intentionality
This factor explains the use of present andbeforepresent tenses with adverbial modifiers oftime which seem, at the first glance, to be in-compatible with them.
For instance, the example "I know you for ten yearsnow already' (Th. Dreiser) contains three adverbials,each of which, as it is commonly stated, requires abeforepresent tense. Nevertheless, the PresentStatic is used in it, which can be explained asfollows. In the beginning of the act of speaking theintention of the speaker was to convey a messageverbalized by "I know you". Here the meaning of thePresent Static and the content of the message agree.While uttering these words, however, the speakerchanges his intention, making the time relation ofthe process denoted by the verb «to know» morespecific. This he reveals in the process of furtherverbalization of the change of his intention byadding "for ten years," "now", and "already", whichsignifies, a shift of the time relation from
— x — to — x —. The form of the verb originallyuttered becomes thus incompatible with the signalsadded. The speaker, however, does not necessarilyhave to declare the utterance "I know you" asirrelevant to his changed intention by saying, forinstance, "Oh, no. I didn't mean that. What I meantwas: 'I have known you for ten years now already'".He can achieve an identical effect by adjusting his
intonation pattern accordingly, for example, as "Iknow you. For ten years now already."
This is what actually happens when sentenceslike the two following are uttered:
"How do you like your job — so far?" (W. Smitter);"You have known Ted Kerby for many years. He hasvisited at your house as far back... as 1937" (D.Carter).
More examples of identical uses of the present(a) and beforepresent (b) tenses:
(a) 1. "You know I do my hair myself ever since Ihad that urchin cut" (J. Lindsay); 2. "I've yourname in my list these two years, Flinn" (E. Cluer); 3. Sheowes money for six weeks now" (Th. Wolfe); 4. "She'sdrinking a little too much lately" (O'Henry); 5. "Thewhole house is stinking with naphthaline ever sinceMamsel Agatha came" (A. Munthe); 6. "He's waiting athome all this time for his tea" (J. Lindsay);
(b) 1. Unless my memory plays me a trick, hisportrait at various ages has already appeared in the'Strand Magazine' — I think late in 1899 (H. Wells); 2."I've only had word of the thing an hour ago" (A. Cro-nin); 3. Indeed, I have seen Blanch, six or seven yearssince, when she was a girl of eighteen (Ch. Bronte); 4. "He'sbeen having grub with you in the Malabar Bar last night— so I was told" (J. Conrad).
59Stylistic Considerations
The speaker of English has at his disposal arich inventory of tenses serving to represent verbalprocesses in different temporal and aspectualrelationships. Since it is frequently possible, in acertain situation, to represent a verbal process intwo or more ways (Cf., e. g.: He picked up therifle, which was lying against two round stones — I.Shaw; He took up the book, which still lay where hehad placed it beside him — J. Galsworthy; He threwover a sheet of paper which had been lying open upon
the table — C. Doyle), the speaker may choose theform at his will to suit his stylistic preference. Afew examples will illustrate this:
1. We sat in the cafe in which I had sat withher. A strong mistral was blowing and the harbourusually so smooth, was flecked with white foam. Thefishing boats were gently rocking. The sun shonebrightly (W. S. Maugham); 2. The streets werealready thronged. Dogs raced between their legs,pigs were rooting for garbage in the gutter. Childrenfollowed them, jeering and shouting. Beggers wailedwith importunate palms (A. Cronin); 3. It was hardto believe now, that there had been a time when hedidn't know Roger, a time when he had wandered thecity streets without saying a word to anyone, a timewhen no man was his friend, no woman had looked athim, no street was home (I. Shaw).
THE USE OF ABSOLUTE STATIC TENSES
The absolute static tenses are used to denoteverbal processes referred to the speaker's mentaltime and represented as relatively static.
THE PRESENT STATICThe Present Static is the most frequently used
tense in technical literature (90%) and second infrequency in fiction (26%). It is used when thespeaker refers a verbal process to his mentalpresent and represents it as relatively static.Objectively, a process denoted by a verb in thePresent Static may belong to present, past, orfuture time, references to objective present makingabout 92% of all its uses.
Processes Objectively Belonging to Present TimeThe length of processes denoted by verbs in the
Present Static and belonging objectively to present
time can be from several instants to infinite:1. "He'll get fifteen or twenty years, maybe
even twenty-five." — "You're off your rocker. I sayten" (A. Maltz); 2. The watch shows three minutes toten (A. Cronin); 3. "Why do you sit there andquestion me?" (Th. Dreiser); 4. He opened his eyes inthe soft dawn light and looked at his wife. Shesleeps, he thought (I. Shaw); 5. His watch ticks. Thestars wheel overhead (J. Sommerfield); 6. "They sayit is Alaric the Goth. They say he marches on Rome"(S. V. Benet); 7. "She will never leave the bed shenow lies on" (A. Cronin); 8. "Michelangelo, you lookso thin."— "The sculpture grows fat, I grow thin"(I. Stone); 9. "I dunno how you get along without atelly (a TVset)" (J. Lindsay); 10. "She owns theplace. I just look after it for her" (E. Hemingway);11. At one extremity stands the mansion, at theother is the high road (Ch. Dickens); 12.Everythingchanges into everything (J. Burnot).
Present-time processes referred to in speech aremostly concrete actions and states progressing atthe moment of speaking. More seldom, reference is tobe made to processes characteristic of the subject(its habitual actions and states, abilities andother features, various relationships). Processes ofthe former kind are commonly represented in* speechas dynamic (reproduction of actions and statesprogressing in time), those of the latter kind asstatic. The two ways of representation of processesagree with the aspectual meaning of the PresentDynamic and the Present Static, respectively.
The Use of the Present Static to Refer toAbstract Present-time Processes Represented asRelatively Static Features and Relationships. Asopposed to concrete processes, an abstract processis an action or state having no definite location onthe time line. Abstract processes can be continuous
or repeated, of finite or infinite length, non-actual or actual at the moment of speaking. Compare:
1. To the north rises the old crater (H. G.Wells) // When oils are poured into water they riseto the top (H. McKay) (A continuous and a repeatedprocess); 2. The observatory stands on the spur ofthe mountain (H. G. Wells) // High above Sierra'speaks stands grim Mount Tallac (E. Seton-Thompson)(Processes of finite and infinite length); 3. "Shedances abominably, I believe" (E. Delafield) // "Youdance all right, Tony" (J. Galsworthy) (Processesnot going on and going on at the moment ofspeaking).
References to abstract processes make about 60%of the total use of the Present Static with verbsexcept "to be" and about 35% with verbs including"to be", the difference being explained by the factthat the verb "to be" which is very frequent withthe tense often refers to features and relationshipsactual at the moment of speaking, for example:
A l i s o n . I'm sorry — I really am (J. Osborne);A l i s o n . Where is he? — C l i f f . In my room (J.Osborne).
Some more of the typical examples of the use ofthe Present Static to refer to abstract processes1:
1. "Julia, I worship you, I adore you, I loveyou" (M. Arlen); 2. "No, I don't believe in God" (D.Cusack); 3. "My position here is a wretched one. Inow belong to neither class" (G. Gordon); 4. "Inever drink" (Th. Dreiser); 5. Oil shines and feelsvery smooth (H. McKay); 6. "No, no lilac. I hatelilac" (K. Mansfield); 7. "Don't you like him?" — "Ineither like him nor dislike him. He doesn't verymuch interest me" (W. S. Maugham); 8. "London meansnothing to me any more" (W. S. Maugham); 9.
1 See also examples and explanations to them on pp.25—26, 28—30.
"Giftedgirl! Paints,draws,carves on wood,plays,sings,acts" (Th. Dreiser); 10. "I guess Itdoesn't rain so much here!" (H. James); 11. Onepicket sign reads: "What is democracy?" (D. Worker);12. The river runs rapidly north to the sea (D. H.Lawrence); 13. "He sells baloons in the street now"(J. Galsworthy); 14. "But, anyway, he speaks English"(Th. Dreiser); 15. Margarine looks and tastes likebutter and is much cheaper (H. McKay); 16. "Youthink an awful lot of that girl, don't you?" (F.Meier); 17. "What do you think she weighs?"(R.Macaulay); 18. "I'm sure she writes" (D. Parker).
The Use of the Present Static to Refer to ConcreteProcesses Actual at the Moment of Speaking. In about65% of its uses the Present Static refers toconcrete processes actual at the moment of speaking.Such uses are common in colloquial speech, incomments to demonstrations and sports games, inauthor's speech, and stage directions, all of whichwere dealt with on pages 22—26. Additional attentionneeds to be given to colloquial speech.
The Present Static, when used in colloquialspeech, refers either to processes which can hardlybe said to be developing at the moment of speakingor to those which are actually in the stage ofprogression.
The Present Static with verbal processes of theformer kind was illustrated and explained on page24. Below is a list of such verbs used in thesources analysed:
accuse, accept, admit, advise, affirm, agree,allude, alter, amaze, anticipate, apologize, appeal,applaud, appreciate, approve, arrive, ask, assume,assure, award, beg, begin, believe, bet, bewilder,blame, bow, call, claim, come, commend, concede,confess, congratulate, date, declare, defy,disagree, dismiss, doubt, end, entreat, envy, evade,expect, fancy, fear, figure, fill, find, flatter,
forbid, forget, forgive, frighten, gather, give,give+up, gratify, guarantee, guess, hurt, imagine,insist, implore, judge, leave, maintain, make,object, offer, own, pain, pass, pledge, pray,prefer, presume, profess, promise, propose, protest,raise, read, realize, recognize, reckon, recall,recollect, refuse, regret, rejoice, remain,remember, remind, repeat, reply, request, reserve,retract, say, salute, settle, strike, submit,suggest, suit, suppose, surprize, swear, sympathise,take, tell, think, throw, trust (suppose), turn,understand, vote, vouch, warn, wonder, yield (126verbs).
Typical verbs of the other group found in thesources: ache, act, address, attract, await, burn,clean, come, cry, do, draw, drizzle, eat, examine,fall, fight, flow, fly, follow, frown, gain, gape,get (become), glitter, go, grow (become), hang,hide, hurt, jog, lie (deceive), lie (recline),listen, look, march, move, pain, pass, question,rage, rain, read, regard (look at), ride, ring,rise, run, say, scorch, scratch, shake, sit, sleep,smile, smell, snow, speak, stand, stare, steam,stay, stink, suffer, talk, tell, think, throb, tick,torture, tremble, twingle, twirl, try, turn, wait,walk, wheel, work, write (79 verbs).
Examples below illustrate the use of the PresentStatic with some of these verbs:
1. "And, God!" he added tearfully. "My heartsore aches!" (Th. White); 2. "Bruce! Dearest! Whatis it? Aren't you glad? Why do you act so strangely?"(Th. Wolfe); 3. It was the sound of a gramophone,harsh and loud, wheezing out a syncopated tune..."One of the second-class passengers has a room inthe house. I guess it comes from there" (W. S.Maugham); 4. "You want to go back to the States. Youwant your good time, and, like a child, you-cry forit now" (J. London); 5. "But see, now that the light
falls on the root, what curious shining earth itgrows in "(Ch. Dickens); 6. A suburban was sittingat his window one evening when he casually called tohis wife: "There goes that woman Bill Jones is soterribly in love with." His wife craned her neck tolook out the window (F. Meier); 7. "Eat your cereal,Peter," she said.— "I can't. My stomach hurts» (J.Updike); 8. "Now," said he, "just hand me my whip;it lies there under the hedge (Ch. Bronte); 9. "Ispeak tonight to one who is not here. I speak to onewho sat there yesterday, alone" (D. Carter); 10."What is your reason for saying so?" — "I read it inyour eyes" (Ch. Bronte); 11. "I can't hear a wordyou say" (F. Meier); 12 "But it was Squire Hawkerwho sat where you sit, and it was you who stoodwhere I stand* (G. Chesterton); 13. "I speak as mythoughts run" (G. Meredith); 14. The farmer lookedat the moon and said, «Lordl She stares at us!" (G.Meredith); 15. She smelled another whisky-whiff ashe leaned closer. "Don't know why I talk to you theway I do, but you caught my fancy" (J. Lindsay); 16."I'm not at all surprized at what you tell me" (E.James); 17. "You stand there in your cheap Americanclothes and you think 'What has he to do with me?'"(I. Shaw); 18. "Why, son— what on earth! You walk asif you were lame" (Th. Wolfe); 19. "My dear MissCherrel,— I write to tell you that we have succeededin coming to an arrangement" (J. Galsworthy); 20."Breathe deeply." — "I am. Oh, it doesn't work anymore. It doesn't work" (E. Hemingway) (Oxygen doesnot help any more the dying woman).
The Present Static to Refer to Inclusive VerbalProcesses Anterior to the Moment of Speaking. Inabout 2% of all its uses the Present Static refersto processes which, though they include the momentof speaking, are located to the left from it. Thetypical patterns are:
"It's three weeks since I saw you" (D. Cusack);"I am not sorry to this day" (H. Wells); Present Static +for six weeks, since, from the start, lately, so far,and so on.
It is... since. By saying "It is three weekssince I saw you" the speaker actually says: "Theperiod of time since I saw you Is three weeks," em-phasis being made on the length of the anteriorperiod of time in the present. The BeforepresentStatic, which is about four times less frequent insuch cases, lays stress on the existence of acertain relationship in the period of timeindicated. For example, "It's been a long time sinceI was so near to the old home" (J. London)approximately means: "For a long time I haven't beenso near to the old home". Some more examples of thePresent Static in this pattern:
1. "Well, it's years since we first met" (W. S.Maugham); 2. "It's a long time since I was there"(J. Galsworthy); 3. "How long is it since weparted?" (Miss Yonge); 4. "It does seem long since Ihad measles" (J. Galsworthy).
To This Day: 1. "I believe the natives talk ofthat war to this day" (J. Conrad); 2. He sobbed withsuch vehemence that I believe him to this day, tohave greatly influenced the verdict (Ch. Dickens);3. "To this day I know nothing but the names of suchthings as History, Geography, Figures" (W. A.Heaven); 4. "To this day I'm not certain what wentwrong there" (G. Greene).
For six weeks. Since. From the Start. Lately. SoFar, etc.: 1. "I don't see her for a long time" (G.Gordon); 2. "I don't see well. You would think Iwould wear glasses, but no. I walk around for yearsnow, hiding them, seeing nothing" (R. Bradbury); 3."His hair is distinctly greyer since this began" (J.Galsworthy); 4. "Since the baby learned to stand, Inever know what he'll be up to next" (D. Russell);
5. We're together from the start" (A. Cronin); 6."He's much better tempered lately" (G. Gordon); 7."What's the matter with you of late?" (Th. Dreiser);8. "Are you with me so far?" (A. Kingsley); 9. "Wehave no reason so far to complain of the results (J.Galsworthy).
Processes Objectively Belonging to Future Time
In about 5% of its uses the Present Staticrefers to processes objectively belonging to futuretime:
Simple Sentence (Statements and Questions) 38%Object Clauses 29%Independent and Principal Clauses 16%Attributive Clauses 8%Adverbial Clauses of Time and Condition1 9%
Simple Sentences: 1. "Frank Dunn gets the floor.We got to hear Frank." —The chairman's hand slowlylowered the gavel. "Well, Brother Frank gets thefloor" (D. Carter); 2. "They sleep here tonight andstart early in the morning" (M. Mitchell); 3. "Milkor I walk out" (J. Lindsay); 4. "How long are you intown this time?" —"Only until Wednesday" (Th.Dreiser); 5. "What shall I do?" Davy was crying."What do I do?" (J. Aldridge); 6. "Do we eat yet?" —"I'll go and see," I said (E. Hemingway); 7. "Weshall lose Mr. Whitfort next week." —"He goes?" (G.Meredith); 8. "Jovel Two o'clock, and I sail atfour!" (J. Conrad).
Object Clauses: 1. "I hope she gets well." — "Ofcourse she will" (D. Cusack); 2. "I hope you dosomething with it." — "I'll do something. I will"(Th. Wolfe); 3. "I'll bet you don't get thatrabbit." — "What makes you think I won't?" (F.
1 See examples on p. 56.
Meier); 4. "I'll tell you what I find out" (Th.Dreiser).
Independent and Principal Clauses: 1. "Come downand save me, or I perish" (Th. Wolfe); 2. "Nothingquite so dignified at the beginning, but eventuallyyou work up to it" (D. Cusack); 3. When I die theworld dies with me" (J. Sommerfield); 4. "If I fainthere, I drown" (G. Greene).
64Attributive Clauses: 1. "I do love you, Alice.
I'll love you till the day I die" (J. Braine); 2."The first man who talks goes up for discipline. Allof you shut up!" (A. Maltz); 3. "I've got an idea!Let's fine everyone a penny who talks about hertemperature" (D. Cusack).
Processes Objectively Belonging to Past Time
The Present Static is also ccmmon (about 3% ofits uses) with objectively past verbal processes indialogues, narrations, and references to thecontents of a book.
Dialogues. The Present Static is often used torefer to an utterance which has just been completedby one speaker and is so close to the actual "now"that it is still part of the m e n t a 1 present ofthe other who is now speaking. Examples:
1. "Archie, Julian and I are going to have alook at the papers. You'll be all right here, won'tyou?"—"What do you say, Dot?"—"The papers, Archie.Julian and I are going to have a look at them" (A.Kings-ley); 2. "It's the only thing we know, theonly thing we know." — "What do you say, sir?" (W.Faulkner); 3. "Has George taught her to hate me?"She faltered.— "Why do you ask that?" said LadyHelena coldly (E. Delafield); 4. "You are too young
and too innocent to realize how infinitelyattractive you are." — "Monsieur, you jest! Iattractive! Impossible!" (M. Mitchell); 5. "Comeout, Jean," he called.— "Jean is not here."—"Youlie!" (G. Gordon); 6. "You can't play fast and loosewith the rules like that."—"To what rules do yourefer?" (P. Wode house).
A past tense is also common in such situations,and not only in-English but also in Russian (Cf.:Что ты сказал? // Что ты говоришь?).
Frequently, one speaker uses the Present Static,while the other, referring to the same process, ap a s t tense, for example:
1. "You know what the governor of North Carolinasaid to the gov-erner of West Virginia." — "You meanthe governor of South Carolina," said Emily.— "No. Imeant North Dakota," said Luke (J. O'Hara); 2.Lanser stood up slowly and spoke as though tohimself. "So it starts again. We will shoot this manand make twenty new enemies." — Prackle said. "Whatdo you say, sir?" — Lanser answered, "Nothing,nothing at all. I was just thinking" (W. Faulkner);3. "Who owns this place?" — "Why do you ask?" — "Ijust wondered" (J. Braine).
Narrations. While narrating about the past, thespeaker often represents some of its processes as ifthey were taking place just before his and hislistener's eyes. By doing so, he makes theo b j e c t i v e past be his m e n t a 1 present anduses present tenses accordingly. Examples:
1."You didn't see the look in her eyes when shesaw me!" — "Well, what did you do?" — "I just giveher the old sweet smile and keep going" (J. Updike);2. "I was walking through the hall ten minutes agoand Zimmerman's door bumps open and who the hellpops out but Mrs. Her-zog" (J. Updike); 3. "And thenon the night of the banquet she appears
65
in her emeralds, and throughout the evening Maxpays attention to no one else" (M. Mitchell).
References to the Contents of a Book: 1. ThenSoames dies as a result of an accident at a fire athis home, and Fleur, seized with artificial remorse,returns to husband and child (R. Fox); 2. "Do theyget married in the end?" Mrs. Roby interposed (E.Wharton); 3. We shall start, then, from whatAristotle tells us about the numbers (J. Burnot).
Adverbials of Time Used with the Present Static
The Present Static is combined with an adverbialof time in about 30% of its uses. Verbal processesobjectively including the moment of speaking can beassociated with the following adverbials of timelisted in terms of decreasing frequency.
always; every day, etc.; now; just now; by now;all the time, all day, etc.; for two days, to thisday, since, lately, so far, etc.1; still; yet;already; never; as-clause; when-clause; while-clause;ago; at the moment; constantly, ever, for ever; thismorning.
Always. The adverb always modifies both multiple-act (a) and single-act (b) verbal processes, forexample:
(a) 1. "You and Arthur always argue so much" (G.Gordon); 2. "We always chat a little" (K. Mansfield);3. "He always thinks of others — that boy I" (Th.Wolfe);
(b) 1. "Rome is always Rome" (R. Macaulay); 2.What is in flight always occupies a space equal toitself (J. Burnot); 3. Buddha sat, as Buddha alwayssits, with his lap empty (G. Greene).
1 For explanation and examples see pp. 59, 63—64.
Now. When combined with the adverb now, thePresent Static can refer to both concrete (a) andabstract (b) processes, for example:
(a) 1. "I never liked thunder muchl" said Fleur,"and now it hurts!" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "I know. Andwhat I said then, I say now — you are a cad, Simon"(E. Delafield); 3. "I have to get washed and report.Doesn't anybody work now?" (E. Hemingway);
(b) 1. "He is a captain now" (G. Meredith); 2."No, sir, Mrs. Darnley and the young lady don't livehere now" (G. Santayana); 3. "The telephone workswell now" (G. Gordon).
Just Now. In combination with the adverb now theparticle just emphasizes the actuality, at presenttime, of a process denoted by a verb in the PresentStatic, for example:
1. "I don't feel like dancing just now" (G.Gordon); 2. "Hush, sir I You don't talk very wiselyjust now" (Ch. Bronte); 3. "Just now I want to writeenough magazine stuff to make a living, that's all"(Th. Dreiser).
By Now: 1. "Well, I expect he's all right by now"(J. Galsworthy); 2. "You won't like it, you know,but I suppose you're used to that by now" (R.Macaulay); 3. "You know it, I know it, by now eventhe Japs and the Germans know it" (I. Shaw).
All the Time. All Day: 1. "Well, I see you havethat bottle in your room all the time" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "How's your leg?" —"It hurts all thetime" (E. Hemingway); 3. "Christ, I think of you allday" (J. O'Hara).
Still. Yet. Already. Never: 1. "Do you stilldraw?" — "Yes, now and then" (G. Gordon); 2. Lastevening's 'Westminster Gazette' still lies on mysofa (H. G. Wells); 3. "There's no cheque yet" (J.Lindsay); 4. "The house isn't furnished yet" (Th.Dreiser); 5. "I can't say that I have much of abusiness as yet — merely prospects" (Th. Dreiser);
6. The book is not a textbook of Marxism in general:such book exists already (D. Worker); 7. She shookher head. "He knows that already" (P. Wode-house);8. "I never see her" (K. Mansfield).
Ago. At the Moment. Constantly. Ever. Forever.This Morning: 1. "It's nearly three months ago" (G.Gordon); 2. "I don't at the moment think we ought tohave a jury" (G. Gordon); 3. The outline of a youngEnglishman of the inarticulate variety is difficultto grasp. It constantly expresses almost nothing (J.Galsworthy); 4. His face is delicate and fierce andscowls beautifully forever (Th. Wolfe); 5. "You lookrather washed out this morning" (W. S. Maugham).
As-, When-, and While-clauses. As- and When-clauses combine with the Present Static only inabout 1% (each) of its total use, those with While-clauses only about 0.1%. Typical examples:
As-clause: 1. As I sit here trying to recallsome vision of this infinitely confused process, Irecall moments of hard and fierce estrangement (H.G. Wells); 2. "As I stand opposite you at this work-table I feel neither age nor the fear of death" (I.Stone); 3. There rises before my eyes, as I write,young Hopley Dodd (H. G. Wells).
When-clause: 1. "She lights up when she hears ofhim" (J. Braine);
2. Seals move very quickly when they are in thewater (H. McKay);
3. When the boats are full they sail home again(H. McKay); 4. "So far, when I lose one job, I pickup another" (A. Maltz).
MiscellaneousSome typical patterns of minor importance not
dealt with above are given below.I Forget. There are many verbs in English, such
as lean, kneel, realize, remember, stoop, which areused to denote not only the action of attaining acertain position, condition, or the like but also
the being in the state attained. To remember, forinstance, means both "to call back to mind" and "tokeep in the memory". To forget has the meanings "tocease to remember" and "to be unable to recall". Thesecond variant meaning of the verb explains the useof the Present Static in the following twosentences:
"I forget exactly, but I said to myself at thattime: Nobody can say it isn't an education, TV is"(J. Lindsay); "How on earth did you ever get to knowhim?" I asked.— "Oh, it was years ago. Six years,seven years, I forget" (W. S. Maugham).
He Comes from New York. Where does He Come from? Inthese patterns the verb come is used in the meanings"have as birthplace, place of origin, be descendedfrom". Examples:
1. "I'm glad Ralph comes from New York" (S.Lewis); 2. "What part of the country do you comefrom?" — "Cincinnati," she retorted (Th. Dreiser);3. Palm oil comes from the fruit and seeds of a tallpalm which grows in West Africa (H. McKay); 4. "Whois Verner? Where does he come from?" (G. K.Chesterton).
I Come ... . I Come ... + Infinitive. Where do You Come From? Theverb to come in these patterns has the meaning "to bein a certain place as a result of coming." Examples:
1. "Tom, listen," Jesse said, "I come here onpuprose"(A. Maltz); 2. "The boy, where is he? I cometo speak with you about him" (G. Gordon); 3. Asoldier was standing guard over the boat. "Is thisyour boat? Where do you come from?" — "Up the lake"(E. Hemingway).
I Hear. The verb to hear is often used in thePresent Static in the meaning "to possess certaininformation, which is a result of perception by theear". Examples:
1. "Oh, it's you", she said. "1 hear that youare going away" (F. Nor-ris); 2. "I hear your lodge
is going to give a performance." — "Yes, who toldyou?" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "How do you do, Mr.Prescott? I'm real pleased to meet you. I'm sure. Ihear you're from the States." — "From — New York",Joe said (S. Lewis).
Special Questions. Note the following two types ofSpecial Questions with the Present Static:
(a) 1. "How do I thank you?" (I. Stone) (Howshall I thank you?); 2. "Well, what do I tell hernext?" (G. Greene); 3. "What happens next?" (G.Greene) (What will happen next?); 4. "Where do weunload?" (I.Stone); 5. "How do I get there?" —"Well,you take the ferry at the foot of Market Street..."(F. Norris) (How shall I get there? How does one getthere?); 6. "Where do I unhook?" — "Here. It's veryeconomic — only one" (J. Galsworthy) (Where shall Iunhook the dress? Where does one unhook the dress?);
(b) 1. "Why don't you go to bed and get somesleep?" (G. Gordon) (You'd better go to bed and getsome sleep); 2. "Why don't we go to the theatretonight?" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "Mamma, for heaven'ssake, why don't you send him to the barber's to getthat lousy hair cut off?" (Th. Wolfe).
Newspaper Headlines. When used in newspaperheadlines, the Present Static often refers toprocesses which are expressed in the text by verbsin the Beforepresent Static (a) or the Past Static(b):
(a) 1. Headline: Gallacher Has Minor Operation.—Text: Mister William Gallacher, president of theCommunist Party, has had a minor operation (D.Worker); 2. Headline: Green Line Men Join Bus Ban.—Text: London Transport's Green Line busmen havejoined the week-old overtime ban (D. Worker); 3.Headline: Communists Win.— Text: In the last fourweeks the Communist Party has gained 291 new members(D. Worker);
(b) 1. Headline: U. S. Admits.— Text: The U. S.Government yesterday publicly admitted for the firsttime that West Germany and its European partnerscould eventually get full control of nuclear weapons(D. Worker); 2. Headline: 70 ICI Fitters Down Tools.—Text: At the Wilton Works 70 fitters yesterday downedtools and walked off the job (D. Worker); 3.Headline: Aussies Lose.— Text: Australia, who beatEngland 2—1 in their recent series, lost a tough andunrelenting struggle in the First Rugby Leagueagainst France at Bordeaux yesterday by eight pointsto five (D. Worker).
Sequent Verbal Processes: 1. She ceases speaking,rises, and says: "And now we shall have some tea"(D. Lessing); 2. He bends down. He kisses her. Hetucks her in, he smooths the pillow (K. Mansfield);3. Sam lifts a heavy bag of cement and empties itinto the cement mixer (D. Russell).
Simultaneous Verbal Processes: 1. "I hate and despiseyou" (W. S. Maugham); 2. The old folks are stillthere now; Pa drives a junk wagon. The old womanails about the house, ails and quarrels (L. Hughes);3. The boy has no blanket. He wears a vest that isrubbed into holes tucked into a loincloth. He alsocarries a hoe (D. Lessing); 4. "I stand five feeteleven and weigh one hundred and forty-two pounds"(J. Cheever).
THE PAST STATICThe Past Static is by far the most frequent
tense in fiction (57%) and third in frequency intechnical literature (2%).
It is used when the speaker who is mentally inthe past represents a verbal process as relativelystatic. The process denoted by a verb in the PastStatic can be concrete or abstract, its lengthvarying from several instants to infinite,
continuous or repeated, isolated or simultaneous orsequent with other processes.
Examples of verbal processes of increasinglylonger duration:
1. We watched his black face for a second (D. H.Lawrence); 2. For a moment or two he slowly paced upand down (G. Gordon); 3. He played half a minute only(W. Saroyan); 4. He worked for half an hour (J. Pud-ney); 5. Elmer slept for hours and went out,staggering with weariness (S. Lewis); 6. "I stayed onthat ship thirty hours" (J. Conrad); 7. It rained forthree days (E. Hemingway); 8. For a week the Gadflylay in a fearful state (E. Voynich); 9. For nearly amonth there existed a most charming life aboard thisideal vessel (Th. Dreiser); 10. For a year I lived agay and glorious life (Ch. Dickens); 11. Aunt Emilylooked very much like my mother (J. Braine); 12. Thehouse stood about a mile out of the town (Ch.Dickens); 13. A stream ran there at the edge (J.Galsworthy); 14. The humps of hills rose stately andgreen (Th. Dreiser).
Concrete verbal processes actual at the momentof reference in the past make about 35% of all theuses of the Past Static. For example:
1. He took Eugene's head and placed it againsthis heart. The great pump beat slowly andirregularly (Th. Wolfe); 2. They paused before atwo-storey frame house. A lamp burned dimly behindlowered yellow shades (Th. Wolfe); 3. Turningaround, she saw a man and two boys coming down thetrail. They carried an axe, a knife and a few othertools (W. S. Gray); 4. He paused to get a lastglimpse of the cabin. The smoke curled uppathetically from the Yukon stove-pipe (J. London);Б. It was nearly dark when Noah saw the tank. Itmoved ponderously
69
down the lane (I. Shaw); 6. He looked down withdismay. The rain poured down without ceasing (W. S.Maugham); 7. From time to time he glanced upsharply, to see if any one of the men were watchinghim. But they slept (I. Shaw); 8. Protected by therear wheel of the car, Christian raised his head. Alittle clump of daisies waved gently in front ofhim. (I. Shaw).
The verbs in the Past Static in these examplesare used, in accordance with Model II, to point outa feature or relationship characterizing the subjectat the moment of reference and represented asrelatively static (see pp. 26—27).
In the examples that follow the verbs in thePast Static refer to a b s t r a c t processesrepresented as a relatively static feature orrelationship (Model II):
1. Eliza at this time cooked magnificently, anda Sunday dinner was something to remember (Th.Wolfe); 2. She cooked, and all ate, in the kitchen,where she likewise washed, starched, and ironedclothes on all days of the week except Sunday (J.London); 3. It was a wonderful piece of luck to meetVictoria, who was always amusing, danced perfectly(E. Delafield); 4. She was not pretty. She dressedvery simply and elegantly (Th. Wolfe); 5. Breakfasthe inevitably ate alone (A. Cronin); 6. His thickheavily arched eyebrows grew straight across thebase of his nose (Th. Wolfe); 7. The town lay at thefoot of a low hill (Sh. Anderson); 8. She loved himno longer (W. S. Maugham); 9. He was a big man buthe hadn't the ponderous clumsiness of most big men.He moved rather as a young bull moves (J. Braine);10. He read quickly and easily. He spelledaccurately (Th. Wolfe); 11. One of the M.P.s wasnailing a sign to the front porch: TOP SECRET AREA,it said (R. Geh-man); 12. He was tough, good-humoured, a little cynical and he smoked a great
many cigarettes (Th. Wolfe); 13. She spoke Englishfluently (G. Greene); 14. Her voice had a catch init like her son's and she stuttered slightly (J.Joyce); 15. I was a correspondent: I thought inheadlines (G. Greene); 16. He weighed sixty pounds(J. London); 17. "My father worked at their mill"(J. Braine); 18. She worshipped him (W. S. Maugham).
THE USE OF THE PAST STATIC TO REFERTO SEQUENT PROCESSES
Sequent processes, that is, processes followingone another in time are referred to by verbs in thePast Static in about 64% of its total use. This isexplained by the fact that man, when he is speakingabout the past, has mostly to reproduce series ofactions and states (a non-linguistic factor) whichhave achieved their qualitative limits (another non-linguistic factor). Such actions and states,however, are, in accordance with the meaning ofModel I, commonly expressed by verbs in s t a t i ctenses. One example will be sufficient to illustratethis well-known function of the Past Static:
He shook himself, went across to the gramophoneand lifted the needle-arm (J. James).
70THE USE OF THE PAST STATIC TO REFER TO
SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSES
The Past Static refers to simultaneous processesin about 18% of its uses. Syntactically,simultaneous verbal processes can be expressedeither in the same or in different sentences.Examples of two simultaneous processes ( . ) ind i f f e r e n t sentences have already been given above(page 69). Syntactic patterns with two simultaneousverbal processes expressed in different clauses of оn e sentence are dealt with below. Before this,however, the reader's attention is drawn to the fact
that simultaneous verbal processes are also frequentin the so called descriptions, as in:
1. At dawn of this October day in 1946 a muggyfog lay heavy upon the streets of Washington. Sincethe night was warm, the fog penetrated into bedroomsthrough windows and added the moisture to the nightsweat of humid bodies. Despite the heat, mostcitizens were asleep (A. Maltz); 2. It was cold inthe street. There was a wind like ice. People wentflitting by, very fast; the men walked likescissors; the women trod like cats (K. Mansfield);3. He was a delight to watch. His body was superb;his movements were precise, deft, yet explosive withpower. He bobbed, weaved, and ducked; he retreated,went on the attack and worked his way through theendless repertory of blows and maneuvers (A. Maltz);4. He passed through the warehouses and came outupon the dock. The scene was brisk; the cranescreaked and swung incessantly with a rattle ofchains; stevedores and wharfingers toiled andperspired; boatswains and dock-masters shoutedorders, drays rumbled, the water lapped at the piles(F. Norris).
The verbal processes in these examples arerepresented by the author as details of a paintedpicture which are vivid, potentially alive, but yetdevoid of motion, static.
Most frequently, simultaneous verbal processesare expressed in sentences with:
an as-clause . . . . 42.5% an attributiveclause............................16.3%
a when-clause . . . 20.5% co-ordinate clausesor an
a while-clause . . . 15.0% adverbial clauseof place . . . 5.7%
Sentences with an As-clause. Semantically,simultaneous verbal processes in sentences with anas-clause are represented either with no emphasis on
their limits (=), or with the limits of one (┴, ┬)or both (:) processes emphasized. This gives sevensemantico-structural patterns listed inTableVIII interms of decreasing frequency. The verbal process ofthe subordinate as-clause in each pattern is markedin the Table by "as" linked to it by an arc.
Examples of Pattern 1 (┴ v as): 1. Susan took myarm as we walked along the road (J. Braine); Heshook his head as he watched her go (G. Gordon); 3."My hair is very thick, Mary," he remarked as heworked the comb behind his ear (A. Cronin); 4. "Ihappened to see his face in the sideboard glass as Iwent out" (J. Galsworthy); 5. Bart raced up the
Table VIII SENTENCES WITH AN AS-CLAUSENos Pattern Example %1 ┴ ν as She arrived as he worked 31.02 ┬ ^as As he worked she arrived 30.33 = v as He sang as he worked 16.44 = ^ as As he worked he sang 14.15 : v as The chair creaked as he
sat down5.2
6 : ^ as As he sat down thechair creaked
1.5
7 ┬ ^ as He worked as she arrived 1.5
71platform and swung himself aboard as the train
moved slowly out (J.Braine); 6. The quartermasternodded to him as he passed (W. S. Maugham).
The second verbal process in each of theseexamples is represented as developing in time, eventhough in sentences 3—6 it is terminative. This isdue to the lexical meaning of the conjunction as(while) and the context. In example 4, for instance,the process went out cannot be understood ascomplete because Butterfield could see the image ofElderson's face in the glass only when he was still
in the room where the sideboard was. Therefore wentout + context = was going out (see p. 57).
Examples of Pattern 2 (┬ ^ as): 1. As I staredahead, the sun began to slip behind the mountains(A. Cronin); 2. As she studied herself in themirror, she heaved a long sigh of satisfaction (M.Mitchell); 3. As she went through the hall oncemore, she looked at the clock (E. Dela-field); 4."As we passed this house, we looked in and saw myson sleeping there" (W. S. Gray).
Examples of Pattern 3 (= v as): 1. The womenchatted as they worked (W. S. Gray); 2. Theygossiped in low voices as they went (Th. Wolfe);
3. He hummed wordlessly as he prepared hisbreakfast (I. Shaw); 4. Hesang, as he played (I. Shaw).
Examples of Pattern 4 (= ^ as): 1. As he chewedthe end of his pencil, he considered that everythingwas suitable (G. Gordon); 2. As he prepared himselfa simple meal of rice, his hands trembled (A.Cronin); 3. As we walked we spoke of the performancewe had just seen (W. S. Maugham);
4. As he worked his stone he worked histhoughts (I. Stonej.
72Examples of Pattern 5 (: v as ): 1. The frail
chair creaked as he sat down (G. Gordon); 2. Shefastened the crossed straps just as Lady Helenaknocked at the door (E. Delafield); 3. He rose asshe entered (J. Galsworthy).
Examples of Patterns 6 (: ^ as) and 7 (┬ ^ as):1. As they approached the highest point in the road,he slowed down (G. Gordon); 2. As he reached for thesugar the girl beside him smiled an apology (D.Cusack); 3. Rosamond looked like a fairy and a lilyas she gave her hand, first to Agnes, then toLeonard (Ch. Dickens); 4. The windscreen wiper
scraped away the seconds as he saw the dawn of a newhope (G. Gordon).
Table IXSENTENCES WITH A WHEN-CLAUSE
Nos
Pattern Example %
1 ┴ ^when
When he arrived sheworked
39.5
2 : ^when
When he sat down thechair creaked
16.3
3 : vwhen
The chair creakedwhen he sat down
14.0
4 ┬ vwhen
She worked when hearrived
14.0
5 ┬ ^when
When she worked hearrived
11.6
6 ┴ νwhen
He arrived when sheworked
2.3
7 = ^when
When he worked hesang
2.3
Sentences with a When-clause. The semantico-structural patterns of sentences with a when-clauseand processes denoted by verbs in the Past Staticare listed in Table IX in terms of decreasingfrequency.
Examples of Pattern 1 (┴ ^ when): 1. When shecame to the smooth oak of the staircase she stillwalked very quietly (E. Delafield); 2.When the boylooked in, a white-faced man sat at the piano,banging at it (K. Mansfield); 3. When she awoke theworld sparkled as though it had been newly born (D.Cusack); 4. When they went in, the grey colt stoodby the far wall, idly contemplating a carrot (J.Galsworthy).
Examples of Pattern 2 (: ^ when): 1. Onemorning when she came to nag him out of sleep she
found him dead (Th. Wolfe); 2. When she entered thehouse she greeted him with a bright face (G.Gordon); 3. When he left in the morning he took herpicture with him (D. Parker).
Examples of Pattern 3 (: v when): 1. They lookedup when she came in (E. Delafield); 2. White fireshowered up when he cut the
73water (R. Bradbury); 3. Anthony shrank back when
hesaw her (G. Gordon).Examples of Pattern 4 (┬ v when): 1. It was
quite dark outside when the telephone rang (G.Gordon); 2. He had the book in his hand when he left(R. Bradbury); 3. He slept when the great pangsbegan in Eliza at two o'clock (Th. Wolfe).
Examples of Pattern 5 (┬ ^ when): 1. When wewere in the taxi she gave me another look (J.Braine); 2. When we drove to work in the morning, hehardly said a word (R. Gehman); 3. When they partedthis time, he said: "Come down to Richmond again onTuesday" (J. Galsworthy).
Examples of Patterns 6 (┴ ν when) and 7 (= ^when): Her mother died when she was only three (Th.Dreiser); When I passed her chair I wanted to kissher (J. Braine).
Table XSENTENCES WITH A WHILE-CLAUSE
Nos
Pattern Example %
і = vwhile
He sang while heworked
38
2 ┬ ^while
While he worked shearrived
34
3 = ^while
While he worked hesang
16
4 ┴ ^ while She arrived while heworked
12
Examples of Pattern 1 (= v while): 1. She sewedwhile her mother cooked (M. Freeman); She lay therealone while they drank cofee in the kitchenette (D.Cusack); 3. They smoked while they stared at thecorpse (W. S. Maugham).
Examples of Pattern 2 (┬ ^ while): 1. While shesang I placed myself upon the extreme edge of thebench (A. Cronin); 2. While he slept frogs andturtles began to dive into the water (W. S. Gray);3. While Babbit watched him anxiously he snapped,"Come on, let's get out of this" (S. Lewis).
Examples of Pattern 3 (= ^ while): 1. While heate she sat by him (B. Vesey-Fitzgerald); 2. Whilehe went he tried to put himself in the place of onethreatened with sudden extinction (J. Galsworthy);3. While he waited for the boys to drive the cartout, he walked up and down (E. Caldwell).
Examples of Pattern 4 (┴ ^ while): He movedtowards it a few steps while he spoke (Ch. Dickens);The sound came even more plainly while he listened(E. Caldwell).
Sentences with an Attributive Clause: 1. Then, withoutwarning, he struck the gate a crushing blow. Helooked down in wonder at his split knuckles and theblood that flowed down between his fingers (W.Faulkner); 2. "Have you got a cigarette?" — He gaveher his package; she
74stood up to receive the flame he nursed in his
cupped hands (Th. Wolfe); 3. Sam threw the rope atthe calf that ran the fastest, but he missed it (W.S. Gray); 4. He grew bold and spoke to a woman thatsat alone on a park bench (Sh. Anderson); 5. As sheturned the corner, Nora looked up the window whereFrancis stood (A. Cronin); 6. Gilbert returned tothe room where Nevada waited (O'Henry).
Sentences with Co-ordinate Clauses: 1. And thenhe awakened, and he lay in the darkness with his
ears alert (W. Faulkner); 2. He did not read a linehowever but sat staring listlessly in front of him(G. Gordon); 3. So the time slipped on and on; andthey neither moved nor spoke (E. Voynich); 4.Victoria went on dancing, and Simon watched her outof the corners of his eyes (E. Delafield).
Sentences with an Adverbial Clause of Place: 1.The three of them walked over to where the secondbuffalo bulked in the open, head forward (E.Hemingway); 2. Outside the sergeant knelt downbeside me where I lay (E. Hemingway); 3. She rushedto where she sat and grasped her hands (Th. Wolfe).
PARALLEL USES OF THE PAST AND THE BEFOREPRESENTIn about 18% of its uses the Past Static can be
replaced by verbs in the Beforepresent Static (seeexamples on pp. 43, 58—59). This is possible inspeech situations which permit a representation of averbal process in two different time relationships,namely, as belonging to the speaker's mental past oras anterior to his mental present as well as incases where anteriority to the present is expressedby the Past Static together with other contextualsignals.
The Past Static in Sentences Where ResultativeConnections
with the Present are ExpressedIn the example "Then he perceived that the door
of the room was open, and he remembered, that hismother was in there. He entered. 'There's somethingyou must have,' she said. 'I left the door open onpurpose"' (J. Galsworthy) the situation at themoment of speaking is: the door is open. It is openbecause John's mother left it open. The verbalprocess left is past relative to the situation inthe present. This permits the speaker to choose: ifhe associates the verbal process with some
particular circumstances in the past, that is, if heis mentally in the past, he uses the Past Static(John's mother remembers that she left the door openjust before she went to bed, so that her son couldcome in and see her); if, however, there are no suchassociations in the speaker's mind, that is, if thespeaker remains mentally in the present, he uses (asJohn's mother might have used) the BeforepresentStatic.
Some typical exampels of such use of the PastStatic: 1. "I suppose it's Grant." — At first shemade no reply. Then she said: "Yes, Arthur asked himto supper" (G. Gordon); 2. «Наllо, dar-
76ling," said Margot with enthusiasm.—"Hallo." —
"Had a good day?" — "Not bad. I brought an eveningpaper. There is a paragraph about the inquest onEna." — "Ohl Let me see it. Where?" (A. Berkley); 3."And now I think of it, did you buy that inhalation-mixture for Carmen's snuffles?" — "I forgot, Mum— "—"Then go and buy it this minute" (J. Lindsay); 4."Hello, Harran, where's the Governor?" — "He didn'tcome today," Harran shouted back (F. Norris) (Harranwas just returning from the station where he hadbeen to meet his father); 5. "And look what the wardid" (D. Carter); 6: "Here is your knife. I found itin the path" (W. Faulkner); 7. There was a shot tohis left and he heard Kraus calling widly, "I gothim, I got him" (I. Shaw); 8. The dog moved itstail, lowered it, and went off. "A gipsy gave it tome," said Tod; "best dog that ever lived" (J.Galsworthy); 9. "Is Miss Burnett here?" she asked.—"No. She went off to Rafiel for a week" (H.Walpole); 10. "Now don't try to deny it, Hibbs. Youknow, I heard it" (Th. Dreiser); 11. "Would you likethe bullet? I kept it for you. You can wear it onyour watch chain" (A. Maltz); 12. "All that I knowabout fiddling I learned from Mr. Edward Soames" (J.
Braine); 13. "Sing it!" Mike yelled. "Sing it, youpromised! "(D. Carter); 14. "His ear's torn; I sawit" (J. Galsworthy); 15. "You know that we've brokenour engagement?"— "Elliott told me" (W. S. Maugham).
The Past Static in Sentenceswith Ever, Never, Always, Before
Examples of the Past Static in contexts withthese adverbs to refer to beforepresent verbalprocesses and an explanation of such use of thetense have been given above (pp.58—59). Some moreexamples:
1. "Did you ever see baseball played?" (J.Galsworthy); 2. "I tell you, Mr. Johnson," Eddiesaid, "that is the rarest occurrence I ever saw inmy life" (E. Hemingway); 3. "We never were a stay-at-home lot like the French" (J. Galsworthy); 4.Morey shook his head blankly. "I never heard ofanything like that in my life" (F. Pohl); 5. "We'llhave a shot at it. You know I always wanted you totry" (A. Cronin).
Typical is also the use of the Past Static inutterances in which" the same verb (most commonlythe verb to be) is repeated in the Present Static,Future Static, or in both. The adverbs always,never, and, rarer, ever are also common in suchcases. Examples:
1. "Besides, it's not the fashion to befaithful." — "Bosh!" — said Jon, gently; "it's justas much the fashion as it ever was" (J. Galsworthy);2. "You're a fool, Lucy. You always were" (H.Walpole); 3. "I honour him as I always did" (MissYonge); 4. "I like cigar smoke. I always did" (K.Mansfield); 5. "Slow Joe — that's me. Always was.Always will be" (G. Greene); 6. "Dolly is, was, andalways will be a holy trump" (A. Cronin); 7. "WithJean I never was and never shall be in love. I don'tcare about her" (G. Gordon); 8. "No. I was never so
happy in my life. And I dare say I shall never be sohappy again" (Th. White).
76The Use of the Past Static after the
Beforepresent Static in the Same or DifferentSentences
The Past Static is frequently used after a verbin the Beforepresent tense in different sentences,in co-ordinate clauses of compound sentences, incomplex sentences with an attributive, object, time,reason or manner clause.
In Different Sentences: 1. "You have workedhard," Tom said.— "Yes, I have worked hard,"Frederick affirmed. "It was worth it" (J. London);2. "I have worried about you, Matt I I didn't knowwhere you had gone" (A. Cronin); 3. "Forget whatI've said. I didn't mean most of it" (H. Walpole);4. "But tell me what has actually brought you back?"— "Nessie! My sister Nessie!" she said slowly."Things have been dreadful at home and she hassuffered. She needed me — so I came home" (A. Cro-nin); 5. "The truth is I have been so absorbed in mywork that I've thought of nothing else. I took ittoo much for granted that you were happy because Iwas happy" (H. Walpole); 6. "I don't understand.I've lain awake for two nights turning it all overin my mind. I thought I should go mad" (W. S.Maugham).
In Co-ordinate Clauses: 1. "I haven't seen herfor years — I was too busy" (M. Wilson); 2. "Eversince our days on the farm I've wanted to tell youbut I could not" (G. Gordon); 3. "I've only seen himfor a few minutes; he looked quite nice, I thought"(J. Galsworthy); 4. "And how often I've heard yousay 'God bless you'—"AndI meant it!" (S. Lewis); 5."I've just been and looked at myself in the glass,and I wanted ever so much to kiss that beautifulwoman" (J. Lindsay).
In Sentences with an Attributive Clause: 1. "No,I've never done anything that wasn't necessary tokeep the wheels of progress moving" (S. Lewis); 2."I've done everything I could" (Th. Wolfe); 3. "Myfather has beaten me every time I mentionedpainting" (I. Stone); 4. I, too, have had a dream.It has consoled me through the weary hours when Ipractised scales for eight hours a day (B. Shaw); 5."I have never known anyone whom I wished so much toserve" (A. Cronin).
In Sentences with an Object Clause: 1. It's notyour fault, dear, you've done what you could (A.Sutro); 2. "I have worked hard. I have done whatcame to my hand" (J. London); 3. "Look here, oldGeorge: I've never for one moment believed you meantit when you've defended Doane and the strikers andso on, at the Club" (S. Lewis); 4. I know what yourambitions are. I have always felt that I did, inpart" (Th. Dreiser); 5. "How long have you known youhad this power?" (F. Norris).
In Sentences with an Adverbial Clause of Time:1. "Why!" said Arabella, affecting dismay. "You'vepromised to marry me several times as we sat heretonight. These gentlemen have heard you" (Th.Hardy); 2. "I tell you, I've sat and looked intothat dog's eyes till the shivers ran up and down myspine" (J. London); 3. "I have sat and thought uponit till my head went round" (J. London); 4. "Justonce or twice I've thought when I was stoned to hellI might like to sample it for experience" (F. Pohl);5. "While you and I have been alive, people builtall this" (D. Carter).
77In Sentences with a Clause of Reason or Manner:
1. "The blame is entirely mine, and she has treatedme kindly because she was sorry for me" (J.Galsworthy); 2. "We have never quarreled about thesethings, because I didn't think it was important to
quarrel about them" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "I have heardactors speak it so that it was indistinguishablefrom prose" (W. S. Maugham); 4. "I've hinted at thisbefore, but I've been as charitable and long-suffering as I could be" (S. Lewis).
PARALLEL USES OF THE PAST AND THE BEFOREPASTSTATIC
The Past Static is frequently used to refer toprocesses which are objectively anterior to thepast.
It was ... since. The Past Static in thispattern is about three times more frequent than theBeforepast Static (Cf.: I caught sight of her at theplay. It was long since I had last seen her — W. S.Maugham // // Michelangelo gazed with pleasure atthe shabby features. It had been a year since theyhad seen each other — I. Stone). Examples:
1. She glanced at her watch. It was ten minutessince the train had gone (D. Cusack); 2. It wasweeks since they had eaten a proper meal (A.Coppard); 3. It was some days since they had met (M.Mitchell);
4. It was not a week since he had received aletter from hismother (G. Gordon).
In Sentences with No Adverbial Indicators ofAnteriority. Anteriority of a process to anotherprocess in the past is commonly denoted by abeforepast tense. If, however, the meaning ofanteriority is pointed out by an adverbial modifieror is evident from other contextual signals, the useof the tense — a beforepast versus a past tense — isoptional. Some examples illustrating the use of thePast Static to refer to objectively beforepastprocesses in utterances having no special adverbialmodifiers of time are given below:
1. "Go into my sitting-room and sit down. I'llput on my stockings and some shoes." — He did as shebade and in five minutes she joined him (W. S.Maugham); 2. Though his room was beyond mine I sawhim return the way he came (J. Conrad); 3. "The wardid something to Larry. He didn't come back the sameperson he went" (W. S. Maugham); 4. Sophia, who waseleven, had not stirred to meet her. She aloneinherited her father's fine straight profile, andlarge black eyes (Miss Yonge); 5. We drove outtosee the Turtles. Amicia rang me and I suggested it(J. Lindsay); 6. It was not what it used to be1 (J.Galsworthy).
In Narrations after Beforepast Tenses. Itsometimes happens that the speaker, when narratingabout the past, has to refer to processes whichobjectively belong to a beforepast period of time.In such cases it is common to use only one orseveral beforepast tenses to switch the timerelation over from past to beforepast. Otherprocesses of the beforepast period of time areusually denoted by verbs in past tenses, forexample:
The story she related was as follows: Herhusband and child had
78left the hotel about 10 : 30 in the morning for a
trip to Mount Vernon. She had remained in her roombecause of a headache. Half an hour later, feelingsomewhat better, she dressed and went out, intendingto get some fresh air. ... (A. Maltz); His historywas curious. He had been born in Bavaria, and when ayouth of twenty-two taken an active part in therevolutionary movement of 1848. Heavily compromized,he managed to make his escape, and at first found a
1 For had used + infinitive, which is relativelyrare, see p. 164.
refuge with a poor republican watchmaker in Trieste.... (J. Conrad).
Two factors account for the use of the PastStatic in such cases. In the first place, thespeaker, when narrating, associates the verbalprocesses with certain circumstances in thebeforepast: the beforepast, therefore, becomes his me n t a1 p a s t . In the second place, the PastStatic, which in such cases conveys the informationintended equally well, is structurally simpler.
In Sentences with an As-, When-, or While-clause: 1.I spun the wheel hard to port. The giant wavecarried with it not only the elemental force of thesudden gale, but also the pounce of the submarineeruptions. No one had seen it towering up astern aswe raced towards the Thumb (G. Jenkins); 2. Thereshould not be this sense of uncertainty, he thoughtvaguely. But it had been with him since they struckthe Australian coast. Had grown day after day as hewatched the shoreline in the north (D. Cusack); 3."We'll stop, baby. I am tired from thinking somuch." — He had looked tired when he came in (E.Hemingway); 4. There was a bend in the road there,and the other two cars were nowhere to be seen.Christian was sure they had stopped when they heardthe shots (I. Shaw); 5. She had wakened at hiscompany, much refreshed by her sleep, and, in fullpossession of her very sharp wits, had studied himwith interest while he cooked, and had arrived atsome conclusion (M. Mitchell); 6. Everybody wasrejoiced to see him return, for while he was awayevery man had been afraid not Only of him beingkilled, but also of what would come after (J.Conrad).
In Sentences with Co-ordinate or Other Clauses:1. This was new reasoning for Hurstwood. In the olddays the world had seemed to be getting along wellenough. He had been wont to see similar things in the
'Daily News', in Chicago, but they did not hold hisattention (Th. Dreiser); 2. All that night she'dlain in a kind of ecstasy, her body seemed to gorigid, stiff as a board (A. Cronin); 3. And Rosamonddid not guess what had passed during those momentsthat he remained silent (Ch. Dickens).
In Sentences with From the First, Since, to This Day, U p toThen: 1. They ran together temperamentally from thefirst (Th. Dreiser); 2. He came from a poor farmingfamily in some English village. From the verybeginning he wanted to write (Sh. Anderson); 3. Atthis time, Presley knew him to be thirty-six yearsof age. But since the first day the two had met, theshepherd's face remained the same (F. Norris); 4.His home was too far out west for anyone to come tomeet him. Besides, since Bod died, Mum didn't seem tohave the farm at Nelangaloo (D. Cusack); 5. And tothis day Felix remembered with delight the littlebubbling hiss that he himself had started (J.Galsworthy); 6. Dinner was over at 8 : 30 and allwas normal up to then (A. C. Doyle).
79In Sentences with Adverbial Modifiers of Exact
Time: 1. Leaders of the Trades Council headed theimpressive demonstration to the station. Half anhour earlier, about two-hundred demonstrators leftin coaches and by private transport (D. Worker); 2.It was almost two months before Alice came out ofhospital. The day before I had a phone call fromBrown at the Town Hall (J. Braine); 3. "He said hesaw us with Eddie Harris at Martin's last night"(Th. Dreiser) 4. "Mr. Hundt told me that Grahamspoke to her husband about it the other day" (G.Gordon).
THE PAST STATIC AND DEFINITENESS OF VERBALPROCESSES IN TIME
In about 87% of its uses the Past Static iscombined with no indicators of time whatever, as inthe following two sentences which open one of H. G.Wells' stories:
The lieutenant stood in front of the steelsphere and gnawed a piece of pine splinter. "What doyou think of it, Steve?" he asked (H. G. Wells).
The use of time indicators with the Past Staticis, however, quite common, as in:
One winter day a young porcupine lay on a branchof a big spruce tree (W. S. Gray).
The time of a verbal process denoted by a verbin the Past Static can be known to both speaker andlistener (a), to the speaker only (b), just to thelistener (c), to neither (d), for example:
(a) 1. "I don't know." —"But you lived in CapeTown." — "I still don't know, mother" (P. Abrahams);2. "I suppose you might as well meet my daughter.Come along, Sheila. This is Sheila." — "We met,remember?" (A. Kingsley); 3. "Daddy!" I called."Your gloves are gone!"— "Huh? Did that bastard takethem?" — "He must have. They're not there" (J.Updike) (Peter and his father had given a man a liftin their car. They had dropped him at the bridge);
(b) "Have you got a radio?" Lee asked.—"Yes,sir." — "Where'd you get it?"—"I bought it" (E.Caldwell); 2. "That reminds me," said Alexander,chattily, "of a story I heard" (P. Wodehouse); 3."That phone call wasn't from my mother. It was froma girl I used to know" (A. Kingsley); 4. "I know, Iworked in a hospital once" (A. Maltz);
(c) 1. "He had a scar on his left hand. "How didyou come by that?" (D. H. Lawrence); 2. "Oh, that'sa fine thought, and cleverly expressed. You made itup?" — "Well, not exactly" (S. Lewis); 3. "You'rescared, aren't you?" the constable said. "Whatscared you?" (G. Greene); 4. There were many pages.
"Golly!" said Jeremy. "Did you write all this?" (H.Walpole);
(d) 1. "The Press boys are after us; everythingfrom the 'Dalton Echo' to the national dailies. Godknows how it leaked out" (H. Smith); 2. Everybodylistened. Distantly a siren wailed. "Somebody phonedfor an ambulance" (R. Bradbury); 3. Judy followedthe footprints to the huge oak tree by the fence."The animal went up this tree," she said, pointingto tracks on the snowy tree trunk. "I guess asquirrel made these tracks." — "Right!" said George(W. S. Gray).
80In accordance with its temporal meaning, tjie
Past Static is used when the speaker associatesverbal processes with particular circumstances inthe past, when he reproduces the past itself.Temporal associations may be, and often are, amongsuch circumstances, but they may also have beenobliterated in the speaker's memory.
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases of Time FrequentlyCombined with the Past Static
The following adverbs and adverbial phrases oftime are frequently combined with the Past Static:ago (since); all night, etc.; already; always;constantly, incessantly, etc.; as yet, yet; at teno'clock, etc.; by now, by ten o'clock, etc.; ever,never, before; for two hours, etc.; in 1950, etc.;in the morning, etc.; in my time, etc.; in the past;just; just now; last night, etc.; long ago (since);then, just then; one day, etc.; once; the other day;now; still; suddenly; this morning, this week, thissummer, etc.; till ten o'clock, etc.; today,tonight, etc.; yesterday.
The adverbs and the adverbial phrases ago, in 1950,last night, the other day, yesterday are well known to everystudent of elementary English.
Already, as yet, yet, by now, now, in my time, in themorning, in the past, just, just now, long ago (since), once, thisweek, today and some others, in situations where theBeforepresent Static can also be used, are treatedof in the Beforepresent section.
The section below illustrates the use of thePast Static with adverbs and adverbial phraseslisted above only in cases where the BeforepresentStatic is impossible.
Already: 1. Now that they were on land the heat,though it was so early in the morning, was alreadyoppressive (W. S. Maugham); 2. Already every secondthis blazing mass flew a hundred miles, and everysecond its terrific velocity increased (H. G.Wells); 3. He could not tell her what she alreadyknew, that she and Steve were the stumbling-stones(G. Gordon).
Always. In accordance with its variant lexicalmeanings (all the time, uninterruptedly and on every occasion) theadverb always is used with verbs in the Past Static torefer to both single-act and repeated processes, theratio between the frequencies of combination witheach of the two kinds of processes being 1 to 15(sentences 1—2 and 3—4, respectively):
1. "She was crazy with hatred, and the heat ofthe Amazon was always in her blood" (A. C. Doyle);2. They struck northward and northward (in theboat), and were carried always south (R. Macaulay)3. He always found an excuse for not accompanyingher into the streets (G. Gordon); 4. She alwayspicked things up by the wrong end, and put herclothes on back to front (E. Delafield).
Constantly, Incessantly, etc.: 1. She wentconstantly to the doctors for treatment and advice(Th. Wolfe); 2. Sullen clouds hid constantly thevault of heaven (Ch. Dickens); 3. But though heheard a great
81
deal about Verner, there was one thing thatcontinually eluded him (A. C. Doyle); 4. The cicadassang ceaselessly, a droning hum that dominated themorning (G. Gordon); 5. It was a time of greatperplexity. Lucy cried incessantly, bursting out atevery trifle (Miss Yonge); 6. She talked real estateunendingly (Th. Wolfe).
Relative frequency of the adverbs: constantly —63%; incessantly— 19%; ceaselessly, continually, unendingly — 6%each.
As Yet, Yet: 1. They were as yet unaware of thesubtlety of his mind (Th. Dreiser); 2. He did notunderstand as yet the significance of the fire (Th.Dreiser); 3. Lunch was over and Soames mounted tothe picture-gallery in his house. Fleur was not yethome (J. Galsworthy).
At Ten O'clock, etc. The Past Static whencombined with these adverbial phrases representsverbal processes with (a) or without any (b)emphasis on their limits:
(a) 1. I awoke at three (J. Braine); 2. At thatmoment the postman came in with the mail (K.Mansfield); 3. At eight the gong sounded for supper(K- Mansfield); 4. At twelve o'clock I told Teddythat I was sick (J. Braine);
(b) 1. Through the massive skylight the Julysunlight at five o'clock fell just where the broadstairway turned; and in that radiant streak JonForsyte stood (J. Galsworthy); 2. At eight o'clockin the morning Miss Ada Moss lay in a black ironbedstead, staring up at the ceiling (K- Mansfield);3. At that moment Susan looked no more than fourteen(J. Braine); 4. At three-thirty in the morning withhis loaded bag beside him, he sat with other routeboys in a lunch room (Th. Wolfe); 5. It was afterlunch and the servants slept (W. S. Maugham); 6. Therain which threatened at twelve began at one (Th.Dreiser).
By Now, By Ten O'clock, etc.: 1. By now it wasquite dark (F. Norris);
2. She knew by now that the Indian night comesquickly (Th. Dreiser);
3. By four o'clock it was apparent that deathwas near (Th. Wolfe);
4. By nine o'clock snow lay deep in the streets(Sh. Anderson); 5. By the middle of January I had abeard (E. Hemingway); 6. Toward two o'clock hereached Hooven's place (F. Norris).
One Day, That Night, etc.: 1. One silent winterafternoon a small shock-headed boy sat crouchingunder a sheep-pen (H. E. Bates); 2. That night thethree young Englishmen and Dicker played till teno'clock (E. Wallace); 3. "I am surprized that I didnot hear him myself, for I slept badly that night"(M. Mitchell); 4. It rained so hard that Saturdaythat only Barry and Gerda went for a walk (R.Macaulay); 5. That day her bones ached and she feltfrightened (Th. Dreiser).
Now: 1. When she heard Hundt's stealthy entrancethrough the backdoor, she did not pause in herbrushing, but now a welcomirfg smile lit up her eyesand lips (G. Gordon); 2. I didn't really enjoymaking love to Susan now (J. Braine); 3. She hadstopped playing and now Steve moved towards thepiano and pressed one of the keys (G. Gordon).
Never: 1. She was shy. She never spoke unlessshe was spoken to (Th. Wolfe); 2. She neverstuttered with other people but only with father (K.Mansfield); 3. His big brother never took himanywhere (G. Gordon).
82Still: 1. The flower still clung with the
grimmest tenacity to its victim (H. G. Wells); 2.She agreed again, but the smile still lingered roundher lips (M. Mitchell); 3. She always took her sonwith her. They still slept together (Th. Wolfe); 4.
When she came to the smooth oak of the staircase shestill walked very quietly (E. Delafield).
Suddenly: 1. And suddenly, without warning,Fleur's heart ached. It ached definitely, ratherhorribly (J. Galsworthy); 2. He took her hand andheld it for a little while, and then suddenly she wasin his arms (W. S. Maugham); 3. Dipping long strokesand strong, the girl suddenly whirled the canoe aboutagainst the current and brought it gently to theshore (J. London).
Today, Tonight: 1. Today she felt on a suddendesperately sick (W. S. Maugham); 2. Now, today,however, he had her all to himself (F. Norris); 3.Tonight she was as silent as he was (G. Gordon).
All Night, All Day, etc. The relative frequencyof the adverbial modifiers)all night, all day, andthe like when combined with verbs in the Past Staticis as follows:
all night—22%; all day, etc.—20%; all through the afternoon,etc.—18%; all the time — 14%; the whole night, etc. — 10%; allday long—6%; all the evening—6%; all (that) morning — 2%; all nightlong—[2%.
All Night: 1. All night the wheels played the songhe had known since he was a child (D. Cusack); 2. Itrained all night (E. Hemingway); 3. I rowed ail night(E. Hemingway); 4. Victoria, more tired than everbefore, slept all night, far into the next day (E.Delafield); 5. I thought about them all night (E.Hemingway); 6. All night they walked and neverchanged their pace (W. Faulkner).
All Day, etc.: 1. All day the plump fellow sleptin the cool frosty air (W. S. Gray); 2. All day hepaddled down the river (D. Russell); 3. All dayOliver rode westward (Th. Wolfe); 4. They satsilently all day long in the darkness of the house.(W. Faulkner); 5. It stormed all that day (E.Hemingway); 6. All the next day Kitty thought of theConvent (W. S. Maugham).
All through the Afternoon, etc.: 1. All through theafternoon she thought of Charlie (W. S. Maugham); 2.All through the waning summer he walked with IreneMallard (Th. Wolfe); 2. Through the sleepless nightthe mosquitoes droned their angry chant (W. S.Maugham); 4. But he lay awake the whole night through(E. Voynich); 5. With keen admiration she covertlystudied him through the meal (M. Mitchell); 6. Throughall the drive he never relaxed, but only waited forthe end of this ordeal (S. Lewis).
All the Time, All the Time (that) ... etc.: 1. Hislegs ached all the time
(E. Hemingway); 2. Simon hardly spoke to her atall. He talked to Victoria all the time (E.Delafield); 3. "To make matters worse I could inaddition eat nothing, but vomited all the time" (A.Cronin); 4. All this time the writer sat there with asort of stupid look on his face (E. Hemingway); 5.All the time that she spoke, his eyes were on her (E.Delafield); 6. He swore at me all the time he held myleg (J. Conrad).
The Whole Night, etc.: 1.1 sat up with him thewhole night (A. Munthe);
832. John slept peacefully the whole night (A.
Munthe); 3. She slept the whole afternoon (D.Cusack); 4. It rained torrents the whole day and thefollowing night (A. Munthe).
All Day Long, All the Evening, etc.: 1. And allday long the stern-paddles churned the yellow paintof the water (S. Lewis); 2. Her mind ran over thepicture all the day long (Th. Dreiser); 3. He rodeall the evening (D. H. Lawrence); 4. It rained onall morning (E. Hemingway); 5. Automobiles roaredand rattled over the rough country all night long(E. Caldwell); 6. All night long the grass waved inthe courtyard below (E. Voynich).
For Two Hours, etc.: 1. For more than two hoursshe drove, hardly knowing where (J. Galsworthy); 2.For a year I lived a gay and a glorious life (Ch.Dickens); 3. It rained for three days (E.Hemingway); 4. I slept four hours and went out,staggering with weariness (S. Lewis); 5. For two orthree minutes they did not speak (W. S. Maugham).
The Past Static in Sentences with an After-, As-soon-as-, Before and when-clause. The use of the Past Staticwith these clauses is treated of in the Beforepastsection.
MiscellaneousParallel Uses of Got, Got + Infinitive and Have Got, Have
Got"+ Infinitive. Frequently the Past Static of the verbto get is used in sentences in which certainresultative connection of the past process denotedby it with some situation in the present isexpressed or implied, as in:
1. "I got 500 dollars tonight, and I get 30 aweek next year" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "It's onlyrecently that I got my eyesight, if the truth weretold" (J. London); 3. He blew the egg, and placed itin my hand. "There. It's a beauty, isn't it?" — "Aperfect beauty. I'm so glad we got it at last" (A.Cronin).
Since the use of the Past Static of the verb toget is often associated with certain results in thepresent, got has gradually acquired the variantmeaning of "have" and begun to be used parallel tohave got and have got + Infinitive.
In the American variant of the English languagegot is about as frequent as have got. In the Britishvariant it is as yet mainly the domain of vulgarspeech.
Examples of got used in the meanings of"possess" (a) and "must"(b):
(a) 1. "I got a car and a radio in my house" (E.Hemingway); 2. "You got a Coloured brother" (G.Gordon); 3. "We got no jobs, no money" (R.Bradbury); 4. "I got worries of my own and plenty"(D. Parker); 5. "Let it wait, Tom, I got somethingon my mind" (A. Maltz); 6. "You got dirty nails" (J.Galsworthy); 7. "I got a feeling that my luck's out"(E. Wallace); 8. "I still got two minutes" (R.Bradbury);
(b) 1. Llewellyn beamed. "We got to make endsmeet, Doctor Man-son" (A. Cronin); 2. "I got towatch my diet. It's the blood" (A. Cronin); 3. "Butif you come here to work, you got to work. That'sreasonable"
(J. Lindsay); 4. "You see", she said. "I got toget something to eat before my show" (J.Galsworthy); 5. "Leave me alone I got to think"(E.Hemingway); 6. "I don't know much about it, I got toadmit" (S. Lewis).
Used to. The construction used + to-Infinitiverefers verbal processes to a p e r i o d of time a s sо с і a t e d in the speaker's mind w i t hp a r t i c u l a r c i r c u m s t a n c e s in the past.Verbal processes themselves can be either continuousor repeated, objectively inclusive or exclusive,relevant or irrelevant at the moment of speaking.
Examples of repeated verbal processes:1. "People used not to be always falling in love
in my time, except Fred, and that was in a rationalway" (Miss Yonge); 2. "The room is full of girls whoused to go around with you" (I. Shaw); 3. "He usedto write quite a lot of poetry and stuff in theCollege Quarterly" (G. Gordon).
Examples of non-repeated verbal processes:1. "Three thousand years ago this old river used
to be like those I've seen in the wilds, an unshapedflow of water in matted jungle"(J. Galsworthy); 2."But tell me, aren't you trying to reconnect
yourself with the set to which you used to belong?"(Th. Dreiser); 3. "We used to have a pool at home,but I never had a chance to swim in it. I was alwaysstudying the violin" (J. Cheever); 4. "Well, well,Brother, so this is the little lad I used to know asa shaver!" (S. Lewis); 5. "You can have the house mywife's people used to live in" (F. Norris); 6. "Heused to respect you" (J. Galsworthy); 7. At thepresent day the Gulf of Latmus, on which Miletosused to stand, is completely filled up (J. Burnot).
Most frequently, used + to- Infinitive refers tonon-repeated processes with the verbs to be (42%),to live (16%), and to know (14%).
Examples of sentences with used + to-Infinitivein which connections relevant at the present areexpressed or implied:
1. "I'm just the same full figure than I used tobe" (K. Mansfield); 2. "You Used to be in love withmy wife, Cherrel; you still are" (J. Galsworthy); 3."Jon, your hair grows exactly as it used to" (J.Galsworthy); 4. You're much handsomer than you usedto be (B. Shaw); 5. "They certainly fear. And Ithink they fear more today than they used to do" (H.G. Wells); 6. "They say that people live longer thanthey used to" (J. Galsworthy).
It will be noticed that in the last six examplesthe verbal processes are objectively inclusive.
For Some Time ... Then ... . This syntacticstructure has a number of variants: (l)"for" can beemitted; (2) any period of time can stand for"some"; (3)"for some time" can open the sentence orstand at its end or at the end of the clause; (4)"then" can begin' a new sentence or an independentclause; (5) "at last" can be used for "then".Examples:
1. For a long half hour the loud hum of eagerconversation continued to issue from behind thedoor. Then, at length, there was a prolonged
scraping of chairs (F. Norris); 2. She hesitated amoment, then entered (Th. Dreiser); 3. For a time helistened under the ledge, then raised his eyes abovethe sill (H. G. Wells); 4. I sat for twenty minutesand then I ordered dinner (G. Greene); 5. For over aquarter of an hour he pottered about the barn. Atlast he came out again (F. Norris); 6. "But don't
85you feel afraid sometimes?" — Mrs. Carlton lay
still for a long time. "Yes," she said at last (D.Cusack).
Sequent Verbal Processes One of Which isRepresented with No Emphasis on Its Limits:
1. He leaned over and continued his steadygaze(Th. Dreiser); 2. And then she fell at last intoa deeper sleep and dreamt of the lawns and cedars ofWatton Vanborough (E. James); 3. He flung himselfdown in his chair and gazed long and silently at hisjoined finger-tips (M. Mitchell); 4. She took offher hat and held it on her knee (K. Mansfield); 5. Icrossed the street and kept on walking (J. Braine);6. Margot closed her eyes and lay still (I. Shaw); 7.I slept little, hurried over my breakfast, and aftera slight hesitation gave up my early morning visit tothe ship (J. Conrad); 8. He lit a cigarette for herand one for himself, and they smoked in silence (D.Cusack); 9. He arrived first and stared at thecandles until she came (D. Parker); 10. She stood upfrom her stool and worked that way for a while (Th.Dreiser).
Verbs most frequently used in this pattern torepresent processes with no emphasis on theirlimits:
to lie (28%), to stand (20%), to sit (14%), to hold (9%), tobe (4%).
Sequent Verbal Processes Represented with NoEmphasis on Their Limits:
1. I was asleep at first, and then I didn't wantto be disturbed (G. Greene); 2. He was feverishuntil morning, and sat about the next day whileCarrie waited on him (Th. Dreiser); 3. She sat withMinnie, in the kitchen, holding the baby until itbegan to cry. Then she walked and sang to it (Th.Dreiser); 4. The bird watched me all the evening andit mopped and mowed in the night (H. G. Wells); 5. Atiny stream flowed out of a dense fern-brake, slippeddown a mossy lipped stone, and ran across the pathat their feet (J. London); 6. In the press-pit HarryTug-man loafed comfortably. A broad river of whitepaper rushed constantly up from the cylinder andleaped into a mangling chaos whence it emerged asecond later, cut, folded and stacked (Th. Wolfe).
In Sentences with a Till- (Until-) Clause. In Till-clauses a process denoted by a verb in the PastStatic is often represented without any emphasis onits limits1. Examples:
1. After breakfast he watched her horse canteraway with her into the brown heat of the morning,until they were only a speck on the foothills of themountains (G. Gordon); 2. She stood struggling withher sobs till at last she had control of herself (D.Cusack); 3. "It gave me the horrors up thereyesterday. All the windows and the doors open andthe mist creeping in till the place seemed full ofit" (D. Cusack); 4. In a panic she tore off hercashmere bodice and skirt, her petticoat, herclinging slip, undressed completely until she stood,bewildered, in a chaste nudity, touching her bodywith confused hands (A. Cronin).
The Past Static in Sentences with Inclusive VerbalProcesses. Frequently, the Past Static is used in
1 In Russian the limits of a verbal process in the like clause are always emphasized. See also the use of the Past Dynamic in such cases.
sentences where the verbal process is objectivelyinclusive, for example:
l."Look, baby, that is your old tooth-brushingglass. I kept it all the time to remind me of you"(E. Hemingway); 2. "I love you too," she said. "Ithink I did all the time" (J. Braine); 3. "It'sincredible! incredible!" I whispered.— "Oh no. It'snot incredible at all. I knew it all along, ofcourse," said the cold, salty little voice. "Fromthe very moment that we started" (K. Mansfield); 4."You are in love with her, and deceiving me. Ithought so all along" (Th. White); 5. "I've thoughtof such heaps of things I wanted to say to you aboutsince that dance" (E. Delafield)1.
The use of the Past Static in such cases can beexplained by the factor of economy of speech efforts(see pp.57—59). The Inclusive Past Static, however,is also frequent in utterances having no suchadverbial modifiers as all the time, all along, sincethat dance, and the like. For example:
1. "My heart was yours, and is and will be yoursfor ever" (G. Meredith); 2. "Why, I loved you. Ilove you now. I'll always love you" (E. Hemingway);3. "You'll find the cook not bad. I kept on Watson'sboy for you" (W. S. Maugham); 4." Ah, Cole, I wantedto speak to you".— "Yes, sir," said Jeremy (H.Walpole); 5. "Harry, something has gone wrong withmy electric iron. I wondered if you could put itright" (D. Hicks).
In such cases, the speaker m e n t a l l yassociates the verbal processes, whicho b j e c t i v e l y include the moment of speaking, withparticular circumstances i n t h e p a s t .
As I Said, etc.: 1. "I'm pretty busy as it is,and, as I said a while ago, I'm getting along" (Th.Dreiser); 2. As I said, I was not present in theMansion House (D. Worker); 3. "As I said before, he
was not magnetic" (H. Walpole); 4. "As I told you, Ihave only a little time" (M. Wilson).
I Expected That1, I Thought So, I Told You So2,etc.: 1. "By the way, they've altered the place ofthe inquest." — Roger nodded. " I expected that" (A.Berkley); 2. "Hello, hello!" cried Lyman, jumpingup, "why, here's a surprise. I didn't expect you alltill tonight" (F. Norris); 3. "He isn't on ourbooks, is he?" — "No, sir."— "I thought so" (Th.Dreiser); 4. "I'm going to order the socks." — "Ah,I told you so!" (S. Lewis); 5. "I told you! It'ssilly!" (Th. Dreiser).
I Forgot, I'm Glad I Met You, I Came +Infinitive3.
General and Special Questions. Only the PastStatic has been found in the sources analysed insuch sentences as:
1. "Did you know, mother, the Spencers aregetting ready to go away?" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "What acrowd!" said she. "Anything special on?"— "Didn'tyou know, dear? There was a call at 9 : 30 forattractive girls" (K. Mansfield); 3. "Did you likethe wedding?" (A. Saxton); 4. "Sleep well?" Wilsonasked.—"Did you?"—"Topping" (E. Hemingway); 5. "Andwhere is your sister?" —"How did you know I gotone?" (J. Lindsay); 6. "How did you learn thatlittle trick?" — "By accident. It was when I was inIndia" (W. S. Maugham); 7. "But I thought you andBrowdie don't get on well together?" — "Who 'saidso?" (H. Smith);
8. "Ah, Roger," Colin greeted him. "How did yousleep?" (A. Berkley);
1 See also the Past Dynamic section.2 See also the Beforepresent section.3 See the Beforepresent section.
9. "What did you say?" — She repeated her words(J. London); 10. "When1 did you reach the decision?"(D. Carter); 11. "Have you got a radio?" — "Yes,sir." — Where did you get it?" (E. Caldwell); 12."At Winnerton?"— "Yes, that's where he is, isn'the?" — "Who told you?" (G. Gordon).
Exclamatory Sentences with the Word Order ofInterrogative Sentences: 1. "Did you hear thelatest! That clever lass of Brodie's is away up tocollege" (A. Cronin); 2. "Did you ever think of adivorce?" — "Did I ever think of one!" (R. Lardner);3. "Why did you bring it!" (D. H. Lawrence).
In Stage Directions: Alleluia shuts the Surgerydoor and locks it, putting the key in his pocket. Hegoes to the Dispensary dpor and locks that too. Hesees the three bottles on the floor that GreenMuffler left behind him. He takes them up and shovesthem under the bench (O'Ca-sey); An empty chair atthe table was lately occupied by Cornelius, who hasfinished his breakfast and gone (B. Shaw).
The Past Static in the first example isexplained by the fact that the author refers thereader to the action of Green Muffler which waspointed out by him in a stage direction earlier inthe text (Green Muffler takes the three bottles fromthe ledge and deposits them on the floor — O'Casey).The process of the second example, if denoted by theBefore-present Static, might have been understood asinclusive.
Past Static in Newspaper Headlines Parallel tothe Beforepresent • Static in the Text: 1. Headline"We learned a lot" — Knight. Text: Knight said: "Wehave learned a lot" (D. Worker); 2. Headline: Why Irejoined? Text: Why have I rejoined the CommunistParty at this time? (D. Worker); 3. Headline: "I1 In rhetoric questions with when the BeforepresentStatic is frequent.
watched TV murders". Text: "I have watched stabbingon television" (D. Worker).
THE FUTURE STATICThe Future Static is a relatively rare tense
both in fiction (3%) and in technical literature(5.3%).
It is used when the speaker who is mentally inthe future represents a verbal process as relativelystatic. The process denoted by a verb in the FutureStatic can be concrete or abstract, its lengthranging from several instants to practicallyinfinite; continuous or repeated; isolated orsimultaneous or sequent; exclusive or inclusive. Itcan be represented with or without any emphasis laidon its limits.
The Future Static to Refer to Processes ofVarious Length: 1. "I'll wait a moment, if I may"(K. Mansfield); 2. "I'll stay for a few minutes" (D.Cusack); 3. "We'll sleep for three hours" (E.Hemingway); 4. "I'm going away for a few days." —"I'm sorry," Anthony said. "I'll miss you" (G.Gordon); 5. Day by day for several weeks the bitwill goon turning and boring its way down (H.McKay); 6. "My God, doctor, did you ever stay in bedsix months?" — "You won't be in bed all the time" (E.Hemingway); 7. "All the time that she is in prison Ishall suffer all the pain that she suffers" (W. S.Maugham); 8. Until the U. S. bases are cleared outof Britain the shadow of nuclear war will hang overour country and the world (D. Worker); 9. Fromfather to son our heritage has come down, and fromfather to son it shall continue (G. K. Chesterton);10. Oil is the name given to the many substances ofthis kind: "slippery" liquids that will burn (H.McKay).
The Future Static to Represent Verbal Processeswith Their Limits Emphasized. In about 54% of its uses
the Future Static represents verbal processes withemphasis laid on their limits. For example:
1. "Wait. I'll ask Mrs. Sheridan" (K. Mansfield);2. "Charlie, if you desert me I shall die" (W. S.Maugham); 3. "They'll kill him" (E. Hemingway);1 4."We'll leave you here" (J. Braine); 5. "I'll takeyour hide off you" (Th. Wolfe); 6. "I'll wash thedishes myself" (A. Cronin).
The Future Static to Refer to Abstract PrbcessesRepresented as a Relatively Static Feature orRelationship (Model II): 1. "You'll adore her. She'sreally rare" (D. Parker); 2. "You'll never amount toanything as long as you live" (Th. Wolfe); 3. Girlswill be girls (P. Wodehouse); 4. "I'll callregularly" (E. Hemingway); 5. Diamonds are thehardest of all materials, and a bit with diamondswill cut through anything (H. McKay); 6. Beasts ofthe field and forest will die amidst apparent plentyif they are deprived of certain simple andapparently unimportant substances (A. Cronin); 7."The U-boat is fully streamlined. It will do 16 knotssubmurged, has six bow tubes and carries twelvespace torpedoes (G. Jenkins); 8. "They call himDagwood because he's always hungry, and he'll eatabsolutely anything" (N. Davis); 9. "Oh, I've seenthe most marvelous material to make curtains for theliving room." — "Will it go with the yellow carpet?"(K. Waterhouse); 10 ."You have even burnt yourselfas Andre did, but hisburnwill lastfor a life time"(D. du Maurier); 11. Women are perhaps bettertrained; they think it ill-mannered not to showinterest.They will listen while you tell them idioticstories about servants. They will listen to yourreports of the inane sayings of infants. They willhear you through without a flicker of a yawn (R.Macaulay); 12. "I'll love you forever, my darling"(A. Maltz); 13. The signboard comes in sight. "NewHope. 10 miles" it will say (W. Faulkner); 14. "She
talked as women will talk" (J. Conrad); 15. "Bloodwill tell" (J. Galsworthy); 16. Although theelemental constitution of petroleum is fairlyuniform, the molecular constitution will vary withinwide limits (L. Ch. Uren); 17. "I'll write to youevery day while you're at the front" (E. Hemingway).
The Future Static to Refer to Concrete ProcessesActual at the Moment of Reference: 1. "I'll be allright in a minute", she panted (D. Cusack); 2."We'll drink champaign tomorrow in Udine!" (E.Hemingway); 3. "It'll be quite safe, I assure you.Chilla Ryan will drive it" (D. Cusack); 4. "I shallexpect you at eleven" (Ch. Dickens); 5. "You'll feelsomething terrible in the morning" (D. Parker); 6."I'll remember the flowers next time" (J. Braine); 7."Shall we stroll and talk as we go?"
89(J. Galsworthy); 8. "Get your business attended
to and then return. I shall wait up for you"(O'Henry).
Sequent Verbal Processes (11% of the totaluses): 1. "I'll go down and stand at the foot of thestairs" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "I'll walk you in to thehotel, borrow a torch and come back to her" (J.Galsworthy);
3. "I'll be under water about half an hour. ThenI'll come upjfand put in a new film and go down foranother ten minutes" (J. Aldridge);
4. "I'll run over and say hullo to her and thenI'll roll in and try to get a bit of shut-eye" (D.Cusack); 5. "I'll go for a shave and come back andget you, and then we'll go out and look for someclothes for you" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "We'll change theoil in the cars, grease them, fill them up, then takethem around in front and load up the junk" (E.Hemingway); 7. "On Monday you will arrive early atFarnham; You will conceal yourself near CharlingtonHeath; you will observe these facts for yourself and
act as your own judgement advises. Then, havinginquired as to the occupants of the Hall, you willcome back to me and report" (A. C. Doyle); 8.Directly the weights smash against the sea bottom,the rod will be knocked through and will kick up theclockwork, and the cord will be rewound on the reel.I shall be lugged down to the sea bottom. There Ishall stay for half an hour, with the electric lighton, looking about me. Then the clockwork willrelease a spring knife, the cord will be cut and up Ishall rush again, like a soda-water bubble" (H. G.Wells).
Simultaneous Verbal Processes (about 5%): 1."And when you come back," he added, "I'll be ready"(Th. Hardy); 2. "Anthony will go to school forColoureds. He will live the life of a Coloured man"(G. Gordon); 3. "She'll know she's got to fight butwon't feel that the odds are so great" (D. Cusack);4. "She'll manage the part. She'll teach Joe a lot"(J. Braine); 5. "We won't fight or be nasty oranything" (D. Parker); 6. Hellhounds that they are,they will sit by and gloat at my agony until I amdone to death" (Th. Wolfe).
Modifiers of Time Combined with the FutureStatic. The Future Static is combined with adverbialmodifiers of time in about 32% of its uses: 29% withadverbs and acjyerbial phrases and 3% with timeclauses.
Relative frequency of adverbs and adverbialphrases combined with the Future Static (in % of thetotal use of the tense with adverbs and adverbialphrases):
In half an hour, etc. (7.6); at nine, etc.(6.6); now (6); soon, etc., never (5); then (4.5);tomorrow, tomorrow night, etc. (4); by noon, bySaturday, etc. (3.6); tonight (2.8); for a fewminutes, etc (2.5); next week, next time, etc. (2);all day, etc., always, ever (1.8); this evening,
etc. (1.7); yet (1.5); after dinner, etc., in themorning, some day, etc., till ten o'clock, etc.,today, when ...? (1.1); in future, on Sunday, etc.(.95); how long, later, etc., long, one day, etc.(.76); during every day, etc., just now, etc. (.57);from next (.2).
Some typical examples:In Half an Hour, etc.: 1. "I'll meet you in half
an hour" (E. Caldwell); 2. "I'll follow in a moment"(P. Wodehouse); 3. "You'll be sick of that in notime" (J. Galsworthy).
90At Nine, etc.: 1. "I'll call for you at nine"
(K.Mansfield); 2. "I shall expect you at five onMonday" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "A car will take youthere at daybreak" (M. Mitchell).
Now: 1. "Perhaps they will attack now" (E.Hemingway); 2. "I don't suppose I shall play muchmore golf now" (P. Wodehouse); 3. "Now I'll have togo out and buy some tea" (D. Parker).
Soon, Shortly, Presently, etc.: 1. "I will gosoon" (W. Faulkner);
2. She glanced at her watch. "The taxi will behere shortly" (D. Cusack);
3. "Your keys, Joe. Front door, this room,wardrobe, bureau, and Heaven knows what these twoare for, but I'll remember presently" (J. Braine);
4. "I will immediately get you a cabin" (H.James); 5. "We'll go home straightaway" (J. Braine).
Never: 1. "Ah! I shall never forgive you" (J.Conrad); 2. I shall never trust my judgement in menagain" (J. London); 3. "If you like it, I'll neverwear anything else" (J. Braine).
Then: 1. "You may come and see her after seven.She'll be off then" (E. Hemingway); 2. "Ask themwhat cocktails they want and then we'll dine" (W. S.Maugham); 3. "I'll wait a little and then I'll go"(E. Hemingway).
Tomorrow, Tomorrow Night, etc.: 1. "I shall calltomorrow" (G. Meredith); 2. "He'll go tomorrowmorning" (E. Delafield); 3. "I'll see you tomorrownight" (D. Cusack).
By Noon, By Saturday, etc.: 1. "Threeantiaircraft batteries will arrive by noon" (A.Maltz); 2. "I shall be back by Saturday" (M.Freeman); 3. "By tomorrow night you'll forget it"(I. Stone); 4. "I'll be with you at latest by ten"(G. Greene); 5. "By then it'll be too late" (F.Norris).
Tonight: 1. "I'll do double home-work tonight"(A. Cronin); 2. "We'll go to the show tonight" (Th.Dreiser); 3. "We'll stay at the inn tonight" (A. C.Doyle).
For a Few Minutes, etc.: 1. "I'll stay here fora few minutes" (D. Cusack); 2. "I shall love youforever" (D. Cusack); 3. "You'll be lame for life"(Th. Wolfe).
Next Week, etc.: 1. I shall have to go home nextweek" (Th. Dreiser); 2. «I '11 be twelve next month"(Th. Wolfe); 3. A Mayor will be on duty next Monday(D. Worker).
All Day, etc: 1. "I shall be gone all day" (F.Norris); 2. "I shall have to dance with him myselfthe whole evening" (E. Delafield); 3. "I'll rememberthis all life" (D. Parker).
Always, Ever: 1. "We'll always treat you fine inpublic" (S. Lewis); 2. "I won't ever do it again"(J. Braine); 3. "Will you ever think of yourself,Mary Brodie?" (A. Cronin).
This Evening, etc.: 1. "I'll come round thisevening* (J. Galsworthy); 2. "Will you take me for awalk this afternoon?" (G. Greene); 3. "The flowerswill be strong this coming year" (W. Faulkner).
Yet: 1. "I'll get out of this in some way yet"(Th. Dreiser); 2. "They will beat us all yet" (I.
Shaw); 3. "But cheer up, Martin, my boy, you'llwrite yet" (J. London).
After Dinner, etc.: 1. "I hope you will comeinto the saloon after dinner" (K. Mansfield); 2."She'll be all right after awhile "(E. Heming-
91way); 3. I often wonder if the world will be any
better after this war(G. Gordon).In the Morning, In July, etc.: 1. "I'll come in
themorning" (G. Greene); 2. "He'll be here in July"(J. Galsworthy); 3. In the spring the plum-tree willbend under her great load of fruit and blossoms (Th.Wolfe).
Some Day, etc.: 1. "What you probably need is adamn good spanking. Perhaps I'll give you one someday" (G. Gordon); 2. "Some day, perhaps, I shallcome to life again" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "We'll talkabout it some other time" (Th. Wolfe).
Till One O'clock, etc.: 1. "Nurse won't be backtill one o'clock" (A. Bennett), 2. "We'll save ittill then" (E. Hemingway); 3. "That means we won'tsee him till next June" (G. Gordon).
Today: 1. "Today I won't be a fool," she said toherself (D. Cusack);
2. "I'll get a license today," he answered (Th.Dreiser); 3. Will you saytoday that you will become a regular reader of theDaily Worker?(D. Worker).
When ...? How long ...?: 1. "When will she go?"(D. Cusack); 2. "When will you sing here?" (E.Hemingway); 3. "How long do you suppose this will goon?" (G. Greene).
In Future, On Sunday, etc.: 1. "I'll stop goingto him in future (A. Cronin); 2. "Well, we'll go outSunday and see Lincoln Park" (Th. Dreiser);
3. "But we'll meet on Monday (E. Delafield).
Later, Long, One Day, etc.: 1. "I'll explainlater" (G. Gordon); 2. "I won't be long" (D.Cusack); 3. "One day something will happen" (G.Greene); 4. "We'll have a spot of dinner one nightand maybe go to a show" (D. Cusack).
Every Day, etc.: See Example 17 on page 89.Time-clause Modifiers. The Future Static is
frequently modified by: a before-dause (32.3%), а даЛеп-clause (30.8%), an as-soon-as-clause (11.2%), a ri7/-clause (9.6%), an a//er-clause (6.5%). Examples:
1. "We'll have rain before the week is out" (F.Norris); 2. "I'll see you before I go" (G. Greene);3. "I'll get a transfer when I finish my tour" (G.Greene); 4. "And when he comes round the corner I'lljust get up and go over and say 'Hello!'" (D.Cusack); 5. "I'll come round as soon as I am free"(D. Cusack); 6. "You will write as soon as you getthere? Please!" (Th. Wolfe); 7. "You will have towait until you hear from me" (Th. Dreiser); 8. "I'llwait till the mares are here" (J. Galsworthy); 9."I'm afraid something will happen while I'm asleep"(Th. Dreiser); 10. "You'll have to stay here while Ido the rounds in the other wards," the night sistersaid (D. Cusack); 11. "You'll be here after I'mgone" (J. Braine); 12. "I'll get in touch with youimmediately after I see him on Tuesday" (Th.Dreiser).
MiscellaneousThe Future Static to Refer to Inclusive
Processes. Processes denoted by verbs in the FutureStatic often, o b j e c t i v e l y , include the momentof speaking. For example:
921. "Oh, I love you so much. I always will" (J.
O'Hara); 2. "I feel all mixed up about you. I alwaysdid and I always will" (I. Shaw); 3. "My life is amess. It always has been, and it always will be" (D.
Parker); 4. "My heart was yours, and is and will beyours for ever" (G. Meredith).
The speaker, however, uses a f u t u r e tensebecause m e n t a l l y he excludes the moment ofspeaking and is in future.
The Future Static to Express Modal Meanings. TheFuture Static is frequently used to express modalmeanings, such as probability (examples a) orrefusal (examples b). In such cases the structurewill + -f- Infinitive is referred to by somelinguists as a modal phrase homonymous with theFuture Tense. Examples:
(a) l."Oh, there's the bell — that'll be Lily"(D. Parker)(That may be Lily; that is probablyLily); 2. "You'll be from college, perhaps?" (J.Galsworthy); 3. "Is Mr. Cuthcott in?" —"No, Miss:he'll be down at the paper. 205 Fludgate Street" (J.Galsworthy); 4. "Midday," he said, after clearinghis throat. "The lads will be at dinner" (H. Smith);5. "You'll know the Torvers, I suppose." — "Myfather worked at their mill," I said (J. Braine); 6.She was, as the reader will remember, the onlydaughter of Mrs. Pangs (H. G. Wells);
(b) (in negative sentences) 1. "She's gone offher food. It doesn't matter what I cook, she won'teat it" (D. Cusack) (She cannot be made to eat it);2."Why won't the rabbit drink its milk, mother?" (D.H. Lawrence); 3."No, she's not to blame 1 She hastold him her mind; he won't listen" (G. Meredith);'4." I haven't seen the baby yet, papa. They won'tlet us in" (Th. Wolfe); 5. "It's a machine — butwhat kind of machine, he won't say" (R. Gehman); 6.One of the men tries to start the engine. Pop-poppity-pfft! It will not start (D. Russell).
It will be ... before ...: 1. "It won't be morethan a day now before I start" (H. G. Wells); 2." Itwill be perhaps three weeks, a month before she can
be moved" (D. Cusack); 3. It will be more monthsbefore the Bill becomes law (D. Worker).
The Future Static in Clauses of Condition and Time.The use of the Future Static in the adverbialclauses of condition and time is extremely rare(0.8%) and should be avoided by the student (see twoexamples on page 56).
THE USE OF ABSOLUTE DYNAMIC TENSESThe absolute dynamic tenses are used to denote
verbal processes referred to the speaker's mentaltime and represented as relatively dynamic.
THE PRESENT DYNAMICThe Present Dynamic makes only about 2% of all
the tenses used in fiction and about 1% in technicalliterature. It is used when the speaker refers averbal process to his mental present and representsit as relatively dynamic. Objectively, a processdenoted by a verb in the Present Dynamic can belongto present (90%), past (4%), or future
93(6%). It can be concrete or abstract, continuous
or repeated, isolated or simultaneous or sequentwith other processes. Its length ranges from severalinstants to infinite.
Processes Objectively Belonging to Present TimeExamples of verbal processes whose duration
increases from several instants to infinite:1. "See, he is opening his eyes" (Miss Yonge);
2. "Stand still."" I am standing still" (I. Shaw);3. He's just coming," I said, seeing the waitertreading his way through the tables (W. S. Maugham);4. "I want to go to bed. I'm simply dropping" (A.Berkley); 5. "You are having an exciting day" (A.Kingsley); 6. "Fine day. Very fine May we're having"(H. Walpole); 7. "We're to be married, remember, I'm
carrying your child" (A. Maltz); 8." You're growingquite a young man" (Ch. Dickens); 9. "My seventiesare flying so fast" (I. Stone); 10. The members ofthe delegation all favoured the speedy eliminationof barriers which are standing in the way of bigscale trade with the Soviet Union and othersocialist countries (D. Worker); 11. Half the worldis starving or undernourished (D. Worker); 12. Likethe rest of the planets it is rushing through spaceat so many thousand of miles a minute (H. G. Wells)1.
Concrete Processes Actual at the Moment ofSpeaking. Concrete processes actual at the moment ofspeaking and denoted by verbs in the Present Dynamicmake about 60% of all the uses of the tense.Examples:
1. "You're still bleeding, for Chrissake. Youbetter put something on it" (J. Salinger); 2. "Whyis the dog barking?" —"She's freezing to death" (J.Updike); 3. "But you're still hurting my arm" (M.Arlen); 4. "I hope I'm not interrupting you" (J.Updike); 5. "Gosh, you're looking stunning" (A.Kingsley); 6. " Is she sleeping?" Kate whispered <W.Faulkner); 7." Is it still snowing?" (W. S. Gray);8. "Oh, if you knew how she's suffering! I can'tbear it" (W. S. Maugham); 9. "Come on, son, thecoach is waiting" (H. Smith).
Abstract Processes. As in the case of AbsoluteStatic tenses, the Present Dynamic of abstractverbal processes is used to c h a r a c t e r i z e theirsubject. But while the former characterizes it bypointing out some feature or relationshiprepresented as relatively static, the latter does itby pointing out an action or state (continuous orrepeated) performed by the subject (Model II) or afeature or relationship represented as changing(Model III).1 See also the examples on p. 26.
Examples of Abstract Processes (Model II):1. "She doesn't care about money," said Dinny
coldly. "Oh, nonsense! Money's only being able to dowhat you want to do" (G. Galsworthy) (The ability ofmoney to buy is represented in the process of itsrealization at any moment of time it is being used);2. "Sonny, it's a long hill we colored are climbing.We got to live through while we're doing it" (A.Maltz); 3. "Tell me, how's Michael conductinghimself?" —"Oh, wonderfully. He's the brightest ofthe lot" (A. Kingsley); 4. "I'm like a lost soul inthis great city. I promised Louisa to spend sixweeks with her, we hadn't seen one another since1912, but I'm counting the days till I can get backto Paris" (W. S. Maugham); 5. "She's a publisher.Only she's not doing so hot, because her brother's adrunkard and he spends all their dough" (J.Salinger); 6. "I left Charlie in the switch-housebefore the tea-break. I'm helping him this week andhe'll be wondering where I've gone to" (H. Smith);7. Schoolmasters didn't make grammar. The ordinaryusers of a language make it, speakers, writers, youand I. At least we are helping to change it (L.Strong); 8. These plants are manufacturing productsrequiring precise, effective methods (C. Herb); 9.Some readers prefer to get their history throughimaginative literature. Since such persons arereading for knowledge, they demand strict adherenceto the known facts (W. Blair); 10. "She's runningwith the University boys, that's what she's doing"(J. London); 11. "Gimme the pieces. I'm saving them"(J. Salinger) (The speaker wants to have the brokenpieces of a gramophone record); 12. "But isn't thatstealing?" —"No more stealing than the State isstealing in making people pay money for space inwhich to park their own cars" (J. Updike); 13."They're watching you day and night" (A. Maltz); 14.A man like that, a writer. Well, he works for months
and, perhaps, years on a book, and there is not aword put down. What I mean is that his mind is work-ing (Sh. Anderson); 15. "I'm working a forty-eight tosixty hour week. I walked into that job three yearsago and now I'm second motor mechanic" (A. Maltz).
Examples of Abstract Processes (Model III):l."You Englishmen spoil the Coloureds. Some are
even going to the universities" (G. Gordon); 2. "I'malive now, all of me's alive. I'm feeling things I'dforgotten, the nerve's regenerating. It hurts some-times ... I don't care" (J. Braine); 3. He's growingso fast. He was just a baby when you last saw him,wasn't he?" (A. Kingsley); 4."I suppose you'releading a simply terrible life, now that you're awidower" (S. Lewis); 5. "We have found out," thechairman said loudly, "that you are not living withyour wife" (I. Shaw); 6." You want to close ourshop?" — "It's not making money" (I. Stone); 7."You'll have to train up, for I'm ploughing andchopping wood and breaking colts these days" (J. Lon-don); 8. Such a lot of college men seem to havemisused their advantages. One of the bestmathematicians of the class of '91 Is selling lotterytickets in Belize" (O'Henry); 9. "You said you likedthe song of the skylark the best. He is stillsinging, but it will not be for long, so you hadbetter come soon" (A. Munthe); 10." It seems to methat she's spending a good deal for dresses of late."—"Well, she's going out more" (W. S. Maugham); 11."Ihave a memorandum of some of the loans which arestill standing on their books" (Th. Dreiser); 12."What's happened to them?" —"Some have beendismissed; the others are working again all right"(J. Galsworthy).
The Present Dynamic to Refer to ObjectivelyInclusive Processes Anterior to the Moment ofSpeaking. In about 1.2% of its uses the PresentDynamic refers to processes which include the moment
of speaking and lie to the left from it. In suchcases it is usually combined with all day,
95all this time, as long as, a long time, lately,
since, so far, to this day, and so on. Examples:1. "Mom, I got hay fever or something, my nose
is running all day" (D. Carter); 2. "All this time,while you are eloquent and unreasonable, my tea isgetting cold, and so is yours" (Ch. Dickens); 3."All I can say : is I never heard her sing half sowell as long as I am coming here" (J. Joyce); 4."Isn't Dick being rather a long time?"—"He is,rather."—"He's been gone ages" (K- Mansfield); 5."Say, you're getting quite chummy lately" (S.Lewis); 6."I suppose that you know that Mrs. Hundtis taking quite a lot of stuff (liquor) lately?" (G.Gordon); 7."It seems to me that you're trying to runthings with a pretty high hand of late" (Th.Dreiser); 8. "He's always thin, but he's lookingmuch less 'tucked up' since his marriage" (J.Galsworthy); 9. "So how's the old man treating yousince we left?" (A. Saxton); 10. "It sounds to me anunpleasant business, but it is obviously doing yougood, so far" (R. Macaulay); 11. So far the Britishteam is winning the battle against the terrific heatin Rome (D. Worker); 12. The subway lines have paidand are paying to this day more than 6% (Th.Dreiser)1.
Processes Objectively Belonging to Future Time
The Present Dynamic is used to refer toobjectively future processes when the speaker makesthem his mental present; in clauses of time andcondition (see page 56); to convey the meaning ofsimultaneity of the process of a subordinate clause1 See also examples (a): 4—6 and an explanation on p. 59.
(usually object or attributive) to that of theprincipal clause. In 74% the Present Dynamic ismodified by no adverbial indicators of time.
The relative frequency of the Present Dynamic torefer to objectively future processes in differentsyntactic structures:
Simple Sentence (Statements and Questions)… … … … 49%
Object Clauses............. 23%Independent and Principal Clauses 20%Attributive Clauses....... 4%Clauses of Time and Condition 2%(each)
Simple Sentences: l."Do you want to come along?"—"No, thanks. I'm getting some sleep" (Th. Wolfe);2. "If you don't want to be late for lunch you'dbetter go and have a bath." —"I'm lunching withLarry. We're going to some place in the LatinQuarter" (W. S. Maugham);
3. "What are you lads drinking?" —"Thanks.We've ordered" (J. Braine); •
4. "It's been nice to see you, Miss Keith," Isaid holding out my hand. . "What are you wearing atthe fancy-dress party?" (W. S. Maugham);
5. "Are you lunching anywhere? Come and lunchwith us" (J. Galsworthy);
6. "Are you applying, Joe?" he asked (J.Braine).
Object Clauses: 1." Don't tell me you'recatching tonight's train again" (D. Cusack); 2."I'll be in to see how you're getting on" (A.Cronin);
3. "We'll meet you for lunch. I hope Mrs. Balletis providing jam tarts" (E. Delafield).
Independent and Principal Clauses: 1. "I wantyou to come for a minute." — "Only a minute, then.It's later than I thought, and I'm dining out" (E.Delafield); 2. "It will be a cruel death?" he said.
"They're using seasoned wood and she will burnbefore she suffocates" (Th. White); 3. "She'ssending in the young ones as soon as this waltz isover so that we'll have the table for ourselves" (J.Joyce); 4." I think it will be Turner. He's lettingme know this afternoon if he's available for thedate" (G. Gordon).
Attributive Clauses: Before the Games open thename and nationality of every competitor, the eventsin which he is competing and starting order will allbe fed into the computor (D. Worker); "Say, are yougoing to that big party the Bradleys are throwingtomorrow?" (E. Hemingway).
Processes Objectively Belonging to Past Time
The Present Dynamic is used to refer toobjectively past processes in dialogues andnarrations.
Dialogues (see page 65): 1. "Are you sure you'veforgotten?" — "Why are you asking?" (J. Braine); 2." I could never bear the thought of any child ofmine going to the Coloured Mission School." — "Whatare you getting at?" (G. Gordon); 3." You're afestivity in yourself." — "You're making fun of me"(J. Braine); 4. "Dinny would learn not to noticethem."—"Forgive me, but you're missing the point"(J. Galsworthy); 5. "Didwhat's-her-name show up?"—"To whom are you referring?" (D. Parker); 6.Suddenly something hard hit the Senator on the backof his head and he gave a start. "What is that?" hecried.— "He's returning your pyjamas," she answered(W. S. Maugham).
Narrations (see page 65): 1. "It was a weddingin the country. The best man makes a speech. He isbeaming all over his face, and he calls forattention" (G. Gordon); 2. Suddenly their heads castshadows forward. A car behind them is coming up the
hill. Its lights dilate and sway around them (J.Updike); 3. Vera comes through the entrance. Herlong yellow coat swings unbuttoned, her bun of redhair is breaking loose from its pins (J. Updike); 4.That man Trumen was so dumb his haberdashery storewent bankrupt and the next minute he is running theUnited States of America (J. Updike); 5. "'CourseI'm annoyed," said Bulrose indignantly." I'm sittingdown at my office to a cup of tea when along comesan urgent message from Lady Quarn" (M. Arlen); 6."But on the way down to the dressing station, heforgets to stoop low where the old sniper's working.He gets it through the head, too (R. Graves).
THE PRESENT DYNAMIC TO REFER TO SIMULTANEOUSPROCESSES
In about 11% of its uses the Present Dynamicrefers to a process simultaneous with some otheraction or state denoted by a verb in the PresentStatic or, rarely, the Present Dynamic tense. Mostfrequently, simultaneous processes are expressed incomplex sentences with a when-while-, or as-clause. Thetense is, however, also common in other syntacticstructures, for example:
1. "You don't really know what you're cryingfor" (E. Delafield); 2. "I expect they're wonderinghow we're getting on up here"(S. Gibbons); 3."I'munstrung Mr. Annixter, and I'm running for my life"(F. Norris); 4."You're not thinking what you'resaying" (Th. Dreiser); 5."Remember only that I'mthinking and striving for you all the time" (A.Cronin); 6. "Now that his son is recovering he isalso recovering" (A. Cronin).
In Sentences with an As-, When-, or While-clause. Insentences with an as-, when-, or while-clause a verbin the Present Dynamic usually denotes a habitualprocess. Processes actual only at the moment of
speaking are, however, common in stage directions(examples a). In dialogue they are extremely rare(the sources analysed contain only two examples —b):
(a) 1. Foreson is going Left as Vane mounts thestage (J. Galsworthy);
2. As J entree is hammering at the door, itsuddenly opens (O'Casey);
3. He is crossing to the outer door when sheintercepts him (B. Shaw);
4. She is going when he puts out his hand (B.Shaw); 5. While he is speaking, Herbert appears fromthe wings Right (J. Galsworthy);
(b) But while I am tracing the progress of thewonderful Art-revo-lution of these modern times, I am forgetting thecalm and corrupt daysof old (Ch. Dickens); "All this time, while you areeloquent, my tea isgetting cold" (Ch. Dickens).
Relative frequency of the Present Dynamic insentences with an as-, when-, or while-clause:
Sentences with a when-clause . . . . 93.0%Sentences with a while-clause . . . . 5.3%Sentences with an as-clause ……………………………..1.7%
The Present Dynamic in sentences with a when-clause is used in the following patterns (Table XI):
One will notice that Patterns 6 and 10 in whichthe processes in both clauses are denoted by verbsin the Present Dynamic are relatively rare (5% and2%, respectively).
Examples of Pattern l __ ( ~~ v
when): 1. The tenses are employed when the speakeris being most objective (B. Charleston); 2. "Youknow how a strubborn horse breathes when they'rechoking him round the neck with a rope?" (J. Reed);
3. She knows I often do that when I'm sitting up foryou" (A. Cronin); 4. "My mind is free when I'mwashing a car or tinkering with a carburettor" (W.S. Maugham).
Examples of Pattern 2 (~~ ^ when); l."He isvery clever, he invents gadgets for planes that noone will have anything to do with, and when he isn'tdoing that he drinks" (W. S. Maugham); 2. "She giveslessons too. Ah, sometimes when I'm dusting in herroom I think her fingers will drop off. She playsall day long" (K. Mansfield); 3. When the waiter isnot smearing over the table or flicking over a deadfly or two, he stands with one hand on the back ofthe chair, waiting (K. Mansfield).
98Table XINos Pattern Example %1 __
~~ v when He sings when he isworking
35
2 ~~ ^ when When he is working hesings
17
3 __ ~~ ^ when
When he sings he isworking
14
4 ~’~ v when She arrives when he isworking
8
5 ~~ v when He is working when hesings
7
6 ~~ ^ when When he is working he issinging
5
7 ~~ ^ when When he is working shearrives
4
8 ~.~ v when He is working when shearrives
4
9 ~’~ ^ when When she arrives he isworking
4
10 ~~ v when He is singing when he isworking
о
Examles of Pattern 3 __ ( ~~ ^ when): 1."
I sometimes wonder how you behave when you're alone.When I'm there you're acting" (W. S. Maugham); 2.When we speak of "thunder growling behing thehills", we are implying that thunder is an animaland can growl (J. Warriner);
3. "When people say love can endure afterpassion is dead they're talkingof something else, affection, kindliness, communityin taste and in-terest, and habit" (W. S. Maugham).
Examples of Patterns 4 and 5 (~’~ v when), (~~v when) : 1. The seals are often attacked when theyare lying out on the land (H. Mckay); 2. "Theyusually do that when they are taking a prisoner off"(E. Wallace); 3. "They think I'm joking when I say Ilike beer" (J. Braine);
4. Of what are we really thinking when we usethe Perfect Tense?(B. Mc-Kerow).
Examples of Patterns 6 (~~ ^ when) and 7 (~~ ^when): 1. " When he's sleeping he's always callingme pet names" (F. Meier); 2. "When they're notcutting up human lamb, they're discussing the highcost of living" (E. Wallace); 3. When I am havingsupper with a duke I become as far as it is in mypower a duke myself (A. Munthe).
99Examples of Patterns 8 (~.~ v when), 9 (~’~ ^
when), and 10 (~~ v when); l."That is what ishappening when she screams" (E. Hemingway); 2. Whenwe say "alive", we are in a manner preserving theAnglo-Saxon dative (J. Greenough); 3. The Tories arealways boasting about the social services when theyare not attacking them for being too expensive (D.Worker).
The Present Dynamic in Sentences with a While- oran As-clause:
1. Men can go without food for a long time.While they are without food they are using up thefood the body has already stored (H. McKay);
2. The present is a point we can never grasp,because it slips into the past, while we arethinking of it (P. Roberts); 3. "What are the land-lords doing while these meetings are going on?" (M.Endicott); 4. And the process of the influence ofthe Irish language upon English still goes on,though slowly — for as time passes, Irish words arebeing adopted even in the English of the besteducated people (J. Joyce).
THE PRESENT DYNAMIC TO REFER TO SEQUENTPROCESSES
A process denoted by a verb in the PresentDynamic can be sequent to (or with) processesdenoted by verbs in the Present Static or PresentDynamic tenses. Examples:
1. "Sometimes, when the pain is bad, I want itall to end as quickly as it may be, but when thepain goes, there I'm again thinking of the money"(H. Walpole); 2. "I see the boy in the road. He'scoming right up here. Oh! look, look, he's cominginto our house" (A. Cronin); 3. Each manifestationof life is coming and then going back again (Th.Dreiser); 4. Outside it is raining. I like to thinkof that cold drenched window behind the blind, andbeyond the fence. And all at one and the same momentI am arriving in a strange city, slipping under thehood of a cab while the driver whips the cover offthe breathing horse, running from shelter toshelter, dodging someone, swerving by someone else.I am conscious of tall houses, their doors andshutters sealed against the night. I am brushing
through deserted gardens and falling into mostsmelling summer-houses. I am standing on the darkquayside, giving my ticket into the wet, red hand ofthe old sailor in an oilskin. How strong the seasmells! How loudly the tied-up boats knock againstone another! I am crossing the wet shackyard, hoodedin an old sack. And now I am walking along adeserted road — it is impossible to miss thepuddles, and the trees are stirring, stirring (K.Mansfield).
ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES OF TIME COMBINEDWITH THE PRESENT DYNAMIC
Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time combinewith the Present Dynamic to modify processes of thepresent time sphere in about 19% of its uses: in 81%the context has no such indicators. Figures inbrackets in the frequency list that follows indicatethe percentage of the use
100of the Present Dynamic with a particular adverb
or phrase relative to the total number of instancesof the tense combined with them:
now (23.6); always (19.1); every day, etc.(9.6); still (9.3); all the time, etc. (7.4);constantly, etc. (5.6); at present, this moment,etc. (3.8); today, tonight (3.4); just now (3.1);this week, etc. (2.2); till (1.8); these days (1.5);again (.9); all day, for the first time, now andthen, soon, then, yet (.6, each); after awhile, allthis time, for a number of years, from ... till,never, steadily (.3, each).
Now : 1. "A moment ago I had doubts. Now I amordering you to do it" (G. Jenkins); 2. "And by theway, how is the dancing hall doing now?" (A.Cronin); 3. "What are you doing now?" —"Not much. Iget around a little. I'm taking it sort of easy now"(E. Hemingway); 4. "What's he studying now? Is he
studying science?" —"Yes, and I think he's gettingon quite well at it. He's certainly working veryhard" (D. Hicks); 5."I'm teaching now at one of thechurch schools" (G. Gordon); 6."Many of those whoare writing novels now were only children during theCivil War" (D. Worker).
As the examples show, the Present Dynamic, whencombined with now, refers both to concrete (Example1) and abstract (Examples 2—6) processes.
Always : 1. "Where's my French grammar? You'veboned it. You're always pinching my books" (H.Walpole); 2. Language is a living, growing organism,like a tree or a vine. It is always changing (S.Cody); 3. The associations of words are alwaysshifting, even when the meaning remains unchanged(J. Greenough); 4. Men are always trying to makemachines which will do their hard work for them (H.McKay).
Examples 2—4, in which the Present Dynamic iscombined with the adverb always, are emotionallycolourless.
Every Day, etc.: 1. "Things of that sort arehappening every day all over the world. They are inthe nature of things" (H. G. Wells); 2. "I know itis hard to go on striking. A bowl of stew is all Iam having each day and that is all I have to keep megoing" (D. Worker); 3. "They're sending six poundsevery month" (P. Abrahams).
Still: "Is it still snowing?" (W. S. Gray); 2."Well, what are you doing now? Are you still keepingup your singing?" (D. Parker); 3. "She's stillliving, they say" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "I haven't theleast use for anybody who's still talking about thewar" (E. Delafield).
All the Time, etc.: 1. The experience of theworking class is flowing in all the time, analysed,tested, reapplied, reanalysed (J. Lindsay); 2. Theshift in parts of speech is not something that
happened to old languages, or to new languages intheir early stages. It is going on all the time (I.Goldberg); 3. "Everybody is trying to down me, andnow I'm up against the Railroad. I'm fighting themall, Hilma, night and day, lock, stock, and barrel"(F. Norris).
Constantly, etc.: 1. Frozen foods are constantlygaining new markets (G. Stewart); 2. Form liveslonger than its conceptional content. Both areceaselessly changing, but the lorm tends to lingeron when the spirit has flown or changed its being(E. Sapir); 3. The notion "present" has no stabilitywhatever, but is continuously shifting from the pasttoward
101the future (A. Markwardt); 4. And Cowperwood
turned his face to that dawn which is foreverbreaking where youth is (Th. Dreiser); 5. "He isperpetually meeting accidents" (G. Meredith).
Already : 1. "Marvellous. I'm already feelingdifferent" (D. Cusack); 2. "Mrs. Henry is alreadylosing much of her strength. The sooner we operatenow the safer (E. Hemingway); 3. "Aileen is alreadyplanning to go to Paris shopping" (Th. Dreiser).
At Present, etc. Today, Tonight : 1. He is atpresent studying for a scientific degree atCambridge (J. Braine); 2. "Just about this momentshe's getting away with a pearl necklace!" (P.Wodehouse); 3. These achievements of the U.S.S.R.surpass those of the West — indeed at the moment weare pausing, the Communists are driving ahead (D.Worker); 4. "This train is really travelling today"(F. Norris); 5. Today the controllers are becomingcontrolled (D. Worker); 6. "Your ears are stickingup so nicely tonight, Michael" (J. Galsworthy).
Just Now, Right Now: 1." Aren't you feelinghappy just now?" (P. Abrahams); 2. "He's the onlyman in England who's doing real work just now" (J.
Galsworthy); 3. "The 17th and 19th Street line isearning one thousand dollars a day right now" (Th.Dreiser).
This Week, These Days: 1. "I'm a dancer, and thecompany I am with is playing here this week" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "I'm selling tickets for you thisafternoon. I'm having such success" (F. Norris); 3."How are you getting on these days?" (E. James).
Till, Again, All Day, For the First Time, NowAnd Then, Soon 1 , Then 2 , Yet: 1. Mass forms of protestin Greenboro are marking time till the end oflengthy negotiations (D. Worker); 2. "I think I'llbe all right. I'm hearing from some of my friendsagain" (Th. Dreiser); 3."They are working in dustall day — their lungs are chucked with it" (A. Cro-nin); 4. "The appletree is having fruit for thefirst time" (D. Russel); 5. "You're getting to talklike a landlubber now and then" (G. Meredith); 6."You are getting old; I am not, yet" (J.Galsworthy).
After a While. All This Time. For a Number ofYears. From ... Till. Never. Steadily: 1. TheMexicans are simply enraptured. But after a whilethey are pining to put their spokes into thosewheels (D. H. Lawrence); 2. "What's fretting you,dear?" —"It's George. He's waiting at home for histea all this time" (J. Lindsay); 3. All full-timestudents, and those part-time students who areattending for a number of years may need a smalllocker in which to keep their belongings (B. Price);4. The nuns are toiling from morning till night (A.Munthe); 5. "I'm never thin king of anything else"(G. Meredith); 6. The structural linguistics
1 See Example 3 on p. 29.2 See Example 3 on p. 100.
issteadi-ly becoming more influential among studentsof the language (J. Hook).
VERBS USED IN THE PRESENT DYNAMIC
Only about a dozen verbs, such as "contain,consist, matter, possess, prefer, presume, suppose"are not used in dynamic forms in the sourcesanalysed. The following verbs from those commonlysaid not to be used so1 have been found in thePresent Dynamic (figures in brackets indicating thetotal number of instances for each verb): see (30)2;happen (20); expect (16); hope (14); hurt (13); want(12); long (8); hear, imagine (7); count (on), find,rely (4); have (to), like, love, mean, wish (3);believe, consider, contribute, realize, recognize(2); admire, be (able to), belong, dare, intend,know, owe (be indebted), trust, understand (1).
To See. Instances of the verb to see used in thesenses to view as a spectator and escort have notbeen counted. From other meanings the most frequentone is to perceive with the eyes (ACD), for example:
1. "The scientists say this is the oldest coastin the world. They say it was here that the earthemerged from the chaos. Maybe life also emergedhere, too. We're probably seeing the same thingbefore our eyes now as happened on the first day ofcreation" (G. Jenkins) (The captain, the speaker,and his mate are watching an eruption of underseavolcanoes: Model II); 2. When you and I write, it isalmost always in the hope of enabling someone elseto see what we are seeing with our eye, or with ourmind's eye (L. Strong) (Model II); 3. It won't takelong. If only I could do it without doing it, be1 The verbs be, feel, and think which are regular in the Present Dynamic have not been counted.2 The verb to see in the meanings to view as spectator and escort has also not been counted.
here while I'm over there. I'm not listening, I'mnot seeing, I'm not feeling (J. Lindsay); 4. "You'rejust seeing things," said Mrs. Bell (B. Botkin); 5."Two cottages and two houseboats! Or are we seeingdouble?" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "I'm afraid I am notseeing so well this morning" (A. Cronin) (ModelIII).
The Present Dynamic of the verb to see used insome other senses:
1." It's the most terrible thing I've ever seenin my life." —"I agree. But you're seeing only yourfiance's problem, and your problem. I have to seeall the other problems" (D. Cusack) (You areconsidering, thinking of only your fiance'sproblem); 2. "What's he doing?"—"He's seeing ifeverything is alright" (G. Greene) (He is makingsure if everything is alright); 3."Don't worry, itwill. That's what Jill is seeing to" (J. Lindsay)(That's what Jill is giving her attention to).
To Happen: 1. "What's happening at the front?"(E. Hemingway); 2. "Tell people in Britain what isreally happening in Spain today" (D. Worker); 3. Theman who tells a story thinks not about grammar, butabout his characters and what is happening to them(L. Strong); 4. "If" is rapidly winning favour over"whether" in informal English. In formal English,however, this is happening more slowly (C. Kegel).
To Expect: l."Will you see if the mail has come?I'm expecting an important letter" (M. Mitchell); 2.I'm a nurse. I'm twenty-two, married, and expectingmy first baby this August (D. Worker); 3. "Are youexpecting to stay here for a while?" (Th. Dreiser).
In the first two examples the verb to expect isused in the meanings await, look forward to, forwhich dynamic forms are common. In the third examplethe meaning of the verb is to suppose (ACD). The useis rare (1 instance from 16) and can be explained byModel IV.
To Hope: 1. "He will get my wire tonight. I'mhoping we shall see him tomorrow" (P. Wodehouse); 2."Are you married yet?" —"No. As a matter of fact I'mhoping to get special leave" (G. Greene); 3. "Natu-rally, we are all hoping for his speedy recovery andreturn" (Th. Dreiser).
The verb to hope combines the meanings expectand desire (expect and desire — ALD; implies a wishthat an event may take place and an expectation thatit will — ACD). In the Present Dynamic it is alwaysused to represent the process denoted by it in itsdevelopment, going-on (Model II).
To Hurt: 1. "Now how do you feel in general? Isyour back hurting you?" (H. Walpole); 2. "I'm shot,"he said.— "You're just scared." — "No, sir. I'mshot. And I'm hurting bad" (E. Hemingway); 3. "Ishall be all right. My hand is not hurting now" (D.du Maurier); 4." You are hurting my arm." —"And youknow I love you, don't you?" —"But you are stillhurting my arm" (M. Arlen).
The verb to hurt means to cause or suffer painand is used above in the Present Dynamic by ModelsII; II; II or III; I—respectively.
To Want: 1. "But what are you thinking about?"she cried in pained astonishment.— "I'm not thinkingabout anything. Not thinking only wanting" (A.Huxley); 2. I know you shouldn't keep telephoningthem. When you do that, they know you're thinkingabout them and wanting them and that makes them hateyou (D. Parker); 3. " I'm not wanting to go. I'vegot that band round my brow again" (A. Cronin);4."What is it you're wanting?" —"Come outside andspeak to me" (H. Walpole).
The verb to want means to feel a need or desirefor (ACD) and the Present Dynamic with it is usedabove by Models II; II; III; III or IV.
To Long. To long means to have a prolonged orunceasing desire (ACD) and is used in the PresentDynamic by Model II. Examples:
l."I'll put the kettle on. Are you longing fortea?" —"No. Not longing."—"Well, I am" (K-Mansfield); 2. "You must tell us".—"I'm longing to(K. Mansfield); 3."I am longing to see you again, mydarling boy" (G. Gordon).
To Hear: l."The girl is hearing the song of thefirst lark. She knows that it means spring has come"(Th. Wolfe) (Model II); 2. "You understand you'rehearing this under the Topsecret label" (P.Anderson) (Model II); 3. "Am I really hearing whatyou're saying?" —"Yes, you are" (D. Worker); 4."Never heard of it? Well, you're hearing it nowl"(D. Carter) (Model III).
To Imagine: 1. "Agatha, there isn't any onehere. Truly there isn't. You're imagining it" (H.Walpole); 2."Then," said Eugene slowly, "I'mimagining all this? Are we here talking together ornot?" (Th. Wolfe); 3. "Hush!" he said quietly. "Youare excited and imagining things that are not true"(E. Voynich).
Count (on), Rely (on): 1. "I gave my promise.She's counting on it" (W. Faulkner); 2."I'm countingon you to stay in good health" (W. Sa-royan); 3."I'm relying on you, Alex" (A. Cronin); 4. "Harry isrelying on you being sensible" (J. Lindsay).
To Find: 1. "Hullo. I noticed you were throwingyour packs of cards
104into the sea. Giving up playing? Are you?"
—"Yes, I'm finding a new occupation" (E. Wallace);2. "How is he doing in that terrible job withthe.dance band?" —"He's finding his feet, is Simon"(J. Pudney); 3."In Marylebone we are finding itpossible to unite many different types of people"(D. Worker).
To Have to: Millions of workers in France arehaving to live on 30 pounds a month, while hundredsof thousands have to make do on 20 pounds a month(D. Worker); Coypus enjoy eating the growing sugar-beet and oats, so farmers are having to take actionagainst this destruction (D. Worker) (Model III;Model III).
To Like, To Love: l."And how, my dear boy, areyou liking our little community?" (A. Cronin); 2."How are you liking the Piedmont Hotel, Professor?"(J. Galsworthy); 3. "Tell me about Ann. Is she stillliking England?" —"Loving it" (J. Galsworthy); 4."He's only in love with books and things, but I'vegot a real live woman in my arms that's loving meall the time she's kicking about over the traces"(J. London).
The Present Dynamic of the verb to like is usedby Models IV (Examples 1 and 2: The question isabout the relation between the subject and theobject at the moment of speaking, the relation beingin the process of formation, changing) and III(Example 3: The question is about Ann who had ccmefrom America; the relation between her and Englandis represented as changing — the speaker knows thatAmericans commonly like England when they come to itand dislike it after they have stayed there for sometime); that of the verb to love by Model II (theprocess of loving one in its going-on).
To Mean, To Wish: 1."Madam, if you are meaningme, you are wrong" (E. James) (if you, whilespeaking, are in the process of referring to me —Model II); 2. "I'm a lazy man. I'm always meaning topull myself up. But I'm too old for improvement" (H.Walpole) (Model II); 3. She picked up the goblet ofwine and proceeded to kiss the rim. "See, I amwishing into it" (Th. Dreiser) (I am in the processof saying my wish); 4. "I'm not wishing to talkabout it" (Th. White) Model IV, or III).
To Believe, To Consider, To Contribute, ToRealize, To Recognize:-l."I'm believing you when yousay you came here with the best intentions" (P.Abrahams) (Model IV); 2. "But I didn't do such athing. You are believing what he said. He was drunk.I tell you" (G. Gordon) (Model IV or III — thespeaker hopes he can convince the listener); 3."As amatter of fact I'm considering seriously joining theCommunist Party" (A. Saxton); 4. The structurallinguistics are contributing a new kind of analysisof languages (J. Hook) (Model II); 5. "I think thecountry is realizing that one cannot laugh too muchat the things we feel very deeply" (D. Worker) (Thecountry is in the process of realizing — Model I);6. We are recognizing five modes, and we arerecognizing eight Tenses rather than six (R. Long)(Model I).
To Admire, To be (able to)1, To Belong, To Dare,To Intend: l."And if anyone comes, say that you areadmiring the beautiful Indian bird" (G. Meredith)(Model II); 2. "I'll have what's belonging to metoday" ( Th. Dreiser) (Model III); 3. "Are you daringto call me a gatecrush-
105er?" —"Well, aren't you?" (M. Arlen) (Model IV);
4. "Are you intending to marry her?" (G. P. Snow)(See the verb want).
To Know, To Owe (be indebted), To Trust, ToUnderstand: 1. " But
I do just want to say this, Roger. That womanutterly deserves — well, anything she got." —"I knowshe did," Roger said not without emotion. "Andthat's just why I'm not knowing anything at all" (A.Berkley) (Model III: Roger who knows who killed Enatells his friend that he has been assuring thepolice he knows nothing); 2. "Well, he's owing the
1 See Example 1 on p. 94.
Third National and the Lake City as much, if notmore" (Th. Dreiser) (Model III); 3."But I can domore. I am doing more. I am trusting you" (J.Conrad) (Model III); 4."Yet all the time deep in meI have an awful fear that they're right. But don'tsay I'm understanding. I don't begin to understandwhat he's after" (W. S. Maugham) (Model III).
The Verbs To Be, To Feel, To Look, To Think. Eachof these verbs, as it is rightly stated in mosttextbooks, is common in the Present Dynamic.
To Be: 1. "I'm not being quite honest," he saidat last.— "No?" — "I really came to see you" (G.Greene) (Model III); 2. "Oh, you are just beingmean!" (S. Lewis) (Model II, III, or IV); 3."He isbeing quite firm about it. Though he is desperatelyin love with her" (R. Macaulay) (Model Ц: He isalways showing firmness whenever we speak of it);4." Isn't Dick being a long time?" —"He is, rather."—"He's been gone ages" (K. Mansfield) (Model III:The speaker hopes that Dick will soon come); 5. "Hiswife is being confined today" (G. Gordon) (ModelIII).
To Feel, To Look. The frequent use of the PresentDynamic of these verbs to refer to mental and bodilystates is readily explained by the fact that suchstates are likely to change (Model III).
To Think. Most frequently the verb to think indynamic tenses represents a process of meditating inits development, as in "Are you thinking carefullyof what you are doing?" —"All the time" (Th. Drei-ser).
In Irish English, however, the verb to think inthe Present Dynamic is also common in the variantmeaning "to be of an opinion", as in:
1. "St. Paul. That'll be Minnesota, I'mthinkin'" (E. O'Neill); 2. "She'll come to hersenses, I'm thinkin'" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "It'sgetting colder, I'm thinkin'" (Th. Dreiser).
The Present Dynamic of Some Other Verbs.Examples of the Present Dynamic of some other verbswhich are also commonly said not to be used indynamic tenses:
1. "You're just advising us to behave likebeasts." —"I'm advising you to behave like humanbeings" (A. Huxley); 2. "Are you aiming to leave itlying there?"—"I aim to show it to ma" (W.Faulkner); 3." George, why do you exaggerate so? Todrive us all wild?" —"I'm not exaggerating, Cassie"(J. Updike); 4. "I'm fearing you have the right ofit for once" (E. O'Neill); 5. "If your oath is notproper oath at all, I'll have to be taking yournaked word for it and have you anyway — I'm needingyou that bad" (E. O'Neill); 6. "Here, sister, nevermind about the fish. It'll save, I reckon." —"Iain't minding it. I'm going to milk before it setsin to rain" (W. Faulkner); 7. "The one mystery is,what
106are we remembering?'' (J. Updike); 8. "I am
wondering if that dance is open now," he said to her(Th. Dreiser); 9." I'll go — don't you worry."— "I'mnot worrying. Tosh. I've got more to do with mytime" (K- Water-house).
A study of ever increasing amount of sourcesleads one to conclude that, theoretically at least,any verb having Participle I can be used in dynamictenses.
Miscellaneous
To be Going + Infinitive. The Present Dynamic ofthe verb to go plus an Infinitive is used to representa process denoted by the Infinitive of a verb as apiece of objective reality in the future. Theconctruc-tion is devoid of the modality oftenpresent in the Future Tenses. Examples:
1 ."Oh, Mother, Mother," she sobbed." Am I goingto die>I don't want to die." —"Of course you're notgoing to die" (W. S. Maugham) (Will my death be apiece of objective reality?). 2. "Now they're doingsomething positive, I know I'm going to get better"(D. Cusack); 3. "We're not going to be here (in thisworld) so much longer, and neither of us needs themoney" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "Come on, Sophie. We'regoing to dance" (W. S. Maugham).
Sometimes, especially in American English, theverb to fix is used in this construction synonymouslywith the verb to go, as:
"She's fixing to spend the night with Betty,"Bill said (W. Hill).
References to Facts of Objective Reality. ThePresent Dynamic is widely used to refer to anyprocess of objective reality taking place at themoment of speaking,- if it is represented asrelatively dynamic, for example:
l."The water's boiling at last" (G. Gordon); 2."There's not a soul about, but the candle isburning" (H. Walpole); 3. "Help! Help! Oh, my God,I'm drowning, I'm drowning. Help!" (Th. Dreiser);4."Aileen, I'm dying" (Th. Dreiser); 5." It'sgetting darker and darker" (G. Meredith); 6. "Themoon is hiding now, behind one of the elms, and theevening star shining above a dead branch (J.Galsworthy).
In all such cases, reference is t o o b j e c t i v ef a c t s . This is often emphasized by the presence inthe context of such words as "it's a fact", and soon. For example:
1. "I'm not good at guessing.I like facts." —"Well, it's a fact we're dancing" (J. Lindsay); 2. "In fact, I am hoping he may mean a great deal" (Th.Dreiser); 3. "As a matter of fact I am feelingbetter than I've been feeling for months" (Th.Dreiser).
Successive -ing Forms. The Present Dynamic ifoften followed immediately by a gerund or ParticipleI, for example:
1 ."Are you really going travelling?" (I.Stone); 2." I'm going shopping" (M. Bryant); 3."They think we're going mooning" (H. G. Wells); 4. Ihear he's starting feeding patients to that Stillmanfellow" (A. Cronin); 5. "What are you doing sittingthere?" (E. James).
In such cases as"'Going shooting?' he asked" (E.Hemingway) the use of an Infinitive changes theinformation conveyed in speech from
107"Are you walking in order to be hunting?" to
"Are you going to fire your gun?"To be Dying + Infinitive. For the verb to die in
the Present Dynamic when combined with an Infinitiveor with for is used in the variant meaning "todesire greatly". For example:
1. "I told 'em about you, and they're dying tohave a look at you" (S. Lewis); 2." I'm simply dyingto see you" (W.S.Maugham); 3."Please," Laurasaid."I'm dying to play badminton" (I Shaw)."Let'shave a drink. I'm dying for one" (H. Cecil).
THE PAST DYNAMIC
The Past Dynamic is fifth in frequency infiction (2.4%) and is extremely rare in technicalliterature (see page 53). It is used when thespeaker who is mentally in the past represents averbal process as relatively dynamic. Objectively, averbal process can be concrete or abstract, itslength ranging from several instants to infinite;continuous or repeated; isolated or simultaneous orsequent with other processes.
Examples of Verbal Processes of IncreasingLength
1. I smiled at Susan. Susan was going pink (J.Braine); 2. Felix felt his heart beating. She wascoming through the orchard with the dog (J.Galsworthy); 3. Nobody else was downstairs, exceptmy aunt. She was reading the letters (E. Delefield);4. I was waiting for the telephone all last night(A. Saxton); 5. I was now occupying Murdock's roomduring the few winter weeks when Murdock slept athome. (A. Cronin); 6. He was palpitating withexcitement all through the succeeding months (F.Norris); 7. The Right Wing Leaders of the LabourParty are doing exactly what they accused the Toriesof doing in the years when Hitler was preparing war(D. Worker); 8. In the fourteenth century theItalians %vere expressing themselves in daggers andverse (J. Galsworthy); 9. They went up to the smallmunching woodman and asked him where the glades wereleading (Th. White) (See also Examples 4 and 5 onpage 42).
Concrete Processes. Concrete processes takingplace at a certain moment of the past (~’~/~.~) aredenoted by verbs in the Past Dynamic in about 58% ofall its uses (see pp. 109—113).
Examples of Abstract Processes: 1. Even thoughshe was out of school now, she was clerking asbefore and dressing as before (Th. Dreiser); 2. Herbrother was doing the literature course as apreliminary to law (R. Graves); 3. Even then he didnot change his habits; for he was drinking andplaying cards half the day and night (O'Henry); 4.Walter, whom she now greatly admired, was going witha girl by the name of Edna Strong. He often tookEdna and some of his friends to boathouse resorts onthe Little Shark River (Th. Dreiser); 5. Josephturned to stare now at a photogravure of a large
square-rigged sailing-vessel. It was hanging on thewall in a stained pitch-pine frame under glass (E.James); 6. He knew that they were at their oldgayeties. Pullmans were hauling them to and fro,papers were greeting them with interesting mentions,the elegant lobbies of hotels and the glow ofpolished diningrooms were keeping them close withinthe walled city (Th. Dreiser); 7- A few raggedremnants of the old forest stood in the woods and'afew of the still older trunks were lying about asdead logs in the brushwood (E. Seton-Thompson); 8.He told me about his difficulties. It appeared thathe was making a bare living at times, at othersdoing very well (Th. Dreiser); 9. Still an activewoman, she was managing the household ably (A.Cronin); 10. "Now when I went to that medical schooldown at Penn," Doc Appleton said, "they thought, youknow, a country boy, dumb. After that first yearthey weren't saying so dumb any more" (J. Updike);11. Thackerey was seeing a lot of Graham these days(A. Kingsley); 12. He was exhausted. He was workingtoo hard, sleepeng little, and eating nothing (W. S.Maugham); 13. When we met, John Galsworthy asked metechnical questions about soldier-slang — he waswriting a war play and wanted it to be accurate (R.Graves); 14. Within three days he was ill, though noone had seen the disease before. His temperaturewent up; he was vomiting, he had diarrhoea, bloodspots were forming under his skin (C. P. Snow).
THE PAST DYNAMIC TO REFERTO SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSES
The patterns of relative position and lengths ofsimultaneous processes denoted by verbs in the Past
Dynamic (~~) and the Past Static ( ) tenses canbe represented graphically as follows:
(1) ~.~ , ~’~ the so called "time frame" (58% ofall the uses ofthe Past Dynamic);
(2) __ ~~ , ~~ , ~~ — synchronous processes;(3) __ ~~ , ~~ — the length of a process denoted
by a verb in the Past Static is greater than thatdenoted by a verb in the Past Dynamic (See Ex. 1—3on p. 20).
(4)~~’,‘~~ , ~~. , .~~ — a process denoted bya verb in the Past Dynamic ends or begins at' themoment when a process denoted by a verb in the PastStatic takes place.
Simultaneous processes are mostly expressed indifferent sentences as well as in sentences with anattributive, object, or a time clause introduced bythe conjunction when-, as-, or while.
Simultaneous Processes (~.~ , ~’~) in DifferentSentences and Sentences with Attributive, Object andIndependent Clauses:
In Different Sentences: 1. I felt his pulse. Itwas beating quickly and feebly (W. S. Maugham); 2.The atmosphere was so close that she stayed for amoment by the door. A very large fire was burning.The room was exceedingly hot (H. Walpole); 3. Theysaw Joe coming down the hill with the gasoline man.Each was carrying a can (D. Russell); 4. I stormedout of the house. The chief was sitting at home ascomfortable as you please (W. Guin).
In Sentences with an Attributive Clause: 1. Wewent back and then worked our way into the crowdthat were crossing the bridge (E. Heming-
109way); 2. He gulped the tea that was practically
boiling (D. Cusack); 3. She grabbed the waiter whowas passing (W. S. Maugham).
In Sentences with an Object Clause: 1. Then theysaw that she was crying (W. S. Maugham); 2. He sawthat his hand was trembling (E. Hemingway); 3. Onhis way to the station he remembered that he wastaking nothing to the kiddies (K. Mansfield).
In Sentences with Independent Clauses: 1. Idiscovered the bell-handle with difficulty, it wasgrowing so dark (Ch. Dickens); 2. She lifted the cupto her mouth but her hand was shaking (J. Braine);3. I looked up. A young man was standing scowlingover us (J. Braine); 4. Then he saw Jan. She wasleaning against the wall of the baggage-shed nearthe end of the wharf (D. Cusack).
Synchronous Processes:
l."I did not know what I was doing" (M.Mitchell); 2. "Doctor," the sister was asking in avoice whose urgency matched his own (D. Cusack); 3.The clouds were breaking and a golden misty sunsetwas pouring into the garden. The raindrops on thebrilliantly green trees glittered widly and all thebirds were singing at the tops of their voices (G.Gibbons).
Simultaneous and Synchronous Processes inSentences with a When-, As-, or While- Clause
From among sentences with a when-, as-, orwhile-clause the most frequent are those with awhen-clause (50%), the other sentences making 26%and 24% respectively. The patterns in which the PastDynamic is used in such sentences are listed inTables XII, XIII and XIV.
Patterns 1—4 make about 89% of the total use ofthe Past Dynamic in sentences with a when-clause.This is explained by compatibility of the meaningsof the conjunction when (most commonly "at a certain
moment") and the representation, by verbs in thePast Static, of processes in their l i m i t s , aswell as the aspectual meaning of the Past Dynamic (arepresentation of verbal processes as developing)and a p e r i o d of time.
Examples of Pattern 1 (~.~ v when): 1. His facewas expanding into a smile when Hurstwood's eyecaught his own (Th. Dreiser); 2. "You were sleepingwhen I left" (E. Hemingway); 3. Woodbury was waitingin the hall when Ralph arrived (S. Lewis).
Examples of Pattern 2 (~’~ ^ when): 1. When heturned around he was holding a leather strap (E.Caldwell); 2. When he reached the door of the flatthe telephone was ringing (G. Gordon).
Examples of Pattern 3 (~.~ ^ when) and 4 (~’~ vwhen): 1. One day, when June was coming to its end,Laura said to him: " I shall have to go home nextweek" (Th. Wolfe); 2. One evening, when I wasturning the gas down in the lobby, Kate came in (A.Cronin); 3."You'll want to see the city first, won'tyou?" said Minnie, when they were eating (Th. Drei-ser); 4. He came in one morning when I was havingbreakfast (W. S. Maugham).
110
Table XIINo Pattern Example %
1 ~.~ v when He was working when shearrived
54.0
2 ~’~ ^ when When she arrived he wasworking
19.6
3 ~.~ ^when
When he was working shearrived
9.0
4 ~’~ vwhen
She arrived when he wasworking
6.2
5 ~~ ^ when When he was working he wassinging
3.2
6 ~~ ^ when When he was working hesang
2.8
7 ~~ v when He was singing when heworked
2.2
8 ~~ v when He was singing when he wasworking
1.7
9 __~~ v
when
He sang when he wasworking
1.1
Examples of Patterns 5—9:1. At the very moment when Harran was learning
the rudiments of farming, Lyman was entering theState University (F. Norris); 2. When I was startingthe car she didn't speak at all (J. Braine); 3. Themoon was shining through the tree stems when theysat side by side on the log seat (J. Galsworthy); 4."That's what I was thinking when I was waiting" (J.Galsworthy); 5. It was a person I used to know inGalsway when I was living there with my grandmother(J. Joyce).
Sentences with,an As-Clause (see Table XIII).Table XIII
Exampes of Pattern 1 (~.~ ^ as) 1. At aquarter-past five, just as Elaine was getting up tomake herself a cup of tea, Iveen suddenly came in(S. Gibbons); 2. Down in the vestibule by the frontdoor as she was opening it, Stack's voice said: "Excuse me, miss" (J. Galsworthy)
Example of Patterns 2 (~’~ v as), 4 (~.~ v as),and 10 (~’~ ^ as):
1. We jumped on the bus as it was going out ofthe station square (J. Braine); 2. "By the way Mr.Eden," she called back as she was leaving the room(J. London); 3. The twilight was falling as weentered the little fishing village (Ch. Dickens); 4.Hilmawas just walking as Annixter pushed the curtain
aside (F. Norris); 5. As I engaged the first gear, Iwas again riding through Lincolnshire (J. Braine)
Examples of Patterns 5 __ __ ( ~~ ^ as) ,
6 (~~ v as) and 9 (~~ ^ as): 1. As Benworked he was thinking about corn (W. S. Gray); 2.Slyly he contemplated her as she was undressing (Th.Dreiser); 3. As I was walking home I did not envy mycolleague (A. Munthe).
Examples of Patterns 7 (~~ ^ as) and 8 (~~ v as):"You know just as I was coming round that point I wasthinking of you" (Th. Dreiser); " I was coming in ashe was going out" (J. Galsworthy).
Sentences with a While-Clause (see Table XIV).
Examples of Patterns 1 (~.~ ^ while) and 5 (~’~v while): While I was looking at him He opened hiseyes (E. Hemingway); He came while I was dressing (E.Hemingway).
Examples of Patterns 2 (~~ v while) and 4 (~~ ^while )1. Leonard was reading to them while Janknitted (D. Cusack); 2. "I just wish I knew what youwere thinking while we sang" (S. Lewis); 3. While shewas growing up she lived with her parents in Paris(Ch. Dickens); 4. While he was talking he looked notat Mrs. Hilary but down at a paper (R. Macaulay).
Examples of Patterns 6 ____
( ~~ ^while) and 7 (~~ v while): 1. While
she sat there on the hard office-chair, she wasstill waiting patiently for
112Pyle (G. Greene); 2. While she talked,
Cowperwocd was poking his finger at a green andorange parrot (Th. Dreiser); 3. Nellie washed thedishes while Vern was getting their things ready (E.Caldwell); 4. She suffered so violently, while I wasrelating the strange events (Ch. Dickens).
Examples of Patterns 3 (~~ ^while) and 8 (~~ vwhile): 1. While she was following Anna downstairs,Jenny was going over the nice things Anna had saidto her (A. Kingsley); 2. While he was making theseremarks trade unionists were meeting in Hanley TownHall (D. Worker); 3. Maria was staring straight infront of her, while Max was smoking a cigarette (M.Mitchell); 4. Though I was watching his eyes prettyclosely while we were exchanging these remarks Icould discern only a natural surprise and pleasure(W. S. Maugham).
THE PAST DYNAMIC TO REFER TO PROCESSES BEGUN ORTERMINATED WHEN ANOTHER PROCESS REPRESENTED IN ITS
LIMITS TOOK PLACE
Examples of Patterns ~~~’ and ~~~. : 1. Heput down the package he was
carrying (I. Shaw); 2. Idly he picked up anivory ruler which was lying on the ledge (E. James);3. His cigarette was scorching his lip, and he spatout the butt (J. Galsworthy); 4. Bart was staringinto blankness. He turned abruptly (D. Cusack).
113The Past Dynamic is also used to refer to a
process" which began when another process denoted bya verb in the Past Static and represented in itslimits took place, as in:
Again he waited. The next instant the handturned his face gently upward, and he was gazinginto her eyes (J. London) (Pattern ‘~~).
THE PAST DYNAMIC TO REFER TO SEQUENT PROCESSES
The Past Dynamic refers to sequent processes inabout 5% of its uses.
The Past Static to Refer to One Process Sequentto That Denoted by a Verb in the Past Static. In 62%of such cases the Past Dynamic is modified by anindicator of time. The indicators of time are listedbelow in terms of their relative frequency (in %):soon (15); a moment later, etc. (13); in a fewminutes, etc., then (12); the next instant, etc.(10); at dawn, etc., suddenly (8); within twomonths, etc. (3); the very second after, etc., assoon as, instantly, presently (2); a yearafterwards, toward midsummer (1).
Soon, A Moment Later, etc.: 1. The boy addedsome pieces of dry wood on the fire. Soon it wasblazing brightly (W. S. Gray); 2. He struck thefirst keys on the cottage piano and I started tosing. Soon everyone was singing (J. Braine); 3. Thefootman held the door of the car open, and a momentlater they were skimming through the dusk (K.Mansfield); 4. Soon we entered a dense forest of
stately fir-trees. A couple of hours later we werewalking through a deep gorge (A. Munthe).
In a Few Minutes, etc. Then: l.Very obedientlyhe suffered himself to be led and undressed. In afew minutes she was sitting beside him with a bowlof smoking soup (Th. Wolfe); 2. At last the traingot underway again. In a few moments it was tearingthrough the dawn at a wonderful speed (F. Norris);3. He saw now the stranger's knees, and then — hewas staring at the barrel of a revolver pointed athis head (H.G. Wells); 4. He stood still mad withsuffering. Then he was twisting in a paroxysm on thegrass (D. H. Lawrence).
The Next Instant, etc. At Dawn, etc.: 1. He sawhis friend lift the wiggling fish out of the water.The next instant the fish was thumping against theboat below (W. S. Gray); 2. It turned cold thatnight and the next day it was raining (E.Hemingway); 3. He ordered horses that night. At dawnthey were riding down to the sea (I. Stone); 4. Shecame out of the warm shop at six, and shivered asthe wind struck her. In the morning she was sneezing(Th. Dreiser).
Suddenly. Within Two Months, etc.: 1. "God!"cried Elmer Gantry, and suddenly he was disgracinghimself with tears (S. Lewis); 2. He lay tense.Suddenly he was shooting upright, his heartgalloping (S. Lewis) 3. On Sunday there were seven-hundred present. Within two months Elmer waspreaching to larger crowds (S. Lewis).
As Soon As, Instantly, Presently, A YearAfterwards. Toward Midsummer: 1. As soon as he gotback he was coming to tea with his aunties (K.Mansfield); 2. So he ventured over to her and wasinstantly regarding
114all the rest as outsiders (S. Lewis); 3. They
fell into each other's arms. And presently they were
sitting side by side on the sofa, holding hands (P.Wodehouse); 4. Shortly after my departure, Ireceived a letter from Gaston. About a yearafterwards, Meredith and I were standing before thetablet in the hall of Westwood House (Ch. Dickens);5. He set Jamieson to the task of finding a yacht.And eventually, toward midsummer, he and Berenicewere cruising smoothly along the west coast ofNorway (Th. Dreiser).
In 38% of the use of the Past Dynamic to referto one sequent process there are no time indicatorswhatever. Examples:
1. The hall grew bright with a candle flame,some heavy object bumped against the umbrella-stand,and feet were ascending the staircase (H. G. Wells);2. It was a little brown squirrel. It flew wildly atanother squirrel, and they were chasing each other(D. H. Lawrence); 3. She heard the car draw up tothe gate of their garden. He was coming up thestairs (W. S. Maugham); 4. With a mocking laugh, shehad sprung to her feet, was across the stream andflying up the further slope (M. Mitchell); 5. An armcame round his neck, his back felt a knee and he wassprawling backward (H. G. Wells); 6. With a step hewas across to her, had her in his arms, was strokingher forehead and crying, "Mother! Mother!" (H.Walpole).
The Past Dynamic to Refer to Two and MoreSequent Processes: 1. Four miles was more than thebody could take, and before he had gone three ofthem he was dropping his pack and groping for hissleeping bag (J. Al-dridge); 2. Eugene was leavingthe house and going toward the town (Th. Wolfe); 3.Two white fishing boats were rounding the breakwaterand heading out toward him (E. Hemingway); 4. Hisfriend was shouting to him and he was shouting back(H. Walpole); 5. Kraut and Slack were once moreseizing him and escorting him to the cell (Th.
Dreiser); 6. He was taking off his coat and hat andputting them into his locker (J. O'Ha-ra); 7. InPyle's bathroom Vigot was washing his hands withPyle's soap and drying them on Pyle's towel (G.Greene); 8. They were washing him and wrapping himin something (E. Hemingway) (See also Ex. 1—3 onpage 20).
THE PAST DYNAMIC TO REFER TO PROCESSESCORRELATED WITH A SITUATION EXISTING OR A PROCESS
OCCURRING AT THE MOMENT OF SPEAKING
In about 10% of all its uses the Past Dynamicrefers to processes which are correlated only withsome situation existing or process occurring at themoment of speaking. Examples:
1. The barman came in."Count Greffі was askingfor you," he said.— "Who?" (E. Hemingway); 2. Shesailed toward McGavity, twittering: "We just drop infor a minute, to show them how to onestep. Joe wascoming for me, but I guess the poor lamb must havefallen asleep" (S. Lewis); 3. Lady Mont saidsuddenly: "The baby, Dinny?" — "Frightfully well,thank you, Aunt Em. He walks." — "I was counting upthe pedigree, and he makes the twenty-fourth Cherrelof Condaford" (J. Gals-
115worthy); 4. I said, "Perhaps after all I'll have asandwich."—"Oh, of course," Pyle said,"of course."He paused before turning to the basket in the back.—"No, no," I said, "I was only joking" (G. Greene);
5. Michael drained his drink, and put theglass down. "Who's the mustache?" he asked.— "Oh,Harry?" —"The one you were kissing" (I. Shaw);
6. At that moment the head barman came backfrom his supper. He caught sight of Syd. "Oh, Mr.Gotman, Mr. Espinel was looking for you." —"Oh,where is he?" (W. S. Maugham); 7. (The head nurse
finds some brandy bottles in the cupboard of apatient): "Those are all the «mpty bottles youhave?" —"For the moment." —"And I was pitying youhaving jaundice. Pity is something that is wasted onyou" (E. Hemingway); 8. "What gulf is that?" —"Mexico, dear." —"The eels come from there, I wasreading" (J. Galsworthy); 9. "Alan's the most gener-ous person in the world. He's taken a toss overyou." —"So he was telling me" (J. Galsworthy).
Characteristic are instances where the PastDynamic is used in a subordinate clause after a verbin the Present Static in the principal clause, forexample:
1. "That brings me to what I was going to say,"continued James ^J. Galsworthy); 2. "That's CarterDavis with him?" said Frannie. "And there comesWhitney Hoffmann. I guess he was parking the car".—"Yeah. I guess he was parking the car." (J. O'Hara);3. "Don't you love me?" I asked her.—"Of course Ido, you fool." What do you think I was crying for?"(J. Braine).
In such cases the verb of the principal clauseis most commonly to know, be, remember, or suppose.Examples:
l."I had no idea you had kept up your water-colours. The drawing has considerable merit, thoughthe subject is not clear to me. The fruit looks toosoft and too rich for apples. Still I suppose youknow what you were driving at" (J. Galsworthy); 2."I can't help it, but I still feel you incline thatway."—"Bless me," Martin thought to himself, "hedoesn't know what I was talking about" (J. London);3. "That is precisely what I was driving at"(P.Wodehouse); 4. "What about tomorrow?" — "Yes,that's what I was thinking" (J. Lindsay); 5. "I tellyou I don't remember what I was going to say" (D.Parker); 6. "And you remember what we were talkingabout — about mother!" (S. Lewis); 7. "What was God
doing in the Noah's Ark. Elsie?" —"How should Iknow? I suppose he was counting the animals, two bytwo, or may be he was just raining like Sundayafternoon" (J. Lindsay); 8. "It's a secret betweenus, Master Philip, that I know all about them. Isuppose she was having tea with him," she speculated(G. Greene).
Paranthetic clauses "As I was saying," "As I wastelling" are also typical, for example:
l."As I was saying, I'm not sure" (G. Meredith);2. "Well, as I was saying, dear, please, listen" (J.O'Hara); 3. "But, as I was telling you, the firstthing we did was to build this shanty" (B. Botkin).
PARALLEL USES OF THE PAST DYNAMIC AND ANTERIORTENSES
In about 3% of all its uses the Past Dynamicrefers to processes which can be denoted by verbs inthe Beforepresent or, more commonly, BeforepastDynamic (See pages 56—58).
Parallel Uses of the Past Dynamic and theBeforepresent Tenses: l."From what I hear, he'salways been round when Stanson was operating" (E.Wallace); 2. "I have sat in a drawing-room inWestminster and listened to the serene geniality ofa piano trio while the bombs were crushing without"(W. S. Maugham); 3. "All the time you were talking,I've been wanting this and I just couldn't bringmyself to do it" (M. Wilson); 4."Mrs. Widler, I'vewanted to come and see you for a long time. I'veoften wondered how you were getting on" (A. Cronin);5. "For some time now I'vewanted to buy the housenext door, in order to enlarge the palm room for youand make an additional gallery for pictures andstatuary. I was intending to leave it all in yourhands" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "Honey," he said. "Don'tthink any more about me or anything I've said. I was
merely thinking that it might make matters worse forboth of us" (Th. Dreiser).
Parallel Uses of the Past and BeforepastDynamic: 1. But it was then that Syd had hisinspiration. It had come to him while he was slowlygoing round the hall by himself (W. S. Maugham); 2."It's well worth seeing," Jim had assured me whilewe were crossing the river, on our way back" (J.Conrad); 3. She stood as she had stood before, whenshe was facing him (W. S. Maugham); 4. Just where hewas sitting, had he sat when Fleur was showing himthe Goya dress (J. Galsworthy); 5. He rememberedlong ago when the bombing officer had been hit by astick bomb some one of the German patrol had thrownas he was coming in through the wire that night (E.Hemingway); 6. He could now walk almost without painin his bruised legs. He had looked at them, as hewas getting up: deep bruises on the backs of histhighs (D. H. Lawrence); 7. It was twelve when thepresence of Cowperwood was announced. During hisdrive he had been thinking of Aileen. He wasthinking of the peculiarity of his relation withher, and of the fact that now he was running to herfather for assistance (Th. Dreiser); 8. Heremembered that he was standing not far from thespot at which the parting between his father and hismother was said to have occured (Th. Hardy).
THE PAST DYNAMIC TO REFER TO PROCESSES FUTURERELATIVE TO SOME MOMENT IN THE PAST
Relatively rarely (in about 0.5% of all itsuses), the Past Dynamic refers to processes futurerelative to some moment of time in the past. In 38%of such uses the Past Dynamic is combined with anindicator of time (examples a), in 62% timeindicators are absent (examples b):
(a) 1. It was a good thing Christian's leave wasbeginning tomorrow (I. Shaw); 2. Eddie Swanson wasgiving a Sunday supper. His wife was at her wildest.She cried, "We'll have a real party!" (S. Lewis); 3."I
117wish you'd come and see and judge for yourself."
—"I was returning to New York in the morning, but ifyou will have breakfast with me, I think I mightstay over" (Th. Dreiser); 4. Dark had fallen by thetime I reached the officers' quarters, where I wasspending the night (Q. Greene);
(b) 1. An amused smile played about her mouth.She knew what was coming (V. Kershaw); 2. It wasgrowing late. Gray and Isabelwere dining withfriends, and she had to dress (W. S. Maugham); 3.When Bart came back frcm his day off, Dr. Haigexplained to him that they were putting Jan onsilence to ensure that she got the maximum rest(D.Cusack); 4. Cowperwood found himself confiding inAileen. He was taking her with him to London (Th.Dreiser).
ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES OF TIME COMBINEDWITH THE PAST DYNAMIC
Adverbs and adverbial phrases of time combinedwith the Past Dynamic are listed below in terms oftheir relative frequency (in %); they make about 25%of all the uses of the tense: always (10.0); now(7.4); at eight, etc. (6.1); still (5.3); already(5.0); then (4.0); all the time (3.4); every day,etc. (3.4); by half-past ten, etc. (3.1); by now,etc. (3.0); constantly, etc. (3.0); in a moment,etc. (2.7); soon (2.6); ten minutes later, etc.(2.4); a moment ago, etc. (2.1); the next instant,etc. (2.1); at this (that) time (1.9); the other day(1.7); one day, etc. (1.6); at the time, etc. (1.4);for five years, etc. (1.4); just now (then) (1.4);
this year, in the fourteenth century, etc. (1.4);last night (1.3); all day, etc. (1.3); in themorning, etc. (1.3); after luncheon, afterwards,etc. (1.1); that day, etc. (1.1); on Thursday, etc.(1.0); today, tonight (1.0); yesterday (1.0);suddenly (0.9); this afternoon, etc. (0.9); before,etc. (0.7); during all that time, etc. (0.7);steadily (0.7); these (those) days, etc. (0.7); allthis time (0.6); for the first time (0.6); from thefirst, etc. (0.6); lately, of late (0,6); meanwhile(0.6); again, once more (0.4); at present (0.4);daily (0.4); from ... to ... (0.4); once (0.4); atlast, finally, instantly, often, presently (0.3.each); through the summer vacation, etc. (0.3); upto ... (0.3); all along (0.1); the day beforeyesterday, day and night, for the most part, rarely,recently, temporarily, twice (0,1, each).
The list shows that the adverb most frequentlyused with the Past Dynamic is always, such phrasesas all day and from ... to ... being 8 and 25 timesless frequent, respectively.
Always: 1. "Hobbema, my professor, was a thiefof ideas — he was always prying!" (H. G. Wells); 2.And Felix remembered that they never had any propermeals, but, when hungry, went to the kitchen, wherea wood-fire was always burning, and either heated upcoffee or devoured bread, cheese, jam, honey (J.Galsworthy); 3. Juana's eyes were open too. She waslooking at him as she was always looking at him whenhe awakened (J. Salinger).
It will be noticed that Sentence I isemotionally coloured, while Sentences 2 and 3 aredevoid of any emotions.
Now. The adverb now is used with the PastDynamic in the meaning then, at that time, as in:
118
The wind was blowing off-shore now (E.Hemingway); Now he was fidgeting and looking self-consciously at his friend (G. Gordon).
At Eight, etc. Still: 1." They were bathing ateight o'clock this morning" (W. S. Maugham); 2. Atthe moment he was mentally contrasting Aileen andBerenice (Th. Dreiser); 3. It was dark outside andstill raining (E. Hemingway); 4. Doreen's letterscontinued to cheer Jan. She was still putting onweight (D. Cusack).
Already: 1. The guard was already fluttering hisgreen flag (H. G. Wells); 2. The hop ranch wasalmost a ruin. Weeds were already choking the vines(F. Norris); 3. In that early spring a few buds wereshowing already (J. Galsworthy).
Then, In a Moment, Soon, etc.: see page 114.All the Time, etc. Every Day, etc.: 1. Drouet,
all the time, was conducting himself in a model wayfor one of his sort. He took her about a great deal,spent money upon her (Th. Dreiser); 2. When shetalked, he listened and followed her, and yet, allthe while he was following his own thoughts (J.Galsworthy); 3. He and Eglantine were meeting almosteveryday (E. Delafield); 4. Every evening that weekshe was coming at half-past six (J. Galsworthy); 5.He was making five to six hundred dollars a month(A. Maltz).
By Half-past Ten, etc. By Now, By Then: 1. Byhalf-past ten Frances was drinking hot broth beforethe fire in the doctor's living room (A. Cronin); 2.By sundown he was dying (I. Stone); 3. By now it wasgrowing darker (F. Norris); 4. By then, the maid wastaking away the dinner plates and preparing to servethe dessert (Th. Dreiser).
Constantly (47%), Forever (28%), Continually(15%); Incessantly, Perpetually (5%, each): 1. Hewas extremely considerate. He was constantly givingher little presents (W. S. Maugham); 2. He was
forever confronting his wife, demanding of her tochange her attitude toward him (Th. Dreiser); 3. Theinformation indicates some of the skill with whichShakespeare was continually tailoring plays to fitthe available cast (D. Worker); 4. My rivals wereworking incessantly, far harder than I (A. Cronin);5. We didn't want to be like the young manager whowas perpetually professing his regard forcleanliness (J. Braine).
A Moment Ago, At This (That) Time, etc.: "He wasjust asking for you a moment ago" (Th. Dreiser); Hewas living, at this time, in a residential hotel inHangar Hill (A. Cronin).
The Other Day, etc. One Day, etc. At the Time,etc.: 1. "Only the other day I was going to tell myniece that there are two types of men" (G. K.Chesterton); 2. One day Roy was standing at thecorner of Main and Elm (J. O'Hara); 3. Light snowwas falling at the time (J. Conrad); 4. "He wasfighting in France at the time of the armistice" (W.S. Maugham).
For Five years, etc. Just Now. Just Then: 1."What on earth were you doing with yourself in Indiafor five years?" (W. S. Maugham); 2. They werewhispering together for half an hour (Ch. Bronte);3. "What news were you reading just now?" (J.Galsworthy); 4. "What was it he was saying justnow?" (F. Norris); 5. The rain was falling just thenwith a devastating violence (J. Conrad).
119This Year, etc. Last Night. All Day "Long, etc.:
1. She was wearing long skirts this year for thefirst time (H. Walpole); 2. He was still alive andmaking poetry at the age of ninety-two (J. Burnot);3." She was saying last night that man was overhere" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "What were you thinkingabout last night?" (J. Braine); 5. He was soakinghimself in beer all day long and day after day (J.
Conrad); 6. He was palpitating with excitement allthrough the succeeding months (F. Norris).
In the Morning, etc. Not Long After That, etc.:1. In the morning she was sneezing and going downtown made it worse (Th. Dreiser);
2. The flat was on the third floor, the frontwindows looking down intothe street, where, at night, the lights of grocerystores were shining andchildren were playing (Th. Dreiser); 3. A minutelater he was along-side, and not long after that he was pulling awayagain (C. Forester);4. On the following day he met her in his park andthe day after that was,walking with her in full view of the carriages alongthe road (G. Mere-dith).
That Day, etc. Today. Tonight. Yesterday: 1." Hewas telling me that
day what a sponger the fellow was" (Th.Dreiser); 2. That winter the club was making aneffort to recover (A. Cronin); 3. Today a scorchingwesterly was blowing (D. Cusack); 4." I was readingin the paper tonight the Army can take over anythingthey need" (R. Gehman); 5. "I was passing the shopyesterday and I saw the lilies in the window" (K.Mansfield).
Suddenly: see page 114.This Afternoon, etc. Before, etc.: 1. He was
driving, this afternoon,to the club (S. Lewis); 2. "The secretary told
me you were rehearsing this morning" (W. S.Maugham); 3. "But go on in the spirit you were goingbefore" (Th. Dreiser); 4. " He was getting on sowell before his setback" (D. Cusack).
During All That Time, etc. Steadily: 1. Duringall that time he was standing there in the aisle
rattling the money (E. Caldwell); 2. During all thetime I knelt there holding him in my arms I wastrying to think of something to say to Dave beforeit was too late (E. Caldwell); 3. Mrs. Myers wassteadily getting worse (D. Cusack).
These Days, etc. All This Time: 1. Martha wasevidently doing the minimum these days, wanderingoff to bed about nine and nearly always lettingJenny wash up in the evening (A. Kingsley); 2. Thetown was humming with life those days (H. Walpole);3. But all this time, there was being developed,gropingly at first, an entirely new branch of lin-guistics (S. Lang).
For the First Time. From the First, etc.: 1. Forthe first time in forty years he was spending thespring in Paris (W. S. Maugham); 2. From the firstan obscure and final war was being waged betweenthem (Th. Wolfe); 3. " I was saying, from the startof the argument, that there are many wars in whichthe aggression is plain" (Th. White).
Lately. Of Late: 1. "After all, I was getting afew private patients lately" (A. Cronin); 2. I knewI wasn't pleasing him lately (A. Cronin);
3. More and more of late he was regaining theold Forsyte feeling ofsecurity (J. Galsworthy).
120Meanwhile, Again. Once More1.: 1. Meanwhile, the
days were passing, the elections were drawing nearer(F. Norris); 2. Ashurst did not answer. He wasseeing again Megan's face, when at breakfast he hadwhispered,"I'm going to Torquay, darling" (J.Galsworthy).
At Present. Daily. From ... To ...: 1. Atpresent he was answering questions that did notmatter (J. Conrad); 2. Prices were soaring daily (A.
1 See Example 5 on page 115.
Cronin); 3."I was standing in the queue from 1.15 p.m. to 2.50 without moving at all (D. Worker).
Once. At Last. Finally: 1. Once a man and hisson were walking along, driving their donkey aheadof them (W. S. Gray); 2. They were reaching theirdestination at last (W. S. Maugham); 3. Finally, hewas being borne again toward the hills (Th. Wolfe).
Instantly. Presently: see page 114.Often. Through the Summer Vacation, etc. All
Along. Up To ...:1. More often than not he was not thinking at
all (H. Walpole); 2. Hewas working in the garden through the summervacation (S. Lewis); 3. " Iwas living in hope all along that you would fall inlove with me" (Th. Drei-ser); 4. Up to September last year you weresuperintending a tea plan-tation in Ceylon?" (J. Galsworthy).
The Day Before Yesterday. Day And Night. For theMost Part: 1. „Why, only the day before yesterdayshe was talking to him" (Th. Wolfe);
2. Furnaces were blazing day and night (Ch.Dickens); 3. For the mostpart he was thinking of Winch (H. G. Wells).
Rarely. Recently. Temporarily. Twice: 1. It wasrarely anyone was patrolling the road (E. Cluer); 2.It seemed to her that recently her skin was growingdarker (G. Gordon); 3. His cars were being housedtemporarily in a disused stable (M. Mitchell); 4.She was paying her visits twice daily (H. Walpole).
VERBS USED IN THE PAST DYNAMIC1
A frequency list of verbs commonly said not tobe used in dynamic tenses:
1 For explanation and comments see pages 102—107.
see (54); happen (26); hope (21); expect (14);long (12); hear, hurt (11); admire, find (10);imagine, wish (8); want (7); intend, mean (6); hate,depend (on) (4); count (on), like, realize (3);believe, care (for), know, love, regard (2);apprehend, comprehend, dare,desire, fear, feel (tobe to the touch), forgive, owe, rely (on), smell,sound, trust, understand (1).
To see: l.rShe took her hands away. His eyes!Was it light in them? Was it? They were seeing —surely they saw. And his lips made the tiniestmovement (J. Galsworthy) (Model III: Derek, whomNedda had thought to be dead, was coming to life);2. Pablo stared straight at the table. His eyes werefocused on the wine bowl but he was not seeing it(E. Hemingway); 3. "When I saw you there I thought Iwas seeing what I have seen so many times: a fineofficer (G. Jenkins); 4. Five-hundred fashionablygowned women turned their heads, so intent andsteadfast was Martin's gaze, to see what he wasseeing (J. London); 5. He fingered the map andpretended to look as directed, but was seeing onlyall that he had seen long ago before there inLycurgus... (Th. Dreiser); 6. For her at first themotionless quiet of the forest was unbroken, butsoon, watching him, she realized that he was seeingand hearing far more than she, and gradually,straining her senses, she too became aware of thebreath of the forest (M. Mitchell).
To Happen: 1. They used to sit together on deckso that I saw a whole lot of what was happening (E.Wallace); 2. There were, no secrets in the san. Eachone knew what was happening to the other (D.Cusack); 3. He had no idea what was happening (Th.Wolfe).
To Hope: 1. Even now he was hoping for a miracleto save him (C. P. Snow); 2. "I heard you were intown," Laura said. "I was hoping you'd call me" (I.
Shaw); 3. Down the street Richard was on his way tothe Bradley's big winter home. He was hoping Mrs.Bradley would be alone (E. Hemingway).
To Expect: l."I was expecting Pyle at ten, buthe didn't turn up." — "Why were you expecting him?"(G. Greene); 2. "Aoh! I wasn't expecting you, Mr.Soames" (J. Galsworthy); 3. Eliza was expecting ababy as usual (A. Munthe).
To Long: 1. They were longing to ask Soames howIrene would take the result (J. Galsworthy); 2. Shewrote, daily, that she was longing, praying, sobbing(S. Lewis); 3. He was a nice, quiet fellow. I saw hewas longing to get away to the bush, and at the endof the month I asked him what he intended to do (W.S. Maugham).
To Hear: 1. Diminished and in fragments the Вminor Suite came floating from the great hall to theears of the two men in the laboratory. They were toobusy to realize that they were hearing it (A.Huxley); 2."Did I tell you I had heard shouts? No?Well, I did. Shouts for help ... The others did not.I asked them afterwards. They all said No. No? And Iwas hearing them even then!" (J. Conrad); 3. (Doctorexamining Jan's lungs): "Drop head — cough! —breathe." The stethoscope crept over her back."Cough ...breathe..." Tap tap. What was he hearing?What changes were going on in her body? (D. Cusack);4. He was hearing from sunrise to the setting of themoon salutes in his honour (G. Meredith); 5. OneSunday morning my father had just been quarrelingwith a peddlar, and we were hearing the aftermathindoors, when there came a sudden unearthly screamfrom the yard (D. H. Lawrence); 6. " I was hearingit told the King is in love with a woman out ofFlanders" (Th. White).
To Hurt: 1. "Of course Jean was not playing thefool. His hand was hurting him — he nearly fainted(D. du Maurier); 2. His leg was hurting very badly
now (E. Hemingway); 3. Then Gerda lay quiet,concentrating wholly on her right leg, which washurting badly (R. Mac-aulay).
To Admire: 1. "I was admiring your figure," hesaid. "My God, you are beautiful" (J. Braine); 2.And he would admire her for it as now, in a lightway, he was admiring himself (Th. Dreiser); 3. Shehad halted
122in front of the large mirror and was admiring
her own splendid figure (A. Huxley).To Find: 1. He was soon finding himself
irresistibly attracted to her (Th. Dreiser); 2.Christian went to the window. New batches ofprisoners were swirling below. They were stillfinding guards and killing them (I. Shaw); 3."Well-," I said, as soon as I could speak, for I wasfinding my friend a trifle overpowering, "this ismost satisfactory" (P. Wode-house).
To Imagine: 1. Instantly Jill began to imagineall kinds of things. Perhaps a big bear was swimmingacross the lake. Perhaps it was an Indian. But shewas not imagining the sounds that came from the lake.They were real (W. S. Gray); 2. Her tone was verysoft and pleading, an attempt to make Clyde feelthat things could not be as bad as he was imagining(Th. Dreiser); 3. She was always imagining, andwaiting, and wondering (Th. Hardy).
To Wish. To Want: 1. "That's just what I waswishing" (D. Russel); 2. But all the time they hadkidded him they were being moral, and all the timethey were being moral they were wishing they hadMary (J. O'Hara); 3. Ronder was never happier thanwhen he was wishing well to all mankind (H.Walpole); 4. He was wanting to sit by her, just benear her (S. Lewis); 5. "What do you want?" —"Oh,nothing much. I was wanting to have a last word withyou, that's all" (E. O'Neill); 6. "Lord!" he said at
the sight of me, "I was wanting something to hap-pen!" (H. G. Wells).
To Intend. To Mean: 1. He was not intending tocreate a massive sculpture of Saint John (I. Stone);2. "Do you think that you'll try and get on thestage?" He was wondering what she was intending (Th.Dreiser); 3. "It's inhuman!" —"We do our best." —"Iwasn't meaning you, Sister" (D. Cusack); 4. "I don'tsee why you couldn't have told us — your mother andme."—"I've said—I was meaning to" (K. Wa-terhouse).
To Hate. To Depend (on). To Count (on): 1.Mordred looked at him. He was hating him — like theowl — condemning him as a coward (Th. White); 2. Andat times when I went in to go to bed Mother would besitting in the dark by Jewel where he was asleep.And I knew that she was hating herself for thatdeceit and hating Jewel because she had to love himso that she had to act the deceit (W. Faulkner); 3."Noah." It was Burnecker's voice, controlled,anxious. "What're you going to do?" —"Me?" saidNoah. Then, because he knew Burnecker was dependingon him. "I'm going through the hedge," he whispered(I. Shaw); 4. He was not looking after her at all.She was depending for her enjoyment upon the Vances(Th. Dreiser); 5. He was counting practically on herlove for her children (Th. Dreiser); 6. He offeredthese as presents to the butler, as he had beeninstructed to do by his brother who evidently wascounting upon great fruits from these well-approached clients (E. James).
To Like. To Realize: 1. I asked her how Gray wasliking Paris (W. S. Maugham); 2. Mr. Hart didn'tlike that any more than he was liking his thoughts(J. O'Hara); 3. He was looking at the sky
123and realizing it was going to be late (J.
Aldridge); 4. "You mean — you think — I should be
better, better perhaps —" He was realizing thingsvery quickly (H. G. Wells).
To Believe. To Care (for). To Know. To Love. ToRegard1: 1. "Tomorrow," he said at parting.— "Yes,"said Carrie, tripping elated away. There had been somuch enthusiasm that she was believing herselfdeeply in love (Th. Dreiser); 2. Anthony looked atthe jurymen but as yet could not tell whether theywere believing Steve or not (G. Gordon);
3. "Well, you see, it was just as I told you. Iwasn't caring for her anymore" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "I didn't think it would begood for you — Iwas knowing lots of strange people time and againand then you mighthave been mixed with me" (H. Walpole); 5. He wasloving her too in-tensely to think of giving her up in this, his hourof distress (Th. Drei-ser); 6. In his own heart he was loving the racketand rough-and-tumble(H. Walpole).
To Apprehend. To Comprehend. To Understand: 1.Waiting for Martin, I manufactured an excuse to passSawbridge's laboratory, so that I could study him.He knew his danger. Just like us who were watchinghim, he was apprehending when the time — the preciseinstant of time would come (C. P. Snow); 2. He hadaccepted the world as the world, but now he wascomprehending the organization of it, the play andinterplay of force and matter. (J. London); 3. "Youwere in the International brigade?" Quale askedMann. He was understanding now (J. Aldridge).
To Feel. To Smell. To Sound: 1. The stone benchwas feeling hard and cold. But the ache of fatigueat the base of his spine had now become a sensation
1 See Example 2 on p. 114
that seemed almost natural (E. James); 2. She waswont to smell last year of gardenias: this year shewas smelling of lilies-of-the-valley (E. James); 3."Are you sure you're making the most of it?" he saidwith a proprietorial, insistent air. He wasdelighted, and in the delight there was no envy. Yetsuddenly he was sounding knowledgeable and worldly(C. P. Snow).
To Dare. To Desire. To Fear. To Forgive. To Owe.To Rely (on). To Trust: 1. "He was supposed to bemeeting me here at six." —"Here?" he asked with anexpression of sudden interest and curiosity. Was heimagining something, was he daring to suppose ...?—"Yes, here", she nodded curtly (A. Huxley); 2.However, this gave her the opportunity she wasreally desiring, to present the proposition whichshe felt to be unavoidable (Th. Dreiser); 3. I hadgrown so accustomed to the worldly view of myposition that I was fearing for its stability (G.Meredith);
4. He was always forgiving the Indians forbeing Indians (S. Lewis);
5. At the time of L...'s sickness and death hewas still owing him 1,000 dollars (Th. Dreiser); 6.But he was evidently in a pitiful state of mind. Hewas relying on them to save him (Th. White); 7. Iwas trusting him every time I saw him (J.Galsworthy).
Miscellaneous
To be Going + Infinitive (see also page 107): 1.I felt suddenly that something was going to happen(J. Braine); 2. In a few minutes the group of menhad laid logs where the walls of the house weregoing to stand (W. S. Gray); 3. And he beganthinking, stroking his upper lip, where the
moustache was going to be (Th. White); 4. "What wereyou going to say?" (J. Galsworthy).
In American English, the verb to fix is also usedsometimes in this construction, as:
He was fixing to light his cigar when he heard asound behind him (E. Allan).
References to Facts of Objective Reality (seealso page 107): 1. Added to this there was the factthat it was getting dark (Th. White); 2. "The baby'scrying," she said, and went out, though she hadn'theard anything, and in fact the baby was slumbering,at peace with the world and his own stomach (J.Lindsay); 3."As a matter of fact, I was just tellingthe inspector that I don't remember it" (A.Berkley).
Successive -ing Forms: 1. He didn't understandwhat she was doing lying there (G. Greene); 2.Wilson, who was ahead, was kneeling shooting (E.Hemingway); 3. It was dusk and I was lying lookingat the rows of beds (E. Hemingway); 4. She wassitting talking to one of the girls (I. Shaw); 5. Hewas sleeping standing (H. Walpole); 6. A young manwas standing scowling over us (J. Braine); 7. He wassmiling, showing, his yellow teeth (G. Gordon); 8.Bains was urging, hoping, entreating commanding, andthe girl looking at the tea and crying (G. Greene);9. He was learning printing and binding (R.Macaulay).
The Past Dynamic + Just. The Past Dynamicfrequently combines with the particle just havingthe meaning only, merely. Examples:
1. "That you, Ronald? I was just going to ringyou up, my man" (A. Berkley); 2." I was just lookingfor you" (Th. Dreiser); 3." Well —what a surprise!"—"So you aren't sleeping?" —"I was just reading fora bit" (M. Arlen); 4. "All right. I'll leave thedetails. I was only testing credibility" (G.
Gordon); 5. "I know that. I was merely thinking ofthe strangeness of it" (Th. Dreiser).
To be Dying + Infinitive (see page 108): 1. Iwas dying to hear the news (P. Joyce); 2. Heprotested that he didn't want to, when in reality,he was dying to tell (Th. Dreiser).
The Past Dynamic in the Till-clause: 1. "Hedidn't answer till we were crossing PiccadillyCircus" (E. Wallace); 2. The frost held for manyweeks, until the birds were dying rapidly (D. H.Lawrence); 3. For two years the battle raged untilboth men were hanging by a thread over the pit ofbankruptcy (M. Quin).
To Be Sitting Down, Standing Up, Lying Down,etc. The verbs kneel, lean, lie, sit, stand in the Past (aswell as in the Present) Dynamic, when combined withsuch adverbs as back, down, up, are commonly used toexpress not the process of assuming but the processof being in the position indicated by them. Forexample:
1. "Anthony," she shouted, "I'm going up town."— Anthony, who
125was kneeling down at the side of the duckpond
and breaking its frozen surface, hurried eagerly tojoin him (G. Gordon); 2. "I saw the dark figure ofLew. He was leaning back with both his elbows on therail" (E. Wallace); 3. The bear was lying down somefifty yards away and afforded a poor shot (E. Seton-Thompson); 4. I left them and went back to Aymo. Hehad two girls on the seat with him and was sittingback and smoking (E. Hemingway); 5. "My lady wassitting down under a bush resting a little" (H. G.Wells); 6. She looked then at the bed. MissBeringer, propped with pillows, was sitting up, herwoolen waist-coat tied up by the sleeves around herneck (H. Walpole); 7. He wasn't, to be quite
accurate, kneeling at all; he was standing up, verytall and broad, waving his hands (S. Lewis).
Practically the only exception is to sit + down(to dinner, breakfast, etc.) which is used in themeaning to be about to have dinner, etc., as in"They arrived at lunch time. Lady Mont was justsitting down, and greeted them with: 'My dears, buthow provoking!" (J. Galsworthy).
THE FUTURE DYNAMIC
The Future Dynamic is a relatively rare tense(in fiction — 1 instance per about 81 page of text).
It is used (practically always in dialogue) whenthe speaker who is mentally in the future representsa verbal process as relatively dynamic. A verbalprocess can be concrete or abstract, its lengthranging from several moments to infinite; continuousor repeated; isolated or simultaneous or sequentwith other processes.
Examples of Verbal Processes of IncreasingLength
l."Now in a minute we will be blowing thebridge" (E. Hemingway); 2." I won't be looking for awhile," he said and turned away (A. Saxton); 3. "Weshall be stopping ten minutes at the junction" (D.Hicks); 4. "I'll be dining later with ProfessorParish" (A. Kingsley); 5. "Then I should sleep inhere?" he asked politely.—"Yes." —"Thanks," RobertJordan said, "I'll be sleeping outside" (E.Hemingway); 6. "She'll be reading the proofs of yourbook any moment now" (M. Aden); 7. " I hope I '11 •be seeing a good deal of you two gentlemen at myhouse during this coming week" (C. Forester); 8. Atleast forty Communist candidates will be contestingin the municipal elections in the Midlands this May(D. Worker); 9. The Soviet Union will be producing
more fertilizers than America next year (D. Worker);10. "In five-hundred years there may be no New Yorkor London, but they (the native people of Vietnam)will be growing paddy in these fields, they'll becarrying their produce to market on long poleswearing their pointed hats. The small boys will besitting on small buffaloes" (G. Greene); 11. "Feetwill be walking over one's grave, wherever it lies"(G. Meredith).
Concrete Processes. About 69% of the instancesof the Future Dynamic are references to concreteprocesses occurring at some moment or in
126a period of time which may be contextually
indicated (examples a) or not (examples b):(a) 1." He'll be closing in ten minutes" (D.
Carter); 2. "Tell the front office these boys'll becoming up in about thirty minutes" (A. Maltz); 3."You won't be having your breakfast at nine then,will you, sir?" (F. Pohl); 4. "Meet me at Fourteenthand Broadway at two o'clock. I'll be looking out foryou" (J. London); 5." We'll be playing games allmorning" (H. Smith); 6. " By the time you all eatbreakfast, I'll be having my first beer" (A. Maltz);
(b) 1. Jenny stood up too."I think I'll be going"(A. Kingsley); 2."Tell me it was a lie, Anna, andI'll be saying prayers of thanks, on my two knees"(E. O'Neill); 3. Browdie opened the door of the car,sat in the driving seat and then took the lettersfrom her.—"You'll be taking the car to Belmont withyou?" she asked uncertainly.— "Be late if I don't,"Browdie replied (H. Smith); 4. "Let you sit down,now, Miss, and I'll be telling you a bit of myself,and you'll be telling me a bit of yourself" (E.O'Neill); 5. "I'll be walking on. Catch me up" (K.Water-house); 6."I shall be writing to Mr. Moritz"(N. Collins).
Abstract Processes: 1. "We're losing ourindividuality. Soon they'll be breeding us from test-tubes" (A. Kingsley); 2. "I shall often be coming toPisa" (E. Voynich); 3. "I'll never need to do thatsort of thing again. I'll be helping blind menacross the street and taking stones out of horseshooves" (A. Kingsley); 4."I shall be moving aboutprobably — getting a job here and a job there" (Th.Hardy); 5. Public health service will soon beoperating in every country as well as in towns (M.Endi-cott); 6. On a regularly scheduled run, anexperienced engineman can look at his watch and tellyou that in four-and-a-half minutes the train willbe passing a school-house to the right of the tracks(J. O'Hara); 7." He's very much opposed to you, as Iunderstand it. He'll be running around most likelyand talking in the papers" (Th. Dreiser); 8. "So itdoesn't look as if you and I '11 be seeing so muchof each other in future" (A. Kingsley); 9."They'llbe swarming round you like flies round a honey pot.That's what you like, isn't — to have the womenpetting you and running after you?" (A. Cronin); 10."Depend on it, he will be thinking pretty hard aboutthis whole business from now on" (Th. Dreiser); 11."Every minute, waking or sleeping, you'll bewondering if tomorrow you'll be dead" (A. Maltz);12. "But, Doctor, her sister goes to work. We'll beboth working. And Jan will be alone all day" (D.Cusack).
THE FUTURE DYNAMIC TO REFER TO SIMULTANEOUSPROCESSES
The Future Dynamic is used to expresssimultaneous verbal processes in about 16% of allits uses: ~~ , ~~ , __
~~- 67%;
~.~ , ~’~ — 23%.Examples of synchronous processes denoted by
verbs in the Future Dynamic:1. "She'll be lying in bed and she'll be looking
at the pictures in an old 'Paris Match'" (G.Greene); 2. "I'll be making you a present of myyouth, my ideals, and my love, and expecting not onething in return"
127(Th. Dreiser); 3. "But then I shall be sagging,
bulging or curving ina distressing way, the female form being what it
is" (M. Arlen); 4. " You '11 be standing knee deepin the surf waiting for me and your machine will beplaying 'There's no place like home'" (O'Henry); 5.Watch a plant beginning to grow from a seed. A rootgrows down into the ground, and a stem grows up intothe air. Very soon the root will be taking food fromthe ground, and the leaves will be taking food fromthe air (H. McKay).
One of the simultaneous processes is frequentlydenoted by a verb (usually to be, have, know, etc.)in a Static tense, as in:
1. "This year you'll probably be taking one ofmy courses. You'll have to do more than talk abouthow good you are" (M. Wilson); 2. "As you knowyou'll be teaching freshman physics lab while youtake your own courses towards your doctorate" (M.Wilson); 3. "Bill won't be working at a job. He'llbe in a concentration camp" (D. Carter); 4. "If hewakes up, we'll know it; he'll be yelling for water"(A. Maltz).
Examples of Patterns ~.~ and ~’~ :1. "If you're always crying 'wolf, wolf we'll
not be believing you when it does come to the bit"(A. Cronin); 2." I shall be cleaning up when youcome with my luggage" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "When Isee him he will be running already" (E. Hemingway);
4. "I know where I will find him. He will bestanding at the ginger stall, chewing his ginger"(D. Russell).
THE FUTURE DYNAMIC TO REFER TO SEQUENT PROCESSES
The Future Dynamic refers to sequent processesin about 4% of its total use.
The Future Dynamic to Refer to One ProcessSequent to That Denoted by a Verb in a Static Tense:1. "I've no doubt the moment my back's turned you'llbe crouching at the fire with your trashy books" (A.Cronin); 2. "Now you'll think I'm against you andyou will be laying for me at every lodge meeting"(A. Saxton); 3. "In ten minutes I'll cross theCentral, Southern, and Middle Western States, and belegging it for the Canadian border" (O'Henry).
The Future Dynamic to Refer to Two SequentProcesses: 1. "I'll be coming to your flat andmaking you give me that lesson" (S. Lewis); 2. "Ishall be getting things and going back" (J.Galsworthy); 3. "He'll be going in, too, andstamping on what's left of us" (J. Galsworthy);4."I'll be pressing your grey flannel suit andsewing on buttons" (S. Wilson); 5. "They will soonbe rushing here and declaring they never expectedanything else" (G. Meredith); 6. "Look here, itisn't safe to lean like that. You'll be tumblingover and breaking your neck" (H. Walpole).
ADVERBIALS OF TIME COMBINED WITH THE FUTUREDYNAMIC
In the sources analysed the Future Dynamic isused 46.3% with an adverb or adverbial phrase oftime and 4.3% with a temporal clause.
The relative frequency of adverbs and adverbialphrases of time combined with the Future Dynamic isgiven below (figures in brackets
128indicate % of the total number of instances of
the tense combined with such modifiers):soon (15.7); in ten minutes, etc. (9.5);
tomorrow, tomorrow morning, etc. (6.7); next (6.0);next week, etc. (4.5); again (4.1); at five pastten, etc. (4.1); now (4.1); for a while, etc. (3.6);by that time, etc. (3.2); tonight, presently, allthe time, right along (2.6); before teatime (etc.),often (ever so often, etc.), on Saturday (etc.), onemorning (etc.), until then (etc.) (1.7, each);shortly, then, this year, some day, before long(1.4, each); always, during this coming week (etc.),every minute (etc.), from now on, any more, today(this day, etc.) (1.0); after lunch, any day(moment) now, constantly, in December (etc.), in(the) future, in the morning, later, meanwhile,never, still, this afternoon, this weekend,when ...? (0.7); all day long, at first, a few days,much longer, this May, this morning, this summer,what time ...?, yet (0.4, each).
Soon: 1." I'll be going abroad soon" (J.Braine); 2. "You'll be fighting them soon" (E.Hemingway); 3."Yes, old man, I'm on the bread line!I'll soon be hanging around the back door asking youfor some stale buns!" (D. Carter).
In Ten Minutes, etc.: 1." He'll be closing therestaurant in ten minutes" (D. Carter); 2. "Tell thefront office these boys'11 be coming in about thirtyminutes" (A. Maltz); 3. "Why, in a week you'll bekicking because the towels are too small" (S.Lewis).
Tomorrow, etc.: 1. " Will you be coming tomorrow,doctor" (A. Cronin); 2." The sun will be shiningtomorrow morning" (H. Walpole); 3." I '11 be waiting
for you at the morning train the day after tomorrow"(J. London).
Next: 1." Next he'll be selling us dirtypostcards" (I. Shaw); 2." You'll be telling me themonkeys in India wear trousers next" (A. Cronin); 3."What a notion! What will you be writing next?" (E.James).
Next Week, etc.: 1." Next week we'll be leaving"(M.Wilson); 2. "Anyway you'll be seeing me nextweekend" (A. Kingsley); 3." Who'll be coming herethis time next year, I wonder?" (Th. Wolfe).
Again. At Five Past Ten, etc. Now: 1." I hopeI'll be seeing you again" (A. Kingsley); 2. "We won'tbe going there again" (J. Braine); 3. "He'll bepassing here on his pony at five-past ten" (J.Galsworthy); 4. "I shall be sailing at the end ofMarch" (E. Delafield); 5. "You'll becoming home withme now" (Th. Dreiser); 6."I'll be going now" (A.Saxton).
For a While, etc. By That Time, etc.: 1. "Youwon't be following even so few as one hound for awhile" (E. Caldwell); 2. "We hope father won't becoming from prison for a long time" (J. Galsworthy);3. "You mean by that time you'll be experimentingwith someone else?" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "ByChristmas you'll be eating Russian bread" (A. Maltz).
Tonight. Presently. All the Time. Right Along:1. "They'll be coming down tonight" (R. Graves); 2."I suppose Michael will be getting home presently"(W. S. Maugham); 3. "You know what Chicago is;they'll be meeting all the time" (W. S. Maugham); 4."I'll be selling land right along" (J. London).
Before Teatime, etc. Often, etc.: 1. "I shall becoming down before-teatime" (Ch. Bronte); 2. "Don'tfrown too much, Dick. You'll be look-
129ing old before your time" (J. Lindsay); 3. "I'll
be seeing you ever so often now" (A. Cronin).
On Saturday, etc. One Morning, etc. Until Then,etc.: 1. The club will be watching Bennett play forRotherham in their Cuptie against Lincoln onSaturday (D. Worker); 2. "We shall be running theexperiment on the twenty-third" (C. P. Snow); 3."Iwonder if you'll be passing one morning and couldlook in and see me for a moment" (H. Walpole);
4. "One of these days you'll be having the dogstolen" (J. Galsworthy);
5. " Until then I'll be sleeping there" (I.Stone); 6. "I shan't be leaving till past seven" (J.Lindsay).
Shortly. Then. This Year. Some Day. Before Long:l."The position will be falling vacant very shortly"(P. Wodehouse); 2. "We shall just be beginning theexperiments then" (M. Wilson); 3. "You will becoming to me some day" (Ch. Bronte); 4." I don'tthink I shall be going to Ascot this year" (M.Arlen); 5. "The doctors will be finding somethingextra-pink before long" (J. Galsworthy).
Always. During This Coming Week1, etc. EveryMinute2, etc. From Now On. Any More. Today, etc.: 1."The glasses will always be sliding down my nose"(K. Mansfield); 2. "They'll be working for us fromnow on" (M. Wilson); 3. "Then I shan't be troublingyou any more" (M. Arlen); 4. "Today I'll be votingtwenty times or more" (D. Carter).
After Lunch. Any Day Now. Constantly. InDecember, etc. In (the) Future. In the Morning:l."I've told him I'll be pushing off after lunch"(A. Berkley); 2. "Any day now the Russians will befighting the British and the Americans" (I. Shaw);3. Two fighters who will be seeing action at theNational Sporting Club in December are British andEuropean featherweight champion Howard Winston and
1 See Example 7 on page 126. 2 See Example 11 on page 127.
John O'Brien (D. Worker); 4. "Meanwhile, I'll bepraying for you and loving you constantly" (Th.Dreiser); 5. "He'll be wanting other things from thecity in the future" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "You'll findyou won't be thinking of it in the morning" (H.Walpole).
Later. Meanwhile1. Never. Still. This Afternoon,etc. When ...?: l."I will be writing you later" (A.Cronin); 2. "I know my mother will never beforgiving me if I don't travel to see her" (J.Lindsay); 3. By that time you and I will be dustbeneath the feet of horses, and men be still ridinginstead of flying (B. Shaw); 4. "But will you not begoing there this afternoon?" (M. Mitchell); 5.Lester Piggott will be making a supreme effort tobeat the reigning champion this weekend (D. Worker);
6. "When will you be going down?" (M. Wilson).All Day Long. At First. A Few Days. Much Longer:
l."I'll be working my head off all day long,training the girl!" (S. Lewis); 2. "You're green. IfI break you in, I'll be doing plenty of your work atfirst" (J. London); 3." Will you be spending a fewdays in Paris?" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "She won't beworking there much longer" (O'Henry).
This May2. This Morning. This Summer3. WhatTime ...? Yet: 1. Many London tradeunionists will berallying to welcome the Northerners at FriendsHouse this morning (D. Worker); 2. "What time willyou be calling tonight?" (G. Gordon); 3. "If hecomes, you'll be doing the best yet, Hurley" (E.Cluer).
Clauses of Time Modifying the Future Dynamic:when-clause (38%); before-clause (31.0%); while-clause
1 See Example 4 above2 See Example 8 on page 126.3 See Example 3 on page 32.
(10.3%); after-clause, as soon as-clause, until-clause (6.9%,each).
When-clause: see Examples 1—3 on page 128.Before-clause: 1. "Before you know, the leaves will
be hanging out a welcome to say it's spring again"(D. Cusack); 2. "I daresay we shall be having manytalks about it before it's over" (H. Walpole); 3."She'll be thanking her stars she found out hermistake in time, before the year's out" (E.Delafield).
While-clause: see Example 2 on page 128.After-clause: "After I'm in my grave, you'll be
weeping salt tears" (J. Lindsay).As Soon As-Clause, Until-Clause: "As soon as your
brother is fixed up I shall be sailing" (J.Galsworthy); "Remember I'll be looking till you findyour sister" (Th. Dreiser).
VERBS USED IN THE FUTURE DYNAMIC1
Absolute frequency of verbs used in the FutureDynamic Tense in the sources analysed2:
go (49); come (38); see (33); get (27); want(20); wait (19); do, have, look, think (14); work(10); make, say (9); leave, tell (8); run (7); sit,take (6); carry, play, sing, stay (5); ask, call,feel, fight, move, need, pass, stand, visit, watch,wonder (4); draw, eat, fall, find, live, marry,meet, operate, ride, sail, sell, smell, speak, talk,try, turn, use, write (3); appear, attend, blow,buy, carve, cut, demand, drive, earn, expect,follow, hang, hear, help, hurt, lay, lead, let,mess, miss, push, put, read, report, return, ring,send, shine, shove, sleep, spend, start, stop,swarm, vote, walk (2).1 For explanation and comments see pages 102—107.2 The figures in brackets indicate the number of instances found in the sources.
The list contains 87 verbs wich are used in thesources analysed from 49 (about 8% of all instancesof the Future Dynamic) to 2 (about 0.15%) timeseach. There are also 104 other verbs in the sourceswhose absolute frequency is unity, among them tobelieve, depend (on), forgive, love, wish.
Examples of the Future Dynamic of the verbs: tosee (33); want (20); think (14); feel, need, wonder(4); find, smell (3); appear, expect, hear, hurt(2); believe, depend, forgive, love, wish (1).
To See. The verb to see in the Future Dynamic isused 32 times out
131of 33 (97%) in the meaning to meet and converse
with and 1 time in the meaning to experience1. Mosttypical examples:
1.I'll be seeing you" (G. Greene); 2. "Fine. Beseeing you" (D. Carter); 3. "I shan't be seeing himagain" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "When will I be seeing youagain?" (A. Clark).
To Want: 1 ."There we are—a change! Womenwill bewanting a change in Paradise" (G. Meredith); 2."Will you be wanting me any more, Sir John?" —"No,thank you" (E. James); 3. "They'll be wanting youhome again soon" (A. Saxton); 4."Some day you'll bewanting to retire" (G. Galsworthy); 5." When do yousuppose you'll be wanting me to go?" (Th. Dreiser);6. "You'll be wanting tea, I suppose?" (J.Galsworthy).
To Think: 1." I shall be thinking of you day andnight" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "I'm figuring we'll bothbe clear by tomorrow morning. We won't even bethinking of bail or a trial" (A. Maltz); 3. My dear,I am afraid he will be thinking more of his owndanger than of mine (B. Shaw).
1 See Example 3 on page 130.
To Feel. To Need. To Wonder: l."I expect Mr.Jettsonwill be feeling a little tired now" (J.Pudney); 2. "In an hour or two you'll be feeling morelike yourself" (D. du Maurier); 3. "You'll be needinga new suit soon" (M. Wilson); 4. "The light won'twork for some reason. But you won't be needing one,will you?" (A. Kingsley);5. "He'll be wondering whereI've gone to" (H. Smith); 6. "Well, are you ready togo downstairs, Ena? Davidwill be wondering what'shappened to you" (A. Berkley).
To Find. To Smell: 1. "I guess you'll be findinghim asleep, sir" (S. Lewis); 2."The children'11 befinding things soon enough" (J. O'Hara); 3." In acouple of days thecorpse'll be smelling" (W.Faulkner); 4." They're like horses and dogs, theysmell death." — "Shut up, Pete. Get to sleep oryou'll be smelling something else" (D. Cusack).
To Appear. To Expect. To Hear. To Hurt: 1. "I'dlike somebody to go as soon as possible, please, andinform the audience that I shan't be appearingbefore them" (A. Kingsley); 2." Ralph! I hear anaeroplane!" — "Why, honey, you're crazy! You'll behearing Kreisler playing the violin next!" (S.Lewis); 3. "He cannot afford to give his daughter abit of sweetie next,' that's what we'll be hearingtomorrow" (A. Cronin); 4. "Anyhow this is the daythe old man won't be expecting me to come around" (J.O'Hara); 5. "Do you want to marry her?" —"Ofcourse." —"You'll only be hurting yourself, becauseLily won't marry you" (M. Wilson).
To Believe. To Forgive. To Love: See Examples 1,2 and 4 on pages 128, 130 respectively.
To Depend (on). To Wish: "Now I'm going toLudington and I won't be depending on anybody butmyself" (A. Saxton); "I'll soon be wishing
you were back in Chicago" (A. Saxton).
Miscellaneous
Typical General Questions. Interrogativesentences containing the Future Dynamic make about5% of all its uses:
general questions — 3%, special questions — 2%. In 56% of all general questions the word order
is direct:1." You'll be coming by train?" (A. Kingsley); 2.
"Will you be coming tomorrow?" (A. Cronin); 3."You'll be going to the football match thisafternoon?" (A. Cronin); 4. "Will you be goinghopping this year?" (J. Galsworthy).
Verbs in the Passive Voice. Only one example hasbeen found on the 150,000 pages of text (See pp. 54—55).
THE USE OF ANTERIOR STATIC TENSESThe anterior static tenses are used to denote
verbal processes anterior to the speaker's mentaltime (for the Beforepast and the Before-future alsoto any other process in the past or future) andrepresented as relatively static.
THE BEFOREPRESENT STATIC
The Beforepresent is fourth in frequency infiction (3.8%) and technical literature (1.2%). Itis used to refer to processes anterior to thespeaker's mental present and represented asrelatively static. Processes denoted by verbs in theBeforepresent Static can be exclusive (73%) orinclusive (27%), isolated (80%) or simultaneous(12.1%) or sequent (7.9%) with other processes. Theycan be currently relevant or irrelevant (see pages42—45). Objectively, they are anterior to processesin present (95%), future (3%) or past (2%) time. In
41.6% the Beforepresent Static is modified by anadverb, adverbial phrase, or a temporal clause.
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO PRESENT TIME
A process denoted by the Beforepresent Staticcan be either inclusive or exclusive (see pages 44—45), the distance between the end of a process andthe moment of speaking as well as the length of theprocess ranging from several instants to infinite.
Examples of Increasing Distance Between the End ofVerbal Process and the Moment of Speaking
1. At last with a swift grab he caught her andpulled her close to him."So I've caught you, myfairy" (M. Mitchell); 2." Lunch, Lawrence?"— "I havelunched, Jack" (J. Galsworthy); 3. Millie comes inwith the early morning cup of tea. "There's been aterrible fall of snow in the night" (K. Mansfield);4. "I have had another baby since I saw you. I'veonly had her two days" (K. Mansfield); 5."That's areally pretty woman who has moved in next door" (Th.Dreiser) (The Vances had been Carrie's neighboursfor over a month); 6. "I want love. I thought I'dmarried the handsomest man in England, and I'vemarried a tailor's dummy"
133(W. S. Maugham) (Julia to Michael after a year's
married life); 7. "Woman, you have given birth to amonster" (Th. Wolfe) (Steve, to whom reference wasmade, was a man of about thirty); 8. "We Americanshave taken an undeveloped continent ..." (Th.Dreiser); 9. I saw him looking at the cave man's skull."You don't think an ugly beast like that couldreally leave" a ghost?" I asked.— "It's left itsbones," he said (J. Galsworthy) (The Cave man of theOld Stone Age lived about 10,000 years ago); 10.
"Time passes", said George; "what do we know ofTime? Prehistoric beasts, like the ichthyosaurushave laired and brought forth ..." (R. Aldington)(Millions of years ago).
Examples of Processes of Increasing Length
1. "We have never sat down for a moment" (K.Mansfield); 2. "I've seen him for a few minutes" (J.Galsworthy); 3. "I've been asleep two or threehours" (E. Caldwell); 4. "I've lain awake for twonights, turning it all over in my mind" (W. S.Maugham); 5. "I have thought over this for a weekpast" (Ch. Dickens); 6. "I've studied Italian formonths now" (E. Hemingway); 7. " We've workedtogether for years" (R. Bradbury); 8. Like anylanguage, English does grow and change as it hasgrown and changed for centuries (J. Warriner); 9.The Absolute is uncreated; it has existed frometernity (W. S. Maugham).
THE THREE BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE BEFOREPRESENTSTATIC
The invariant meaning of the BeforepresentStatic consists in representing verbal processeswhich are anterior to the speaker's mental presentas relatively static. The basic f u n c t i o n s , orvariant meanings, of the tense are references toprocesses that (1) are anterior to processes ofgeneral validity,(2) are purely logical conclusionsdrawn by the speaker from the situation existing atthe moment of speaking and his experience in life,(3) belong to anterior periods of time surveyed bythe speaker who is mentally in the present (theRetrospective Before-present).
Anteriority to Processes of General Validity.The Beforepresent Static is frequently used to
denote anteriority of a verbal process to a processof general validity. Three examples of such use ofthe tense have already been given (page 17). In thefirst example, for instance (No fox likes to eat ananimal that he himself has not killed), the processdenoted by the verb to like refers to a n у moment ofthe present-time sphere which includes the moment ofspeaking and is limited by the duration of theexistence of the fox as a particular species ofanimals. The verbal action has killed, being anterior toa n у moment of this process and not only to themoment of speaking which is included into it,cannot, in accordance with the accepted definitionof present, past and future time (see page 14),belong o n l y to the past. It c a n n o t , therefore,be the speaker's mental p a s t , which is alsoevident in view of the fact that it cannot beassociated with any p a r t i c u l a r circumstances
134in the past. In other words, the speaker, having
uttered the words "No fox likes to eat an animal",does not, in the act of speaking further ("that hehimself has not killed"), go mentally into the past,and the verbal action has killed turns out to beobjectively a n t e r i o r to his m e n t a l p r e s e n t .Some other examples:
1. When a man journeys into a far country, hemust be prepared to forget many of the things he haslearned and acquire such customs as are inherentwith existence in the new land (J. London); 2. Thefemale box turtle comes to select a place to lay hereggs at about six o'clock in the evening, at a timewhen turtles have generally retired for the night(P. F. Collier); 3. In the wild state condorssubsist chiefly on carrion. Gifted with amazingsight, they watch from dizzy heights the activitiesof beasts of prey on the earth below them. When apuma has gorged himself and abandoned the carcass of
his kill, a condor may dash down and eat theremainder (P. F. Collier); 4. The indicator showswhen the signal has been recorded (Electronics); 5."A grave's a grave and a dead man's a dead man ifhe's been dead a million years" (H. G. Wells); 6.If, unfortunately, the fly has got caught in thenet, the spider can come and talk business upon hisown terms (Th. Dreiser).
Examples of the Beforepresent Static to refer toprocesses anterior to processes of general validityare very frequent in English-English dictionaries inexplanations of the meaning of many words, for in-stance:
1. Abridgement, n. A thing (e. g. a book) thathas been abridged (ALD) (Abridgement is a thing thathas been abridged); 2. Adulteration, n.
A thing that has been adulterated (ALD); 3. Age,n. The length of time during which a being or thinghas existed (ACD); 4. Alumnus, n. A boy or man whohas attended or been graduated from a school,college, etc. (WNWD); 5. Admonish, v. t. To warn aperson that he has done wrong or advise him to doright (ALD); 6. Expostulate, v. i. To reasonearnestly with a person against something he intendsto do or has done (ASD).
Purely Logical Conclusions. The BeforepresentStatic is often used to refer to processes which arepurely logical conclusions drawn by the speaker froma situation existing at the moment of speaking andhis experience in life. Three examples of such useof the tense have already been given (page 17). Thesituation existing at the time of the utterance"What's the time? My watch has stopped" (the firstexample) was obviously the following: The speakerlooked at his watch. The time it showed was grosslydifferent from what he might have been reasonablyexpecting. A further examination of the watchrevealed the fact that its hands were not moving,
its works not ticking. The standing hands of thewatch, the absence of the peculiar sounds of thewatch working were the speaker's mental present. Hisnatural reaction to it was the utterance "My watchhas stopped" — a purely logical conclusion: thespeaker had not perceived the stopping of the watchand did not associate it with any particularcircumstances in the past, in other words, mentallyhe was not in the past but in the present. Theprocess has stopped, however, was objectivelyanterior to his mental present. Some other examples:
1. "Hello!" the driver said. "This is odd. Ididn't know there was
135any traffic in these parts." — For a moment
Gibson, who was not really as observant as he likedto think, was at a loss. Then he noticed a fainttrack running along the valley at right angles totheir present path.— "There have been some heavyvehicles here," said the driver. "Fm sure this trackdidn't exist the last time I came this way — let'ssee, about a year ago" (A. Clark); 2. * I see fromyour expression that you have heard of this infamouscriminal" (M. Arlen); 3. Then she caught sight of ahalf-rolled-up oblong of American cloth on thefloor. "Oh, they've knocked down the chart off thewall. I'll just put it up again" (A. Kings-ley); 4."I see that these candles on the mantelpiece havebeen lighted" (A. C. Doyle); 5. "For God's sake whaton earth's wrong with you. You look as though you'veseen a ghost" (D. Cusack); 6. "But look — it'sstopped raining (H. Smith).
If the speaker, however, starting from somesituation in the present, associates the verbalprocess with some particular circumstances in thepast, that is, when he is mentally in the past, heuses a past tense (see pages 17—18, 75—76). Comparealso the following oppositions:
1. "Good morning, banner," Holmes said. "Haveyou heard of the events which led up to thisaffair?" —"Yes, I heard something of them" (A. C.Doyle); 2. "Have you been inoculated?" —"Yes. Watsondid me" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "Oh, here you are.You've been introduced to everybody of course?"—"Yes, I met nearly everybody, I think (Th. Drei-ser); 4." You have talked with Clara?" —" We had aconversation" (G.Meredith); 5."Has somebody toldAnse about it?" —"I told him" (W. Faulkner); 6."Michelangelo, I just held a world competition forsculpture." — "Oh. And where did you hold it?" —"Inmy head. I'm happy to tell you that you won".— "Whathave I won?" (I. Stone).
In the following examples verbs in theBeforepresent and the Past Static are used by thesame speaker:
1. "And that's the reason I've come to see you.I came more or less to ask your advice" (A. Cronin);2. The bell rang. It was Eddie in a state of acutedistress. "I have had such a dreadful experiencewith a taximan; he was most sinister. I couldn't gethim to stop. The more I knocked and called thefaster he went" (K. Mansfield); 3. (A badly woundedman thinking): 1 can't wait any longer now. If Iwait any longer I'll pass ou'. I know because I'vefelt it starting three times now and I've held it Iheld it all right (E. Hemingway); 4. "I've seen yourletter. It wasn't more than ten lines" (W. S.Maugham); 5." I sent for you, Stephen, my boy, tohave a look at you. I'm glad you came. I don't wantto go back on our differences, because I've sent foryou to forgive you" (J. Pudney); 6." I've spoken toher about it", interjected Mrs. Van Wyk with pride.—They all looked at her incredulously. — "Oh, yes, Idid" (G. Gordon).
The Retrospective Beforepresent. Frequently thespeaker has to survey mentally a period of time (a—
o) begun somewhere in the past and touching upon theprocess of reference (1) (Fig. 11). One or moreprocesses may have occurred in such period of time.They can be continuous (2, 3) or repeated (4, 5),objectively exclusive (2, 4) or inclusive (3, 5)(Fig. 12). If the process is objectively inclusive,the speaker surveys only that
136part of it (e. g., 3' — 0) which is to the left
from the process of reference (1). If, whilesurveying such periods of time, the speaker does notassociate processes with any particularcircumstances in the past but merely establishes thefact that they have taken place broadly "up to now",he remains mentally in the present. In such casesthe processes in the period of time surveyed (e. g.,2, 3' — 0, 4, 5' — 0 in Fig. 12) are anterior to thespeaker's mental present and he uses verbs in theBeforepresent Static (or Dynamic) to refer to them.
The Retrospective Beforepresent is used in anumber of patterns represented below by theexamples:
1. "So far you have behaved all right" (E.Hemingway); 2. "Sure I heard of the town. I'vevisited there often" (J. O'Hara); 3. "Have you
Fig. 11. Fig. 12.
ever been to a symphony concert?" (W. S.Maugham); 4. "She's never been in London" (E.Delafield); 5. "As you know, Aileen, I've alwaysplanned to make this house into a really fine museum"(Th. Dreiser); 6." I haven'tseen this dress before"(Th. Dreiser); 7." I know Mr. McKently by sight, andI've seen Mr. Cowperwood once" (Th. Dreiser); 8.
"Mother has run away with Lord Dallinger and Fatherhas had to divorce her" (E. Delafield); 9. "I'vegiven love to him. And I've cooked for him, I've sungfor him. And now he doesn't love me any longer" (S.Lewis).
As soon as the speaker, however, concentrateshis attention on any of the processes of theanterior period of time surveyed by him, associatingit with some particular circumstances in the past,he uses verbs in the Past Tense. Compare the use ofthe two tenses in the following examples:
1. "Well, Mr. Short told me only this eveningthat his wife has asked you round for tea threetimes; and every time you had some sort of excuse"(G. Gordon); 2. - You think I have deceived youbadly, but I haven't. I didn't do it willingly" (Th.Dreiser); 3. "Wilfred has gone. He went this morning"(J. Galsworthy); 4. "For the last two and a halfmonths while Jan's been in Springfield I've beendown there as an orderly, and I've learned quite alot." ■— He saw the astonishment in Magda's face."You what!" —"You heard! I've been in the men'sward, and I learned enough there looking afterstrangers to be pretty certain I can look after myown wife" (D. Cusack); 5. "Is she married?" —"I hopeso, she's been living with him nearly ten years.George Aisgill; you've met him too, he came to thelast social evening (J. Braine); 6. "I've only seenher once," he added, "and then she was dressed" (J.Galsworthy).
137
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO FUTURE TIME
The Beforepresent is used to refer tobeforefuture processes in time clauses (82%) as wellas in object and attributive clauses (18%).
From the time clauses the most frequent are thetill- and the when-clause (48% and 42%,respectively). Examples:
1. "I'll not rest till I've made it up for you"(A. Cronin); 2. " Wait till I've finished" (G.Gordon); 3. "We'll talk about that when we've had acup of tea" (D. Cusack); 4. "When men have learnedabout you, they will leave you alone" (W. Guin); 5."I'm going to the club after you've had some tea" (E.Delafield); 6. "I will come to Warwickshire on myreturn — perhaps before you have gone back toOxford" (Ch. Dickens).
In Object and Attributive Clauses: See examplesand an explanation to them on pages 56—57.
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO PAST TIME
Sometimes, when narrating about the past, thespeaker represents the processes as if they weretaking place before his and his listener's eyes. Insuch cases he uses the Present Static and thePresent Dynamic Tenses to refer to them (see pages14, 66, 97). Processes anterior to them are denotedthen by verbs in the Beforepresent Static (orDynamic), Jor example:
І . You can imagine how my mother came flying. Butshe was too late. Dicky has lept out of his chair,run through the french windows on the veranda, andwell there she stood — popping her thimble on andoff, helpless (K. Mansfield); 2. The newly-arrivedguest looked round; as if with dazzled eyes, hepassed his hands across his brow. And now, soundbegins to add itself to the other accompaniments ofthe scene: a warm, happy murmur of voices. For thedining-room door has been opened, and our sometimeswayfarer has entered (Ch. Dickens); 3. And nowrecollection of those May morning trees holds backthe thoughts of death: He is twenty-six, and has
lived greedily. In distant camps, in cities, thosewith whom he has shared his pleasures lie breathingand confident of their tomorrows; dew is forming inthe garden of the house he was born ... (J.Sommerfield).
ADVERBIALS OF TIME COMBINED WITH THE BEFOREPRESENTSTATIC
The Beforepresent Static has been found to becombined with an adverbial of time in 41.6% of itstotal use: 36.5% by an adverb or adverbial phraseand 5.1% by a time clause containing a Past, theBefore-present Static or Present Tense.
The frequency list of adverbs and adverbialphrases combined with the Beforepresent Static (% ofthe total use of the tense with such modifiers):
138For a year, etc. (10.8); often, a dozen times,
etc. (9.4); never, never before, never in my life(9.1); always (8.4); all my life, all night, etc.(6.7); before, before this morning, etc. (4.9); twodays, etc. (4.9); just (3.8); yet (3.2); since,since then, etc. (3.0); ever, etc. (2.9); in mytime, etc. (2.7); once, once or twice, etc. (2.7);already (2.6); so far (2.1); this last-week, etc.(2.1); long enough, too long, very long (2.0); longago, long since (1.9); lately, of late (1.9); in thepast (1.7); recently (1.6); now, up to now, thisevening (etc.) (1.5, each); during the past sixmonths, etc. (1.3); from the start, etc. (1.3); in1959, etc. (1.2); this past week, etc. (1,0);suddenly, today, long (0.9, each); all along, etc.(0.8); how long ...? (0.8); in years, in six weeks,etc. (0.7); just now, tonight, when ...? (0.6,each); from eternity, etc. (0.5); hitherto (0.5); atthe age of 21, etc. (0.4); by this time, by now(0.4); constantly (0.4); an hour ago, etc. (0.3); in
my life (0.3); after the morning service (etc.),over and over, again, in earlier years, previously,steadily, still, this time, to this day (0.2, each);afterward, as a boy, as yet, at last, early,from ... to generally, in the night, six monthslater, of a Saturday, seldom, yesterday (0.1, each).
For a Year, etc.: see examples on page 134.Often. A Dozen Times, etc. The frequency list of
the adverbs and adverbial phrases of frequency (in%): often (37), a dozen times, etc. (33); every day,etc. (12); sometimes, twice (3, each); at times,frequently, repeatedly (2, each); at intervals, dayafter day, night after night, now and then, on andoff, time and again (1, each):
1. "I've often meant to drop you a line" (J.Lindsay); 2. "I've read it a dozen times" (J.Galsworthy); 3." You've blamed me a million times"(G. Gordon); 4. "The room's been aired and dustedevery day" (E. Delafield); 5. "My brother! Mybrother! it has rung in my ears every morning" (MissYonge); 6. " Have you seen a man in our housesometimes, a little man with a yellow face?" (H.Walpole); 7. "Twice the last week I've walked pasther house" (J. Lindsay); 8. "For my amusement duringthe past year I have at times considered each aspectof them" (M. Mitchell); 9. "Papa and I have talkedof you frequently" (G. Meredith); 10. "I haveprotested earnestly and repeatedly against themilitary commissions" (E. Voynich); 11. "Now I mustclose. I have written the letter at intervals, andnow we have docked" (A. Cronin); 12. "The rose isfor you. I have watched it budding day after day"(Ch. Dickens); 13. " Night after night I have stoodon the porch and heard the dogs baying far off" (F.Norris); 14. "I've seen them now and then" (G.Gordon); 15. "We've risked our lives together timeand again" (O'Henry).
Never. Never Before. Never in My Life. Withthese adverbials the Past Static is about 1.5 timesmore frequent than the Beforepresent Static (seepages 58—59). Examples:
1." Poor Jessie! She looks healthy, but she'snever been a strong child" (L. Hughes) //"We (theEnglish) never were a stay-at-home lot, like theFrench" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "I've never seen you soquiet before" (S. Lewis) //"You see, I never saw youbefore"(J. Galsworthy); 3. "I've never heardanything sillier in my life" (D. Cusack)//"I neverheard of anything like that in my life" (F. Pohl).
139Always. With the adverb always the Beforepresent
Static is 1.5 times more frequent than with the PastStatic (see pages 58—59):
1. "Of course it's like Victoria. She always hasbeen the image of her" (E. Delafield)//"Mil saysshe's afraid Ivy might do something. She always wasa nervy sort of girl!" (S. Gibbons); 2. "I havealways thought it a blessing" (Miss Yonge) //"You'renaughty, Dinny. I always thought you were naughty"(J. Galsworthy); 3. "I've always wanted to seeforeign places. Well, I want to do that just as muchas ever" (S. Lewis) //"We'll have a shot at it. Youknow I always wanted you to try. And now I do, morethan ever" (A. Cronin).
All My Life, All Night, etc.: l."I have knownhim all my life" (W. S. Maugham); 2. "He hasn'tclosed his eyes all night" (I. Shaw); 2." I'vehardly laid eyes on you all summer" (Th. Wolfe); 4."He's waited all these years" (J. Galsworthy).
Before. The Beforepresent Static is used withthis adverb 1.5 times more frequently that the PastStatic (see pages 58—59).
1. "I've been through that before" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "I've heard that name before" (A.Cronin); 3." You've met Will before" (Th. Wolfe).
Before This Morning, etc. Two Days, etc.: l."Ihaven't seen any one before this morning" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "I've spent the night in a railwaystation before this" (J. Lindsay); 3."I've been backthree days" (A. Cronin); 4. " I've waited sevenyears for this" (J. Galsworthy).
Just. In the works of English authors the adverbis combined 95% with the Beforepresent Static and 5%with the Past Tense.In American literature the ratiois 51% to 49%. Compare:
1. "My father's just brought me this picture,Aubrey — isn't it a gem?" (J. Galsworthy) //"Readthat. Vanamee just brought it" (F. Norris); 2."Look, Arnie, I've just finished listening to Sales.And you were absolutely right" (M. Wilson) //"Fine,"she laughed. "But you just finished telling me thatyou couldn't earn that kind of money" (M. Wilson);3."He's just gone" (Th. Dreiser) //"Did you seeanything of a rummy professor around here?" —"Hejust went out" (E. Hemingway).
Yet. 66% of the combinations of theBeforepresent Static with the abverb yet are used instatements, 44% in questions. Of the statements 86%have a verb in the negative, 9% have a negativeindefinite pronoun, and 5% are sentences affirmativein their content. For example:
1. "Nothing has happened yet" (P. Abrahams); 2."They haven't arrived yet" (B. Shaw); 3. " I've onlyhad one blue parrot yet" (J. Lindsay).
In questions (the sources analysed contain 91%of general and 9% of disjunctive questions)affirmative sentences make 75%, negative 25%.Examples:
1. "Has she come downstairs yet?" (M. Mitchell);2. "Have you eaten yet?" (I. Shaw); 3."Have you toldJan yet?" (D. Cusack); 4. "Why, haven't you seen thechild yet?" (G. Gordon) 5. "The morning paper hasn'tcome yet, has it?" (Th. Dreiser).
The adverb yet with the Past Static has beenfound only in American literature (about 15% of allinstances of yet combined with this tense), mostlyin general questions. Examples:
1401. "Did you meet him yet?" — "No. I didn't" (Th.
Dreiser); 2. "Did you rewrite scene two yet?" (I.Shaw); 3. "See anything else like this anywherearound here yet?" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "She says shedidn't hear yet" (Th. Dreiser).
Since, etc. The relative frequency (%) of theadverb since and the adverbial phrases combined withit: since then, etc. (76%); since (17%); always ...since, ever since (3.5%, each). Examples:
1." I've thought of her story a good deal sincethen" (W. S. Maugham); 2. " Since then I have heardfrom one source or another that you were stronglyagainst me" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "Through her he hasgone straight since" (G. Gordon); 4. "I've alwaysliked hares since" (J. Galsworthy); 5. "She went tobed immediately and has remained there ever since"(A. Cronin).
Ever. Ever ... Before. Ever ... in My Life. Ofthese three adverbials ever is the most frequent(68%, 18% and 14%, respectively). In 53% it is usedin attributive clauses, in 33% in general questions,the rest (12%) being affirmative simple sentencesand different clauses. Ever ... before has beenfound only in general questions, ever ... in my lifemostly in attributive clauses. Examples:
l."I'm not ashamed of anything I've ever done"(J. Braine); 2."Have you ever thought about that?"(D.Carter); 3. "Poor child! Nobody's ever known you"(Th. Wolfe); 4. It all seems lovelier than it hasever seemed (D. Cusack); 5. "Haven't you ever seen amonkey before?" (K.Mansfield); 6. "Have you everworked at anything before?" (Th. Dreiser);
7. " It's the most terrible thing I've everheard in my life" (D. Cusack);
8. She was the nicest girl I've ever seen in mylife (Sh. Anderson).
In all the above patterns the Past Tense isabout 1.5 times more frequent than the BeforepresentStatic (see pp. 58—59), e. g.:
1. I'll buy her the sweetest clothes a littlegirl ever had (J. Lindsay); 2. "You're not like anyother woman I ever met" (D. Cusack); 3. "Did youever eat such filthy food?" (E. Hemingway); 4. "Didyou ever see baseball played?" (J. Galsworthy); 5. "Did you ever, once in your life, turn yourself looseand rip things up by the roots?" (J. London); 6.That's the first time I ever wished that, in all mylife (D. Parker).
In My Time, etc. The adverbial phrases in mytime, in my day, in his youth, etc. commonly pointto a period of time belonging completely to thepast. Combining them with the Beforepresent Static,however, the speaker does not associate verbalprocesses in his mind with any particularcircumstances in the past. Examples:
1. "We've both been boys in our time" (H.Walpole); 2. "They've been good houses in their day"(Th. Wolfe); 3."We've never had a lodger before,"she said."But I've suffered from landladies myselfin my younger days" (J. Braine).
Once. Once or Twice, etc. When combined with theBeforepresent the adverb once usually has themeaning on one occasion only, a single time up to now. In thismeaning it readily combines with twice and the like.Examples:
1. "I feel myself crawling with guilt every timeI think of Hugo alone in the hospital. I haven'tbeen to see him once — not once!" (M. Wil-
141
son); 2. " It has only happened to me like thatonce" (E. Hemingway); 3. " Once or twice I've feltyou hated me" (J. Lindsay); 4. " You have more thanonce interfered in his behalf" (F. Norris).
In combination with the Past Static the adverbonce is commonly used in the meaning at one time in thepast, for example:
1." I once saw a Jerry open the turret of aSherman and throw a hand-grenade" (J. Braine); 2."Once I swallowed a tree toad by mistake. I waseating grapes" (F. Norris); 3. "No, this is a poem.You remember, I told you about it once" (F. Norris).
Already: 1. "You've already slightly chilledyour lungs" (J. London); 2. "She has driven me madalready (B. Shaw); 3. "She'll wait. She's alreadywaited nine days" (W. Faulkner).
The Past Static in combination with already hasbeen found only in American literature. Examples:
1. "Lend me your scissors a second. You got themhandy?" —"No. I packed them already" (J. Salinger);2."They probably read it already" (J. O'Hara); 3."You say you spoke to her already?" (Th. Dreiser);4." And you come to the right doctor. I already toldyou that" (W. Faulkner).
So Far: 1. Survive, he thought, survive; it isthe only lesson I have learned so far (I. Shaw); 2."I want you to forget everything I've said so far"(A. Kingsley); 3." Oh, the way I've spent my life sofar," said Luke (C. P. Snow).
This Last Week, etc: 1. "I've doubted it thislast week" (M. Mitchell); 2."I've thought such a lotthese last few days" (A. Cronin); 3.* I've watchedyou over the last year" (J. Lindsay).
Long Enough. Too Long, etc: 1. We've gossipedlong enough. I must get back to work" (W. S.Maugham); 2." Why don't you try behaving?" — "I'vetried it so long. So very long" (E. Hemingway); 3."I have known her too long, too well, to doubt her
goodness" (Ch. Dickens); 4. I haven't kept youwaiting very long, I think (B. Shaw).
Long Ago. Long Since: 1. Why, I believe you. Youhave convinced me long ago (B. Shaw); 2. "It's awonder they haven't found that out long ago" (J.Galsworthy); 3."I'm sure she's forgotten all aboutyou long ago" (H. Walpole); 4. There is no need tofinish the story; my readers have long since divinedit: Gertrude was the heiress (S. Leacock); 5. "Ayoung writer commits many follies. I have long sincepassed through that phase" (P. Wodehouse).
Long ago is used about three times morefrequently than long since.
Only the first of the two phrases combines withthe Past Static:
1. "But I gave the script up long ago" (J.Lindsay); 2. "Oh, come now, Mama. We straightenedthat long ago" (A. Cronin); 3. Long ago there liveda selfish queen, who had a good and beautifuldaughter (W. S. Gray) (an example where the pastitself is reproduced and where, therefore, theBeforepresent is impossible).
Lately. Of Late. In combination with theBeforepresent Static lately is used about 8 timesmore frequently than with of late:
1. "My father has been worried in the businesslately" (A. Cronin); 2. "Has Jean written to youlately?" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "He has aged greatly oflate" (J. Conrad).
142The Past Static with lately is extremely rare
(about 22 times less frequent than with theBeforepresent) and is considered by some linguistsas archaic (see an example on page 88).
In the Past: "Well, I've come across him in thepast too" (A. Cronin); 2. "You needn't think I'mgoing to go on enduring all this as I have in thepast, I'm not" (Th. Dreiser); 3. " In the past,
critics of my works have started with "Appointmentin Samarra" arid worked forward. Now, I think,they'll start with"From the Terrace" and look back"(J. O'Hara).
The Past Static with this phrase makes onlyabout 6% of its use with these two tenses, forexample:
"Listen to me! You say I did you wrong in thepast — and I did, let me make up for it, let meatone" (J. London).
Recently. This adverb is common with bothBeforepresent (68%) and Past Static (32%), forexample:
1. "Several members of the old companies havecome to me recently to ask me to help them" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "You haven't seen any of us recently"(M. Wilson); 3. " Did you hear anything fromMarigold recently?" — "Not for some years" (A.Kingsley); 4. "What experience have you had?" — "Recently I owned a third-interest in a saloon atWarren and Hudson streets" (Th. Dreiser).
Now. The adverb now combines readily with bothBeforepresent and Past tenses. Examples:
l."I've been out with her about half-a-dozentimes now" (J. Braine); 2. Now I have forgotten whatI was going to say (B. Shaw); 3. The woman clutchedthe lean arm of her host." Now I got you! she said(D. Parker); 4. "Of course I haven't forgotten! It'syour birthday 1"—"You just thought of it now!" (R.Lardner).
Up to Now, etc. This phrase combines with theBeforepresent about 5 times more frequently thatwith the Past Static. Examples:
1. "Haven't I handled your affairssatisfactorily for you up to now?" (Th. Dreiser); 2."She has always kept so much to herself until now"(H. Walpole); 3. "Till this moment I was satisfiedwith the poor arrangements, but now I see you I know
they are helpless" (M. Mitchell); 4. "I am sick,very sick. How sick I did not know till now (J.London).
This Evening, etc. Both Beforepresent and PastTenses can be used with these adverbial phrases. Theperiod of time in which a verbal process takes placemay be, for both tenses, either included in orexcluded from that denoted by the phrases.
Examples with the Beforepresent Static:1. "She's been extremely rude to me this
evening" (A. Berkley) (The time at the moment ofspeaking was past two a. m.); 2. "By-the-by, howhave you got on with your new pupil this morning?"(Ch. Bronte) (It was about dinner-time); 3. "I'vesold thousands cf pairs of knickers this week" (J.Braine); 4. "I've nodded to him two or three timesthis summer" (Th. Dreiser).
Examples with the Past Static:l."She will meet him soon enough. Perhaps she
met him this evening" (C. Forester) (The time waseight p.m.); 2. "My," said Peggy, very pleased, "yougot out on the right side of the bed this morning,didn't
143you?" (I. Shaw) (Peggy was phoning to Michael
early in the morning); 3. "I saw him only once thisweek," she said at last (J. Updike); 4. "You knowwhat they did this week?" (D. Carter); 5. "I wentsnow-blind for a time, this spring, and since thenmy eyes have been playing tricks with me" (J.London) (It was still spring); 6. "Where was it youwent this year?"—"Northern France" (H. Smith).
During the Past Six Months, etc.: "My brotherand I have been especially pleased with the way youhave handled the work here during the past sixmonths" (Th. Dreiser); On the whole, it seems thatthe language has gained more than it has lost
because of the changes in verbs during the pastthousand years (J. N. Hook).
From the First, etc.: 1. "You've been against usmarrying from the start" (J. Braine); 2. "You haveavoided the ugly side of life from the first" (H. G.Wells); 3." I've given it support from thebeginning" (J. Pud-ney).
The Beforepresent with these adverbial phrasesis retrospective, while the Past Static, whencombined with them, lays emphasis on the beginningof the period, for example:
I fell in love with you from the first" (H. G.Wells); "I am not shocked. I divined it from thefirst" (J. London) (See also Example a-1 on page15).
In 1959, etc.: The American boxer Shomo has onlyonce before appeared in Britain — in 1959 (D.Worker) (The American boxer Shomo has only onceappeared in Britain. It was in 1959)1.
In scientific articles, in cases where the yearof a work referred to is indicated in brackets, theBeforepresent is as common as the Past. Compare:
Principles of their use have been discussed byArsdell (1951) (G. F.Stewart)//Вarket (1943)discussed the importance of designing and operatingequipment for drying potatoes (G. F. Stewart).
This Past Week, etc.: 1. "Maria's not herself,hasn't been herself this past week" (M. Mitchell);2. "I have thought of you for the past two days" (M.Mitchell); 3. Although the passive voice existed inOld English, its use has been considerably extendedin the past eight hundred years (J. N. Hook).
Suddenly: 1. "I am glad her difficulties haveall suddenly ended" (Th. Hardy); 2."Ralph, did yousee what I saw? Or have I suddenly gone crackers?"(M. Arlen); 3. "He gives me the impression of a1 For explanation and two more examples see pp. 59—60.
sleep-walker who's suddenly wakened in a strangeplace and can't think where he is" (W. S. Maugham).
Today. The adverb today is used with theBeforepresent in the meanings on this present day and at thepresent time, in these days, as in:
"Has your indigestion bothered you today?" (A.Cronin); "We've run out of honour today, but we havea nice fresh lot of selfrespect" (Th. Wolfe).
The Past Static with today is about three timesmore frequent than the Beforepresent. When used withit, the adverb always has the variant meaning on thispresent day. Examples:
1. "How did things go with you today?" (D.Cusack); 2. "Now tell us what else happened today"(J. Pudney); 3. "Did you have a game today?" (J.Updike); 4. "I met John today" (Th. Dreiser); 5."Say," he said." I saw Hurstwood today, and he wantsus to go to the theatre with him" (Th. Dreiser).
Long. When combined with the Beforepresent, theadverb long is used in its variant meanings for a greatextent of time (Examples 1—2) and at a point of time far distant fromnow:1
1. "Have you been here long?" (A. Cronin); 2."It's nearly morning," Lanny said. "We've sleptlong" (P. Abrahams); 3. The house is of rough logs,from between which the chinking has long fallen (W.Faulkner); 4. We have long understood the reason forour failure in life (S. Leacock).
All Along. All the While. How Long ...? InYears, etc.: 1. "He's quite right about this case,Dinny." —"I've felt it all along" (J. Galsworthy);2. "You've complained all the while and quiterightly" (J. Lindsay); 3. "How long have you knownit?" (M. Freeman); 4. "That's the best dinner I'vehad in years" (D. Cusack); 5. "I haven't seen himhere in two weeks" (Th. Dreiser).1 Note the place of the abverb used in the two meanings.
Just Now. Only six examples of just now combinedwith the Before-present have been found in thesources:
l."Only today, just now, have I heard that hepaid the bill for white paper" (J. London); 2. "ButI assure you, the kind of statement you have madejust now will greatly prejudice your wife'sposition" (D.Carter); 3. "I say, Cowperwood, I'veplayed a rather shabby trick on you just now" (Th.Dreiser); 4. "But some man will say — as you havesaid just now — How are the dead raised up?" (F.Norris); 5. "But we have said enough on this matter,just now" (Ch. Dickens); 6. My tongue is tied. Ihave tried, by the spoken word, just now, todescribe to you the effect on me of the scent of thegrass. But I have not succeeded" (J. London).
The common tense with just now in the meaningscarcely a moment ago is the Past Static. This isexplained by the fact that the particle just showsthat the verbal process modified by now (a momentago) is associated in the speaker's mind withd e f i n i t e time (Cf.: then and just then) and is,therefore, a reproduction of the past itself.
Tonight: 1. "You have been quiet tonight,Anthony" (G. Gordon); 2. "I have forgotten aboutheaven tonight" (A. Cronin); 3. "I've heard herspoken of here tonight in glowing terms" (I. Shaw).
The Past Static with tonight is about as common asthe Beforepresent. Examples:
1. "Why do you think I came round here tonight?"(A. Kingsley); 2. "George complained to me tonightthat you are always helping yourself from thebottle" (G. Gordon); 3. "Jan is dying. The doctortold me tonight" (D. Cusack).
When ... ?: 1. When have I ever denied it? (B.Shaw); 2. "When has this ever happened?" (I. Shaw);3. "When have you thought of the Cathedral and itsbeauty?" (H. Walpole).
These are all rhetoric questions almostequivalent in meaning to "I have never denied it,"etcAThey are but one step away from exclamatorysentences like the one following:
"What sane man has ever heard of an Englishpoliceman in spectacles!"(M. Arlen).
From Eternity1, etc. Hitherto: " From timeimmemorial religion has been guilty of the mosthorrifying deeds that have happened on earth" (J.Galsworthy); " Hitherto I have had no doubts" (G.Meredith).
At the Age of Twenty-one, etc.: 1. If you havebroken off your medical studies at London Universityat the age of twenty-one and resumed them at forty-three, you will find them a considerably tougher job(R. Macaulay); 2. "Don't you know that I'm a grownwoman. At my age, dear, most have begun to think ofgetting married" (Th. Wolfe); 3. In some institutesit is found helpful to select a series of testpassages and to record each student speaking one ofthose passages at the beginning of his course. Acareful note is made of the passage which he hasread or spoken, and the same passage is read andrecorded again at the end of the term, or the year,or the course (P. Strevens).
It will be seen that these are statements ofgeneral character not associated with any particularcircumstances in the past.
By This Time. By Now. Constantly: 1. "By thistime they have sold it" (Ch. Dickens); 2. "He's readeverything by now" (Th. Wolfe); 3." You have notbeen in Italy. I have constantly regretted it"(G.Meredith).
An Hour Ago, etc.: 1. I hate to meet a man whomI have known ten years ago, and find that he isprecisely at the same point, neither moderated, nor1 See Example 9 on p. 134.
experienced, but simply stiffened (G. Sampson); 2."Come into breakfast, boys." —"We have hadbreakfast, hours ago" (Th. White); 3. "I've only hadword of the thing an hour ago, and could not getback quick enough to tell it" (A. Cronin); 4. IndeedI have seen Blanche, six or seven years since, whenshe was a girl of eighteen (Ch. Bronte).
In the first sentence the process denoted by theverb in the Before-present is not associated withany particular circumstances in the past. Inutterances 2—4 the part containing the adverbialmodifier was added in the act of speaking as anafterthought.
In My Life. After the Morning Service, etc. Overand Over Again: 1." I've seen a lot of trouble in mylife" (Th. Dreiser); 2." I have generally gone toMrs. Meadows after the morning service" (MissYonge); 3. The bulletin said: "After a cold SirWinston has developed circulatory weakness" (D.Worker); 4. "He's said it over and over again" (W.S. Maugham).
In Earlier Years. Previously. Steadily. Still.This Time. To This Day1: 1. Wells in the Rumanianfields have in earlier years been drilled withinitial diameters as great as 36 inchess (L. Uren);2. I decided to drive put and call on the Musgraves.Previously, I've felt uncomfortable when alone withthem (J. Lindsay); 3. The amount in benefit, as apercentage of earnings, has gone down steadily (D.Worker); 4. "But you still haven't asked me aboutRegan" (M. Wilson); 5. "Where have you come fromthistime?" (F. Norn's); 6. "Oh, yes. I attended theinquiry, and to this day I haven't left offwondering why I went" (J. Conrad).
Afterward. As a Boy. As Yet. At Last. Early.From ... to ...:1 The common tense with to this day is the Present Static (see pp. 63—64).146
1. A man who has found a path to the hiddentemple but has not followed it; who has perhapscaught glimpses of the temple and striven afterwardto convince himself that it was only a mirage (J.London);
2. Leaving Duncliff Hill on the left heproceeded without hesitationthrough the shade, as a man goes on, night or day,in a district over whichhe has played as a boy (Th. Hardy); 3. "Only Iwouldn't say that themoney has been taken as yet" (Th. Dreiser); 4. Mynew things from Parishave arrived at last (B. Shaw); 5. "He's gone to bedearly" (Th. Hardy);6." From that day to this we have not spoken" (W. A.Heaven).
Generally1. In the Night. Six Months Later. Of aSaturday. Seldom. Yesterday: 1. "There's been aterrible fall of snow in the night" (K. Mansfield);2. Every bore tells us nowadays that Marxism in outof date. But all the fashionable "latest theories"which these critics hatch every six months asalternatives, rave over for the next six months andhave been forgotten six months later, have sunkwithout trace (D. Worker);
3. Oh, how I've done that window of a Saturday!(K. Mansfield); 4. Iimagine that seldom has a young man had such goldenopportunitiesof learning (P. Wodehouse); 5. "Aunt Emily met hismanager after hislecture at Queen's Hall yesterday, and he haspromised that he shallcome to her next Wednesday reception" (P.Wodehouse).1 See Example 2 on p. 146.147
Time-clause Modifiers. As has been pointed out(page 138), a verb in the Beforepresent Static maybe combined with a time-clause containing a verb ina past, beforepresent, or present tense.
Time-clauses with a Past Tense. The relativefrequency of time-clauses containing a past tense:since (21.5%); when (19.4%); till (3.6%); all thetime that (2.1%); before (1.4%); as, from the veryfirst moment (7%, each) (total 58% of clauses with apast and beforepresent tenses).
A Since-Clause. A since-clause may be in post-position(78%) or in pre-position (22%). In both cases sinceis often preceded by ever (14% and 57%,respectively). Examples:
1. "You've gofthinner since I last saw you" (D.Cusack); 2. She has seemed so much better since youstarted the injections" (D. Cusack); 3. "His fatherhas spoiled him ever since he was born" (Ch.Dickens); 4." Since I saw you last, Jan has beendesperately ill" (D. Cusack); 5. "Ever since westarted out you have kept an incessant flow ofconversation!" (P. Wodehouse).
A When-Clause. The verb of a when-clause is eitherin the Past Static (89%) or Past Dynamic (11%). Theprincipal clause is usually in preposition (97%).Examples:
1. First time in my life I've been afraid when Iheard the policeman (A. Sutro); 2. "Probably I'vetold you one or two fairy stories in my life, whenthe occasion called for it?" (S. Lewis); 3. "We haveall made mistakes when we were seventeen." —"We havenot all killed our dearest friend when we wereseventeen," she said wearily (E. Voynich);
4. "Why, I rocked you in my arms as a baby,Aileen. I've watched over you when you were notbigger than what would rest in my two fists here"(Th. Dreiser); 5. "And when the town was pleasedwith you and said you were so fine I've laughed" (H.
Walpole); 6."I've drawn in school when the Masterwas not looking" (I. Stone).
The Beforepresent Static in these examples isretrospective. A past tense in the subordinateclause is used in accordance with Factors 2, 3, and4 (see pages 55—59), for instance, to represent averbal process as simultaneous with that denoted bythe verb in the Beforepresent or to show that it hasbeen added in the process of speaking as an after-thought.
A While- and Till-clauses. All the Time + a Clause: 1."Have you been a good boy while I was away?" (A.Cronin); 2. They have done it while all the worldlooked on (F. Norris); 3. "We have had a good timewhile we were young" (Th. White); 4. "I have drunk aglass of Russian tea in a prim parlour of Petrogradwhile a soft-spoken little man told me how he hadassassinated a grand duke" (W. S. Maugham)1; 5. "I'vejust had the time of my life, all the time I washere" (D. Parker).
A Before-Clause. An As-Clause2. From the First Moment + aClause l."A moth has just flown into my candlebefore I could stop it" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "They'vetreated other people before we were born — plenty, Iexpect" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "You have come betweenme and my sleep from the very first moment I sawyou" (J. Braine).
Time Clauses with a Beforepresent Tense. Therelative frequency of clauses containing aBeforepresent (commonly the Beforepresent Static)tense: since (15.7%); when (12.9%); it is ...+ as/nce-clause (3.6%); in the short time that, etc.+ aclause (2,8%); while (2.8%); till (2.1%); after(1.4%); longer than + a clause (7%).
1 See Example 2 on p. 117.2 See Example 1 on p. 77.148
A Since-clause. A since-clause may be in pre-position (58%) or post-position (42%). Examples:
1." I've never looked at any woman except Myrasince I've been married" (S. Lewis); 2." You've donenothing but brag around ever since you've been here"(Th. Dreiser); 3. "Since I've known us, we've alwaysbeen poor" (Sh. Anderson).
A When-clause. The Beforepresent Static in theда/іе/г-clause is about three times less frequentthan the Past Tense. Examples:
1. "I'm so happy to see you again. I've oftenlonged for this when I've been away" (A. Cronin); 2."Her face has always looked sweet and happy when Ihave dreamed of her" (Ch. Dickens); 3." I've seenthem now and then, when I've come home from a show"(G. Cordon).
It Is ... + a Since-clause. In a Short Time That, etc. + aClause: 1." It's been a long time since we've had ascholar here" (I. Stone); 2. "But it has been sometime since I've been consulted by them" (Th.Dreiser); 3. I will enjoy the killing of somefascists. It has been too long since we havedestroyed any (E. Hemingway); 4." In the short timewe have had
Steve here, he has likewise shown promise" (G.Gordon); 2. "Why, even in the week that I have beenaway his power has lessened" (H. Walpole).
A While-, Till-, After-Clause. Longer than + a Clause: 1."And that is the lovely, happy, safe way I've feltwhile you've been gone" (S. Lewis); 2. "A man hasnot lived until he has kissed his woman and struckhis man" (J. London); 3. "I'm cleverer than Simon,but after I've been with him, that part of his mindhas left an impression on part of mine" (E.Delafield); 4. "I can't give up my principles. I'vehad mine longer than you've had yours" (R.Macaulay).
Time-Clause with a Present Tense. A clause withthe Beforepresent Static can be modified by a clausecontaining a present tense if present tenses areused in narration as well as in statements ofgeneral validity, for example:
When I reach the spring, the sun has gone downbehind a bank of black cloud and there is no wind(W. Faulkner); The objects or conceptions for whichthe terms stand may become very common, or the wordsmay lose their strictly scientific sense and beapplied vaguely or metaphorically. When this happensthe word has become fully naturalized and itstechnical origin is pretty sure to be forgotten inthe long run (G. Greenough).
SIMULTANEOUS VERBAL PROCESSESExamples of simultaneous processes denoted by
verbs in the Before-present Static in sentences witha time clause have been already given (page 149).The examples below illustrate simultaneousness ofverbal processes in different sentences as well asin homogeneous predicates:
1. "We've always got on very well together.She's been an awfully good wife to me, you know" (W.S. Maugham); 2. "I saw another door opening — thedoor of my career. Well, I have served that career.I have done much work — much hard work" (H. G.Wells); 3. "I've watched you over the last year withRalph. I've noticed the critical approach you taketo his lack of ambition" (J. Lindsay); 4. "He hasn'tclosed the eyes all night. Ever since that convoystopped there last night, he's just lain there andkept his field-glasses on them" (I. Shaw); 5. "HereI've sat and just listened how wonderful she is" (D.Parker); 6. "And I will stay with you... Think! Thelong years I have waited and suffered!" (J. London).
SEQUENT VERBAL PROCESSES
1. "That's Peter, the groom. He drove her. Thebeasts have pulled him down and clubbed him. Let himlie" (A. C. Doyle); 2. "Well now, Watson, supposefor a moment that we visualize you in the characterof a woman who, in cold, premeditated fashion, isabout to get rid of a rival. You have planned it. Anote has been written. The victim has come. You haveyour weapon. The crime is done" (A. C. Doyle); 3."Before I can reach them, he has struck him to theground and turned and run back into the barn" (W.Faulkner); 4. "Ladies and gentlemen, you
149will observe that I have, with'this getleman's
permission, broken his watch, burnt his collar,smashed his spectacles and danced on his hat" (S.Leacock); 5. He gives the Young Woman the note. TheOld Woman has crossed to the Dispensary window,handed in her prescription and bottle, received herliniment, and returned to the back to gaze out ofthe window at the falling snow (O'Casey); 6. "This,"said Roger, "looks to me like a very pretty piece ofwork. We'll rehearse it once more. We three havejust gone down, and you've come up, to find Osbornin possession. He's told you what has happened, andyou've walked over to the gallows. Yes, here's therope, you see" (A. Berkley); 7. Once or twice virtuehas triumphed, and I have got up at six and half-dressed myself, and have taken my drawers and towel,and stumbled dismally off for a swim. But I haven'tenjoyed it (Jerome K. Jerome).
Miscellaneous
Special Questions with the Beforepresent Static.The question words and phrases used with theBeforepresent Static are arranged below by theirrelative frequency (%):
where (30.8), what (21.8), how (19), why (10.8),who (7.4), how long (6.5), how many times (2.8),whom (.9).
Where: 1. "Where have you been?" she asked him.—"I was seeing Granger home" (G. Greene); 2. Shegreeted Nedda with lifted eyebrows. "Oh, my darling!Where have you come from?" (J. Galsworthy); 3.Carrie put on her hat and went below.—"Where hasCarrie gone?" asked Hanson when he heard the doorclose (Th. Dreiser); 4. "I must show you the drawingbefore you go."—"Don't forget. Where have you putit?" (W. S. Maugham); 5. "Oh, but it's good to seeyou. Where have you sprung from?" (W. S. Maugham).
In the following examples, which refercorrespondingly to like speech situations, the PastStatic is used, the speaker associating verbal pro-cesses with particular cirsumstances in the past:
1. Then, as I looked up, I saw Eddie comingalong. "Where were you?" I asked him.—"On thefloor." —"Did you see the shooting?" (E. Hemingway);2. He was aware that someone was pulling him at thesleeve of his coat. "Well, where did you come from?"he demanded. It was a messenger (F. Norris); 3."Where is Darl? Where did Darl go?" (W. Faulkner);4. (He folds the letter leizurely and looks for theenvelope) Where did I put it? — Oh, here (B. Shaw);5. "Hullo! Where did you spring from?" (A. Cronin).
What: 1. "God, what a time she's had!" —"Ah,what's been the matter?" (D. Parker); 2. "Where'sOliver? What's become of the boy?" (Ch. Dickens); 3.He is a bad boy.— What has he done? (B. Shaw).
Compare: "Say! So frank and honest andeverything — I just loved her! LittleAlverna!"—"What became of her?" asked Ralph, as Joelapsed into dreams (S. Lewis).
How: 1. "Well, how has Fanny been?" (MissYonge); 2. "Well," he asked cheerfully, "how havethings gone today?" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "How has he
got the reputation of being so clever?" (W. S.Maugham); 4." How
150have you made this discovery?" said Arthur in a
cold voice.—"Do you remember the night you burnedthe broomplant? I thought nothing of it at the time,but in the morning when I came down, the old womanwas clearing out the grate. I stopped her, andgrabbed about among the ashes: and see what I found?A piece of solid metal, perfectly free from earth!See, here it is! How lucky I was to make thediscovery!" (Ch. Dickens).
Compare: 1. They drove in companionable silence,till Madge asked unexpectedly: "How was Jan today?"(D. Cusack); 2. "How did you get the diamond?"—"Imade it" (H. G. Wells); 3. "How did things go withyou today?" (D. Cusack).
Why: 1." Oh, why have you been so cold to me?"(S. Lewis); 2." Why have you come? Why have you comehome, Gene?" (Th. Wolf); 3. " Why haven't they toldthe world?" (P. Anderson).
Compare: "Why did you come here? Did you havesomething you wanted to say to me?" (A. Saxton);"You never told me. Why didn't you tell me?" (J.Braine).
Who: 1." Who has taught you to do these things?"(Th. White); 2. "Will you guys register? Now who thehell has taken the register away?" (S. Lewis); 3.Her head is turned.— Who has turned it? (B. Shaw).
In sentences with who the Past Static is usedabout three times more frequently than theBeforepresent Tense. Examples:
l."A rabbit! A young one! Who gave it you,father?" (D. H. Lawrence); 2. (The light goes out).H e c t o r (furiously) Who put that light out? (B.Shaw); 3. And you come and tell me there are noeggs! Who stole them? (B. Shaw); 4. "Jesus Christ,"I said. "Jesus Christ! Who told you?" (J. Braine);
5. "That's beautiful," he said. "Who wrote it?" (P.Abrahams).
How Long. How Many Times. Whom: 1. " How longhave you been married?" (J. Galsworthy); 2. How manytimes have I told you not to bring that up again?"(G. Gordon); 3. "I've only been to my brother'swedding." —"Whom has he married?" (J. Galsworthy).
Rhetoric Questions with When ... ?: (see pages145—146).
References to Facts of Objective Reality: 1. "Heis trying to cover up the fact that the business hasgone to hell" (G. Gordon); 2. In fact, I have alwaysfelt, and still feel, that some day that countrywill have a great future (S. Leacock); 3. "You cangive him the go-by." —"As a matter of fact, sir, Ihaven't" (J. Galsworthy).
Have Got. In colloquial speech have got isfrequently used in the meanings to posses and to be underobligation, for example:
"I've got a gas-ring in the bath-room" (W. S.Maugham); "I'm her husband and I have got to put upwith it" (W. S. Maugham).
In American English, where got is also common inthese meanings (see pages 84—85), have got andgot .are frequently used by the same speaker in thesame- utterance. For example:
1. "I got confidence. That's the only thing I'vegot" (E. Hemingway); 2. "We got to have something,Mamma. We've got to have something, you know" (Th.Wolfe); 3. " I've got to talk to you, Fowler."—"What's up, Granger?" — "I got to talk to you" (G.Greene).
151The Beforepresent to Express Anteriority to an
Anterior Verbal Process: 1. But it is hoped that theyhave returned now, and returned for good, to the sunlessdepths of the middle seas, out of which they have sostrangely and so mysteriously arisen (H. G. Wells);
2. "The better the patient's mental state, thegreater the hope. I have seen many recovers who havebeen sent in to die" (D. Cusack); 3. He was sittingbeside her now, holding her hands as though he wouldnever let them go, as a man who has escaped drowningclings to the rope that has drawn him ashore (D.Cusack).
The Beforepresent to Refer to People Who AreDead: 1. " Every one of the men you've shot has beenan enemy of the Republic" (E. Cluer); 2. The man whohas lived by the Thompson gun has died by theThompson gun (A. Cohn); 3. "He needed rest andhappiness, the poor dear lad, and he has found themnow" (G. Santayana); 4. But the body was that of anelderly gentleman — oh, pshaw! that's all right.Anyway he's had his life — he's had a good time —probably been out on a hoot (S. Leacock); 5. "Well,she liked her cup of tea. We'll have that pint-potto put away now. She's used the pint-pot for as longas I can remember" (K. Waterhouse).
The Beforepresent Static is also used whenreference is made to authors and their works, forexample:
1. In the Communist Manifesto Marx and Engelshave exposed the real causes of this decline inculture life (R. Fox); 2. Henry Barbusse was, asLenin has said, quite ignorant, oppressed by his ownideas and prejudices, a peaceful, modest law-abidingmember of the middle classes (R. Fox); 3. Gorki hassuffered from his translations into English, butGorki as a Russian writer is full of a force whichcomes straight from the people among whom he lived(R. Fox).
I Have Forgotten// I Forgot. I've forgotten iscommon when the speaker has not yet remembered orbeen reminded of what has gone out of his memory. Incase he has, I forgot is used, as a rule, forexample:
"You've probably forgotten all about me" (A.Cronin); "Why don't you go shopping tomorrow?"—"It's a feast day." —"Oh yes, of course, I forgot"(G. Greene).
Sometimes, however, the Beforepresent Static isalso used when he speaker has been reminded ofsomething that he has forgotten, for example:
"Did you tell him about my seeing her come outof his office?" — "Of course not. I've forgottenabout it" (J. Updike).
In American English the Past Static of the verbto forget is also, common when the person spoken toor of is believed not to remember something, as in:
"Well, what do you think? What's the matter? Youforgot how to talk?" (A. Saxton);"The cops probablyforgot all about it by this time."— "No, he didn'tforget about it" (A. Saxton).
I'm Glad We've Met // I'm Glad We Met. Bothformulas are equally common, the Past Static beingused when the speaker associates the verbal processwith some particular circumstanses in the past.Examples:
"I'm glad we've met. I'll drop in and talk withyou some time"
152(Th. Dreiser) //"Well, I'm glad we met." He
moved closer (J. Lindsay) (I was passing by thebench you were sitting on. I saw you. We began totalk. So we met).
I've Come + Infinitive // I Came + Infinitive.These formulas are also equally common, for example:
"I've come to tell you the greatest secret of mylife" (G. Gordon) //"I came to tell you that — thatI can't take the money" (Th. Dreiser).
I've come + Infinitive is equivalent to " Eversince I made up my mind to come, including themoment I came my intention has been," while I came +Infinitive conveys the meaning "When I made up my
mind to come and at the moment I did so my intentionwas." The following two examples will illustratethis:
" I came here to appologize. I came here theminute I realized what a fool I've been" (D.Carter); "Hey, hey, that's enough," cried Dick. Ididn't come here to hear your arguing I came herefor a cup of tea all the way from Singapore, too"(J. Lindsay).
Verbs Most Frequently Used in the BeforepresentStatic: be; have; see; do; go; come; find; tell;hear, say; live; stand; keep, know; take; make; try;leave; give, learn; meet; work; get; become, spend;happen, read, speak; bring, like, love, sit, strike,suffer, watch; break, look, lose, put, want, write;begin, pass; forget, help, miss, wait; change, play,show, turn, use, win.
The list contains 26 frequency levels, the ratiobetween the first and the last being approximately20 : 1.
THE BEFOREPAST STATIC
The Beforepast Static is third in frequency infiction (5.2%) and seventh (.5%) in technicalliterature. It is used to refer to any processlocated to the left from the speaker's mental past orany other past-time process which, initially, hasbeen his mental past. Processes denoted by verbs inthe Beforepast Static may be of any length; thedistance between them and the processes of referencemay be from several instants to infinite; they canbe exclusive or inclusive (see Examples 3—4, page45; Ex. 4—6, page 44, Ex. 5—6, page 44, Ex. 4—5,page 45); isolated or simultaneous or sequent withother processes; relevant or irrelevant at themoment of reference. While the Beforepresent is
mostly used in dialogue (about 60%), such use of theBeforepast makes only about 5.5%.
THE BEFOREPAST STATIC AND THE PROCESS OF REFERENCE
The process of reference in the past to which aprocess denoted by a verb in the Beforepast Staticis anterior is mostly (about 95%) expressedlinguistically. Examples:
1. They tried to be intimate and enthusiastic.They appeared to one another exactly as they had inthe college (S. Lewis); 2. Every day was a hard day,and she wasn't so young as she had been (A. Huxley);
1533. He felt now as he had felt then,'nof proud,
but miserable (A. Maltz);4. Johnson outlined the situation just as
frankly. In fact, he talked to Cowperwood as he hadtalked to Stane about his personal position (Th.Dreiser); 5. He stepped out into the aisle. In theseat that had been occupied by the porter, thePullman conductor was checking up his berths (F.Norris); 6. Then he looked in the direction ofCaroline's bed. He was right again: Caroline had notslept in bed (J. O'Hara).
In dialogue, however, the process of referenceis often implied, as in:
l."I suppose we can have some beer", saidArabella.— "Beer, О yes. I had forgotten that" (Th.Hardy); 2. He came suddenly face to face with Minnaupon a street corner. "Ah," he cried joyfully. "Uponmy word, I had almost given you up" (F. Norris); 3."I notice this fellow Ross is very much talkedabout."—"I hadn't heard of him," said Carriehonestly (Th. Dreiser); 4. "You found nothingelse?"—"Nothing but garments and a row of smallfootprints leading to the water." —"Ah! You hadn'tmentioned that" (M. Mitchell); 5. "But," said
Philip. "She's astonishingly pretty." "Pretty? I — Ihadn't thought about it" (K.Mansfield); 6. He put onmy jacket.—"Jesus, now, try not to stretch it allover the place," I said. "I'd only worn it abouttwice" (J. Salinger).
Such processes as "before you spoke just now"(Examples 1, 3, 4, 5), "before I met you just now"(Example 2), "before you put it on just now"(Example 6) are really understood from thesituations in which the uterrances in the aboveexamples were made.
DISTANCE FROM THE PROCESS OF REFERENCE
The process denoted by a verb in the BeforepastStatic can occur practically at the very moment whenthe process of reference begins or stand away fromit millions of years. Examples of increasingdistance between the processes:
1. Here the telephone clicked, for she had hungup (Th. Dreiser); 2. I looked at my watch. It hadgone eleven (G. Greene); 3. She leaned lightly onhis arm, as lightly as when she had danced with hima few hours before (F. Norris); 4. The peoplewere nolonger confused, bewildered. A full realization ofjust what had been done the day before was clear nowin the minds of all (F. Norris); 5. Margaret at thistime was thirty-eight years old. She had borne twochildren. A son who was now six years old, and adaughter who was two (Th. Wolfe); 6. The valley wasunmistakingly an ancient watercourse. Perhaps fiftymillion years ago a great river had flowed this way(A. Clark).
THE BEFOREPAST AND THE MEANING OF CURRENT RELEVANCE
It has been shown above that the grammaticalcontent of the before-present tenses is neutral to
the "meaning" of current relevance (see pages 43—44). So is, as the examples below illustrate, theBeforepast Tense.
Examples in which processes denoted by verbs inthe Beforepast
154Static are relevant at the time when processes
of reference take place: 1. On the counterpane was abunch of roses he had brought (D. Cusack); 2. Shewas a dressmaker. Her husband, a carpenter, had diedin the Spring (Th. Wolfe); 3. When next I looked forLarry he had gone (W. S. Maugham); 4. He seemedutterly weary and had obviously lost weight (Th.Dreiser); 5. I went past my home. Christmas snow hadalready melted, and it was cold (J. Braine); 6. Iwas practised. I had lived all this before (G.Greene); 7. "Come and have a round this afternoon."— " I had promised to go for a walk with George" (P.Wodehouse); 8. This man evidently did not know — hehad not read the papers (Th. Dreiser); 9. He hadserved the Captain for more than a year, and knewhis duty (D. H. Lawrence); 10. But Al knew onething: Ed wore silk underwear. He'd seen it (J.O'Hara); 11. There were lights at the farm. Isabelhad waited up for him (H. E. Bates).
Examples of the use of the Beforepast Staticassociated with no current relevance whatever:
1. No, Zoder could not believe. Once he hadbelieved in the goodness of men. But not now (A.Maltz); 2. It was getting late. Those who had beento a play or a picture and had come to the pub tohave a drink or a bite to eat had left (W. S.Maugham); 3. The most vigorous clapping came fromthe four men in the doorway who had gone away to therefreshment-room at the beginning of the piece buthad come back when the piano had stopped (J. Joyce);4. There wasn't much to see. A long track of ploweddust and chipped stone, where something with runners
had landed and taken off again, but no signs of arocket blast! (P. Anderson); 5. The track of wheelsand horses' hoofs that the day's traffic had lefthad been long since effaced (Ch. Dickens); 6. Shefell heavily to her knees. The nurse, returning fromthe bathroom, in which she had locked herself, ranto her aid (Th. Wolfe); 7. The sphere rushed up evenwith greater velocity than, when weighted with thelead sinkers, it had rushed down (H. G. Wells); 8. Ifound Larry sitting in the chair I had sat in theday before (W. S. Maugham); 9. "It's true that theyfound Rivarez stranded there. He had been takenprisoner in the war, fighting for the ArgentineRepublic, and had escaped (E. Voynich); 10. "He wasnowhere in the house; and his hat and overcoat weregone from the chair where he had thrown them down inthe hall" (J. Galsworthy).
THE BEFOREPAST WITH INDICATORS OF EXACT TIME
The Beforepast Static frequently combines notonly with such modifiers as already, always, ever,never, before, in the past, long ago, once, up tothen, and so on, but also with such indicators ofexact time as a year ago, an hour before, at ten, inFebruary, in 1918, last night, on Sunday, then,yesterday, and so on.
A Year Ago, etc. An Hour Before, etc.l. Sheliked to think of little Curtis waiting to deliverher his respectful kiss. She had adopted him almosta year ago (D. Parker); 2. Life had been gay andhopeful a few minutes ago, now it was depressing andcruel. (C. Forester); 3. He spun
155around and gazed into the face of the girl with
whom he had drunk tea at the refreshment room manymonths ago (D. Cusack); 4. The answer was not
encouraging. The coach had left an hour before (Ch.Dickens);
5. When his orderly appeared with coffee, theofficer assumed the sameself he had had the morning before (D. H. Lawrence);6. Christy stoodthere waiting for Lee Crossman. Christy had moved tothe Crossman'splantation the first of the year, about three monthsbefore (E.Caldwell).
At Ten, etc. In February, etc. In 1918, etc.: 1.He arrived there at one o'clock. The post-waggon hadstarted at ten (Ch. Dickens); 2. He stared blanklyat the girl. Unreasonably he hated her. At eightthat evening he had been a happy man, secure andhopeful. (I. Shaw); 3. It was now five-thirty. Benhad gone out of the house at three twenty-five (Th.Wolfe); 4. She sensed that the minister had said farless than he could or would. This had happened inFebruary before Dave returned (D. Carter); 5. "She'shad a hard life." And it was true. At sixteen she'dleft Stratford and come up to London as kitchen maid(K- Mansfield);
6. Rome seemed in a worse state of ruin thanwhen he had first seen itin 1946 (I. Stone).
Last Night, On Sunday, Then, Yesterday, etc.: 1.He was desperately tired. He had not slept at alllast night (H. Walpole); 2. One morning he was indespair remembering Jan as she had Iain on Sundaymorning, her face drawn and exhausted (D. Cusack);3. She now remembered vividly the last time she hadspoken to her. She had been ten then (A. Cronin); 4.She looked much neater than she had yesterday (S.Gibbons).
SEQUENT VERBAL PROCESSES
1. Then she brought the glasses into thebedroom. He had strapped both suitcases and had puton his hat and overcoat. He took his highball (D.Parker); 2. Rosemary came over to him. She had justdone her hair, darkened her eyes a little and put onher pearls (K. Mansfield); 3. I followed for aquarter of a mile, then the fox track turned andwent zigzag up the wind to a hole in a bank. Fromthis he had pulled out a sleeping snake, killed it,left it on the snow, and gone on (E. Seton-Thompson); 4. The two soldiers had looked at eachother and had put their rackets and had gone andpacked their bags and had started right back forMarch Field (I. Shaw); 5. George had cooked thesandwich, wrapped it up in oil paper, put it in abag, brought it in, and the man had paid for it andgone (E. Hemingway); 6. Now in the night he lay andwaited. Earlier in the evening he had taken the axeand gone outside of the cave and walked through thenew snow to the edge of the clearing and cut down asmall spruce tree. In the dark he had dragged it,butt first, to the lee of the rock wall. There closeto the rock he had held the tree upright and hadlopped off all the boughs. Then he had laid the barepole of the trunk down in the snow and gone into thecave to get a slab of wood he had seen against thewall (E. Hemingway)1.
SIMULTANEOUS VERBAL PROCESSES
1. But George was not the one whose mind wasracketed by the future. For Anthony had heard everyword his parents had said (G. Gordon); 2. There wasabout her that clear smell which I had noticed thefirst time I had met her (J. Braine); 3. Never oncehad Erik sensed the struggle for life in the cityduring all the time he had lived there (M. Wilson);1 Cf. p. 78—79.
4. I was glad to see him again. He had spent twoyears teasing me and I had always liked it (E.Hemingway); 5. She had always feared and respectedhim, but now she began always to hate him (A.Cronin); 6. She forgot how she had Iain and thought,"Another year gone and nothing done yet" (R.Macaulay); 7. She tied a bow on her bed-jacket, thenwondered whether she should change it for anotherbecause it had become slightly crumpled when she haddozed before tea (D. Cusack); 8. When she hadreturned about nine, she had looked quite exhausted(M. Mitchell).
The Beforepast Static in Sentences with a When1-, After-, Before-, and As Soon As-Clause
The relative frequency of sentences with theBeforepast Static containing these clauses:
when-dause (51%), after-clause (25%), before-dause(14%), as soon aside.) clause (10%).
Sentences with a When-Clause. There are sixstructural patterns of sentences with the BeforepastStatic containing a when-dause:
1. When they had gone, he lay down to sleep (Th.Wolfe); 2. Doreen rang Bart when she had made allher arrangements (D. Cusack); 3. When they returned,Ben had almost choked to death (Th. Wolfe); 4. Shehad just settled down to sleep when the alarm oncemore clanged out its warning (D. Cusack); 5. Whenshe had left the boarding-house, she had taken aposition on a neighboring corner to wait for Minna'sreappearance (F. Norris); 6. The fear had startedthe night before when he had awakened and beared thelion roaring (E. Hemingway).
1 Sentences with simultaneous processes are not considered here.
The relative frequency of the six patterns:Pattern 1 —51%; Pattern 2 — 12%; Pattern 3 — 11%;Pattern 4 — 10%; Patterns 5 and 6 — 8% (each).
Pattern 1. The time relation between theprocesses denoted by verbs in the Past and theBeforepast Static is most evident in sentences be-ginning with such adverbial phrases as after amoment, presently, at eight-thirty, etc., forexample:
1. She kissed him and went away. After a moment,when she had gone, Ben said without anger: "I've hadnothing of life" (Th. Wolfe) (The main events of thenarration: She kissed him and went away. After amoment Ben said: "..." The Beforepast of the verb togo in the when-clause represents the process of goingaway a s a n t e r i o r to that of saying in theprincipal clause); 2. The frosty night blazed withgreat brilliant stars. Presently, when he had lainupon the cold earth for some time, Eugene got up andwent away toward'the town (Th. Wolfe) (The mainevents of the narration: The night blazed withstars. Presently Eugene got up and went toward thetown. The process denoted by the verb lie in theBeforepast Static is represented as a n t e r і о rto those of getting up and going away); 3. Her planwas to wait until the Newtons and Grace had departedfor church and then swiftly dress and leave. Ateight-thirty, when night had finally fallen, shewent east to Central Avenue (Th. Dreiser).
The time relation between the verbal processesis the same in case no adverbial modifiers of timeopen the sentence:
Nessie waved good-bye to her father's back fromthe parlour window.When the door had closed behind the master of thehouse, Mary wentslowly upstairs (A. Cronin) (The main events of thenarration: Nessie
waved good-bye to her father. Then — when the doorhad closed —Marry went upstairs); "Her house was halfway downthe row. We de-scended two steps into the kitchen. When she had litthe lamp, she threwoff the black shawl" (A. Cronin).
The time of the process denoted by a verb in theBeforepast Static in the when-clause is sometimesindicated, as in:
1. When the new preacher had not appeared by sixon Saturday afternoon, he telephoned to Babylon (S.Lewis); 2. When he had entered the drawing-room onthe following Wednesday he perceived the greatthinker (P. Wodehouse); 3. She asked Minnie for inkand paper and when the latter had gone to bed atten, got out his card and wrote to him (Th. Drei-ser).
The verbal process in the when-dause can be, as inthe examples above, complete before the process ofthe main clause occurred or still be going on atthat time, as in:
1. "My oldest friend is a judge in India. He'sbeen there forty years. When he'd been there two, hewrote to me that he was beginning to know somethingabout the Indians" (J. Galsworthy) (He was still in'India when he wrote the letter); 2. Arthur, insteadof going to bed, looked out upon the moor. When hehad sat an hour, he thought he heard a cracking (Ch.Dickens); 3."Come on!" roared Long Fellow. When theyhad travelled a short distance, he exclaimed, "Thereis the third giant in our family!" (W. S. Gray) (Thetwo brothers and their new friend continuedtravelling).
The when-clause can also contain a verb in thePast Static:
1. "Come on!" With head averted, she told him inAfricaans. When she had finished speaking she turned
and looked at him coyly (P. Abrahams) // The scenehad affected Isabel too much for her to be able totell it to me without getting somewhat emotional.When she finished she looked at me pitifully (W. S.Maugham); 2. When he had gone she sat down at thedressing table (W. S. Maugham) // When he went awayshe got up (W. S. Maugham); 3. When she had read theletter he said: "Will you come with me?" (A.Cronin)//When McKenty read it he simply observed:"There are other ways" (Th. Dreiser).
The difference between the contrasted examplesis in the representation, by the speaker, of thetime relation between the processes of the
158subordinate (Process'1) and the main (Process 2)
clauses. With the Before-past in the subordinateclause, the speaker starts mentally with Process 2,Process 1 being thus represented as a n t e r і о rto it; in case of the Past Static he begins mentallywith Process I and then goes over to Process 2,which is, thus, represented by him as f о 1 1 о w іn g it. In the case of the verb to go the PastStatic in the when-clause is used only if the verb iscombined with such adverbs as away, out, and thelike.
Pattern 2. The relation of anteriority of theprocess denoted by a verb in the Beforepast Staticto that of the principal clause is obvious, forexample:
1. She kept on crying. "It doesn't matter now,"I said, when at last she'd dried her eyes. "There'sno need to cry" (J. Braine); 2. Ben lay back when hehad finished eating (J. Aldridge); 3. The stormbroke when they had gone barely half way (M.Mitchell).
Pattern 3. 1. When he reached the top of thecliff, the mist had disappeared and the Channelsparkled playfully (I. Shaw) (He reached the cliff.
By that time the mist had disappeared); 2. When nextI looked for Larry he had gone (W. S. Maugham); 3.He dropped his hat and stopped to recover it. Whenhe straightened himself again, she had passed (E.Delafield).
Pattern 4. 1. Victoria took up a pile of lettersand threw herself into an armchair to read them. Shehad opened less than half, when her mother came downagain (E. Delafield) (The main events of thenarration: Victoria took up the letters and threwherself into the armchair to read them. Soon hermother came down. The process denoted by the verb toopen in the Beforepast Static is represented asa n t e r i o r to the process of her mother's comingdown); 2. Father and mother had gone to bed when thebomb dropped (J. Braine); 3. It had long been darkwhen Arthur rang at the.front door (E. Voynich).
Patterns 5 and 6. In Patterns 5 and 6 bothprocesses denoted by verbs in the Beforepast Staticare represented as anterior to that, or those, ofthe main narration, for example:
1. There was nothing very much the matter withhim. When he had fallen in the uncertain light ofthat early morning, he had knocked his head on astone, and there was a large bruise to testify tothat (H. Walpole); 2. She put the plates away with asure precise touch. When she had finished,everything in the kitchen had become part of aseries of patterns. She stood in the middle of theroom wiping her hands on a check cloth (K.Mansfield); 3. He turned to talk to Brandt.Christian had grown friendly with him when Brandthad come to Austria for the spring ski-ing (I.Shaw); 4. "You see quite a lot of my girl Ellie,don't you?" she asked him wistfully. She had chosenher moment after dinner, when she had come and takena seat beside him (E. Delafield).
Sentences with an After-Clause. There are fourstructural patterns of sentences with the BeforepastStatic containing an a/rer-clause (their relativefrequency in % is indicated in brackets after anexample of each pattern):
1. After I'd seen her off on the London platformI went into a hotel
169(J. Braine) (64%); 2. Carrie looked about her,
after she had drunk a tin-ful of water (Th. Dreiser)(28%); 3. After she had gone a mile, they had turneda bend in the road (E. Caldwell) (6%); 4. He'dlearned it in ten days after he'd seen a youngcockney (J. Braine) (2%).
The four patterns precisely correspond instructure and meaning to Patterns 1, 2, 5 and 6 witha ш/гел-clause.
Pattern 1. 1. One evening, just after he hadentered, she came in from the bathroom (Th. Wolfe);2. At eight o'clock, after the morning train hadpassed, he put a pair of skates in his pocket andwent to Waterworks Park (Sh. Anderson); 3. I talkedabout ballet till the bell rang. After the show hadended I asked her if she'd like some coffee (J.Braine); 4. "I took their baggage into the car.After I had seen the car go off, I went back to lookafter Joe" (E. Wallace).
The time of the process denoted by a verb in theBeforepast Static is sometimes indicated, forexample:
1. And after the stranger had gone to bed, whichhe did about half-past nine, Mr. Hall wentaggressively into the parlour (H. G. Wells); 2.After they had left on Tuesday morning, Dinnystudied a map, took the car, and set out (J.Galsworthy); 3. Later, after Ida had reached the ageof ten, William took unto himself a second wife (Th.Dreiser).
As in the case of sentences with a when-clause, theprocess denoted by a verb in the Beforepast Staticcan be not yet complete at the moment the otherprocess begins, for example:
1. After the train had been on its way for twohours, the first woman woke up (D. Russell) (Thetrain was still under way when the woman woke); 2."After I'd known him for some time, he told me thatthe forestry service had a bungalow (W. S. Maugham);3. He withdrew his attention to his paper. After hehad studied his paper a few moments, he felt that heought to modify matters in some way or other (Th.Dreiser).
The after-clause can also contain a verb in thePast Static:
1. Then he went out and found some all-nightplace where he could get something to eat. After hegot food he walked round the tcwn (Sh. Anderson); 2.Martin roused himself and sat up and began to eat.After Maria left him he sat drearily, with droopingshoulders, on the edge of the bed (J. London); 3. OnSaturday afternoons when they left the office, allthe guys used to gather in the bar and kid oneanother. After he lost his job things began to getdifferent (M. Quin).
Pattern 2. 1. He lay awake that night long aftershe had fallen asleep (V. Kershaw); 2. Then theyfiled out of the cafe. Only the Swedish girl talked,after they had gone (D. Parker); 3. " I rang up thematron after I'd spoken to Leonard" (D. Cusack).
In accordance with Factor 4 (see page 58) thePast Static is often used in the after-clause (seeEx. 1 on page 58).
Patterns 3 and 4: see Examples 3 and 4 on page159.
Sentences with a Before-Clause. There are sixstructural patterns of sentences with the BeforepastStatic containing a fce/ore-clause.
Pattern 1 (31.8%). 1. His meditation becameprofound. The bulk of three cigars had diffused as awhite ash over the carpet before he spoke again (H.G. Wells); 2. He took a final look at his propertyand set off
160down the road. He had not proceeded far before
he caught a glimpse of a peering face (A. Cronin);3. After dinner I began languidly to read his skit.I had not read two pages of the thirty-five before Istarted up, sat down again, and feverishly read on(J. Galsworthy).
Pattern 2 (21.9%). 1. She went unwillingly.Before she had been gone twenty-four hours he foundout his mistake (A. Cronin); 2. She rose and wishedthem good evening. But before she had had time todrift out of hearing, the Count spoke (M. Mitchell);3. "I'll look in at Hooky's", thought he. Before hehad reached the top of the stairs he thought thewhole matter over and decided it would be useless(Th. Dreiser).
Pattern 3 (19.5%). 1. He slammed down thetelephone. Long before Arnie arrived, Erik hadfallen into a black mood of depression (M. Wilson)(Erik slammed down the telephone. In some time afterthat Arnie arrived. Long before that Erik had falleninto a black mood); 2. She came over to her carryingthe hat. Before Laura could stop her she had poppedit on (D. Parker); 3. "No, not just now. Not justnow," she stammered. And before they could recovershe had run into the house (K. Mansfield).
Pattern 4 (17.0%). 1. And the cook was a cruelwoman. She used to snatch away her letters from homebefore she'd read them, and throw them in the range(K. Mansfield); 2. They left quietly in the darkbefore the moon had risen (J. Salinger); 3. "Heflung out of the room before I had fairly finishedspeaking" (J. Conrad).
Patterns 5 (4.9%) and 6 (4.9%). At last Arthurwas conducted back to his cell. Before he had been amonth in the prison the mutual irritation hadreached such a height that he and the colonel couldnot see each other's face without losing theirtemper (E. Voynich); There was a car waiting roundthe corner. He jumped in and within a few secondsthey had disappeared from the street. The car haddisappeared before clerks who ran out of the bank inpursuit had turned the corner (D. Work-er).
Note to Patterns 1, 3 and 5: Patterns 1, 3 and 5 havecorresponding variants with the Past Static Tense, forexample:
1. Jill paused (//had paused) a moment beforeshe went in (J. Lindsay); 2. Before he took hisleave from the drawing room, Francis had (//had had)a word with him. (A. Cronin); 3. Her happinessrenewed her beauty. Just before she married (//hadmarried), she had looked tired and drawn (W. S.Maugham).
Sentences with an As Soon As- (etc.) Clause. Therelative frequency of sentences with the BeforepastStatic and an as soon as- or a synonymous clause:
as soon as (52.0%); no sooner ... than (9.6%);hardly ... when (9.6%); scarcely ... when (9.6%);the moment ... (9.6%); barely, directly, immediately(3.2%), each).
As Soon As-Clause. There are four patternscontaining the Before-past Static in sentences withan as soon as-clause.
Pattern 1 (58%). Pattern 2 (23%). Pattern 3(13%). Pattern 4 (6.0%). 1. They arranged to meetagain in the afternoon. As soon as Steve had
161gone, Anthony drove round to Ren's hotel (G.
Gordon); 2. Nobody touched on the Ferse topic, and
Adrian left as soon as he had drunk rjis coffee (J.Galsworthy); 3. He prepared the chair for her andleft. As soon as he had left she had stretchedherself on the cushion shaken with laughter (M.Mitchell); 4. I saw Jim on the beach watching theschooner fall off and gather headway. The two half-naked fishermen had arisen as soon as I had gone (J.Conrad).
Examples of sentences with clauses synonymouswith the as soon as-clause:
1. Stumbling through the trees, he came on aquiet place. Immediately hehad lain down, hisconsciousness went on racing without him (D. H.Law-rence); 2. "The town," he said, directly he hadlighted his cigar, "is too small for Arthur andmyself" (P. Wodehouse); 3. He motioned her to theopen door of the car. She had barely placed both herfeet on the ground, when he drove off (G. Gordon);4. Mr. Dicker reached the cabin and walked into thesitting room. He had hardly closed the door beforethere came a tap (E. Wallace); 5. Then he signalledJarkins to remain, and the moment the others hadgone, turned to him (Th. Dreiser); 6. He had a wayof fiddling with his pencil continually while hetalked, and no sooner had Annixter sat down than hebegan to write "Ann Ann" all over the blotting pad(F. Norris); 7. In a hushed, scared mood they setabout escaping from the position into which they hadso recklessly blundered. But the oars had scarcelydropped into the water before dark, tapering,serpentine ropes had bound them and were about therudder (H. G. Wells).
Note: Patterns 1 and 2 have correspondingvariants with the Past Static, for example:
1. While they talked she was cheerful andvivacious, but as soon as he brought theconversation round to the two of them she closed uplike a clam (G. Gordon); 2. As soon as he left the
table he edged out of the house (A. Cronin); 3. "Inamed him as soon as I got him" (D. Parker); 4. Notan instant would they let her rest. No sooner didone reluctantly relinquish her than she was seizedby another (M. Mitchell); 5. "Bless you!" Directlyhe said that, she felt a little frightened (E.Delafield); 6. She put her kerchief to her nose themoment she entered (Ch. Dickens).
Miscellaneous
The Beforepast Static at the Beginning of aStory, Chapter, or a Section. Sometimes the firstverb or verbs opening a story (Examples 1 and 2) ora new chapter or section (Examples 3 and 4) are inthe Beforepast Static Tense, as in:
1. They had marched more than thirty kilometerssince dawn, along the white, hot road. On eitherhand, the valley, wide and shallow, glittered withheat (D. H. Lawrence); 2. When the front door hadshut them out and the Butler Baines had turned backinto the dark heavy hall, Philip began to live. Hestood in front of the nursery door, listening (G.Greene); 3. Gant's sickness had returned on him withincreased
162virulence. His face was haggard and yellow (Th.
Wolfe); 4. They had made camp; they had gorged onbacon; they had discussed Mr. Lawrence. Then Joeflashed with his cne-time power of command: "We'lltend to him" (S. Lewis).
Actual narration starts with the sentence orpart of the sentence containing absolute tenses: Oneither hand, the valley, wide and shallow, glitteredwith heat ...; ... Philip began to live. He stood infront of the nursery door, listening ...; His facewas haggard and yellow ...; Then Joe flashed withhis one-time power of command ... . These events are
represented as frames of a picture film developingbefore the writer's and the reader's mental eye. Theprocesses denoted by verbs in the Beforepast at thebeginning of a story or chapter are onlyintroductory, summarizing retrospections of what hadtaken place in a period of time preceding them.
References to Facts of Objective Reality: Thefact that she had refused him carried with it acertain elation (J. London); Despite the fact thathe had effected an entrance in the face of Letton'sinstructions to the outer office, he showed noindication of making a scene (J. London).
General and Special Questions. General andspecial questions with the Beforepast Static arefound mainly in dialogue and inner monologue, bothof which are relatively rare. Examples in dialogue:
1. "He was a very nice boy. He was going tomarry me and he was killed on the Somme" — "Had youbeen engaged long?" — "Eight years" (E. Hemingway);2. "Susan," I said. "What about Susan?"—"She went toLondon for a wedding-dress this morning. Had youforgotten" (J. Braine); 3. The next week I waslooking over the payroll of our teachers and saw anew name — Professor James McCorcle. "What is that?"said I. "A professor of mathematics" at more than5,000 dollars a year? Who had invited him?"(O'Henry); 4. She had given Jan the emetic beforethe young woman doctor came in. "How much had shetaken" she demanded (D. Cusack).
Had Got. Like have got and got, had got is used indialogue and author's speech in the meaning to possess.No instances of the use of had got in the meaning tobe obliged have been found in the sources analysed.Examples:
1 1. "I didn't feel safe in Paris, besides Ihadn't got any money left" (W. S. Maugham); 2. Asfor real taste in literature — I hadn't got it andhe knew it (S. Leacock); 3. "I couldn't beat a boy
who hadn't got a relation in the world" (W. S.Maugham).
The Beforepast Static in Clauses with In an Hour, aMoment Later, etc.: 1. George and Alice Smith detrainedat Biaritz one summer noon and in an hour had runthrough their hotel unto the beach, into the oceanand back to bake upon the sun (R. Bradbury); 2. At(he words he raised the pistol to his head, and thenlet go his grip. In an instant it had been whiskedaway by the weight of the stone, had struck with asharp crack against the parapet of the bridge, andhad vanished over the side into the water (A. C.Doyle); 3. They descended some steps into a longgrassy avenue, and, passing through a wicket gate,had soon arrived at the Rectory. Dinny stood at theporch (J. Galsworthy).
163Objectively the verbal processes in these
examples follow one another in time. Thus, Georgeand Alice (Example 1) got off the train at noon andthen had run through the hotel, unto the beach, intothe ocean, and back on to the beach. In speech,however, the process (or processes) denoted by theBeforepast Static is represented as a n t e r i o r tosome situation existing at the moment of timecorresponding to the end of the period of timeindicated by in an hour, etc.: They detrained atnoon; at 1 p. m. they were already baking in thesun: by this time they had run through the hotel,into the ocean, and back on to the beach. This isparticularly obvious in cases where the Past Dynamicfollows the Beforepast in the same sentences. Forexample:
1. The wind was coming back, blowing the fogdown the river and stinging our backs. A momentlater it had shifted its course and was stinging ourface (E. Caldwell) (A moment later the wind wasstinging our face: it had shifted its course by that
time); 2. The next turn of the path hid them fromthe sight again. But in two minutes she had reachedthe place where their two bicycles lay flung acrossthe path, and was scrambling after them down thecliff (R. Macaulay); 3. She began to pull the basketover, and now, in spite of all protest, she hadswung over and was going down (Th. Dreiser).
The Beforepast Static in an Until-Clause: The child satin the big chair by the waning sitting-room fire:she read until the flames had died to coals — thenquietly she shovelled ashes on them (Th. Wolfe);"I'll raise more cotton for you than any twosharecroppers on your plantation." — Lee Crossmanlistened until he had finished, and then ha slammedthe door shut and strode against the room (E.Caldwell).
Had Used + Infinitive. Only one example of thisconstruction has been found in the sources analysedper every 10,000 pages of text:
Laura turned furiously on Jose. She said just asthey had used to say on those occasions: "I'm goingstraight up to tell mother" (D. Parker); Suddenly hefelt the terrible way he had used to feel as a verylittle boy (J. Jones); I wandered about thecountryside as I had used to do. (P. Buck).-
The Beforepast to Express Anteriority to anAnterior Verbal Process:
1. "In two years he was a ruined man. He'd losteverything he'd saved in a quarter of a century" (W.S. Maugham); 2. I looked over the side of thebridge. Walford had sunk. He had struck his headagainst one of the buttresses (Ch. Dickens); 3.Disgusted, he picked up a book. But in less thanfive minutes he had thrown the book into the farthestcorner; four times he had read the same paragraphwithout gathering its sense (M. Mitchell).
The Beforepast of the Verbs Want, Expect, Hope,Intend, and their Synonyms. The Beforepast of these
verbs is freely used to express a wish, hope,intention and the like in the beforepast sphereindependent of whether or not it was realized later.
Examples of a wish, hope or intention notrealized: 1. She remembered the first time she hadmet him. Ht had come into the office and they hadgone to lunch together. She had not wanted to go (D.Cusack) (but she went); 2. She remained silent; herdisappoint-
164ment was apparent. "Well?" he asked.— "I had
hoped and planned otherwise" (J. London); 3. Longafter she could hear no more, she sat staringvacantly before her. She had not intended to breakthe news that evening and was filled now with regretthat she had done so (G. Gordon).
Examples of a wish, hope or intention realized:To Want. To Expect. To Hope: 1. She had
acknowledged the gifts, saying that they were justwhat she had wanted (P. Wodehouse); 2. Thissatisfied her desire; that was what deeply she hadwanted (Th. Wolfe); 3. She smiled grimly. It wasexactly what she had expected (W. S. Maugham); 4.She was, as shehad expected, intensely happy in hermarriage (M. Mitchell); 5. He experienced asensation as mixed as his grill. It was, of course,exactly what he had hoped for and expected (J. Gals-worthy); 6. After prayers he went out into thegarden. There she joined him, as he had hoped (G.Gordon).
To Intend. To Desire. To Imagine. To Plan: 1. Akinder note than he had intended went into his voice(J. Joyce); 2. The car was just where it should havebeen, just where he had desired it to be (W.Faulkner); 3. "Hello, William!" She was at thestation, standing just as he had imagined, apartfrom the others (K- Mansfield); 4. After dinner theywent to a movie as they had planned (M. Wilson).
THE BEFOREFUTURE STATIC
The Beforefuture Static is an extremely raretense (one instance per about 475 pages of text infiction). It is used to refer to any processanterior to another process which is, or hasinitially been, the speaker's mental future. TheBeforefuture Static is mostly used in dialogue (87%)in the active voice (89%). It can be exclusive (85%)or inclusive (15%)1. In 49% of all its uses it iscombined with an adverbial modifier of time.
VERBS USED IN THE BEFOREFUTURE STATIC
The following 71 verbs have been found on the50,000 pages of text (mainly fiction):
be (7); do (6); have (5); become, forget,gather, get (become), go, lose, make, notice (3);finish, hear, live, see (2); allow, arrange, arrive,bake, begin, break, bring, cause, complete,conclude, cover, cut, dawn, decide, demonstrate,destroy, develop, discover, fail, find, flit,follow, glorify, grow (become), happen, hurt,improve, join, leave, miss, observe, point, prepare,prove, reach, realize, repay, replace, save, serve,shake, shock, slip, solidify, spend, succeed,suffer, swamp, talk, tell, travel, try, turn, watch,wear, weather (1).
MODAL USE OF THE BEFOREFUTURE STATIC
In about 28% of all its uses the BeforefutureStatic is associated with the modal meaning "it is(highly) probable", as in:
1. "I'm a seafaring rat, I am, and the port Ioriginally hail from
165
1 See pp.40-41
is Constantinople. You will have heard ofConstantinople? A fair city, and an ancient and aglorious one. And you may have heard, too, ofSiguard, King of Norway (K- Grahame) (In the firstplace, the situation of reference — "I'm a seafaringrat ..." — does not belong to a future time but tothe present; secondly, "You will have heard" is usedhere parallel with "you may have heard," that is "itis probable that you may have heard"); 2. Nevillelistened to them. Regret turned in her, cold andtired and envious. They all wrote books except her.To write: it wasn't much of a thing to do, unlessone did it really well, and it never attracted herpersonally, but it was, nevertheless, something (Itwill have been gathered by now that Neville was anegoist) (R. Macaulay); 3. "You are not the man toburgle. You are, if I may say it — the thing willhave been pointed out to you before —a. coward" (G.Wells); 4. "How did he get away?" — "He'd been sonormal that they weren't at all at their guard. Hewalked to the station and took the train. It's onlytwenty miles. He'll have been in town before they found outhe was gone" (J. Galsworthy).
It is probable, therefore, that "will haveheard," "will have been gathered," "will have beenpointed out," and "will have been" in these examplesare structures homonymous with the BeforefutureStatic (the modal verb will = may + a PerfectInfinitive).
References to Single-Act, Single-OccurenceProcesses
In most cases (about 90%) a verb in theBeforefuture Static refers to single-act, single-occurrence processes, for example:
1. "What's biting you?" —"I'm worried we'll havelost our place in Selby Street," he mumbled (J.
Lindsay); 2. "We shall see what your father says —he'll have talked to your uncle Lionel" (J.Galsworthy); 3. "But perhaps somebody will wait forme, for he will have told them I am out" (Th. White).
References to Processes of General Character
1. Very often a jury will have concluded littleand yet it will have reached a verdict (Th. Dreiser);2. "Before this price is due you will have watchedfor many years from this place the sun set overcloudless days of happiness and the moon rise overstarlit nights of dreams" (A. Munthe); 3. Commonly,the form -ed appears in a narrative, in which therewill have been any number of indications that eventsare occurring in sequence (W. Diver).
The Beforefuture and the Passive Voice
Only about 11% of verbs in the BeforefutureStatic are in the Passive Voice. Examples:
1. "If I'm wrong or we get nowhere then no very'great harm will have been done" (A. Kingsley); 2.Your readers will have been shocked by the news (D.Worker); 3. "When I come back, all the formalitieswill have been completed" (P. Wodehouse).
166
ADVERBIALS OF TIME COMBINED WITH THE BEFOREFUTURESTATIC
The Beforefuture Static is combined withadverbials of time in about 49% of all its uses: 30%with an adverb or adverbial phrase and 19% with atime- or time-equivalent clause.
Adverbs and Adverbial Phrases of time combinedwith the Before-future Static (% of all its useswith such modifiers):
by then, etc. (28.4%); in a week, etc. (19.8%);before, long since (before), often, then (5.7%,each); already, before, by now, for many years,seven weeks, some day, soon, two years, year afteryear (2.9%, each).
By Then, etc.: 1. "We will, all of us, have madeour fortunes by then" (F. Norris); 2. "He'll haverealized by then that we are engaged" (E. De-lafield); 3. (Zeno): Achilles will never overtakethe tortoise. He must first reach the place fromwhich the tortoise started. By that time thetortoise will have got some way ahead (J. Burnot);4. "We shall have finished paying off the loan byJune" (D. Hicks).
In a Week, etc.: "It was a terrible shock,Thomas, but in a week, you'll see, we'll haveforgotten it" (G. Greene); 2. "What does he thinkwill have happened in six months?" (E. Delafield);3. Another twenty years and four more children andyou'll have forgotten all about it" (M.Wilson).
Before. Long before That (Long Since). Often.1
Then: 1. "It will show you a piece of country youwill not have seen before" (G. Greene); 2. "Longbefore that these pretty arms will have turned intolittle short fat ones" (K. Mansfield); 3. "And whenyou have roused the beast that sleeps in the peopleand set it on the church, then —" — "Then I shall 'have done the work that makes it worth my while tolive" (E. Voynich).
Already. By Now2. For Many Years3. Seven Weeks.Seme Day. Soon. Two Years. Year after Year: 1. "Hewould be cut; if he dared cross the Boarder." —"Unless he will have been cut already" (Th. White);2. Another month will make seven weeks. Seven weeks
1 See Example 1 on p. 1G6.2 See Example 2 on p. 166.3 See Example 2 on p. 166.167
that I won't have seen him" (M. Wilson); 3. "Semeday I shall have worn cut the selfishness" (MissYonge); "It is only home-sickness. I'll have getover it scon" (Miss Yonge); 5. "He will have gonetwo years next October" (W. S. Maugham); 6. He willhave been followed by his growing family, year afteryear, their pilot and their general (Th. White).
Adverbial Clauses of Time and Their Equivalents:when -clause (53%), by-the-time clause (26%), before -clause (16%), a week after I'm dead (5%).
A When-Clause. In 9 instances from 10 the when-clause contains the Present Static, one example hasthe Beforepresent tense:
1. "You'll sleep, and when you wake thesefancies will have gone" (H. Walpole); 2. "Besides,you'll have dene something worth doing when you haveto give up" (R. Macaulay); 3. When I've got Gerdaoff my hands I shall have done being a mother (R.Macaulay).
A By-the-Time Clause. Three clauses are with thePresent Static, two with the Beforepresent Tense:
1. "However, the mares will have had theirbaptism by the time they get there" (J. Galsworthy);2. She asked me to send her a copy of the book. I amsure by the time it reaches her she will havetravelled far on her spiritual pilgrimage (M.Endicott); 3. "I daresay you'll have gone to bed bythe time I've finished my work" (W. S. Maugham).
A Before-Clause. A Week After I am Dead: 1. He willhave arrived before you have done talking (B. Shaw);2. "I do believe that before that year is run Ishall have succeeded" (J. London); 3. "And a weekafter I'm dead they'll have forgotten me" (W. S.Maugham).
TYPES OF SENTENCES AND CLAUSES WITH THEBEFOREFUTURE
In 30.4% the Beforefuture is used in simplesentences, in 25% in the principal clause, in 22.9%in independent clauses, in 20% in subordinateclauses and in 2.9% in parenthetical clauses.
From subordinate clauses the most frequent isthe object clause (52.4%); attributive clauses make19%. Examples:
1. "You think he'll have got over hating thesight of me?" (E. Delafield); 2. "Those firms thatwill have been in on the development will know howto run the plants" (M. Wilson); 3. "By 1940 he toowill be having white drawing-rooms, when it willhave become thoroughly bad taste" (E. James); 4."The idea will slip through you unless you shallhave made a study of the first and second sectionsof the book" (G. Meredith); 5. "Perhaps somebodywill wait for me, for Kay will have told them I amout" (Th. White); 6. "Back to the treadmill", criesLord Mansfield. And, as you will have gathered fromour report yesterday, his lordship was not joking(D. Worker).
THE USE OF ANTERIOR DYNAMIC TENSES
The anterior dynamic tenses are used to denoteverbal processes anterior to the speaker's mentaltime (for the Beforepast Dynamic also to any otherprocess of the past) and represented as relativelydynamic.
THE BEFOREPRESENT DYNAMIC
The Beforepresent Dynamic is a relatively raretense: 1 instance per 24 pages of text of fiction(see Table III on page 52). It is used to refer toprocesses anterior to the speaker's mental presentand represented as relatively dynamic. Processesdenoted by verbs in the Before-present Dynamic can
be of any length; inclusive (66%) or exclusive(34%); currently relevant or irrelevant; isolated(86%) or simultaneous (13%) or sequent (1%) withother processes; they can be anterior to
168objective present (98,6%),past (1%)or
future(4%). In 61.6% of their use verbs in heBeforepresent Dynamic are combined with no adverbialmodifiers of time whatever. They are opposed toverbs in the Before-present Static by Models II(61%), 1(34%) and III (5%)1.
Examples of Verbal Processes of IncreasingLength
1. "You are crazy! What's the matter with you?You hadn't been eating a drug or something?" (J.London) (It takes a moment to take a drug); 2. "Haveyou been smoking a cigarette in here? Tell me thetruth, young lady" (J. Salinger); 3. "He's beenreading me 'Gulliver's Travels', Dinny. The man wascoarse, you know" (J. Galsworthy); 4. "She's beenwatching you play for some days" (E. Wallace); 5."What have you been doing for the last few weeks?"(O'Henry); 6. "For months now they've been growingmore and more out of key" (J. Lindsay); 7. "I'vebeen waiting for this for years" (H. Walpole); 8."These people have been working on this littleisland for a thousand years" (Th. Dreiser); 9. "Tolive better and to live longer I guess that's whatpeople have always been fighting for" (A. Saxton);10. The stars have been hanging here for millionsand billions of years (H. Miller).
Distance Between the End of Verbal Process andthe Moment of Speaking
1 94% of its uses are in dialogue.
The distance between the end of a processdenoted by a verb in the Beforepresent Dynamic andthe moment of speaking ranges from some instants toseveral months. For example:
1. Here Cecilia, who has been talking to Stairs,turns to them with faintly flushed cheeks (Mrs.Hungerford); 2. "Darling, how providential that youshould bring your car now. Jenny and I have beensaying that what we most wanted is to be driven along way very fast" (A. Kingsley); 3. "Oh, I'm kindof tired. Been pounding very hard at the office" (S.Lewis); 4. "Tell you about what?" answered Mat hewsullenly.—"About the rajas and princes you've beenhob-nobbing with" (A. Cronin) (Brodie to his son whohad returned from India by ship); 5. "Who d'youthink turned up last night? — her brother — youngJon Forsyte. Been travelling all the winter — Egypt,Italy, and that — chucked America" (J. Galsworthy)(It was May).
Inclusive and Exclusive Processes
See pages 44—45.
The Beforepresent Dynamic and Current Relevance
See pages 43—44.
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO PRESENT TIME
The three basic functions of the Beforeprese.uDynamic coincide with those of the BeforepresentStatic (see pages 134—137).
Anteriority to Processes of General Validity(Cf. page 134). 1. "A man who has been three yearsbiting his nails on a desert island, Jim, can'texpect to appear as sane as you or me" (R. L.Stevenson); 2. "What's the matter with you, Keller?Don't you know when a man's been dreaming about his
woman?" (A. Maltz); 3. I do not now talk too much,except when I have been drinking, or when I meetsomeone who fougth with me in Texas (R. Graves)1.
Purely Logical Conclusions (Cf. page 135): 1.Ron noticed that the labourer had sticking plasterbeneath his chin. "What have you been up to?" heasked brightly. «Вееп arguing with that razor ofyours?" (H. Smith); 2. "He has been buying thingsfor children. There is a rattle which shows that oneof them is very young" (A. C. Doyle); 3. "Not a bitof you visible — except —" He scrutinized theapparently empty space keenly. "You haven't beeneating bread and cheese?" he asked, holding theinvisible arm (H. G. Wells); 4. "Say, you've put onweight. Francis has been feeding you too good" (I.Stone); 5. When Tommy went back home that eveninghis mother saw the scratches on his face and theswollen nose, and said hopefully: "Have you beenfighting" (D. Lessing); 6. "Then, how do you know?"— "I see, I deduce. How do I know that you have beengetting yourself very wet lately, and that you havea most clumsy and careless servant girl?" (A. C.Doyle)1.
If, however, starting with a situation in thepresent, the speaker associates a verbal processwith some particular circumstances in the past, heuses the Past Dynamic Tense, for example:
1. He crossed over and took her arm.— "No, no,no, "she said, "remember what you were just saying.This is to be a real friendship, you want it thatway" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "Everything seems to besecret these days," Joe said. "I was reading in the'Courier' tonight they just passed that bill withthis new law" (R. Gehman); 3. "You seem awfully sureabout it." — "I was watching", I told him (E.Hemingway).1 See also Examples (b) — 1 : 3, p.47.170
The Retrospective Beforepresent Dynamic (Cf.pages 136—137): 1. "Been getting careless about my-dictations. Slang. Colloquial. Cut it out" (S.Lewis); 2. "She and I have been going together agood deal" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "I'll tell you what,Julia — you've been getting confoundedly sharp withme lately" (M. Arlen); 4. "He thinks he runs thetown. It's too absurd the way that he's been havingeverything his own way here" (H. Walpole); 5. "Nowlet's come down to brass tacks. I've been makingenquiries about you" (W. S. Maugham); 6. "But don'tlet me catch you with Moose Murray or Zel St.Clair," the Warden said. "I know they've been usingyour cabin, and if I catch them there you'll betaken in with them" (J. Aldridge).
Compare now the Beforepresent and the PastDynamic in the following examples:
1. "Vic, my dear," I can't stay. I don't knowwhat you've been driving at — I doubt altogether ifyou know yourself" (E. Delafield) // "That'sprecisely what I was driving at" (P. Wodehouse); 2.In a few minutes the young man came back and led meinto a long hall. In the corner Shri Ganesha sat inthe attitude of meditation. "I've been expectingyou," he said (Th. Dreiser) // As she appeared Dicksaid: "Ah, Jenny, all alone? We weren't expectingyou yet awhile" (A. Kingsley); 3. "But why don't yougo and see them? I've been talking to them, and theyseem to be in a position similar to my own" (Th.Dreiser) // "They don't want any interference inthis business. I was talking to Relihan and he saysthey won't stand for it all" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "Iwonder indeed that you should care to acknowledge toany one that you have been spying at your window onthe movements of some people." — "I may say that Iwas not spying in any sense of the word. I couldn'thelp it if the windows of my sitting-room lookeddown on Mr. Morris's house" (H. Walpole); 5. "I'll
tell you what I've been thinking. I must have ahundred dollars, but I can't tell you for what now.I was thinking if I could get you to go to some goodpawnshop with the things" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "Why,we've all been waiting to hear the news. I waswaiting here to congratulate you" (A. Hope).
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO PAST TIME
Sometimes the Beforepresent Dynamic is used torepresent verbal processes as anterior toobjectively past processes which, in narratingvividly, the speaker represents as occurring in thepresent, for example:
1. A new thought pricks him and he turns hishead. "Dedman? Are you still here?" — Dedman hasbeen holding his cards in his lip and fanningthrough them. He looks up (J. Updike); 2. Leavingthe lavatory he tries to enter that mind, to picturethat hand. Zimmerman apparently has been waiting forhim. He sidles from the stage entrance to the audi-torium. "George" (J. Updike); 3. The next night thesame thing happens, so Paul decides to get hispistol and sleep in the bunkhouse himself. For atime things are quiet enough, and Paul finallydecides that the men have been reading too many oldmystery magazines and dozes off (B. Botkin).
PROCESSES OBJECTIVELY ANTERIOR TO FUTURE TIME
The Beforepresent Dynamic to refer to processesanterior to processes of objectively future time isused in the sources analysed only in object clauses,for example:
1. "I'll be so grown-up at the Morrises' thisafternoon that they'll think I've been calling foryears" (H. Walpole); 2. "When you get home, shallyou tell Ann you've been driving with me?" (Th.
White); 3. "They'll know I've been fooling them andthey'll be sure to get sore" (Th. Dreiser).
171ADVERBIALS OF TIME COMBINED WITH THE BEFOREPRESENT
DYNAMIC
The Beforepresent Dynamic combines withadverbials of time in 38.4% of its uses, 4.2% beingtemporal clauses or their equivalents.
The frequency list of adverbs and adverbialphrases of time (% of the total number of instancesmodified by an adverb or adverbial phrase):
for a year, etc. (40.6); all night, etc. (20.3);since six, ever since, etc. (7.7); lately, of late(6.5); just (6.1); long, how long (5.6); every day,often, etc. (2.2); today (1.7); during her absence,etc. (1.4); this winter, etc. (1.3); again, always(1.0, each); recently, tonight (0.8, each); already,constantly (0.7, each); at midnight, at night, inthe past, now (0.3, each); before, earlier in theyear, in the evening, just now, last night,meanwhile, this time (0.1, each).
A comparison of this list with that for theBeforepresent Static (page 138) reveals the factsthat, first, the adverbs and adverbial phrasesnever, never before, never in my life, before1, yet,ever, in my time, once, so far, long ago, suddenlyand some others common with the Before-presentStatic are practically not used with theBeforepresent Dynamic, and, second, the adverbialsdenoting a period of time (for a year, all my life,etc.) are about 3—4 times more frequent with theDynamic Tense than with the Static.
For a Year, etc.: see examples on page 169.All Night, etc.: 1. "I've been dancing all
night" (Th. Wolfe); 2. "What have you been doing
1 See Footnote on p. 174.
with yourself all day?" (J. Braine); 3. "The car'sbeen waiting all this time" (D. Parker).
Lately. Of Late (Lately — 96%, of late — 4%): 1."What have you been doing lately?" (A. Cronin); 2."Tell me all the gossip. Has he been making a foolof himself lately?" (Th. White); 3. "Now of late youhave been looking stranger" (Mrs Hungerford).
Just: 1. "That's the book I've just been askingfor" (H. Walpole); 2. "My sister has just beentelling me about you" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "I've justbeen reading a book on the subject" (E. Wallace)1.
Long, etc. How Long: 1. "Have you been waitinglong?" (G. Gordon); 2. "I've been waiting longenough" (H. G. Wells); 3. "You've been saying thatso long" (A. Cronin); 4. "Oh, come, you've beenthinking it over too long" (Th. Dreiser). 5. "Howlonghave you been looking?" (Th. Dreiser).
Every Day, etc.: every day (37.8%); every (each)evening (18.8%); a day, afternoons, by the week,daily, every Sunday night, off and on, often (6.2%,each). Examples:
1. "They've been calling up every day to findout about him" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "You've been goingat this time every day for a week now, Mabel" (P.Abrahams); 3. She has been calling at the housealmost every evening (S. Leacock); 4. "Haven't younoticed, Dinny, he's been drinking more eachevening" (J. Galsworthy); 5. "I've been reading agood deal, eight or ten hours a day" (W. S.Maugham); 6. The gentlemanfriend with whom I havebeen walking afternoons asked me if he might callmornings (S. Leacock); 7. "Haven't you been payinghim by the week?" (R. Lardner); 8. He told me to goahead and ride Betsy, as I have been doing everySunday night for two years now (E. Caldwell); 9. "Itwas just the awful pain that's been gripping me off1 The adverb iust also combines with the Past Dynamic; see Ex. 1 on p. 170.172
and on for so long" (W. Saroyan); 10. "You're notexactly taken by surprize. I've been calling ratheroften" (A. Hope).
Today: 1. "I have been bidding good-bye to someplaces today" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "Well, Dad, whathave you been doing today?" (J. Galsworthy); 3."What's been happening today, Margery?" (J. Pudney).
During Her Absence, etc.: 1. "Strange thingshave been happening during my daughter's absencefrom the cottage" (G. Meredith); 2. "I see you andJohn have been quarrelling, Jane," said Diana,"during your walk on the moor" (Ch. Bronte); 3. "Inpoint of fact I've been spending so little duringthe last few years, I must have quite a bit in hand"(W. S. Maugham).
This Winter, etc.: 1. This winter he has beenputting the final touches to modernizing hisequipment (D. Worker); 2. "I've been seeing miraclesin that line this summer" (B. Tarkington); 3. "Ihaven't really been thinking about it all, thisevening" (E. Delafield).
Again. Always. Recently: 1. Then she blurtedout. "Dan's been smoking again" (J. Lindsay); 2."I'll bet you've been talking to Ted Kirby again"(D. Carter); 3. "I know you'd say that. That's whatyou've always been saying to me" (A. Saxton); 4."It's your future I've always been thinking of" (Th.Dreiser); 5. "I've been having a fairly excitingtime recently" (J. Lindsay); 6. "I was just askinghow you've been making out recently" (A. Kingsley).
Tonight. Already. Constantly: 1. "I've beenfeeling so introspective tonight" (A. Berkley); 2."He's been talking to me about Harry tonight" (A.Hope); 3. "Now what you want is plenty of sun.Judging by the tan you've got, you've already beendoing 4hat" (D. Cusack); 4. "I've been feeling theway with the other members of the School Committeealready" (G. Gordon); 5. "I'll do what I can.
Already I've been talking to Simon" (J. Pudney); 6."I have been constantly admiring his discernment"(Miss Yonge).
At Midnight. At Night. In the Past. Now: 1.Queues for bread — which have been forming atmidnight — are expected to be even larger thismorning (D. Worker); 2. "Has he been burglarizingpeople's homes at night?" (I. Stone) (A purelylogical conclusion made by the speaker who seesjewelry hidden in his son's room); 3. "We aretogether in this. I've been thinking of myself toomuch in the past" (H. Walpole); 4. "I've been takingeight to ten days to deposit them in the past. In astorm like this I'm entitled to move my pawns asbest I can" (Th. Dreiser); 5. "Who's been doinganything to him now?" (Th. Dreiser); 6. "I've beenphoning to them now" (J. Galsworthy)1.
Before. Earlier in the Year. In the Evening: 1."Now then, young lady, you can just cut out this Mr.Thompson, I've been meaning to mention it to youbefore"2 (A. Kjngsley); 2. "He has been telling methat my pheasants have been causing you troubleearlier in the year" (J. Joyce); 3."My boy died lastweek and the boy I have now is a fool, so I haven'tbeen dressing for dinner in the evening" (W. S.Maugham).
Just Now. Last Night. Meanwhile. This Time: 1."Well, sometimes people like talking over theiraffairs with a third person — as Vivien has beendoing with you just now" (A. Hope); 2. "I understandyou know that young chop. He's been having grub withyou in the Malabar last night — so I was told" (J.Conrad); 3. Meanwhile what has been happening to
1 The adverb now with the Beforepresent Dynamic is more common in combinations with for a long time, and the like, e. g.: "He's been figuring on his movements for a long time now" (Th. Dreiser).1732 It is more probable that the adverb before modifies here the verb to mention.174'
Chinese? (S. Potter); 4. "I don't know what Rosalindhas been saying this time" (R. Macaulay).
Time-Clause Modifiers. The Beforepresent Dynamicis modified by a time-clause or by a time-clauseequivalent in 4.2% of its uses. In most cases themodifying clause contains a verb in the Past Static(84%). Other tenses are: the Beforepresent Static(6.9%), the Beforepresent Dynamic (5.7%), the PastDynamic (2.3%), the Present Static (1.1%).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the Past Static:smcc-clause (92%); till' clause (4%), the-day-that clause,while-clause (2%, each).
A Since-Clause: 1. "I've been expecting somethingof this sort ever since I heard he was back" (J.Galsworthy); 2. "You have been hurting me since wewere married" (M. Arnel); 3. "Whom else have youbeen talking to since I saw you?* (Th. Dreiser).
A Till-CIause. A While-Clause. A Time-Clause Equivalent:1. "I have been thinking myself till I almostbelieved I heard John's voice under the window"(Miss Yonge); 2. "Well," exclaimed Annixter, "hereyou are at last. I've been watching that house tillI was afraid the policeman would move me on" (F.Norris); 3. "While you were away I have beenthinking" (P. Wodehouse); 4. "Jackson has beencourting her ever since that day he took her outriding" (O'Henry).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the BeforepresentStatic: 1. "Ever since he has been away he has beenstorming her with letters" (Th. Dreiser);
2. "Everything's been going to the devil whileI've been away" (A. Hope);
3. "I have been thinking of this — every momentwe have not been together" (H. G. Wells).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the BeforepresentDynamic: 1. "Come on, now! You've had sleep enough.You've been sleeping as long as I have" (Th.Dreiser); 2. "It's what I've been living on while
I've been studying art" (O'Henry); 3. "I know thatall the time we've been going together you've beenmaking love to her" (J. Braine).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the Past Dynamic andthe Present Static: 1. "Do you know what I have beendoing in there while the bastard was singing? I waspraying" (G. Greene); 2. "All the time you weretalking, I've been wanting this and I just couldn'tbring myself to do it" (M. Wilson); 3. "Ever since Ican remember, we've been jumping and havingsetbacks" (J. Lindsay).
SIMULTANEOUS VERBAL PROCESSES
1. "The brute in man has been marking time anddreaming of progress it has failed to make" (H. G.Wells); 2. "You have come out at last," he said."Well, I have been waiting for you long, andlistening" (Ch. Bronte); 3. "I've been working andsupporting my mother since I was fifteen" (A.Maltz); 4. "Well, to be quite honest, I haven't beenworking very hard. Just seeing a few people" (H.Walpole); 5. "George, have you been listening towhat I've been saying?" (J. Updike); 6. "Younggentlemen, I've finished the book while you've beenbarking at me" (G. Meredith); 7. "I've cleaned outthe feed-pipe a couple of times, while you've beenlooking on" (S. Lewis); 8. "She's grown immenselysince she's been lying down" (Miss Yonge).
SEQUENT VERBAL PROCESSES
1. A gossip-writer reports that Lord Hailshamhas lately been jumping out of bed at 7 a. m. andcooking breakfast for his two schoolgirl daughters(D. Worker); 2. Mr. Pearce said today that manyformer Labour supporters have been coming up to himand congratulating him on his policy (D. Worker); 3.
"You have been hiring and training foremen all yourlife" (I. Stone).
TYPES OF SENTENCES AND CLAUSES WITH THEBEFOREPRESENT DYNAMIC
51.4% of the instances of the BeforepresentDynamic are uses in simple sentences, the frequencyof different clauses being: subordinate clauses —21.7%, independent clauses— 13.4%, principal clauses—10.8%, included (subject or predicative) clauses —2.2%, parenthetical clauses — 0.5%.
Simple Sentences
75.5% of simple sentences are statements, 14.3%special questions. 10.2% general and disjunctivequestions. Since statements have been sufficientlyillustrated in this section, attention will be drawnbelow to special and general questions.
Special Questions. The frequency of specialquestions beginning with different interrogativewords (figures in brackets indicate the number ofinstances and the percentage of the total quantityof special questions):
what (104:68%); who (16:10.4%); how!ong(14:9.1%); where (7:4.5%); how (6:3.9%); how much(2:1.3%); how many, which, why, since when (1:0.7%,each).
Thus, by far the most frequent interrogativeword used in special questions containing theBeforepresent Dynamic is the pronoun what
175(104 instances from 153: 68%), how long and since
when making only 9.1% and 0.7%, respectively.The list below gives the number of special
questions containing indicators that a verbalprocess takes place in a p e r і о d of time:
what (13); who (1); how long (14); where (4);how (1); how much (—); how many, which, why, sincewhen (1).
The list shows that only 34 special questionsfrom 153, that is only 22%, contain a linguisticallyexpressed indicator of p e r і о d of time.
Examples of typical special questions withdifferent interrogative words.
What. Special questions beginning with whatcontain the following verbs (figures indicatequantity):
do (63:60.6%); happen (9); say, tell, think (4,each); read (3); make (2); act, dream, drink, fill,get, give, go (on), hang (around), have, hold, live,play, teach, use, want, worry (1, each).
Examples:1. "What have you been doing?" (Th. White); 2.
He turned to my mother. "What have you been doing tothis child?" (J. Updike); 3. "What have you beendoing all the time?" (Th. Wolfe); 4. "What's beenhappening to you?" (A. Cronin); 5. "What's beenhappening at home?" (A. Cronin); 6. "Nicholas camein to see me last evening." — "Oh yes, and what'sNicholas been saying?" (H. Walpole); 7. "What has hebeen telling you?" (J. Conrad); 8. "What have youbeen thinking about? Tell me" (K. Mansfield); 9."What have you been reading?" — "Nothing," I said(E. Hemingway); 10. "You look like a cadaver. Whathave you been making to yourself?" (I. Stone); 11.What have you been dreaming of? (B. Shaw); 12. Thepatient did not awaken. "What's she been drinking?"the doctor asked (D. Parker); 13. "What sort of amess have you been getting into?" (J. Lindsay); 14."What's been going on here in the past year?" (M.Wilson); 15. "Why've you been hanging around hereall day?" (I. Shaw); 16. "What sort of weather havewe been having?" (S. Leacock); 17. "What have youbeen playing at?" (A. Cronin); 18. "What have you
been teaching to the little girl?" (Th. White); 19."What dressing have you been using?" (J. London);20. "And what fault is it if I do idle? What have Ibeen wanting except to go off to London and make adecent living?" (H. Walpole); 21. "What have youbeen worrying about?" (S. Lewis).
Who. The following verbs are used in the sourcesanalysed in 16 special questions beginning with who(whom):
talk (2); associate, attend, complain, do,fight, get, ill-treat, kill, knock, make (cause),play, put, speak, try (1, each).
Examples: 1. "Why," she cried, "Why, Jim, ofcourse we'll live till spring." — "Who's beencomplaining?" (M. Le Sueur); 2. "Who's been puttingsuch nonsense into your head?" (B. Shaw); 3. "Whatdo you mean? Who has been speaking behind my back?"(A. Cronin); 4. "Whom else have you been talkingto?" (Th. Dreiser).
How Long: go (on) (8:57%), feel, listen, look,sit, teach, work (1, each).
Examples: 1. "How long has this been going on?"(Th. Dreiser); 2. "How long have you been feelinglike this?" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "How
176long have you been listening to that noise?" (G.
Jenkins); 4. "How long have you been teaching at theUniversity?" (A. Saxton).
Where: keep (oneself) (3); live (2); hide, play(1, each).
Examples: 1. "Where have you been keepingyourself?" (S. Lewis); 2. "Where have you beenkeeping yourself so long?" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "You'refirst time in the line for coal? Where have you beenliving? Buckingham Palace?" (J. Lindsay).
How (6): 1. (Father who had just returned homefrom Chicago): "And how's the bad girl been behavingherself since I left?" (Th. Dreiser); 2. (Bicket to
Victorine who had been ill for some time): "How'veyou been breathing?" — "All right — much better" (J.Galsworthy); 3. (Eliza inquiring about herdaughter's husband): "How's he been keeping?" (Th.Wolfe); 4. "How've you been keeping, Mr. Brandon?" —"Oh, I'm all right" (H. Walpole); 5. "Well, well," Isaid. "How are you, Hudson?" — "I'm fine, Jones. Howhave you been keeping?" (M. Arlen).
How Much. How Many. Which. Why. Since When: 1."How much sleep have you been getting?" (Th. Wolfe);2. "How much have you been making as a travellingagent?" (S. Lewis); 3. "Who do you mean by'everybody'? How many other ladies have you beenconsoling?" (S. Lewis); 4. "I haven't seen you forfour years. Which way have you beentravelling?"—"Texas" (O'Henry); 5. "Why have youbeen looking so peaked lately?" — "Oh, I just don'tfeel very well" (S. Lewis); 6. "Since when have youbeen wearing glasses?" (M. Wilson).
General Questions. The following verbs in theBeforepresent Dynamic are used in the sourcesanalysed in general questions:
talk (8 times); do (5); drink, go, make, play,take, work (3, each); eat, fight, follow, read, run,see, tell, wait, write (2, each); bite, burglarize,buy, check, court, dabble, dance, fish, flow,gallivant, gamble, give, hack, happen, have, hear,help, hit, kill, listen, look, miss, need, pay,pound, quarrel, quest, take, ride, rob, say, show,sing, sit, smoke, speculate, starve, suffer, think,try, watch, wonder, worry, wound (1, each).
Examples: 1. "Have you been talking to Hilary?"— "Yes" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "What's the matter?"Have you been doing something wrong?" (Th. White);3. "I think you're drunk. Have you been drinking?"(A. Maltz); 4. "My poor dear, you look half dead.Have things been going very wrong?" (Miss Yonge); 5."Tell me all the gossip. Has he been making a fool
of himself lately?" (Th. White); 6. "Have you beenplaying cards very much?" — "None at all" (E.Hemingway); 7. He looks so sick that Philips asks,"Have you been taking anything?" (J. Updike);
8. "You've got thinner. Have you been workingtoo hard?" (D. Cusack);
9. "Have you been following the strike,Martin?" (A. Saxton); 10. "Have you been seeinglawyers much?" (J. Galsworthy).
Disjunctive Questions: 1. "Victor's been talkingto you, hasn't he?" (J. Galsworthy); 2. "Oh!" hesaid: "So he's been trying to palm that off on you,has he?" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "I never saw you. Youhaven't been working over at the hotel very long,have you?" (Th. Dreiser).
177Subordinate Clauses
The frequency of different subordinate clauses(455 instances): object clauses (210:46.2%),attributive clauses (174:38.3%), adverbial clausesexcept those of time (38:8.3%), adverbial clauses oftime (33:7.2%)'.
Object Clauses: 1. "George, I hear you haven'tbeen feeling too well" (J. Updike); 2. "I've beentold that you've been having a bit of trouble" (C.P. Snow); 3. "I know that you've been — how shall Iput it? — seeing a bit of Patrick" (A. Kingsley).
Attributive Clauses: 1. "Well, I don'tunderstand a word that you've been saying" (R.Stevenson); 2. "This land that we have sighted isthe place we have been sailing to" (R. Stevenson);3. "Listen, you're the very man I've been wanting tomeet" (A. Cronin).
Adverbial Clauses (except those of time):conditional clauses (30.6%), clauses of comparisonand manner (25.0%), clauses of reason (19.4%),
clauses of concession (13.9%), clauses of result(11.1%). Examples:
1. "Have I been doing something wrong? I'm sorryif I have" (Th. White); 2. "If he has been tellinglies why don't you have it out with him?" (H.Walpole); 3. "I don't feel we can go on as we havebeen doing" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "After all, he hasbeen practising more than I have" (H. Walpole); 5."I know it because I've been doing it" (S. Leacock);6. "I happen to know he did because she's beengiving David such a hell of a time lately" (H.Walpole); 7. "They can't pull this sword out at all,although they have all been trying hard" (Th.White); 8. "I'm a contralto singer. But things havebeen so bad lately that I've been doing little (K.Mansfhld).
Sentences with Included Clauses
Of 47 sentences with an Included Clause 32contain a Subject Clause and 15 (32%) a PredicativeClause. Examples:
1. "Throw some pebbles in the water." — "That'swhat I've been doing" (A. Saxton); 2. "You look asthough you've been sleeping in a hollow log" (D.Cusack); 3. "Oh, Mat! That's what I've been tryingto tell you all along" (E. O'Neill); 4. "What you'vebeen doing is really horrible" (D. Parker); 5. Thatshe has been making fun of him is beyond doubt (Mrs.Hungerford); 6. "What she has been saying to me hasmade me feel hopeless" (Th. Hardly).
VERBS USED IN THE BEFOREPRESENT DYNAMIC
431 verbs in the Beforepresent Dynamic is usedon 50,000 pages of the sources analysed. The listthat follows contains verbs used in the sources morethan one time each:
do (152 times: 7.3%); think (138); talk (95);try (69); go (65: go+ + on — 27); look (61; look +for — 32; look + be — 7; look + forward —7); wait(58); work (54); tell (53); make (41); want (36);read (35); drink, have (34); say (32); live (31);get (25: get + become — 11); wonder (24); play,watch (23); keep (22); happen, see (19); feel, take(18); listen, sit (16); cry, study (15); ask (14);expect, mean, put (13); give, hear, stand (12);dream, hang, run, write (10); come, worry (9);fight, grow, practice, save, travel, use, walk (8);buy, call, pay, plan, sleep (7); act, carry, follow,help, hold, hope, speak (6); admire, behave, chaise,complain, discuss, fool, long, need, overwork, stay(5); build, dance, drive, fly, eat, intend, kill,knock, learn, lie (=recline), miss, ride, seek,sell, teach, throw, treat, visit (4); bite, bother,break, collect, consider, correspond, develop, die(=desire), figure, handle, lean, let, lie(=deceive), smoke, pester, plot, pretend, rest, rub,spend, support, turn, wish (3); allow, attend,avoid, beat, bicker, brag, clean, clear, count,court, crawl, cut, deal, debate, deceive, dig,drift, endeavour, enjoy, explain, fill, fish, fret,gallivant, gamble, hide, hit, hunt, hurt, insult,jump, loaf, neglect, nurse, observe, pet, pick,pitch, poke, pound, pull, quarrel, reproach, ring,rise, scheme, search, send, show, sing, slave,spread, stare, starve, stick, strain, strive, swim,switch, threaten, train, waste (2).
The other 257 verbs are used in theBeforepresent Dynamic one time each. Among them arethe verbs ail, appear, dread, fancy, imagine, know,and suffer.
It will be noticed that the verb most frequentlyused in the Before-present Dynamic is to do (152times: 7.3%) and that such verbs as think, want,wonder, happen, see, feel, expect, mean, hear,
worry, hope, admire, long, need, intend, wish arealso very frequent in this tense. As to ail, appear,fancy, imagine, know, and suffer, they are on thesame frequency level as attack, bathe, bring,change, dine, dress, enter, fall, feed, finish,laugh, march, move, phone, prepare, rain, shave,wash and the like.
Examples:To Think. The verb to think in the Beforepresent
Dynamic is used in the variant meaning to turn over in themind, ponder:
1. "I've been thinking of you a great deal" (D.Carter); 2. "I mean it. I've been thinking it over"(H. G. Wells); 3. "Ever since I saw you last I havebeen thinking, thinking" (Th. Dreiser).
To Want: 1. "I've been wanting to talk to you"(Th. White); 2. "I've been wanting to say this forages" (H. Walpole); 3 "What's the matter with you?I've been wanting to ask you" (D. Carter); 4. "Whydon't you come and see me?" — "I will," saidCarrie."Really, I've been wanting to come" (Th.Dreiser); 5. "I've long been wanting to writesomething real. I think I've done it" (Sh. Anderson)6. "Ever since I came home, I have been wantingthis, too" (M. Wilson).
To Wonder: 1. "I like you so much that I havebeen wondering if you really like me" (Th. Dreiser);2. "I've been wondering about that and intend to getto the bottom of it some day" (A. Clark); 3. He tookRond-er aside: "My wife and I have been wonderingwhether you'd honour us on the twenty-fifth" (H.Walpole); 4. "It's a silly meaningless expressionand I have been wondering where I might have heardit" (M. Wilson); 5. "Hilma," he said, "I have beenwondering lately about things"
179(F. Norris); 6. "Have you been wondering about
that ever since?" (A. Saxton).
To Happen: 1. "It's no use ranting, Jean. I knowexactly what's been happening" (G. Gordon); 2. "Solots of things have been happening to you!" (G.Gordon); 3. "I don't know what's been happening tome lately" (H. Walpole).
To See. Of 19 instances the verb to see is used14 times in the meaning to meet and converse and 5 timesin the meaning to perceive with one's eyes or with one's mind's eyeor to watch, as in:
1. "I've been seeing her. She is very ill" (H.Walpole); 2. "I've been reading about you and seeingyour picture in the papers here" (Th. Dreiser); 3."His face has got more genuine idiocy in it thanI've seen around here yet, and God knows I've beenseeing miracles in that line this summer" (B.Tarkington); 4. "She has been seeing visions again"(D. du Maurier); 5. "I've been seeing spots all day"(J. Galsworthy); 6. "Who the hell asked you to savemy life? I came east to be killed." — "You've beenseeing war-films" (G. Greene).
To Feel: 1. "I'm glad you told me. I've beenfeeling unhappy all dinner" (J. Galsworthy); 2."I've been feeling too unwell" (D. du Maurier); 3."What is it, Savina?" — "It's the way you've beenfeeling the past few months" (M. Wilson).
To Expect: 1. "Where have you been?" he asked."I have been expect-ing you" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "Father, do you know thathe is bound tocome?" — "I have been expecting it" (Th. White); 3."I saw your friendWatton."—"I've been expecting him to come along," hesaid, trying toappear casual (J. Lindsay). . ,
To Mean (=intend): 1. "Granny, dear, I've beenmeaning to tell you — Derek and I are engaged" (J.Galsworthy); 2. "I've been meaning to say somethingto you about that, but I haven't known how" (A.
Kjng-sley); 3. "We must turn those old books out.I've been meaning to for ages" (H. Walpole).
To Hear: 1. "Listen, I've been hearing about youfrom old man Demp-sey" (M. Wilson); 2. "We've beenhearing from Stanley" (J. Galsworthy); 3. "How arewe doing, Dexter? Still keeping the old flag high?Carrying on the fight? That's it!" — Ron laughedwith him. "You've been hearing things," he told theold man (H. Smith); 4. "I'm afraid Anna's gone out."— "So I've just been hearing" (A. Kingsley); 5."This cures everything," the doctor said.— "Exceptold age." — "I have been hearing about old age toolong to take it seriously" (I. Stone); 6. "Time andtide wait for no man." — "I have been hearing thattime and tide line all my life, and I don't knowwhat it means" (J. Updike).
To Worry: 1. "Don't worry." — "Oh, I haven'tbeen worrying, Frank" (Th. Dreiser); 2. "I have nohome." — "Yes, you have. We've been worrying aboutyou" (J. Braine); 3. "I don't understand lawyers,but if they say it's all right, I'm glad. I've beenworrying" (J. Galsworthy).
To Hope: 1. "Won't you be seated, Miss Thompson?I've been hoping to have another talk with you" (W.S. Maugham); 2. "And we've been hoping that, todayyou would tell us just what you think of it" (E.Whar-
180ton); 3. "Ever since we have been living here,
Mother and I have been hoping to see the owner ofthis adorable place" (Th. Dreiser).
To Admire: 1. "She has just been admiring yourred jar" (Miss Yonge); 2. "I've been admiring yourcraft ever since she came in sight. Looks like afast sailer. What's her tonnage?" (O'Henry); 3. "Ihave been admiring your management of him!" (G.Meredith).
To Long: 1. "She held out her face for a kiss."I've been longing for that" (J. Braine); 2. "I'llmake you a cup of tea. I have been longing for onemyself" (D. Cusack); 3. "You are mine, Clara. I havebeen longing for you, looking forward" (G.Meredith).
To Need: 1. "You've done fine. You gave us justthe push we've been needing" (A Kingsley); 2. "Youowe your career to Arthur. He has been needing youbadly." — " Needing me?" (Th. White); 3. "We'll needto see about putting some flesh on these thin armsof yours. You've been needing someone to look afteryou" (A. Cronin).
To Intend. To Wish: 1. "I heard the other daythat he has the Front Street line but I didn'tbelieve it. I've been intending to ask you about it"(Th. Dreiser); 2. "The truth is, my dear, I've beenintending to write you, but I've been rushed todeath" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "All the time you've beenlying upstairs ill I have been wishing that we wereon the same side in politics" (H. Hill); 4. "Butever since I saw you at my uncle's last April, I'vebeen wishing I might see you again" (Th. Dreiser).
To Hurt. To Ail. To Dread: 1. "People have beenhurting her all her life" (K- Mansfield); 2. "I toldthe doctor about my old lady. She's been ailing fora couple of years" (R. Lardner); 3. "I have beendreading the ordeal of facing her" (H. Hill).
To Appear. To Fancy. To Imagine. To Know. ToSuffer: 1. The indictment against twenty-threeAfricans who have been appearing in the High Courthere on charges of public violence was withdrawn bythe prosecutor (D. Worker); 2. "It seems to me thereis music in the air. I've been fancying I heard itfor a minute or two. There! No — yes. It's a band,isn't it?" (B. Tarkington); 3. "But do you know,I've been imagining myself talking to you like thisfor years" (Th. Dreiser); 4. "But I must go — all
this has only made sure what I have been knowingthis long time" (H. Walpole); 5. "Ah, forgive me.But we've had such a hideous journey." —"Have I beenwrong?" thought I. "Have they been suffering on thejourney?" (K- Mansfield).
Verbs in Beforepresent Dynamic and BeforepresentStatic to Represent Verbal Processes WithoutEmphasis on Their Limits. In principle, most verbsin the Beforepresent Static can be used to representverbal processes without emphasis placed on theirlimits. Compare, for instance, the following twosentences:
"How quickly you have changed" (J. Braine) //Like any living language, English does grow andchange as it has grown and changed for centuries (J.Warriner).
In the first sentence the process is representedwith its limits emphasized, in the second withoutsuch emphasis on them. The decisive factor being thecontext.
Processes in a period of time anterior to thepresent are also repre-
181sented by verbs in the Beforepresent Dynamic,
which makes possible such oppositions as:Like any living language, English does grow and
change as it has grown and changed for centuries (J.Warriner) // Our language has been and is changingconstantly (Ch. C. Fries).
In the above examples the verbal processes areterminative. For non-terminative processes suchoppositions are still more common, for example:
"I've waited seven years for this" (J.Galsworthy) // "I've been waiting for something asnice as this and now here it is" (A. Kingsley).
The fact that two tenses can be used in certaincases to refer to the same process is not, however,an indication of equality of their meanings.
Compare, for instance, the two ways a Russian mothermay use when she is telling her child to walk a bitmore yet: Гуляй, гуляй! Гуляй еще!//Погуляй, погуляй!Погуляй еще! Гуляй and погуляй are forms of theImperfective and Perfective aspects. The possibilityof using the two aspects when referring in certainsituations to certain processes does not at all meanthat they have the same content, nor that Гуляй,гуляй! conveys the same information as Погуляй,погуляй! It only means that in cases like this tworepresentations in speech of the same verbal processwhich do not basically change the informationconveyed are possible. The difference in therepresentation of processes without any emphasisplaced on their limits by verbs in the BeforepresentStatic and Dynamic is established in English byAspectual Models II and III (see pages 37—38, 39—40).
The list below is an illustration of some of theverbs used both in Beforepresent Static andBeforepresent Dynamic to refer to single-actprocesses represented with no emphasis on theirlimits:
admire, attend (to take charge of), avoid,behave, bother, build, bully, bury, carry, change,condition, console, develop, dig, do (+well, badly),dog (follow), dream, enjoy, expect, fancy, feel,fight, follow, get (become), get (+on, along), go,grow (become), handle, have, hope, keep, know, lead,learn, lie, listen, live, long, look, mark, mine,miss (+one), mope, move, need, neglect, operate,oppose, owe, rain, read, ride, serve, sit, slave,sleep, spoil, stand, starve, stay, study, suffer,take (+care), teach, think, threaten, treat, try,use, wait, want, watch, wear, wish, wonder, work,worry, worship.
Miscellaneous
Adverbials of Manner with the BeforepresentDynamic (4%): 1. "No one's been pressing him veryhard" (H. Walpole); 2. "She's been sleeping badly"(H. Walpole); 3. "To tell you the truth, I ratherexpected it. We have been going too fast, you and I"(Th. Dreiser); 4. "Say, Georgie, I hate to think ofhow we've been drifting apart" (S. Lewis); 5. "Ihave been chattering away so thoughtlessly" (Ch.Dickens).
References to Facts of Objective Reality: 1."Well, to speak of plain facts, she's been avoidingme" (J. Lindsay); 2. "The fact is that I've beenbuying street-railway stocks" (Th. Dreiser); 3. "Tosome extent I've,
182in fact, been following this course" (J.
Lindsay); 4. "As a matter of fact, I have beenmeaning to get myself a few cdds and ends" (W. S.Maugham).
Reference to Processes not ControlledConsciously by the Subject. In
the sources analysed the Beforepresent Dynamicrefers to c o n s c i o u s l y controlled processes onlyin 78.7% of its uses. In 21.3% processes denoted byverbs in the Beforepresent Dynamic are n o t con-sciously controlled, 5.8% of all the uses of thetense being actions and states of i n a n i m a t ethings.
Inanimate Things: 1. "I should have explained atthe beginning that planet В has been attracting thefinest brains of planet A" (A. Clark);
2. "Do you know how long the cinema has beengoing?" (J. Galsworthy);
3. "That pack of yours has been hitting myback" (J. Aldridge); 4. "This phone's been ringingever since the newspaper came out" (R. Gehman).
5. "Thermal contraction in the motors," thepilot of the spaceship replied."They've been running round five thousand degreesand cool mightyfast" (A. Clark); 6. "Well, what am I thinking of!Why, the car's beenwaiting all the time" (D. Parker).
Processes not Controlled by Living Beings: 1."What sort of weather have you been having?" (S.Leacock); 2. "Are you all right?" — "I've beenhaving some pains" (E. Hemingway); 3. "You have beenlooking wretched lately. Is there anything thematter?" (Th. White); 4. "Ever since I gave upsmoking I've been putting on weight" (J. Lindsay);5."You. have been talking in your sleep. Are you allright?" (E. Hemingway);
6. "We've been starving" (S. Lewis).Successive -ing Forms: 1. "You have been sitting
staring at him the whole time" (A. Munthe); 2. "I'vebeen sitting, talking to a friend" (E. Hemingway);3. "I like the cool way you assume that I've beensitting here waiting for you to crook your littlefinger" (J. Braine).
Exclamatory Sentences with the Word Order ofInterrgoative Sentences: "True," she murmured. "Whathave I been thinking of!" (Th. Hardy); "Well, wherehave you been hiding all this time!" (D. Carter).
To be Going + Infinitive (0.1%): "Jim! I've beengoing to ask you! Do you think it's possible thatIrene herself has already told little Michael?" (D.Carter): Everybody knows I've been going to see her(E. Caldwell).
Reference to People Who Are Dead: His servantwoman burst into the studio, crying: "Sangallo isdead!" — "Dead? He has been building in Terni" (I.Stone); "She's been talking of suicide, it's boundto have been a suicide" (W. S. Maugham).
Stage Directions (0.31%: see page 53): 1. Heshambles in with the intensive weariness of a manwho for hours has been forcing benumbed limbs tomove (A. Sutro); 2. The two actors depart, but MissHellg-row runs from where she has been lingering, bythe curtain, to Vane, stage Right (J. Galsworthy);3. The surgery bell has been signalling for Alleluia— by giving two quick, consecutive rings — severaltimes (O'Casey); 4. The weather is cloudy — it hasbeen raining and is likely to start again (A.Wesker); 5. Lickcheese, who has been waiting at thedoor, instantly comes in (B. Shaw).
183
THE BEFOREPAST DYNAMIC
The Beforepast Dynamic is ninth in frequency infiction (0.17%) and practically not used intechnical literature. It is used to refer to anyprocess located to the left from the speaker'smental past or any other past-time process which,initially, has been his mental past. Processesdenoted by verbs in the Beforepast Dynamic may be ofany length; the distance between them and theprocesses of reference may be from several instantsto practically unlimited; they can be exclusive orinclusive (see Examples (a) — 9:10, page 45); (b) —9:10, page 45; (a) — 8:9, page 45; (b)—6, page 45);isolated or sequent with other processes; relevantor irrelevant at the moment of reference. TheBeforepast Dynamic is mainly (89.5%) used in theauthor's speech, 10.5% being instances of use inInner Monologue and dialogue. The Tense is opposedto the Beforepast Static by Models 1(44%), 11(52,2%)and III and IV (3.8%).
As in the case of the Beforepast Static the timecontent of anteriority of the Beforepast Dynamic isevident, especially in such examples as:
1. He was doing dictation. He had evidently beendoing his dictation well and the old gentleman wasin good humour (Th. Wolfe); 2. He was drinking nowto forget the fact that he had been drinking (J.Ald-ridge); 3. Apart from what Clyde had been andstill was dreaming in regard to her, Sondra wastruly taken with thoughts and moods in regard to him(Th. Dreiser); 4. He mingled with a crowd of men — acrowd which had been, and was still gathering bydegrees (Th. Dreiser); 5. He became suddenly awarethat she was speaking and that she had been speakingfor some time (J. London); 6. But the next case wascalled and soon engrossed the interest of theaudience. It was that of the two housebreakers whomCowperwood had been and was still studying with muchcuriosity (Th. Dreiser).
Examples of Verbal Processes of IncreasingLength
1. The whole time he was preparing their supperhe was on the alert, ready to intercept any dash ofthe girl for the door. Misled by a sudden movement,he himself made such a dash, to find in sheepishconfusion that she had merely been slightly changingher position (M. Mitchell); 2. "You are going now."— "I'm not indeed," says Nell, who after all hadonly been extricating a bit of lace from the nail inthe seat (Mrs. Hungerford); 3. He had been standingfor nearly a minute (A. Kings-ley); 4. He had beenwalking for an hour (I. Stone); 5. All day the snowhad been falling (P. Wodehouse); 6. He stood up inthe hole he had been living in for the past week andwatched the smooth formation of the planes withinterest (I. Shaw); 7. I'd been going out with Susanabout a month now (J. Braine); 8. "He had beenworking on the road a year" (O'Henry); 9. It wassuch a lovely song that people had been singing itfor thousands of years (D. Carter).
184
Examples of Increasing Distance Between the Endof the Verbal Process and the Process of Reference
1. When he rose they saw he had been sitting ona circular inflated rubber cushion (M. Mitchell); 2."This morning he told me that he had been dreaming(that night) about the mountains of Nebraska" (W. S.Maugham); 3. The woman announced that during theweek of July 3d to 10th she and her husband had beencamping on the east shore of Big Bittern (Th.Dreiser) (It was now August); 4. This truly was thebeautiful, the exquisite Sondra whom months beforehe had met at his uncle's and concerning whosesocial activities during the preceding summer he hadbeen reading in the papers (Th. Dreiser) (It was nowNovember); 5. There was a knight from Hungary whohad received wounds in a tournament seven yearsbefore. He had been fighting with Sir Alphagus (Th.White); 6. She told him about the pneumonia ofNeville as a child; how they had been staying inCornwall, miles from a doctor and without Mr. Hilary(R. Macaulay) (Neville now was a woman of forty-three); 7. The wind had been blowing millions ofyears before there were any boats at all (J. Cary).
Inclusive and Exclusive Processes (See pp. 44—45).
THE BEFOREPAST DYNAMIC AND CURRENT RELEVANCE
The Beforepast Dynamic is used independently ofwhether or not a process denoted by a verb in thistense has any current relevance at the time when theprocess of reference takes place.
Examples of Currently Relevant Processes: 1.Dorothy came in and, seeing her red, swollen eyes,talked for a little in her gentle way of trivialthings. Kitty knew that Dorothy thought she had beencrying on account of Walter (W. S. Maugham); 2. I'djust written that when he did come. I saw he hadbeen drinking (J. Lindsay); 3. Everything (in theroom she had just entered) was ruddy, shadowy, andindistinct to her, the more so since she had justbeen lighting the bar lamp, and her eyes weredazzled (H. G. Wells); 4. We crossed the river and Isaw that it was running high. It had been raining inthe mountains (E. Hemingway); 5. One day he had beensent on an errand to a large coal company's office.It had been snowing and thawing and the streets weresloppy (Th. Dreiser); 6. He needed information.Perhaps somebody inside the camp was in telephonecommunication with a functioning headquarters, orhad been listening to the radio (I. Shaw); 7. It waspresently clear to every one that Mary had beenseeing a play called "Wings of Europe" and reading aposthumous work by D. H. Lawrence called"Apocalypse" (H. Walpole); 8. Caldwell disarmed hisimpudence by agreeing. He had been teaching longenough to keep a step or two ahead of them (J. Up-dike); 9. "I just wanted to have a word with youtwo," Bevill had said. He had been thinking thingsout (C. P. Snow).
185Examples of Currently Irrelevant Processes: I.
Roger recognized her as the Mrs. Maybrick who hadbeen dancing with David Stratton (A. Berkley); 2.The dean's wife finished darning the towels and wentup to say good-night to her parents... Her lips hadbeen moving, her eyebrows working, as she darned thetowels (S. Lewis); 3. He explored his limbs, anddiscovered that several of his buttons were gone andhis coat turned over his head. ...He remembered that
he had been looking for loose stones to raise hispiece of shelter wall (H. G. Wells); 4. Suddenly heleaped to his feet; at once she put into his hand arevolver, his own revolver, which had been hangingon a rail, but loaded this time (J. Conrad); 5.Leonard looked at his watch. "Time to go back, I'mafraid." ...She turned back reluctantly. While theyhad been sitting there on the seat above the roadshe had felt part of life again. Going back was likeadmitting that what Leonard said was true (D.Cusack); 6. The sidelights turned bright. I fledfrom my seat. I brushed my shoulders wildly and onthe cold street was startled by the real faces,which seemed meagre and phantasmal after the greatglowing planetary faces I had been watching on thescreen (J. Updike); 7. And then I saw that his coatwas also mine. But not the one I had been wearing inLe Mans (D. du Maurier); 8. "Wait a bit" — here hepicked up a spade that was lying where a gardenerhad been working (S. Leacock); 9. All was well,after all; he had been worrying unnecessarily (M.Mitchell).
SIMULTANEOUS VERBAL PROCESSES
1. The fury of which she had been incapable hadbeen burning in my soul all day, and tears, hot andlarge, had continually been scolding my cheek (Ch.Bronte); 2. He spoke in a sharp, dry voice. After afew moments she realized she had been noticing howhe looked, rather than listening to what he said (A.Saxton); 3. The car was spluttering and heaving — ithad been spluttering for a minute, I think, before Inoticed it, for I had been examining Pyle's innocentquestion: "Are you playing straight?" (G. Greene);4. He stuck his sword in the ground, as if it was apitchfork, and stood patiently. He had, indeed, onlybeen working with a quiet patience of a farm hand.
He had not been trying to hurt his opponent (Th.White); 5. On the corner, two cops who had beendancing and clapping their hands against the cold,now waited hostilely with arms folded (A. Saxton);6. And it seemed to Clyde, who had been observingand listening to all this with awe, that thisyounger man might be the one to aid him (Th.Dreiser); 7. Joseph had for a long while beensitting there and thinking, and had been strokingthe ears of the dog (E. James); 8. Michael's righthand was numb. One of the bullets had struck thebolt of the rifle Michael had been carrying (I.Shaw).
SEQUENT VERBAL PROCESSES
1. It seems they had come in the carriage andhad been conducting a rummaging scrutiny of therooms upstairs (Ch. Bronte); 2. Eliza, who had comesoftly upstairs to put out the lights and had beenstanding
186for a moment outside, rapped gently and entered
(Th. Wolfe); 3. Two hours later my uncle presentedhimself in the King's chamber. He had beenundressing the knight and putting him to bed (Th.White); 4. "You weren't really sore with that man atall: you were just doing your stuff... "Throughoutthis Roger had been producing his pigskin case andtaking a cigar from it (A. Kingsley); 5. AlreadyClyde had maneuvered the canoe around so that theywere among the water lilies and he had been reachingover and pulling them up, tossing them at her feet(Th. Dreiser); 6. The Tuscan treats stone with thetenderness that a lover reserves for his sweetheart.From the time of their Etruscan ancestors the peopleof Florence had been quarrying stone from themountains, hauling it by oxen to their land,
cutting, edging, shaping and building it into homesand places, churches and loggias, forts and walls(I. Stone).
ADVERBIALS OF TIME COMBINED WITH THE BEFOREPASTDYNAMIC
The Beforepast Dynamic combines with adverbialsof time in 44.8% of its uses, of which 6.8% aretemporal clauses or their equivalents.
The frequency list of adverbs and adverbialphrases of time (% of the total number of instancesmodified by an adverb or adverbial phrase):
for a long time, etc. (41.5); all this time,etc. (13.2); since three o'clock, etc. (6.6); duringthe last hour, etc. (5.8); daily, every week, etc.(4.2); a moment before, etc. (3.9); just (2.3);until recently, up to that moment, etc. (2.3); oflate, lately (1.9); that day, etc. (1.7); half anhour ago, etc. (1.4); meanwhile, etc. (1.4); already(1.3); throughout, etc. (1.3); from the moment ofetc. (1.2); continuously, etc. (1.0); last week,etc. (1.0); previously, etc. (1.0); recently (1.0);always (0.9); again (0.7); in the morning, etc.(0.7); at the time, etc. (0:7); then (0.6); before(0.4); before that, etc. (0.4); in 1937, etc. (0.4);this morning, etc. (0.4); after his words, etc.(0.3); in the past, once (0.3, each); at last, atnight, at one time, earlier, on that evening,hitherto, once more, one afternoon, on Sunday,originally, in his sleep, in the term, so far,still, tonight (0.1, each).
It will be noticed that the Beforepast Dynamic,firstly, does not combine with ever and never (neverbefore, never in my life, etc.) which are frequentwith the Beforepresent Static and, secondly, iscommon with adverbial modifiers of past time.
A d v e r b s a n d A d v e r b i a l P h r a s e s o f P a s tT i m e . Only such adverbial phrases as a moment before(3.9%), half an hour ago (1.4%), last week (1.0%), in 1937(0.4%) make 6.7% of the total use of the tense withadverbs and adverbial phrases of time, which placesthem in the frequency list immediately after the twomost common adverbials — for a long time, etc. andall this time, etc. Examples:
A Moment Before, etc.: 1. In the big room therewas a lot of dust dancing in the sunbeams, dustwhich they had themselves been stirring up a momentbefore (Th. White); 2. Dave went in the mess hallfor a cup of tea. The bos and one of the Navygunners still worked over the
187same game of chess they had been playing four
hours before (A. Saxton); 3. There came a night whenhe confessed to Carrie that the business was notdoing as well this month as it had the month before(Th. Dreiser).
Half an Hour Ago, etc.: 1. All this struck Jennyas odd. Why was Anna behaving and talking like thiswhen not half an hour ago she had been giving afairly unflattering opinion of Patrick? (A.Kingsley); 2. She was leaning out of an open window,just as he had been leaning out of the room belowtwo minutes ago (A. Berkley); 3. The fish was fourfeet long and God knows how heavy, and he waspeering out of his hole as he had been the last time— a week ago (J. Aldridge).
Last Week, etc. In 1937, etc.: 1. He knew that,because he had taken up a letter she'd been writinglast week and gone on reading (J. Lindsay); 2. "Goodmorning, Grace. Has anything happened here?" — "Onlymaster had been reading in his bed last night; hefell asleep with his candle lit, and the curtain goton fire" (Ch. Bronte); 3. They also knew that youhad an affair with an American girl who had been
living in Vienna in 1937 (I. Shaw); 4. She told hima lot about herself. She had been teaching in anelementary school in 1940; but the school was bombedout... (J. Lindsay).
Examples of the Beforepast Dynamic combined withother adverbs and adverbial phrases of time:
For a Long Time, etc.: see Examples 3—9 on page184.
All This Time, etc. Since Three O'clock, etc.:1. She found then that it was not of herself that,all this time, she had been thinking, but rather ofBrandon (H. Walpole); 2. "Well, I had decided toplay as fair as I could. I had been thinking aboutit all night" (Th. Dreiser); 3. The landing bargeshad been rolling a mile off the beach since threeo'clock in the morning. It was 7.30 now (I. Shaw);4. There was the little carriage which had beenwaiting ever since sunset, and there was Anne (C.Forester).
During the Last Hour, etc. Daily. Every Week,etc.: 1. When he was half-way home the storm thathad been slowly, during the last hour and a half,climbing up above the town, broke (H. Walpole); 2.He told me that he had been living in Switzerlandduring the war (E. Wallace); 3. Her mother had beenwriting or phoning almost daily to a dozen people(J. Galsworthy); 4. The whole thing was appalling.His sister had been writing to him every week, butshe hadn't told him they were as badly off as this(A. Maltz).
Just. Until Recently. Up to that Moment, etc.:1. She opened her eyes. "Mortimor, darling!" shesaid. Mortimor had just been going to say somethingelse, but he checked himself (P. Wodehouse); 2. Hethen motioned to the two empty teacups that Anthonyand Steve had just been using (G. Gordon); 3. Stillhandsome, he looked shabby. Until recently hehadbeen associating with gamblers and other persons of
questionable reputation (Th. Dreiser); 4. "You areill?" the landlord asked. Up to that moment he hadbeen talking about football to a knot of hiscronies. Now he turned his attention to me (J.Braine).
Of Late. Lately. That Day, etc.: 1."Cowperwood's here," he said to Owen, who had beenrapidly coming into a sound financial under-
188standing of late (Th. Dreiser); 2. He was weary.
Like most of the men he had lately been doingovertime (D. Carter); 3. I could see John standingat the barnyard gate watching me. I'd been plowingthat day and I was dog-tired (E. Caldwell); 4. Thatafternoon someone walked quietly into the bedroomand took her dress she had been wearing that morning(D. Lessing).
Meanwhile, etc. Already. Throughout, etc.: 1. "Idon't know where mamma is," answered Minna. "We gotseparated, and I never have been able to find heragain." Meanwhile, Presley had been taking in with aquick eye the details of Minna's silk dress (F.Norris); 2. In the meantime the social affairs ofAileen had been prospering in a small way (Th.Dreiser); 3. He replied that hehad already beenthinking of that (Th. Dreiser); 4. Throughout thedinner Eddie had been complaining about his wife'snew frock (S. Lewis); 5. He incidentally mentionedthat he had been writing through the night (G.Meredith).
From the Moment of ... . Continuously, etc.Previously, etc.: 1. He was astonished. From themoment of the rising of the monsters out of thewater, hehad been acting too swiftly to fullycomprehend his actions (H. G. Wells); 2. They hadbeen meeting now continuously during the last week(H. Walpole); 3. And Sondra, who sat next to him andwho previously had been whispering at intervals of
her plans for the summer, now whispered: "What'scome over the sweet thing?" (Th. Dreiser); 4. Thensuddenly he came down with a kind of fever. Short ofmoney, he had in the previous weeks been goingrather short of food (E. James).
Recently. Always. In the Morning, etc.: 1. Heknew very little else. He could not have beenexpected to know what had been happening recently inHollywood (A. Kjngsley); 2. He ilked Cowperwood andhad always been hoping that mentally as well asfinancially he could get close to him (Th. Dreiser);3. "I worked all afternoon. Got the pictures upfirst —they'd been trying to put them up bythemselves in the morning" (S. Leacock).
Again. At the Time. Then: 1. Anthony came toher, dragging his feet. He had been crying again andhis eyes were red (G. Gordon); 2. (Some time beforePatrick had refused Sheila to go out with her) Hehad not been consciously thinking of Jenny at thetime, but of course that was where a good part ofhis motive must have lain (A. Kjngsley); 3. Helooked at Christian, and later, remembering themoment, Christian believed that he had been smilingthen (I. Shaw).
Before. Before That. This Morning: 1. I laughedand we were silent for a moment. Then she went backto what we had been talking before (W. S. Maugham);2. Her dejected spirit was grappling with anothercare. She had not received a letter from her for sixweeks, and, before that, his communication to herhad been growing increasingly brief (A. Cronin); 3.When he analysed it still further he saw that inevery case it had been Savina. Only this morning hehad been wondering what would have happened if hehad married Mary (M. Wilson).
After His Words. In the Past. Once: 1. "Is shegone?" said Mr. Kendal, who had been musing afterhis last words (Miss Yonge); 2. It answered in a
rough way that riddle which had been annoying him somuch in the
189past: "How is life organized?" (Th. Dreiser); 3.
He spoke disparagingly of his novels. He had oncebeen pruning a tree when an idea for a storysuddenly entered his head (R. Graves).
At Last. At Night. Earlier in the Evening: 1. Atlast, through Greaves and Henshaw, they had beenseeking to find a financier who would take hisCharing Cross line (Th. Dreiser); 2. "I asked him toexplain himself, and he said that you had beentaking me regularly at night to your flat" (G.Gordon); 3. It was the city I and the people of mystory had been trying to find earlier on that sameevening (Sh. Anderson).
Hitherto. One Afternoon. On Saturday: 1. Thechain of thoughts that had been lying hitherto aformless lump of links, was drawn straight (Ch.Bronte); 2. One winter afternoon she had been buyingsomething in a little antique shop (K. Mansfield);3. It had just happened that Elmer had been callingthe "Times" on Saturday (S. Lewis).
Originally. In His Sleep. In the Term: 1. One ofthese destroyers was "The Aaron Ward", whichoriginally had been escorting Lst-449 (R.Tregaskis); 2. Martin sat up and began eating,between mouthfuls reassuring Maria hehad not beentalking in his sleep (J. London); 3. Tony grewfretful, for after all he had been working in theterm and now he felt entitled to play (D. Lessing).
So Far. Still. Tonight: 1. As Erik listened, hewanted to fight back against Regan with all thesavagery he had been so far expending againsthimself (M. Wilson); 2. The fire-place had survivedthe bomb untouched; the two loose bricks on itsleft-hand side had still been projecting like buckteeth (J. Braine); 3. Tonight he had been walking
about in town and had hardly anything to eat, so hewent into the chip-shop (J. Lindsay).
Time-Clause Modifiers (6.8%). In most cases(73.6%) the modifying time-clause contains a verb inthe Past Static. The other tenses are: TheBeforepast Static (21.7%), the Past Dynamic (3.1%),the Beforepast Dynamic (1.6%).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the Past Static: when-clause (45.3%); as-clause (15.8%); since-clause (14.8%);before-clause (11.6%); as-long-as clause, while-clause (4.2%,each); from the moment that + a clause (2.1%); until-clause,all-the-time clause (1.0%, each).
A When-Clause. The Past Static of verbs in thewhen-clause refers processes to either the speaker'smental past or a period of time anterior to it(67.5% and 35.5%, respectively: Examples a and b):
(a) 1. They had been rehearsing for a fortninghtwhen Roger arrived from Austria (W. S. Maugham); 2.Then he got up and wandered off taking the easiestway. He had been walking like this for about an hourwhen he came upon the most beautiful thing he hadseen in his short life so far (Th. White); 3. Theyhad been working on their design for two weeks whenErik received a thick letter from Mary Carter(M.Wilson);
(b) 1. Margaret listened to her ski bootscrunching in the packed snow. She smikal at the puretwilight. It had been raining in Vienna when sheleft (=had left) that morning (I. Shaw); 2. The doorof Henry's lunch-room opened and two men came in.They sat down at the
190counter. From the other end of the counter Nick
Adams watched them. He had been talking to Georgewhen they came (=had come) in (G. Chesterton); 3.Then they went down the steep bank until they foundwhere the lion had been trotting when Macomber firstshot (=had shot) (E. Hemingway).
An As-Clause. A Since-Clause: 1. Then with a suddenpull at Clyde's arm, as much as to say, "Silence!"he drew Clyde to one side, out of the hearing of theyouth to whom he had been talking as Clyde came in,and added: "Ssh!.." (Th. Dreiser); 2. Then hepointed to the new plow by the gate. He had beentelling us about it as we walked (=had walked) (M.Endicott); 3. "One morning I saw a notice: 'AuctionNext Week!' Ha! I thought. Might be interesting! I'dbeen looking for a suitable real estate investimentever since I came (=had come) South" (A. Cronin); 4.Now it seemed that he had been resisting thisproposition ever since he met (=had met) Jill (J.Lindsay).
A Before-Clause. An As-Long-As Clause. A While-Clause: 1.And at 5:30 he hastened to the shop. He hadn't beenstanding on the corner a minute before Rattererappeared (Th. Dreiser); 2. "Yes, sir. But you seejust as I was going to talk to her at that time Igot to thinking of all the things I had beenthinking before I came (=had come) up" (Th. Drei-ser); 3. He didn't think about it. For as long as hecould remember he had been getting up with the dawnand working late and eating and' sleeping (D.Carter); 4. The players began to come in. The lastto move was Skinner, who had been standing like astatue while all these things went (=had gone) on(A. Kingsley).
From the Moment That + a Clause. An Until-CIause. All theTime + a Clause: 1. He smiled. He had been waiting forthis opportunity from the moment Baumer told him(=had told him) about his brother-in-law (A. Maltz);2. His art-collection, in which he took an immensepride, had been growing, until it was the basis ifnot the complete substance for a very splendidmemorial (Th. Dreiser); 3. All the time he thought(=had thought) he had been living to the deliberate
measures of a minuet, he had been running downhill(M. Wilson).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the BeforepastStatic: since-clause (57.6%); when-clause (34.6%);during ...+ a clause, till-clause, while-clause(3.9%, each). Examples:
1. He cared for Jean as much as any man couldcare for a girl. True enough, since they had becomeso friendly, old Hartley had been putting work hisway. But what of that? (J. Braine); 2. At the sametime, here was exactly the compromise of which hehad been thinking ever since Berenice had arrived inChicago (Th. Dreiser); 3. Three days before he hadbeen smoking a second pipe over his account, whenthe maid had announced: "A gentleman to see you,sir" (J. Galsworthy); 4.1 dashed out of the doorinto the clear sunlight. When I had first salliedfrom the door, the other mutineers had been alreadyswarming up the palisade to make an end of us (R.Stevenson); 5. At this time Cowperwood was doingbusiness in South Third Street. During the sixmonths which had elapsed he had been quietlyresuming financial relations with those who hadknown him before (Th. Dreiser); 6. He had beensupping on
191oysters and porter till Archie had found it
expedient to set off (Miss Yonge).Time-Clause Modifiers with the Past Dynamic: 1.
Surely there was something familiar about this view.While they were driving (=hadbeen driving) he hadnot been taking notice — but now he saw! (J. Gals-worthy); 2. The taxi-driver, who had been fumblingenergetically with gears while the inspector wasdeparting (=had been departing), now desisted andlooked sympathetically at the silent figure at thecurb (M. Arlen); 3. A scene had been enacting in the
hall, whilst I was resting in Meredith's office (Ch.Dickens).
Time-Clause Modifiers with the BeforepastDynamic: "I've already written to them, so there'snothing I can say. You wait until you hear more fromthem." All the time he had been talking he had beenmoving away from the door (Th. Dreiser); During allthe time that Cowperwood had been arguing his casein this fashion he had been thinking how he couldadjust this compromise (Th. Dreiser).
TYPES OF SENTENCES AND CLAUSES WITH THE BEFOREPASTDYNAMIC
50.7% of the instances of the Beforepast Dynamicare uses insubordinate clauses, simple sentencesmaking only 21.8%. The frequency of differentclauses, except subordinate: independent clauses(14.2%), principal clauses (10.5%), included clauses(2.7%), parenthetic clauses (0.1%).
Subordinate Clauses
Attributive clauses (61.1%), object clauses(26.0%), adverbial clauses, except those of time(6.9%), adverbial clauses of time (6.0%).
Attributive Clauses1. The dream I had been dreaming returned to me
(J. Updike); 2. He went on with a thought he hadbeen having (J. Updike); 3. Here at last were thetargets Kennedy had been hoping for (R. Tregaskis).
Object Clauses1. They had no way of knowing what had been
going on (R. Tregaskis); 2. He admitted that he hadbeen raging in a silly way (R. Graves); 3. He foundhe had been running a trail he had already run (E.Seton-Thomp-son).
Adverbial Clauses (except of time)Clauses of reason (43.5%), clauses of comparison
(21.7%), clauses of concession (21.7%), clauses ofcondition (8.6%), clauses of manner (4.3%), clausesof result (2.2%).
Clauses of Reason, Comparison, and Concession:1. He looked at me: I happened to be near him, as Ihad been fastening the clasp of Mrs Dent's
192bracelet (Ch. Bronte); 2. And here, because he
had been sinking down in his chair, he pulledhimself up and looked at the jury (Th. Dreiser); 3.In the bar-room he was alone, dozing in front of thefire just as Williamson had been dozing in the ball-room (A. Berkley); 4. The girl continued to look atme, her eyes running up and down my body as mine hadhers (J. Braine); 5. The sound made Erik start eventhough he had been waiting restlessly over an hourfor this instant to come (M. Wilson); 6. Her handsfelt cool, though she'd been warming them in woolengloves (J. Lindsay).
Clauses of Condition, Manner, and Result: 1. Howcould she have put such a construction on hisfrankness, if Sophy herself had long been arrivingat the conviction of the truth (Miss Yonge); 2.There he stood, as he had been standing, glassesstill in hand (H. G. Wells); 3. Michael went up toFleur in the room she used to have as a little girl— a single room, so that he had been sleepingelsewhere (J. Galsworthy).
Simple Sentenses
95.1% of simple sentences are statements, 4.9%are interrogative sentences (general questions —3.0%, special questions— 1.9%).
Statements: 1. "Did Patrick not tell you? I'llexplain later." The music had been going on for sometime (A. Kingsley); 2. The boats were on their own.That same night one of the biggest battles had beenraging in Iron Bottom Bay (R- Tregaskis); 3. "Whydon't you risk it?" We had been talking lightly. Butnow she went pale (W. S. Maugham).
General Questions (77% in Inner Monologue, 23%in Dialogue), Special Questions (87% in InnerMonologue, 13% in Dialogue): 1. Where was I? Did Iwake or sleep? Had I been dreaming? (Ch. Bronte); 2.Fleur's heart stood still. Had they been talking?(J. Galsworthy); 3. "They say I'd been bullyinghim." — "Well, had you?" (H. Walpole); 4. "But youwon't tell Mrs Mont what I'm telling you?" — "Ofcourse not. Had things been going very badly?" (J.Galsworthy); 5. There was a sudden silence. What hadhe been saying? What had he been doing? (H. Wal-pole); 6. "I see — it was the only way to avoid atete-a-tete!" she said. "Well done. What had he beensaying to you?" (Miss Yonge).
Independent Clauses
1. "What we get from you and Anna just aboutcovers the rates and genera! upkeep." — Jenny hadbeen starting to say that that was right; she didnot know a bit about housekeeping (A. Kingsley); 2.Betty had been chewing bubble-gum; now a ping-pong-ball-sized bubble issued from her tongue and lips(J. Updike); 3. He was thirty years old and he hadbeen making his way in the world since the age often (A. Maltz).
Principal Clauses
1. Aileen had been bringing him news, from timeto time, of just how her father was feeling towardshim (Th. Dreiser); 2. Mrs Hammel
193and I were still in the kitchen. We had been
talking about a wing which she wanted to have builtonto the back of her house (J. Updike); 3. She hadbeen thinking how little she knew him (A. Kingsley).
Included Clauses
Predicative clauses make about 56.5%,subjectclauses 43.5%. Examples:
1. That was why his mother had been looking fora room (Th. Dreiser); 2. He was exactly what Arniehad been striving to be in appearance and manner (M.Wilson); 3. Most of what he had been doing was theclerk's work (C. Forester).
VERBS USED IN THE BEFOREPAST DYNAMIC
546 verbs in the Beforepast Dynamic are used onthe 50,000 pages of sources. The list below containsthe 207 verbs used in the sources more than onetime:
talk (55 times: 2.9%); think (53); sit (51);look (49); do (44); work (42); wait (41); watch(40); live (37); drink, read (35); try (34); stand(33); play (30); walk (24); listen (22); say (18);hope, make, take (17); grow (become: 7) (16); cry,fight, lie, run, sleep, tell (15); study (14);dream, expect, feel (13); have, write (12); eat(11); carry, come, count (on: 8), dance (10); hold,wonder (9); follow, hang, keep, ride (8); act,dread, get (become: 2), give, hear, prepare, smoke,stare, stay, use, wear (7); call, doze, earn, hide,hunt, intend, put, search, struggle, threaten, turn,weep (6); ail, build, discuss, fall, help, long,
move, pull, seek, speak, spend, become, worry (5);admire, burn, buy, complain, cut, dig, happen,enjoy, meditate, pretend, pursue, push, rage, rain,receive, sink, stir, suffer, teach (4); accept,arrange, ask, attend, await, blow, brood, bully,chase, contemplate, crawl, deal, dine, draw, gather,gaze, indulge, laugh, lead, lean, lie (deceive),meet, observe, pass, pay, picture, pile, plan, pour,proceed, save, see, send, show, sing, speculate,travel, wander, want (3); accumulate, agitate,assist, beat, bend, chat, chew, climb, conceive,console, cross, crush, dodge, dominate, drive,exaggerate, exhibit, fear, feed, find, flounder,form, fortify, gamble, gnaw, guard, hurry, imagine,increase, jerk, knock, learn, let, like, lunch,need, neglect, note, organize, plunge, point,prosper, puzzle, quarrel, reach, remember, ring,rise, roll, sell, sense, set, shoot, smoothe, sneak,steal, stop, stream, stroke, train, trifle, trouble,undress, unload, unpack, visit, wither, wrestle (2).
Among the verbs used in the sources only onetime are to ache, bank (on), be, love, mean, rely(on).
As the list shows, the verbs think, hope, feel,wonder, dread, hear, intend, ail, long, admire,happen, suffer, see, want, imagine, like, and needbelong to those most frequently used in theBeforepast Dynamic. The verbs ache, bank (on), be,love, mean, rely (on) in this tense are not lessfrequent than address, phone, swim, tramp, wash andmany other which are used in the sources analysedonly one time each.
194Examples:To Think: She knew that all the things she had
been thinking about them were nonsense (J. Lindsay);"I wasn't rushed into it. I'd been thinking aboutmarrying you for a long time" (D. Cusack).
To Hope: 1. "I thought perhaps you'd come tomeet me," he observed and she knew he had beenhoping for it ardently (E. Delafield); 2. My feetwere frozen clods. But I forgot about it when I sawthe mist below me. I'd been hoping we'd solve themystery this trip. And there, curling in raggedstreamers a quarter mile below us, was the fog! (P.Anderson); 3. One of the prisoners was assigned tohelp him. He had been hoping for this (A. Maltz).
To Expect: 1. "Well, what have you been doingwith yourself today?" he inquired.— She had beenexpecting the question (D. Parker); 2. "Come in totea this afternoon," he said.— "Thank you, sir,"said Jeremy. That was what he had wanted and beenrather expecting (H. Walpole); 3. At the end of theyear he told her that he could no longer afford theluxury of a mistress. She had been expecting thenews for some time (W. S. Maugham).
To Feel: 1. The love he had been feeling for herturned to raging scorn (A. Maltz); 2. Then he puthis hand out and touched something hard. His handfelt then something wet and sticky and Noah realizedthat it was a dead man in the ditch in front of him,and he had been feeling the man's helmet, then theface, and that the man had been hit in the face (I.Shaw); 3. She thought it over. She knew exactly whathad happened. She had let her emotion run away withher. She had been feeling, not acting (W. S.Maugham).
To Have: 1. The band had been having a rest. Nowthey started again (K- Mansfield); 2. The sinking,fluttering feeling she had been having was gone (J.Galsworthy); 3. And he went on with a thought he hadbeen having (J. Salinger).
To Wonder: 1. I had been wondering how on earththe inspector had connected me with Sophie, but nowhe pushed forward a book (W. S. Maugham); 2. Thismust be the way Iveen talked to men, and men liked
it. She had been wondering what they saw in Iveen(S. Gibbons); 3. He mailed the letter. Followingthat, because his mother had been anxious about himand wondering where he was, he soon received aletter (Th. Dreiser).
To Dread. To Fear: 1. Then he thought — suicide.He'd been dreading that without knowing it (S.Lewis); 2. It seemed to him that for weeks past hehad been dreading some catastrophe (H. Walpole); 3.The problem in connection with him that she had beenfearing this long while was upon her (Th. Dreiser).
To Hear: 1. Then he realized that he had beenhearing the noise for what seemed a long time (I.Shaw); 2. It seemed to be a voice that he had beenhearing all night (E. James); 3. "The point was, hesaid, he'd been hearing some stuff about you andHarry having a fight." (J. O'Hara).
To Intend. To Want. To Mean: 1. It appeared thatshe had not been intending to go to France at all(M. Arlen); 2. "Anything else to con-
195fess?" — "No." She had been intending to say: "I
called him my darling love" (Th. Hardy); 3. TheAugust day that had preceded the hot night had beena hard one for him to get through. All day he hadbeen wanting to be at home in his quiet apartment(Sh. Anderson); 4. Then he saw her face. Her eyeswere full of soft concern for him. But he had beenwanting more than soft concern (M. Wilson); 5. Alittle pair of scissors rested on her knee, for shehad been meaning to cut out a certain recipe (J.Galsworthy).
To Ail. To Ache. To Long: 1. "His death was verysad, indeed. But he'd been ailing for a long time"(H. Walpole); 2. A completely different person fromthe Lanny who had left the house an hour ago. Thenshe had been aching with worry because he had beenunhappy (P. Abrahams); 3. He did not stop, nor did
he look twice at the face he had been longing for(G. Meredith); 4. He said he was glad I had come atlast, he had been longing for my return (A. Munthe).
To Worry. To Admire: 1. All was well, after all;hehad been worrying unnecessarily (E. Hemingway); 2.I ran the boat to the dock. Ever since I'd seen theChink and taken the money, I'd been worrying aboutthe business (E. Hemingway); 3. "She declaredimpudently that they had been admiring the water-fall by moonlight" (M. Mitchell); 4. "Peter, don'tyou hear your father?" — I had been admiring asection of shadow under the walnut tree in mypainting (J. Updike).
To Happen. To Suffer: 1. He looked forward totelling her his news, the great things that had beenhappening to him in the last three days (A. Hope);2. Kit asked him what had been happening at theworks (J. Lindsay); 3. For eighteen months she hadbeen suffering from a growth of the stomach out of achronic ulcer (A. Kingsley); 4. "Should I?" — "Yes.I wanted to know." ... Roger had been sufferingsevere kinds of pain during this exchange (A.Kingeley).
To See. To Imagine. To Like: 1. Jack apparentlyhad not been seeing more of her than of any one elseat the camp (I. Stone); 2. And yet from the first,he realized she was not the type of a girl he hadbeen imagining in his dreams that he would like tohave (Th. Dreiser); 3. "Before going up there withher you hadn't been liking her as much as you mighthave: Wasn't that the way of it?" — "Not so much asI had at one time — no, sir" (Th. Dreiser).
To Bank, Count, Rely (on). To Be. To Love: 1. Thetrouble was that the three sons had already for along time been banking upon it (E. James); 2. Weknew that he had been counting on it (W. S.Maugham); 3. All along he had been relying on a"bonanza crop" (F. Norris); 4. Things had luckily
not gone so far during the drive, but it had been anqer thing. Anna had been being French again —unshockable, curious, as usual '(A. Kingsley); 5.Still it was no shock to find out, for example, thata girl had been loving you for a long time beforeyou found it out (J. O'Hara).
Verbs in Beforepast Dynamic and BerofepastStatic to represent verbal processes withoutemphasis on their limits (see p. 182):
196admire, avoid, breathe, bully, carry, cry,
dance, develop, dine, do (proverb), doze, draw,drink, drive, eat, enjoy, expect, fear, feel, fight,follow, gnaw, go, grow (become), guide, hang, have,hear, hold, hope, insist, intend, itch, keep,labour, lie, like, listen, live, long, look, move,pace, peer, plan, play, plead, practice, press,pretend, progress, rain, read, rest, run, see, seek,sit, sleep, smoke, stand, stare, stay, study,suffer, surge, talk, think, threaten, torment, toss,travel, try, twist, use, wait, walk, wander, want,watch, wear, weep, weigh, wonder, work, worry.
Miscellaneous
Adverbials of Manner with the Beforepast Dynamic(10.6%): 1. He had been walking fast about the room,and he stopped (Ch. Bronte); 2. "She had a letter inher hand which told me how the others had beengetting on" (Th. White); 3. "Will you do that?" —"Yes, that's very kind of you." — They had beenwalking slowly over to the corner of the playground(A. Kingsley).
The Beforepast Dynamic at the Beginning of aStory: They had been quarreling now for threequarters of an hour. Muted and inarticulate, thevoices floated down the corridor (A. Huxley); Allday we had been sitting in the piano box waiting for
the rain to stop. Below us twenty feet away, themuddy Savanna River oozed past (E. Caldwell).
References to Processes not ControlledConsciously by the Subject (28.3%, of which 11.8% isused with i n a n i m a t e subjects); 1. Ben opened hiseyes. He had been dozing or fainting off, he didn'tknow which (J. Aldridge); 2. She had been sleepingbadly (D. Cusack); 3. "It was the year after I hadalmost died of pneumonia — I'd been spitting bloodever since and having haemorrhages (Th. Wolfe); 4.The wind had been blowing hard for days (A.Bennett); 5. Jimmy was staring at the sky — thefirst to realize that for the last few minutes anaircraft had been circling high over the valley (A.Clark); 6. This evening he found it impossible totalk. The decision to build had been weighing on hismind all the week, and he had made up his mind totell her (J. Galsworthy).
References to Facts of Objective Reality: 1. Hewas surprized at his weariness when he got into hisroom, forgetful of the fact that he had been on hisfoot and working without let up for fourteen hours(J. London); 2. "As a matter of fact, my boy,"replied Cowperwood, "I had been working too hard andfound I needed a rest' (Th. Dreiser); 3. Though shehad in fact been giving battle to that power in himfor several months, she had held her own too well toperceive definitely the character of the spiritopposing it (G. Meredith).
Successive -ing Forms: 1. The sphinx had beenlying waiting for me there for two thousands years(A. Munthe); 2. She rose from a chair in which shehad been sitting reading a magazine (Th. Dreiser);3. How long had she been sitting there, waiting? (P.Abrahams).
To Be Going + Infinitive (0.5%): 1. She took asip from her glass, and the feeling that he had beengoing to laugh passed away (J. Galsworthy); 2.
Joseph had been going to marry her (E. James); 3. Itwas
197not much that Ruth wanted to say — merely that
Norman had been going to take her to a lecture thatnight, but that he had a headache, and she had twotickets. (J. London).
THE BEFOREFUTURE DYNAMIC
The sources analysed (50,000 pages) contain thefollowing three instances:
"Are you drunk, woman?" he roated at her.—"She'll have been taking a little bit at the bottleto keep her strength up," tittered Grandma Brodiemaliciously. "That's how she'll have been passingher time this morning" (A. Cronin); "I don't thinkthe police are likely now to ask for an adjournmentof the inquest tomorrow; but after Ronald's atti-tude, if they have by any remote chance gotsomething up their sleeves for us, they'll have beenkeeping darker than ever" (A. Berkley).
Each of these three instances refers not to afuture but past-time process (Mrs Brodie, forexample, who referred to "this morning" was speakingat dinner time). The meaning of modality (may +Infinitve) in each case is obvious.
It is, therefore, probable that will have beentaking, will have been passing, and will have beenkeeping are structures homonymous with theBeforefuture Dynamic.
LEXICAL CONTENT OF VERBS AND DYNAMIC TENSES
A careful study of the use of different tenseson more than 150,000 pages of text of fictionpermits one to conclude that there are in con-temporary English only about a dozen verbs, such as
contain, consist, equal, resemble, signify, matter, result, chance as wellas modal verbs like can, may, must, ought that are neveror practically never used in Dynamic forms. Dynamicforms with all other verbs are linguistic reality.Below is a list of 80 verbs commonly said in mostgrrmmar-books not to be used in be + -ing forms (lightitalics for "rather frequent", heavy italics for "regularuses"):
to ache, admire, advise, agree, aim, appear (-seem),apprehend, assum?, bank (on), be, believe, belong, bother,breathe, burst, care, comprehend, consider, count(on), dare, desire, disagree, doubt, dread, expect, fancy,fear, feel, figure, find, forget, forgive, guess, happen,hate, have, hear, hope, hurt, imagine, intend, know, like,long, look, (fine, tired), love, mean (intend), mind,miss, need, notice, owe, possess, presume, promise,realize, recall, recognize, refer, regret, rely (on),remember, require, resent, see, seem, smell (have anodor), sound, suggest, suffer, suppose, think (to be inthe process of thinking; in the sense "to be of anopinion"-rarely), trouble, trust, understand, want,wish, wonder, worry, yearn.
As experience shows, an analysis of additionalsources will, undoubtedly increase the number ofsuch verbs and reduce the number of verbs that"cannot" be used in Dynamic forms. Indeed, it willbe reasonable to say that, theoretically at least,only those verbs that have no Participle I cannot beemployed in Dynamic Tenses.
198Grammar-books statements that certain verbs are
not or practically not used in Dynamic forms are, inmost cases, gross exaggerations.1 A few facts willsuffice to illustrate this.
1 Gradually, grammarians are beginning to relize this fact. Thus, B. A. Ilyish points out that "the impossibility of these verbs appearing in this form is sometimes exaggerated". This statement is illustrated by examples containing the verbs see, hope, like, fear, hear, look, be. (B. I l y i s h . The Structure, op. cit., pp. 78—80)199
In Dead Man PASS by Peter Dawson (N. Y., 1973) theverb to hear is used in finite forms 21 times, out ofwhich 15 are in Static and 6 in Dynamic Tenses. Inother words, the Dynamic Tenses of the verb hear inthis book are only 2.5 times less frequent than theStatic. Besides, 7 times out of the 15 the Staticforms are used in the book by Model I to representterminative processes with their limits emphasized(Cf. "услышал"), which excludes the use of DynamicTenses, for instance:
First the old man, then Bill, heard him comingand glanced his way; Updike stood for all twominutes digesting what he had just heard. On theother hand, Dynamic forms of the verb hear are usedin the book to represent processes as being indevelopment, as in:
The lawyer was sucking a cold briar pipe and,typically, paid not so much attention to what he washearing as to the manner of the man who was talking.
One more fact. A study of the lists of verbsused on 50,000 pages of fiction text in the FutureDynamic, Beforefuture Dynamic, and Before-pastDynamic (consecutive selection; seepages 131, 178,194) tells us that to want is one of the mostfrequently used verbs in the Future Dynamic and theBeforepresent forms. In the former tense it is usedmore frequently than the verbs to wait, work, say, tell, take,carry and many others; in the latter it is morefrequent than to read, drink, live, play, watch and many otherswhich have never been said n o t to be used inDynamic forms. There is, then, no reason whatever tolabel the verb to want as one that does n o t take thebe + -ing forms. The same may be said about a lot ofother verbs in these lists.
A study of the verbs that are practically neverused in Dynamic Tenses (contain, consist, etc.) reveals thefact that they refer to s t a t і с relationships(contain, consist, equal, resemble, signify, matter) or represent
processes with their limits emphasized (chance, result).Examples:
Her purse contained the address slip (Th.Dreiser): There was the address slip in her purse.(Nothing is represented here as changing, havingchanged, or to be changed); The appartment consistedof two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom (S.Maugham): There were two rooms, a kitchen, and abathroom in the apartment; Her ability equalled hisown (M. Mitchell): was equal to his own; "What Ibelieve doesn't matter" (W. Stanton): is of noimportance; The talk resulted again in a row (E. S.Gardner): The talk ended in a row.
Consider now the use of Static and DynamicTenses of the verb to see.
(A man who is going to be operated on his eyes): "To-morrow,"he said, "I shall see no more" (H. Wells); He haswatched many a morning break over that range. Nowtoo he watched, but his weary eyes did notsee thepink of the gold (D. Cusack); Five-hundredfashionably dressed women turned their heads, sointent was Martin's gaze, to see what he was seeing(J. London).
Here the verb to see is used, respectively, in thefollowing senses: "to have the power of sight," "tobe able to perceive", "to watch, examine". The firsttwo senses are references to relatively staticprocesses and agree with the aspectual content ofthe Static forms, while the third refers toprocesses as developing and agrees with theaspectual content of the Dynamic forms.
In the verb to think the sense "to be of anopininon" is a reference to static processes,whereas the sense "to be in the process of.considering things" points to processes in theirdevelopment.
In polysemantic verbs, therefore, some sensesmay be references to static processes, others todynamic processes.1 If most senses are references tostatic processes, a verb is likely to be used morefrequently in Static Tenses, with most dynamic-process senses the greater probability will be forthe dynamic forms.
However, the decisive factor for the choice ofthe tense (Static or Dynamic) in speech is the way averbal process is represented. If, for instance, averb is used in a static-process sense butrepresents the process as changing, having changed,or to be changed (Model III), Dynamic Tenses areregular. Thus, the verb to see in the sense "to be ableto perceive" is a reference to static processes; inthe following sentences, however, the ability toperceive is represented as either changing or havingchanged, which accounts for the use of the DynamicTenses:
(A young man, who had been knocked down by a, severe blow on thehead, was slowly recovering. His girl-friend was watching him): Hiseyes! Was it light in them? Was it? They were seeing— surely they saw. And his lips made the tiniestmovement (J. Galsworthy); (A dead-tired man trying to come outof his sleep): He began to fight himself out of sleep. Fora long time he knew that his eyes were open, waitingfor his vision to return. Then he was seeing again(W. Faulkner); (Brodie, whose eyesight was very good, pretendedone morning that he was not able to see the man who had greeted him inthe street): "I'm afraid I'm not seeing so well thismorning" (A. Cronin).
1 А. К. К о р с а к о в . Категория вида в современном английском языке. Докторская дис. Львов, 1967, с. 552; In 1972, R. Quirk et al divide the English verbs into 'dynamic' and 'stative' and point out that the latter are used only in the simple (that is, Static) aspect. The authors also explain that "although it is convenient to speak of 'dynamic' and'stative'verbs, it is important to note that it would be more accurate to speak of 'dynamic' and 'stative "uses of verbs" (R. Quirk et al, op. cit., pp. 149, 94—95).200
Dynamic representation of static processes isespecially characteristic of such verbs as to feel (fine,etc.), look (fine, etc.), be (silly, etc.), for example:
"I'm feeling better than I've been feeling inmonths" (Th. Dreiser); "Hello, Robert," she said."You're looking fine. Had a big day?" (M. Maltz);"Now, Jenny", said Hartley, "you're being a fool"(F. Yerby): -» Jenny was not a fool, but at thatmoment she was behaving like one.
PART III THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES
Broadly speaking, the rules of the Sequence ofTenses explain tense patterns existing in alanguage.
In English, the use of tenses in subordinateclauses after an absolute Static or Dynamic Present,for instance, is conditioned basically by actualtime relationships between the verbal processes (seealso pages 56—57), for example:
1. "I don't know what you want" (W. S. Maugham);2. "I know what I'm talking about" (Th. Wolfe); 3."You know what they did this week" (D. Carter); 4."You know what I was doing? I was sitting typing"(I. Shaw); 5. "I know what she'll endure" (W. S.
Maugham); 6. "How does he know Michael won't becoming?" (J. Galsworthy); 7. "She knows I have beenwaiting a quarter of an hour myself" (D. Cusack); 8."You don't know how you've helped me," he said (H.Walpole).
The absolute tenses in the subordinate clausesof these examples denote the speaker's mentalpresent, past, and future; the beforepresent tensesindicate anteriority of verbal processes to thespeaker's mental present.
The rest of the patterns, especially those inwhich verbal processes of the principal clauseobjectively belong to the past, are covered by thefollowing rule:
If the verbal processes of a sentence belongcompletely to the past, and have nothing to do withthe present or future whatever, only past,,beforepast, future-in-the-past, or before-future-in-the-past tenses are used in it; but if the processof a subordinate clause is relevant also at presentor future time and its relevancy at the present orfuture is emphasized, a present, beforepresent, orfuture tense of the verb is used to refer to it(with no emphasis on the relevancy of the process atthe present or future, a past, beforepast, future-in-the-past, or beforefuture-in-the-past is normal).
The following examples illustrate the first halfof this basic rule of the Sequence of Tenses:
1. My candle went out. Without it, the nextmoment, I knew that there was a figure on the stair(H. James); 2. I was mad. I didn't know what I wasdoing (M. Mitchell); 3. Madge mixed a good cocktailand as he drank the second of them Bart wondered whyhe had been such a fool as to let nearly a fortnightgo by without ringing her up (D. Cusack); 4. Headmitted that he had been raging in a silly way, butthat
201
nothing bad had happened (R. Graves); 5. It wasonly a little burn that had cut his flesh. But itwas in the working part of his hand. He knew hewould need his hand before this was over (E.Hemingway); 6. But he understood that at thisbanquet he would be addressing men who createdstatistics (D. Carter).
The tenses in the subordinate clauses of theseexamples are used in strict agreement with theirtemporal content: past tenses for mental past,beforepast tenses for anteriority to the past,future-in-the past tenses for future relative to thepast. Such use of tenses in subordinate clauses isoften referred to as N a t u r a 1 Sequence ofTenses.
In accordance with the second half of the basicrule, the sequence of tenses is frequently alsonatural, for example:
1. Kit managed to catch up with Jill as she wasleaving the works.— "Hallo," she said. "I'm in ahurry." — "Let's go somewhere," he said.— "Nottonight," she said. "I told you I'm in a hurry" (J.Lindsay) (Jill's being in a hurry is relevant at themoment of speaking. She emphasizes the relevancy atthe moment of speaking of her being in a hurry byusing the P r e s e n t Static. What Jill actually meansto say is; "I'm in a hurry. I told you so justnow"); 2. "I want the job. I told you I want it" (E.Hemingway); 3. "The dog doesn't go," Walt announcedin a determined voice.— "What's that?" Millerdemanded.— «I said the dog doesn't go, and thatsettles it" (J. London); 4. "Lawrence, what are youthinking about?" —"I was thinking that Dinny hasprobably had no lunch. Have you, Dinny?" (J.Galsworthy); 5. "They told me I've been cleared. I'mcleared for secrecy" (D. Carter); 6. "Sangallo wrotethat my second shipload of marbles has been lyingexposed in the Piazza San Pietro. I want to rescue
them" (I. Stone); 7. "Don't hang up, Mort. I'mcalling because I got a line on your dear friendtonight." — Cain stiffened. "I told you before abouttalking on the phone." — "Aw nuts. I just found outKirby is going to speak at the membership meetingthis week" (D. Carter); 8. You were saying that asMr. Undershaft has not seen his children since theywere babies, he will form his opinion of the way youhave brought them up from their behaviourtonight ... (B. Shaw); 9. "I'll stay here." — «ButSam said for me to get a room in the hotel." — Hervoice grew stubborn. "I said I'll stay here" (H.Rob-bins); The President of the Soviet Academy ofSciences said that the Soviet Union will have a bigspace observatory in permanent orbit round the earthin a matter of years (Mo. Star).
The absolute tenses in the subordinate clausesof these examples denote the speaker's mentalpresent or future, the beforepresent tenses denoteanteriority of verbal processes to the speaker'smental present.
However, past tenses in subordinate clauses inwhich verbal processes are relevant at the moment ofspeaking are also common, for example: і 1. "I onlysteal from people I disapprove of." — "And why areyou returning my pearls?" — "I told you I only stolefrom people I disapproved of" (M. Arlen); 2."Hello," said Carol.— Martin's pen jerked.— "Oh, I'msorry," said Carol.— Martin blotted carefully andbegan to erase.— "Let me help," said the girl.—Martin stopped erasing and looked at her.— "I said Iwas sorry," Carol said defensively (N. Davis); 3. "Ididn't
202know you painted." — "Only water-colours; I
can't say I believe in my work" (J. Galsworthy); 4."Did you know that Webster played the banjo?" — "No,does he?" (J. Osborne); 5. The butler came in again
with a tray of cocktails. "I didn't know you drankcocktails, Elliott," I said.— "I don't," heanswered, as he sipped the one he had taken (W. S.Maugham); 6. I'm frightened. At night I take one ofthe children into bed with me and hold him/her forhours. My eyelids won't close, it scalds when I shutthem. I never knew what jealosy was. It's an end-lessly hungry thing. It really just consumes andchurns and I can't focus on anything (J. Updike); 7."Now and then we can sit back and hear ourselvesthink." — "Yeh, people say that sort of thing, butwhat is there really to think about? It sounds likethe chair creaking, this sitting back and hearingyourself think; and what more is there to it, if youget down to the tacks." — "I never knew you were aphilosopher" (W. S. Maugham); 8. "If they can dothings like this there's no one who can save us butyou, Toffy. I always knew you were a clever one.We'll obey you, Toffy" (L. Dunsany); 9. "If you'reso charming and handsome that they won't give you aminute peace? Of course not. We understand. Tell usMr. Standish, when did you first realize you were sobeautiful?" (A. Kingsley).
Past tenses are common even if verbal processesin subordinate clauses are what is usually known as"logical truths", for example:
1. She tried to explain, as she had done so manytimes before, what a map was (A. Huxley); 2. ABritish prime minister once remarked that the peoplewere divided into two nations, the rich and thepoor, and in effect that they had no knowledge ofeach other (A. Kingsley); 3. Somebody had said, orwas saying, that we were descendents from monkeys,which was quite absurd, though it might be trueenough (Th. Dreiser); 4. "Now, look," saisCarol,"i'm just trying to be neighborly. I came over herewith the best intentions in the world. I was goingto show you how the Grey's stove worked" (N. Davis);
5. Mr. F. T. Willey said an N. U. T. survey showedthat one in seven primary schools lacked watersanitation (D. Worker); 6. "We start out of the baytogether, and that Jack-in-office of a FrenchGovernor— I beg your pardon, sir. I was forgettinghe was your father in law, but just the same hethreatens to turn the guns on us" (C. Forester).
The use of tenses in the subordinate clause incases illustrated by the last two sets of examplesis often referred to as A t t r a c t e d Sequence of.Tenses, the word "attracted" pointing to theinfluence of the tense of the principal clause uponthat of the subordinate. As has been shown, suchinfluence, however, is limited to the cases where noemphasis is being placed by the speaker upon therelevancy of the verbal process of the subordinateclause at the moment of speaking.
Therefore, the use of tenses in subordinateclauses in accordance with the first part of thebasic rule of the sequence of tenses is с о m -p u 1s о г у, that complying with its second part iso p t i o n a l .
Attention should be also drawn to the use oftenses in the subordinate clause after abeforepresent tense in the principal.
203Processes denoted by the Beforepresent Static
and Beforepresent Dynamic commonly (see, however,page 16) take place in periods of time located tothe left from the moment of speaking, that is, inthe p a s t . The use of tenses in subordinate clausesafter p a s t - t i m e verbal processes in the principalis established, however, by the basic rule of thesequence of tenses given and illustrated above. Inaccordance with this rule, the sequence of tenses insentences with a beforepresent tense in theprincipal clause should be either natural or
attracted. Actual language facts fully comply withthese requirements of the basic rule.
Beforepresent Tense + Future-in-the-Past: 1."I'm ready to go any
time." — "Look here! Do you really want to gowith me or are you just bluffing?" — "I'll go withyou! I've told you I'd go with you!" (Th. Wolfe);
2. "Do you think you can do it?" — "I don'tknow until I look the partover. You know I'm afraid, now that I've said Iwould" (Th. Dreiser)(Just before this Carrie said to Drouet who hadasked her to agree toplay a part on the stage: "All right. I'll do it");3. "Well," she sighed,"you've owned that it probably would end in miseryfor us" (Th. Drei-ser); 4. "Luke's enemies have always said that he'dmake one big mis-take" (C. P. Snow); 5. "I give you my word I'vethought more than oncethe top of my head would fly off" (J. Conrad); 6."Well, maybe he'sgoing to brace up now and make a new start. He'spromised that he'd try"(Th. Wolfe); 7. "Hallo! What a piece of luck! I'vebeen hoping I shouldsee you before you sailed" (E. Delafield) (Cf.:"Hallo! I was hopingI'd meet you" — O'Henry); 8. "Rotten weather, isn'tit?" — "Well,I should say. I've just been sitting here thinkingwhere I'd go tonight"(Th. Dreiser).
Beforepresent Tense + Beforepast Tense: 1. "I'vetold you hundreds of times that I had forgotten thatgirl, haven't I?" (O'Henry); 2. "But I've just said
I'd made up my mind to stop after that" (A.Kingsley);
3. "Just this second I've realized that I'dbeen planning to go to Minnea-polis to see a girl" (S. Lewis); 4. Erik felt thesweating shame of a tyrowho has just discovered that he had been struttingbefore the academi-cian (M. Wilson); 5. "That encourages me," saidKitty. I have been feel-ing that I had come at a very unfortunate moment"(W.S. Maugham);6. "Why, Mrs Wheeler," said Mrs Vance, looking Carrieover in a glance,"where have you been? Why haven't you been to see me?I've been won-dering what had become of you" (Th. Dreiser).
Beforepresent Tense + Past Tense: 1. "Heavens!"he exclaimed, Tising suddenly. "I've just rememberedI had a date with her tonight" (G. Gordon); 2. "Theonly reason I have for looking unhappy is that sinceI was twelve I've known that my nose was a littletoo long" (W. S. Maugham); 3. "Am I really so bad asall that?" — "Yes, you are." — "I suppose you'reright. I've always known I was a pretty poorspecimen, really" (E. Delafield); 4. (Mrs Matson toCurtis who was playing with George): "And how manytimes have I told you that you were not to play withGeorge? How many times, Curtis?" (W. S. Maugham); 5."I've always said that eight was a perfect number"(W. S. Maugham); 6. "Do you know, since I have beenback with people, I have felt I was going
204mad?" (Th. White); 7. "Mrs Vidler, I've wanted
to come to see you for a long time. I've oftenwondered how you were getting along" (W. S.Maugham); 8. "Tell me, Gray—frankly—do you think I'mhardboiled?"— "No, far from it. Why, has anybody
been saying you were" (W. S. Maugham); 9. "You havejust been telling me how much you liked to beconquered" (Ch. Bronte); "I have been wondering fora long time past when that happy event was to takeplace" (H. Walpole).
The three sets of examples above illustrate theAttracted Sequence of Tenses in sentences with theBeforepresent Static or Dynamic in the head clause.If, however, the speaker emphasizes the relevancy ofa verbal process of the subordinate clause atpresent time, for instance, a present tense is usedin it, for example:
1. "I've just realized that I know very fewpeople" (H. Smith); 2. "You haven't said you love meyet," she murmured (J. Lindsay); 3. "I've often toldyou, Michael, that life today can be very difficultfor more than the working-class" (D. Carter); 4."You've been complaining that I don't paint anymore. Here is your opportunity" (I. Stone); 5. "Foryears you've been saying you're trapped out, Roy,but you always get through" (J. Aldridge); 6. "I'vebeen telling myself I'm too far in to get out, andanyway there's nothing worth while to get out for"(J. Lindsay).
PART IV EXERCISES
Graphic Representation of Time Relationships BetweenVerbal Processes
Recommended Signs: A single-act process represented in its
limits. ~~ A single-act process of limited duration
denoted bya verb in any dynamic tense. A single-act process of limited duration
denoted by a verb in any static tense and represented without any emphasis on
its limits. …~~… A single-act process of practically
unlimited duration denoted by a …__... verb in a dynamic or static form,
respectively. … A multiple-act process.~~ ~~ ~~ Note: Two or more verbal processes to be
represented graphically should be supplied with anumber (1, 2, 3, etc.). The numbers of processes insentences of a given utterance and those in thecorresponding diagram should be the same.
EXERCISE 1. Present Static and Present Dynamic;1. I offered her a cigarette. "No, thank you,"
she said." I don't smoke" (J. Braine) (I'm not asmoker); 2. Marxism lives and grows (D. Worker); 3."I go there every other night" (W. S. Maugham); 4."Are you smoking now?" — "Just once in a while. I'ma moderate smoker" (J. Salinger); 5. The mechanicalproblems are getting more and more complex (Jonesand Lawson); 6. "Things of that sort are happeningevery day. They are in the nature of things" (H. G.Wells); 7. "You're smiling," Alice said.— "I'mhappy" (J. Braine); 8. He opened his eyes to findher looking at him. "Why do you stare at me?" he
asked (A. Huxley); 9. The watch shows three minutesto ten (A. Cronin); 10. He does not look in as hepasses the door (W. Faulkner); 11. As he enters hishead is shaking (O'Casey); 12. "It's probablyraining in London while we sit here" (A. Kingsley).
EXERCISE 2. Past Static and Past Dynamic:1. He closed the case again and handed it back
to the doctor (J. Salinger); 2. She took off her hatand held it on her knee (K. Mansfield); 3. The brownsquirrel flew at another, and they were chasing eachother, and making little scolding chattering noises(D. H. Lawrence); 4. He was taking off his coat andhat and putting them in his locker (J. O'Hara); 5.He was tough, good-humoured and he smoked a greatmany cigarettes
206(Th. Wolfe); 6. We danced about four numbers,
and then I turned off the radio and sat down next toher. I was out of breath. I was smoking so damnmuch, I had hardly any wind (J. Salinger); 7. Shebaked twice a week (E. Wharton); 8. That washappening every day (A. Kingsley); 9. Simon lookedat Lionel. Lionel, as usual, talked to Victoria (E.Delafield); 10. I called at the chemist's for somerazor blades. The owner of the shop was talkingpolitics with a customer (J. Braine); 11. While hewaited for the boys, he walked up and down (E.Caldwell); 12. While he was following Annadownstairs, Jenny was going over the nice thingsAnna had said to her (A. Kingsley); 13. While shesat there she was still waiting patiently for Pyle(G. Greene); 14. "You look tired," she went on.—Walter blushed. "I slept badly," he mumbled (A.Huxley); 15. "You seem awfully sure about it." — "Iwas watching," I told him (E. Hemingway).
EXERCISE 3. Future Static and Future Dynamic:
1. "I shall, perhaps, write to your mother" (K.Mansfield); 2. "Good luck to you, and give her mylove. On second thoughts, though, I shall be writingto her myself, so you needn't" (E. Delafield); 3. "Ithink I'll sleep alone tonight" (Th. Dreiser); 4."You won't be using your bed tonight" (A. Saxton);5. "You'll see me again often" (J. Braine); 6. "I'llbe seeing you ever so often now" (A. Cronin); 7."These chaps will talk. Whatever you do, you can'tstop them talking" (C. P. Snow); 8. "We're losingour individuality. Soon they will be breeding usfrom test-tubes" (A. Kingsley); 9. "They will sit byand gloat at my agony until I am done to death" (Th.Wolfe); 10. "Remember I'll be looking till you findyour sister" (Th. Dreiser); 11. "Close the window,"he shouted. "I'll go outside and fix it" (G.Gordon); 12. "Look here, it isn't safe to lean likethat. You'll be tumbling over and breaking yourneck" (H. Walpole).
EXERCISE 4. Beforepresent Static and BeforepresentDynamic:
Note: If the situation in the present is notexpressed linguistically, it should be established fromthe context and represented graphically as a process.
1. "I know he hasn't had his car out. Therearen't any tracks in the driveway" (J. O'Hara); 2."Dinny, what have you been doing with Alan? He'slooking so interesting" (J. Galsworthy); 3. Heintroduced me to his wife. "Don't you remember?" hesaid to her. "I've talked to you about him often"(W. S. Maugham); 4. "Why don't we have any money?" Iasked" — "I've been asking myself that for fiftyyears" (J. Updike); 5. "Have you lived merely tolive?" (J. London); 6. "You've been living in aworld that's not what it seems" (J. Lindsay); 7."Rivarez. He's a Brazilian, I think. At any rate, Iknow he has lived out there" (E. Voy-nich); 8. "I
know she has been living with him there (in London),and is now living with him under your eyes (in NewYork) (Th. Dreiser); 9. Ever since that convoystopped out there last night, he's just lain thereand kept his glasses on them, smiling" (I. Shaw) (Asoldier about his Lieutenant who is watching theenemy); 10. "I've just been sitting here andthinking" (M. Wilson); 11. It is a precept that Ihave followed scrupu-luosly: for every day I havegot up and I have gone to bed (W. S.
207Maugham); 12. Mr. Pearce said today that many
former Labour supporters have been coming up to himand congratulating him on his policy (D. Worker).
EXERCISE 5. Beforepast Static and Beforepast Dynamic1. "Kitty." — She gave a bitter laugh. He had
spoken her name in that melting, rich tone of hiswhich came to him so naturally and which meant solittle (W. S. Maugham); 2. Watching him straightenhimself as he passed through the door, Dinny felt asort of inspiration. The sinking, fluttering feelingshe had been having was all gone (J. Galsworthy); 3."Cyril," I cried, "prepare yourself! Here is afriend — a dear friend! 1" She had followed me withextended hands. He took them violently, and led heron (Ch. Dickens); 4. He turned to the girl, who hadbeen following the conversation with breathlessinterest (H. Hill); 5. Leonard was talking of music;he and Mrs. Carlton had listened to a violin con-certo on her wireless the night before (D. Cusack);6. Harringay went into his studio about ten o'clockto see what he could make of the head that he hadbeen working at the day before (H. G. Wells); 7. Thefollowing morning, when George had left for work,Mary called her elder boy (G. Gordon); 8. Arthur,instead of going to bed, looked out upon the moor.When he had sat an hour, he thought he heard a
cracking (Ch. Dickens); 9. Mr. Marvel sat on thebench. When he had been sitting for the best part ofan hour, an elderly mariner came out of the inn (H.G. Wells); 10. She forgot the restless birthdaybitterness of the night — forgot how she had lainand thought, "Another year gone and nothing doneyet" (R. Macaulay); 11. "I killed him. I missed totell you in my tale.— "Arthur had been listeningclosely and turning over his own thoughts. Now hemade a movement of impatience (Th. White); 12. Oneevening he wrote his second novel. He had got out ofbed early and without eating any breakfast had begunto write (Sh. Anderson); 13. Two hours later UncleDap presented himself in the King's chamber. He hadbeen undressing the knight and putting him to bed(Th. White).
EXERCISE 6. The Beforefuture Static:1. "It was a terrible shock, Thomas, but in a
week, you'll see, we'll have forgotten it" (G.Greene); 2. С a e s a r: I shall finish my life'swork on my way back; and then I shall have livedlong enough (B. Shaw); 3. "When the Americansrenounce the claim they will have become realisticand joined the League of Nations" (J. Galsworthy).
Qualitative Character of Verbal Processes
EXERCISE 7. State whether the italicized VerbalProcess Is Terminative Or Non-terminative. Representthe Process Graphically:
1. Suddenly her heart beat (began to beat) fast (J.Galsworthy) // A copper haze hung over the water,and the hot morning sun beat on it and made it vibrateblindingly (J. Salinger); 2. He dragged his saucerto him and blew his tea (D. H. Lawrence) // The elm-trees showed dark against a white sky. A light windblew, carrying already a scent from
208the earth (J. Galsworthy); 3. The sneeze was
coming, coming, came (G. Greene) // They found a spotwhere the sunlight came through a gap in the gorge,and rested there (G. Gordon); 4. I looked throughthe window. The two telephone wires diagonally cut theblank blue of the sky (J. Updike) //.He cut himself aslice of cake (G. Greene); 5. "I told them aboutyou, and they're dying to have a look at you" (S.Lewis) // // "He's dying, you know. He'll never leavehis bed again" (W. S. Maugham); 6. Jan's eyes filledwith tears (D. Cusack) // Below him he could see therectangular patch of park that filled Madison Square(M. Wilson); 7. She hurried the boy up to bed (Ch.Yonge) // She was making mince pies. She hurried thismorning (M. Freeman); 8. "You knew (recognized) herat once?" (G. Meredith) // "I knew a lot of big menonce" (J. Braine); 9. "We loved each other at once"(S. Gibbons) // She loved him no longer (W. S.Maugham); 10. She pushed the girl under the table andignored her howls (J. Lindsay) // A couple ofnegroes were quarreling noisily; another one slowlypushed a whistling peanut stand through the thick dustof the roadway (V. Kershaw); 11.Then she wrapped himin an enormous towel and sat him at the table (I.Stone); He drew the curtains close and sat on the sill(J. Galsworthy) // The hour was close upon eleven.She sat in her room. Her elbow was on the table besideher chair (G. Meredith); 12. He closed his eyes andslept (J. Pudney) // That night he slept like a top (J.Galsworthy); 13. Sam threw the rope at the calf, buthe missed it (W. S. Gray) // A row of electric bulbsthrew a subbued light over the whole scene (F.Norris).
Aspectual Content of Verbal Forms(Find out the Model —Model I, II, III, IV — of the
Aspectual Opposition of the Verbal Forms)
EXERCISE 8. Present Static and Present Dynamic:1. The watch shows three minutes to ten (A.
Cronin); 2. "I believe he's better this morning,Doctor." — The doctor was a small man, brisk andneatly dressed. "Quieter, eh? He sleeps?" heinquired.— "Yes, that's it," she said. "He'ssleeping" (A. Huxley); 3. I light the kitchen lamp(W. Faulkner); 4. "I hope I'm not interrupting" (U.Updike); 5. "Pete, I often think of what your Dadused to tell me about teaching. Now, I'm teachingmyself, I see what he meant" (J. Updike) (A formerpupil of Peter's father to Peter whom he met in thestreet); 6. "His mother works in the schoolcafeteria" (J. Updike); 7. "How do I look?" — "Ithink you look very well" (J. Galsworthy) //"Gosh,you're looking stunning" (A. Kingsley); 8. "О. K. Al,you win" (J. Updike) // "Well, how long is the wargoing to last, and who's winning?" (R. Graves); 9."England still stands where it did" (A. Huxley) //The members of the delegation all favoured thespeedy elimination of barriers which are standing inthe way of big-scale trade with the Soviet Union (D.Worker); 10. The lantern sits on a stump (W.Faulkner) // "Your barges are sitting here, idle." —"Busy tomorrow. No space" (I. Stone).
209
EXERCISE 9. Past Static and Past Dynamic?1. Little Phil lay in a stupor. He breathed now
very quickly, now so slow that one began to wonderwhether he was breathing at all (A. Huxley); 2. Icrossed the street and kept on walking (J.Braine) // They were crossing the street (J.London); 3. When Ibsen invaded England, discussionhad vanished from the stage; and women could notwrite plays. Within twenty years women were writingbetter plays than men (B. Shaw) // He wrote a
literary column every Wednesday in the Daily Express (J.Joyce); 4. The scoreboard read: 39—4—11 (A. Kings-ley); 5. A stranger was walking up the hill tov/ardsthem. He walked rapidly and with an air ofdetermination (A. Huxley); 6. Out of the wagon'sside stuck the legs of cheap chairs (Sh.Anderson) // "I was making a run at speed to getclear of a couple of volcanic islands, and thefellow jumped overboard and swam for a rock that wassticking out of the sea (G. Jenkins) (The rock wasperiodically coming up from under and going downinto the water); 7. "What did you say?" (W.Faulkner) // // It might be simpler, "Elinor beganbut checked herself after the first words.— "Whatwere you saying?" — "Nothing" (A. Huxley); 8. Asthey came off the bridge we saw them. Stick bombshung handle down from their belts (E. Hemingway) //I went into the living room. My jacket was hangingbehind one door (J. Updike).
EXERCISE 10. Future Static and Future Dynamic:1. "I'll get out of this in some way yet" (Th.
Dreiser) //"I'm going down to Wimbledon, so I shallbe getting out at Waterloo" (R. Graves);
2. "They won't work. We know. They'll be allalone in that cabin all winter" (J. London) // "AndSondra says that Stuart was hoping you would come upthere and spend a lot of time this summer." — "Oh,did he?" replied Gilbert. "I'll be working thissummer" (Th. Dreiser);
3. "These chaps will talk. Whatever you do, youcan't stop them talking" (C. P. Snow); 4. "I'llcount slowly. I won't cheat" (D. Parker) // "Yes. Ina cell. But in my cell I'll be counting the daysbefore my release. Here you'll be counting the daysbefore... before the tide closes in on you for good"(D. Carter); 5. "Well, I'll go to the office now"(J. O'Hara) // "I'll be going now" (A. Kingsley)
(Ср.: буду двигаться); 6. "It'll be quite safe, Iassure you. Chilla Ryan will drive the car" (D.Cusack) // "A little more millenium and we shallsoon be driving tandem again" (J. Galsworthy).
EXERCISE 11. Beforepresent Static and Dynamic:1. "Ever since mother came she has worked like a
horse" (K- Mansfield) // "I have been working forover thirty years" (I. Stone); 2. J u -d і t h: Heis a bad man. E s s i e : What has he done? (B.Shaw) // // "What have you been doing?" she asked.—Martin was still smiling (C. P. Snow); 3. "Shenursed the man back to health when he was nearly agoner. Through her he's gone straight since" (G.Gordon) // "And I — you're right. Babbit. I've beengoing crooked, but now I'm going straight, and thefirst step will be tp get a job" (S. Lewis); 4."Don't
210think any more about what I have said" (Th.
Dreiser) // "You don't really believe half of whatyou've been saying" (A. Kingsley); 5. "I've watchedyou very carefully during the week I've been here"(W. S. Maugham) // "You are a remarkably stubbornchild. I've been watching you all the week" (A.Cronin).
EXERCISE 12. Beforepast Static and Dynamic;1. I turned and looked; on the back seat the
leather gloves I had bought for Christmas lay curledpalms up. And the gloves had fit (J. Updike); 2. Herteaching-practice report had said she was inclinedto be too lenient (A. Kingsley); 3. Her room wasuntouched. The maid had evidently been in and pulledaside the curtains (J. Galsworthy) // Jenny had beenpulling her dressing-gown round her and huddling asclose as possible to the stove (A. Kingsley); 4. Helooked out into the street. The long drizzle had
begun. Pedestrians had turned up collars and trou-sers at the bottom (Th. Dreiser)//"Sergeant!" — Thesergeant, who had been turning over pillows, camequickly to the Mayor (J. Salinger); 5. All the weekthat tune had rung in her head (E. Delafield) // Allday the telephone had been ringing (J. Galsworthy);6. She ordered three cows to be put in the old barn,the others in the house shed where the cooking stovehad stood (M. Freeman) // What Peter finally did wasto lock his door, draw away his bed quietly from thecorner in which it had been standing and lie downfacing the window (M. Brand); 7. And yet in spite ofhimself, he could not help resenting this extrastrain, for it had only been a very short time thathe had been earning so much (Th. Dreiser).
The Use of Tenses in Situations and PatternsEXERCISE 13. Fill in the Blanks with the Present
Static or Present Dynamics1. She... a world of him (J. Updike) (think: Her
opinion of him is high); 2. "The trouble is I've gotschool tomorrow morning." "Ah, this tomorrowmorning, you... about it all the time" (A. Kingsley)(think: you are always in the process of thinkingabout it); 3. "Don't you know what I'm telling you:Don't you know?" — "I ... up," he said (D. Parker)(give: Jack is talking with his girl over thetelephone. He cannot make out what she is saying. Hehas lost all hope to understand her); 4. "Of coursethe old boy can slip out of it. But he's gettingold, perhaps he ... up the unequal struggle" (C. P.Snow) (give: he is in the process of losing hope,but hope is not yet all lost); 5. "This newdress ... you particularly, my dear child" (R.Macaulay) (suit: the dress is of proper size, fit,colour, etc.); 6. "He .. an engine on the localservice — goes out at six, and doesn't get in tillabout midnight" (J. Galsworthy) (stcke: Jon is an
engine-stoker. His occupation was different beforeand will be different after the strike); 7. "Thenatives have brains and they ... hard" (G. Gordon)(work: It is characteristic of them to work hard);8. "I know I ... too hard, but this will soon beover" (Th. Dreiser) (work: It is characteristic ofCowperwood to work hard, but soon things will
211be different); 9. As a scientist the linguist...
for pure knowledge (Ch. C. Fries) (search: thelinguist, as long as the class of linguists exists,is in the process of searching constantly forknowledge); 10. "Aileen," he said, "how you ...! Why... you ... that?" (Th. Dreiser) (talk, say: empha-sis on the way of talking and the reason for thewords used); 11. "Bosh! What ... you... about?" (Th.Wolfe) (talk: What are you in the process of talkingabout?); 12. His shield ... beside it (B. Shaw)(lie: relative position of two things); 13. Theskull ... on my writing-table (A. Munthe) (He:relative position of two things. Point out thetransitory character of the position).
EXERCISE 14. Comment on the Use of the PresentStatic:
1. The major got up from the telephone. "Theattack starts now" (E. Hemingway); 2. "I tell youwhat. I'll have a talk to him and see what he says"(D. Cusack); 3. "I do love you, Alice. I'll love youtill the day I die" (J. Braine); 4. "It will pleaseme if you go back" (J.Salinger); 5. "I shall believeit when I see it" (C. P. Snow); 4. "I was walkingthrough the hall ten minutes ago and his door bumpsopen and who the hell pops out but Mrs. Black" (J.Updike); 5. "You have a bright boy there. Vera tellsme" (J. Updike); 6. "Julian and I are going to havea look at the papers." — "What do you say, Dot?" —"The papers. Julian and I are going to have a look
at them" (A. Kingsley); 7. "So I met Daisy there,with three guests, whose names I don't know to thisday" (A. Arlen); 8. "It's two years since I saw him"(P. Wodehouse); 9. "I've your name in my list thesetwo years" (A. Burton); 10. "I must get a job. Yes,I must. We get poorer and poorer" (A. Coppard) (Aterminative process in its development); 11. Someonecomes through the hall. It is Darl. He does not lookin as he passes the door (W. Faulkner) (A termi-native process in its development).
EXERCISE 15. Comment on the Use of the PresentDynamic:
1. "We shall stay to the end — I'm being given alift home" (E. Delafield); 2. "Every time the windblows and a floor creaks, we shall think themurderers are breaking in to kill us" (I. Shaw); 3."When is he returning to Wotton?" (E. James); 4."That man Truman was so dumb that his haberdasherystore went bankrupt and the next minute he's runningthe United States of America" (J. Updike) (said in1947); 5. "Tonight she'll play; I shall watch herwhile she is playing" (J. Galsworthy); 6. Suddenlysomething soft hit the Senator on the back of hishead and he gave a start. "What's that?" he cried.—"He's returning your Pyjamas" (W. S. Maugham); 7."What are you doing all this time?" (W. S. Maugham);8. "You are always sighing about something lately(M. Arlen); 9. I want to get better. I must getbetter. It is costing Bart too much (D. Cusack); 10."I feel sorry for you; I know you're suffering" (J.Updike).
EXERCISE 16. Transhte into English Using the PresentStatic or Dynamic; •
1. «По нашим часам у т'Оь осталось 17 минут» (J.Updike) (Use the verb to say in the principal clause
with the noun clock for its subject); 2. «Я незанимаюсь теперь боксом» (R. Graves) (to box, these
212days. Implication: I did go in for it in the
past); 3. Масло горит в лампах (Н. McKay) (Oil is afuel for lamps); 4. Социализм изменяет мир (D.Worker) (Socialism is in the process of changing theworld constantly); 5. Язык изменяется не толькопостепенно, но и закономерно (Е. Sapir) (It ischaracteristic of a language to change gradually andconsistently); 6. Я начинаю понимать, что мне тогдаповезло (R. Graves) (to begin, to realize, to belucky: I am in the process of coming to a completeunderstanding of this); 7. «Начинаешь ли тыпонимать?» (М. Wilson) (to begin, to see: Iseverything clear to you now?); 8. «Они (жители ЮжнойАфрики) — твой народ. Но они существуют, не живут»(P. Abrahams) (Implied is: Time will pass and theywill be independent and free); 9. Марксизм живет иразвивается (D. Worker) (Marxism is a living andgrowing doctrine); 10. На первый взгляд Сперзслишком отстает — семь очков — но было бы ошибкойсписывать со счетов лондонскую команду, котораяиграет теперь значительно лучше (D. Worker) (to playmuch better football, to be far behind, points,write off: "Spurs," the London team, are now able toplay better football than they used to in the past);11. «Я обращаюсь сегодня к тому, кого здесь нет» (D.Carter) (to spean: My words tonight are to one whois not here); 12. «Я говорю с тобою как мужчина смужчиной» (J. Braine) (to speak: I am in the processof speaking with you as man to man).
EXERCISE 17. Fill in the Blanks with the Past Staticor Past Dynamic;
1. He ... the door and ... into the room (E.Hemingway) (to open, go: a series of completeevents); 2. She ... the paper and ... the lid to the
case that contained her toilet set (Th. Dreiser) (toremove, open: a series of processes represented asdeveloping in time); 3. The delegations ... just, aswe ... for home (M. Endicott) (to arrive, leave:simultaneous non-complete processes); 4. He ... asshe ... (J. Galsworthy) (to rise, enter:simultaneous complete processes); 5. He ... on hiscoat as she ... (Th. Wolfe) (to draw, enter: aprocess developing in time and a complete event); 6.He looked at the clock. It ... 7:25 (J. Updike) (tosay: It was 7:25); 7. The door ... open; he entered(A. Huxley) (to stand: The door was open); 8. Shemade way back through the open door of the drawing-room. On the far side of it a french window ... ajar(A. Kings-ley) (to stand: The french window wasajar. Point out the transitory character of theprocess); 9. We danced about four numbers, and thenI turned off the radio. I was out of breath. I ...so much that I had hardly any wind (J. Salinger)(tosmoke: I was a heavy smoker these days; I hadsmoked less before); 10. He ... not ...; he watchedevery penny like a miser (D. Cusack) (to smoke: Hewas no smoker); 11. Lord Edward and his brother ...the air in Gattenden Park. Lord Edward ... it walk-ing. His brother ... it in a bath chair drawn by alarge grey donkey (A. Huxley) (to take: They were inthe process of taking the air; their way of doingit); 12. I ... up now and she didn't even tell me tosit down (J. Salinger) (to stand: I was in thestanding position); 13. That ... every day (A.Kingsley) (to happen: a process which is a series ofnon-complete actions).
213
EXERCISE 18. Translate into English Using the PastStatic or Dynamic!
1. Эрик как раз садился в машину (G. Chesterton)(to get into one's motor-car); 2. Барт вышел из
машины (D. Cusack) (to get out of the car); 3. Онпосмотрел на часы. Стрелки стояли на четырех минутахдвенадцатого (G. Graham); 4. Джен пошла медленно занею по длинному проходу между кроватями. Она былауверена, что все в палате замечают, как плохо онаидет. Но она шла — именно это было важно (D. Cusack)(to walk, down the long aisle, be certain, notice,the important thing: the way of walking and theprocess of walking in its development); 5. Она мылатарелки, а Мария вытирала их и убирала (Е. Hemingway)(to wash the dishes, to dry, to put them away: arepeated series of verbal processes represented asdeveloping in time); 6. Они жили в белом доме науглу (Th. White) (Their home was a white house onthe corner); 7. Мои родители, которые жили постояннов этом городе, после того как продали дом вУимблтоне, не знали, как угодить мне (R. Graves)(permanently, having sold the house at Wimbleton,how to treat me; Point out the fact that the placeof residence had been changed); 8. Только одна изего теток все еще была жива (D. Carter) (to live); 9.Жирный зажаренный гусь лежал на одном конце стола(J. Joyce) (A goose was at one end of the table);10. Револьвер и небольшая коробка с патронами лежалина столе (J. Conrad) (Point out the transitorycharacter of the process); 11. Когда я увидел тебятам, я подумал, что вижу то, что видел так многораз: замечательного офицера (G. Jenkins) (I was inthe process of perceiving with my eyes what I hadseen so many times); 12. «Ты помнишь, что я говорилтебе там?" (A. Berkley) (to say).
EXERCISE 19. Fill in the Blanks with the FutureStatic or Future Dynamic:
1. "Wait. I ... her" (K. Mansfield) (to ask: aprocess in its limits); 2. "I expect he ... you" (J.Galsworthy) (to ask: a process in its development);3. "You ... your friend" (J. Galsworthy) (to miss:
you'll be in the process of missing your friend); 4."I'm going away for some days." — "I'm sorry. I ...you" (G. Gordon) (to miss: I'll be lonely withoutyou); 5. Six of them ... for Scotland at Wembleynext week (D. Worker) (to play: They will be on thelist of the football players); 6. Two of the backs,Frank Myler and John Stopford ... in their firstTest today (D. Worker) (to play: They will be in theprocess of playing in their first Test match);
7. "I ... you in half an hour" (E. Caldwell)(to meet: a process in its limits)
8. "Well now, it won't take you an instant tofix yourself up. You ... one or two old palstonight, so you want to be in roaring form" (A.Kings-ley) (to meet: you will be in the process ofseeing one or two pals tonight);
9. "You ... two days a week now" (F. Pohl) (towork: point out a change in the schedule ofoccupation; 10. "I'll do my utmost to make youhappy, Mary. I ... hard for you" (A. Cronin) (towork: I'll be a hard-working man).
EXERCISE 20. Translate into English Using the FutureStatic or Dynamic:
1. «Я подожду немного, а потом пойду» (E.Hemingway); 2. «Ну, буду двигаться» (Th. Dreiser)(to go); 3. «Я поговорю с ним сегодня
214вечером и поспорим на пять фунтов, что завтра
утром он будет думать о женитьбе меньше, чем о другихвещах» (М. Arlen) (Point out a change in Harry'sthoughts); 4. «Да, но будет ли каждый думать так'»(G. Gordon) (Will this be everyone's opinion); 5.«Мы не будем драться» (D. Cusack) (There will be nofighting between us); 6. «Ты будешь сражаться с нимиочень скоро" (Е. Hemingway) (to fight: You will soonbe in the process of fighting the enemy who areabout to attack); 7.«Я уезжаю в Лудингтон и я не
буду зависеть ни от кого, кроме себя» (A. Saxton) (todepend on, Ludington: Just above Ann said, "I'vealways been depending on other people and theyalways let me down"); 8. «Она научит Джоу многому"(J. Braine); 9. «Как вам известно, вы будете вестилабораторные работы студентов первого курса» (М.Wilson) (to teach: Erik will regularly be in theprocess of teaching freshman physics lab); 10. «Язайду за тобою в девять» (К. Mansfield) (to callfor).
EXERCISE 21. Fill in the Blanks with Verbs in theBeforepresent or the Past Static:
1. "I'm worried about him," said Elinor.— Philipnodded. "Being seventy-three's no joke. He ... tolook his age" (A. Huxley) (to begin); 2. "Now I mustfind you boys something to eat". She ... to bustleabout the kitchen (S. Lewis) (to begin); 3. "Isuppose you might as well meet my daughter. Comealong, Sheila. This is Sheila". — "We remember?"Sheila said to Jenny (A. Kingsley) (to meet); 4. "Idon't think you ... her, Albert" (D. Parker) (tomeet) 5. I forget who it was that recommended menfor their soul's good to do each day two things theydisliked: it was a wise man, and it is a preceptthat I ... scrupulously: for every day I ... andI ... to bed (W. S. Maugham) (to follow, get up, go:looking over a period of time begun in the past andstretching into the present); 6. "Sorry I was solong, Standish. The watch ... in my pocket all thewhile" (A. Kingsley) (to be: Graham had askedStandish to wait for him a bit: he would go and gethis watch which he thought he had left on the bench.Soon Graham returned. Objectively, the watch hadbeen in his pocket during his absence and was therewhen he returned. Implied is: "all the while I wasaway"); 7. "Does she have a job of some kind?" — "Ibelieve she ... someone's secretary."—"Does thatgive her enough to live on, in London?" (C. P. Snow)
(to be); 8. "I see from your expression that you ...of this infamous criminal" (M. Arlen) (to hear); 9.His wife, her face hard set, held out the telegramto him. "I ... you read it, thanks" (A. Bennett) (tohear); 10. Leaving Duncliff Hill on the left heproceeded without hesitation through the shade, as aman goes on, night or day, in a district over whichhe ... as a boy (Th. Hardy) (to play: noassociations with any particular circumstances inthe past); 11. "Simms, do you remember that I... youdown to my cabin for my bag?" (E. Wallace) (tosend).
EXERCISE 22. Fill in the Blanks with theBeforepresent Dynamic or the Past Dynamic:
1. "What about tomorrow?"—"Yes, that's whatI ..."(J. Lindsay) (to think. Implication: when youasked the question); 2. "I'd like to
215meet Stane."— "Just what I ..." (Th. Dreiser)
(to think. Implication: up to now); 3. "I ... myselfwhat he is. Let's find out" (J. London) (to wonder.Implication: up to now); 4. "Don't look so serious,"he said at last.— "I'm not serious," she yawned.—"You look it." — "I ... what we'd have for supper"(J. Lindsay) (to wonder. Implication: when you said"Don't look so serious"); 5. "Hallo, what's that?"he demanded in startled surprise.— Marian repeatedher question. "Why don't I go to work?" — He brokeinto a laugh. "That Hermann of yours ... to you" (J.London) (to talk: a mere logical conclusion); 6."They don't want any interference. I ... to TerrenceRelihan and he says they won't stand for it all"(Th. Dreiser) (to talk: Julian Bode remembers histalk with the banker).
EXERCISE 23. Fill in the Blanks with theBeforepresent Dynamic or Static:
1. "Well, I don't understand one word thatyou ..." (R. Stevenson) (to say: you have been in theprocess of saying up to now); 2. "Don't think anymore about me or anything I ... (Th. Dreiser) (tosay: a process represented in its limits); 3. "I ...to Defence Counsel most carefully" (A. Maltz) (tolisten: I have been very attentive while listeningto Defence Counsel); 4. "I ... not Hawkins. Are youmaking more witticisms?" (A. Saxton) (to listen: Ihave not been in the process of listening); 5."You ... your utmost for him" (Ch. Yonge) (to do:limits not emphasized); 6. "I appreciate all thatyou ... and all that you are doing for her" (D.Cusack) (to do: limits emphasized); 7. "Do you knowanything else about him?" — "Nothing more than I'vetold you already. They ... us separated" (A. Maltz)(to keep: We have been separated thanks to them); 8."Goodness gracious! What's that? It's the clockstriking! And here I ... you awake. Oh, madam, youought to have stopped me" (K. Mansfield) (to keep: Ihave been in the process of telling you the story ofmy life and, thus, keeping you awake); 9. "What'sthe matter?" — "Oh, nothing. I ... not ... very wellthe last two or three nights" (W. S. Maugham) (tosleep: My sleep has been bad; it was good before);10. "I ... not ... a wink all night" (Th. Dreiser)(to sleep: I haven't been asleep all night); 11. Overtwo hundred homes on this estate ... empty formonths, waiting for conversion by owners (D. Worker)(to stand: The homes were not empty before; theywill not be empty in some time); 12. A block ofoffices and shops will be built on a site where thetheatre ... for eighty-nine years (D. Worker) (tostand: where the theatre has been for 89 years; noemphasis on the change of the status of thetheatre).
EXERCISE 24. Comment on the Use of the BeforepresentStatic and Dynamic
1. Every evening at six o'clock Reid arrived:with a short greeting and a long look to see how Iwas standing it, he took a chair beside me. When atlast Reid has gone I draw up more closely to mytable, fighting my terrible desire to sleep (A.Cronin); 2. The radiators purr. The side door slams;a member of the basketball team has entered with hisgym bag and gone down to the locker room (J.Updike); 3. "Fleur does what she likes. You'vealways spoiled her" (J. Galsworthy) (a terminative
216process in its development); 4. I went out into
the orchard. Sweet-briar, jasmine, pink, and rosehave long been yielding their evening sacrifice ofincense. I look round and listen. I see trees ladenwith ripening fruit (Ch. Bronte); 5. "They'll knowI've been fooling them and they'll be sure to getsore" (Th. Dreiser) (anteriority to future); 6."When men have learned about you, they will leaveyou alone" (W. Guin); 7. "They will think that wehave had a quarrel (Th. White) (anteriority to fu-ture).
EXERCISE 25. Translate into English Using theBeforepresent Static or the Past Static 1
1. «Он знает», сказала она.— «Что он сказал?»(W. S. Maugham) (When you were talking to him); 2.«Почему ты мне не веришь?»— «Верить тебе? Веритьнемцу? О, что я сказал!» (A. Maltz) (up to now ingeneral); 3. Она была застенчива. Она никогда неразговаривала, если к ней не обращались (Th. Wolfe);4. «Вы можете вести машину?» — «Я никогда непробовала» (Th. Dreiser); 5. «Очень благодарны вам.Сожалеем, но мы должны сейчас уйти».— «Но вы толькочто пришли» (I. Shaw) (American and BritishEnglish); 6. «Она подождет. Она ждет уже девять1 If both forms are possible, make the necessary comments.
дней» (W. Faulkner); 7. «Нет, это поэма. Ты помнишья однажды говорил тебе о ней» (F. Norris); 8. Онпознакомил меня со своей женой. «Не помнишь? —сказал он ей.— Я часто говорил тебе о нем» (W. S.Maugham) (to talk to); 9. Дом из неотесанных бревен,между которыми уже давно не осталось пакли (W.Faulkner) (to fall, rough logs, from between whichthe chinking: no mental associations with the past);10. «Вы когда-либо видели, как играют в бейсбол?»(J. Galsworthy); 11. Я был возбужден, как человек,который нашел сокровище (Sh. Anderson); 12. «Япрочла книгу, которую вы оставили прошлый раз».—«Что вы думаете о ней?» (К. Mansfield) (The processof reading is associated in the speaker's mind withcertain circumstances in the past); 13. «Вы читаликнигу?» Динни кивнула (J. Galsworthy); 14. Мывстречались раз шесть, а выходили вместе только раз»(A. Kings-ley) (retrospect; associations with thepast); 15. Американский боксер Шомо до сих порпоявлялся в Британии только раз — в 1959 году (D.Worker, 1965) (to appear, American boxer Shomo, onlyonce before: retrospect + afterthought).
EXERCISE 26. Translate into English Using theBeforepresent Dynamic or the Beforepresent Static:
1. «Я только что сказал, что я социалист, и этоправда» (J. Lindsay); 2. «Как вы поживаете, мистерУильяме? Я только что говорила, что с такимудовольствием слушала ваше пение» (D. Parker) (I'veenjoyed, ever so much); 3. «Ты думаешь, что яглупа».— «Я думал так, но теперь мое мнениеизменилось» (J. Updike) (My opinion has been such);4. «Я думал о тебе, Эйлин, и о том, что надо сделатьв этом случае»,— начал ее отец (Th. Dreiser)(Aileen: I have been in the process of thinkingabout you); 5. Пока что вы ведете себя хорошо» (Е.Hemingway) (to behave: So far your behaviour hasbeen all right); 6. «Генри ведет себя сегодня
вечером как настоящий осел» (G. Gordon) (to behave:That night Henry was finding fault with Jane, askingqueer questions, doing queer things); 7. «Когда-тозоркие глаза моего отца, в последнее время видятсовсем плохо» (S. Lewis) (My father's eagle eyeshave not been too good lately, they were goodbefore; to work); 8. «Они трудятся всю свою жизнь»(Th. Wolfe) (They have been hard workers all theirlife); 9. «Ральф, ты видел то, что видел я? Или явнезапно сошел с ума?» (М. Arlen) (to go crackers);10. Эрик попросил ее пообедать с ним и, казалось,она была в восторге. «Я сходила с ума от оди-ночества»,— сказала она (М. Wilson) (to go crazywith loneliness).
EXERCISE 27. Fill in the Blanks with the BeforepastStatic or the Past Static:
1. At that moment he noticed that a fly ... intohis broad inkpot, and was trying feebly butdesperately to clamber out again (K. Mansfield) (tofall); 2. I stood awhile watching the unloading ofthe American bombers. The sun ... and they worked bythe light of arc-lamps (G. Greene) (to go); 3. Shehesitated a moment, then ... (Th. Dreiser) (toenter); 4. Bart rolled over on his back and ...stupidly at the ceiling (D. Cusack) (to stare); 5."She's had a hard life, has Ma Parker." And it wastrue. At sixteen she ... Statford and ... up toLondon as kitchen-maid (K- Mansfield) (to leave,come); 6. "Go to sleep, pet; you'll forget all aboutit in the morning." But the child never ... (K.Mansfield) (to forget); 7. I looked around the room.It never ... so attractive (J. Braine) (to seem); 8.On the following afternoon she called on me and toldme that the worst had happened. I ... her from achild, and she always confided her troubles to me(P. Wodehouse) (to know); 9. "And my name is Joan,"she said.— "That'll be fine, Joan," I said. And from
then on I always ... her Christian name (J. Braine)(to use); 10. He could not tell her what she already... (G. Gordon) (to know); 11. His only thought washow soon he could get his discharge and go back to ajob. He already ... Springvaleonce, but, had beenrushed back with tubercular meningitis (D. Cusack)(to leave); 12. A week or so after I so unexpectedly... into Larry, Suzanne and I one night were sittingin the restaurant (W. S. Maugham) (to run).
EXERCISE 28. Fill the Blanks with the BeforepastDynamic or the Past Dynamic:
1. It was getting late. The crowd had thinnedout and only a few tables were occupied. The peoplewho ... there because they had nothing else to dohad gone home (W. S. Maugham) (to sit); 2. She wastold that her father was in his study and going tothe door she opened it softly: he ... by the firereading the last edition of the evening paper (W. S.Maugham) (to sit); 3. "You see, the concern he ...for was a factory that made canned goods (R.Lardner) (to work: Jim was now jobless); 4. Theprospects of the newly married couple were certainlynot very brilliant. He, a stone-mason's apprentice,nineteen years of age,
218... for half wages till he should be out of his
time (Th. Hardy) (to work); 5. His thoughts weretwenty years away from this prison bus. His mind hadgone back to a June morning when a boy of ten he ...down a dirt road. Behind him was the two room shackhe had called home and the woman he had calledmother (A. Maltz) (to walk); 6. One day long ago alad ... down the road. In his pocket he had somegold coins, which he jingled as he went along (W. S.Gray) (to walk); 7. On the mantelpiece she lined upher photographs. It was the same collection as shehad had for years at home, except that there was not
one of Fred. When she ... she had almost slipped thestudio portrait he had done specially for her (A.Kingsley) (to pack); 8. One evening when I ...downthe gas in the lobby, Kate came in (A. Cronin) (toturn: a process belonging to the same period of timeas came); 9. We ... in silence for some time whenAh-Yen spoke (S. Leacock) (to smoke).
EXERCISE 29. Fill in the Blanks with BeforepastDynamic or the Beforepast Static:
1. She took a sip from her glass, and thefeeling that he ... to laugh passed away (J.Galsworthy) (to go); 2. It was twelve years since hehad seen his younger brother, and a memory of hisappearance was a little dimmed. Long ago he ... hisphotographs that he had had since childhood (G.Gordon) (to destroy); 3. His pride, his conceit, ...him (H. Walpole) (to destroy: a process in itsdevelopment); 4. Then he put on the shirt that ...on the doorstep (A. Saxton) (to lie: Point out thetransitory character of the process); 5. He staredat the roof where the chair ... (A. Berkley) (tolie: where the chair had been); 6. Her eyes fell onthe "Sketch". It was months old now. It was thatpaper which Walter ... at all through that terribleevening (W. S. Maugham) (to stare: the paper atwhich his stare had been directed); 7.The policeman,who ... impassively at the floor, looked up (D.Carter) (to stare: the policeman who had been in theprocess of staring at the floor); 8. We were cold,tired, sick. It ... for some time (R. Graves) (torain: a process in development); 9. He grinnedsourly as he looked around him. It ... for a weekand his father was prolonging his death sceneinterminably (I. Shaw) (to rain: there had been rainfalling); 10. The room had six Japanese prints whichClare evidently ... and some photographs of thefamily (J. Galsworthy) (to hang: a process in
development); 11. Here the telephone clicked, forshe ... up (Th. Dreiser) (to hang).
EXERCISE 30. Comment on the Use of the Past Static,Past Dynamic and the Beforepresent Dynamic:
1. His room smelled of soot and the friedpotatoes she brought in for supper the night before(K- Mansfield) (Past Static to express anteriorityto past); 2. Of art, architecture, poetry he knewnothing. He once confessed to Stane years beforethat he had no hand to such things (Th. Dreiser); 3.The other evening I found a photo of myself takenshortly after I came to live at Warley (J. Braine);4. The war did something to
219Larry. He didn't come back the same person that
he went (W. S. Maugham); 5. She stood as she hadstood before, when she was facing him (W. S.Maugham); 6. She was happy She had come up alone;she hadn't let Neville come with her. She had saidshe was going to bean independent old woman (R.Macaulay); 7. You know I lost my hardware shop. Itwas running downhill for three years (A. Maltz); 8.In the course of our walks she had told me nothingabout herself which was not perfectly simple andunsuggestive. Her mother had died when she wasfourteen years old. While she was growing up shelived with her father and mother in Paris (Ch.Dickens); 9. "Lend me your scissors a second, willyou?" — "No. I packed them already" (J. Salinger);10. "Is Peter here?" — "Yes, he is. He was justtelling me he's an atheistic Communist" (J. Updike);11. At last, when he could clap no more, he stood upsuddenly and hurried across the room to Aunt Julia."I was just telling my mother," he said, "I neverheard you sing so well, never" (J. Joyce); 12. "No,"I said. "He has no friends. He just told me" (J.Updike); 13. The last to move was Skinner, who had
been standing like a statue while all these thingswent on (A. Kingsley); 14. The taxi-driver, who hadbeen fumbling energetically with the keys while theInspector was departing, now desisted and lookedsympathetically at the silent figure on the kerb (M.Arlen); 15. He spoke of his novels. He had once beenpruning a tree when an idea for a story suddenlyentered his head (R. Graves); 16. A new thoughtpricks him and he turns his head. "Dedman? Are youstill here?"— Dedman has been holding his cards andfanning through them. He looks up (J. Updike).
EXERCISE 31. Translate into English Using theBeforepast Static or the Past Static:
1. Все комнаты были пусты. Можно было лишьдогадаться, кто когда-то занимал их (G. Greene); 2.Кушетка собаки занимала один из углов, откуда онамогла видеть себя в трех зеркалах (J. Galsworthy);3. "Я верил этому тогда, сэр. Я все еще верю".Действительно, когда-то он верил этому; теперь же онэтому не верил вовсе (A. Maltz); 4. Мой отец никогдане говорил этого прямо; но я уверена, что, когда моямать умерла, он подозревал меня так же, как»подозревал ее" (Ch. Dickens) (never said so in plainwords, was gone); 5. Шар, который казался такимбольшим на палубе, под кормой корабля казался совсеммаленьким (Н. G. Wells) (to look, on deck, thestern: at the moment the globe for under-the-searesearches was on the water); 6. Я повел его кнабережной, и мы сидели в кафе, в котором я сидел снею (W. S. Maugham) (to lead, down to thequay); 7.Он ждал, пока станет достаточно взрослым, чтобыпойти во флот. Он жадно читал объявления. Он зналвсех военных на призывном пункте. Он прочел всеброшюрки (Th. Wolfe) (until he should be old enoughto join the navy; posters; the navy men at theenlistment office; pamphlets); 8. Когда он вернулсяопять, ее письмо, в маленьком запечатанном конверте,
лежало в почтовом ящике (Е. Delafield) (a sealedenvelope); 9. Когда он достиг вершины утеса, туманрассеялся и канал искрился, играя (I. Shaw) (todisperse, the cliff,
220sparkled playfully); 10. Страх все еще не покидал
его. Он начался прошлой ночью, когда он проснулся иуслышал, как ревет лев (Е. Hemingway); Cthe fear wasstill there, to start, to awake).
EXERCISE 32. Translate into English Using theBeforepast Dynamic or the Past Dynamic:
1. Она говорила теперь об этом с Филиппом —говорила об этом целый час (A. Huxley) (to talk,Philip, for the last hour);2. Наступил день, когдаон признался Кэрри, что дела в этом месяце идут нетак хорошо, как шли в предыдущем (Th. Dreiser) (toconfess, to do as well... as); 3. Миссис Брэндонтакже была в своей спальне. Она сидела в высокомкресле, глядя перед собою. Она сидела там уже долго,совершенно не двигаясь (Н. Walpole) (staring infront of her, now for a long time, without makingany movement at all); 4. На зов из двери этогоздания вышел Гудвин. Он курил с консулом на заднейверанде консульства (O'Henry) (Out from the door ofthis building tumbled Goodwin at the call; the backporch of the consulate); 5. Затем я поднял глаза. Онзадумчиво курил (J. Conrad) (to look up,reflectively); 6. «Я поехал в Индию, потому что мненужен был отдых. Я много работал и хотел собраться смыслями» (W. S. Maugham) (I wanted a rest; wished tosort out my thoughts: In India Kit was not working);7. Он работал от рассвета до темноты, пытаясьсохранить мастерскую (I. Stone) (from first light todark; in an effort to keep the shop afloat); 8.Мужчина был полностью одет. Он спал во всей одежде,даже в ботинках (I. Shaw) (with all his clothes on,even his shoes: The Germans had taken him a prisoner
when he had been asleep); 9. «Вы спали, когда я ушел»(Е. Hemingway).
EXERCISE 33. Translate into English Using theBeforepast Dynamic or the Beforepast Static:
1. Я обнаружил, что в Париже он рисовал точнотак, так он рисовал годами в Риме (W. S. Maugham);(to paint, for years: he had been in the process ofpainting things; as it had been his way of paintingthings in Rome); 2. Элен вышла замуж в июне. Онавозвратилась в Альтамонт в мае (Th. Wolfe)(Altamont); 3. Я поспешил к нему, но он умер, неприходя даже в сознание. Он, по-видимому, возвращалсяиз Фэрхэма в сумерках и упал в меловой карьер (А. С.Doyle) (he passed away without having ever recoveredhis consciousness; Fareham; the chalkpit); 4. Посути все было просто. Он читал книги Соммер-виля,собрал воедино обрывки слухов из прессы и заключил,что доктор Соммервиль согласился подписать все, чтосостряпала полиция (D. Carter) (in essence; to puttogether all the fragments of rumors in the press;his conclusion was; to concoct); 5. После обеда втот вечер я начал неохотно читать его сценарий. Я непрочел и двух страниц, как вскочил, снова сел и сталлихорадочно читать дальше (J. Galsworthy)(languidly; skit, before I started up, feverishly,read on); 6. «Может быть вы заинтересуетесь этим.»Он бросил мне лист толстой писчей бумаги, которыйлежал развернутым на столе (А. С. Doyle) (you may
221be interested; he threw over; note-paper; open:
point out the transitive character of the state); 7.On вытащил полбутылки джина, которая терпеливо ждалас четверга (A. Kingsley) (point out the transitorycharacter of the state); 8. Затем он поспешил домой.Он знал, что Мэри будет ждать его. Она ждала целыйдень (G. Gordon) (She had been on the wait all day);9. Через двадцать минут он стоял в дверях своего
коттеджа, глядя на освещенную луной комнату, которуюон покинул семь часов тому назад. Вот роман, которыйон пытался читать; остатки его завтрака; паракоричневых ботинок, которые он собирался почистить(J. Galsworthy) (There was the novel; the remains ofhis lunch; to shine up); 10. Я даже не пыталсячитать. Достаточно было сидеть там, дышать, смотретьна реку и деревья, просто существовать. Я просиделтам по крайней мере час. Подул холодный ветер, и япродрог (J. Braine) (I didn't bother to read; thewind turned cold; to begin to shiver; a process indevelopment); 11. Полуулыбка, которая играла на еголице, исчезла (I. Shaw) (about his face; died; pointout a change in his face); 12. Старые глаза бабушкинаблюдали за тем, как летают мячи. В молодостибабушка не играла в теннис (R. Macaulay) (She hadnot been a tennis player in her youth).
EXERCISE 34. Comment on the Use of Tenses inAccordance with the Basic Rule of the Sequence ofTenses:
1. He said that Daily Worker was anindispensable paper for all trade unionists from theshop floor to the general secretary (D. Worker); 2.She found, as many another has found before andafter her, that the best things were always the mostexpensive (H. Walpole); 3. "They both like you." —"I always thought they were a sensible pair" (A.Kingsley); 4. "What are you doing about here at thistime of day? I thought you were on the night servicethis month" (F. Norris); 5. "You said just now yoususpected what he's been after these years. What didyou mean?" (W. S. Maugham); 6. "I was saying thatall of us here have heard of your husband, but noone yet has seen him" (A. Saxton); 7. "Auntie, he —he told me that father has been married before" (G.Gordon); 8. I have remarked a little while back thatI have invented nothing (W. S. Maugham); 9. "Why
now, George and I were just saying how hard Paul'sbeen working all day" (S. Lewis); 10. "Who is she?"he asked one day. I was told that she is beautiful"(Th. White); 11. "You said just now that you owe noman anything, and that you are rolling in money" (B.Shaw); 12. I decided to change the subject. "Did youknow I'm playing Joshua (in the town amateurtheatricals)?" (J. Braine); 13. "He said he willcome" (J. Pud-ney); 14. Newscastle manager JoeHarvey yesterday said his club will be watchingBennett play for Rotherham in their Cup-tie againstLincoln on Saturday (D. Worker); 15. "He asked me ifI had seen you in town yet. I said Roy isn't myfather and he isn't in town and you'll never catchhim when he does come in" (J. Aldridge); 16. Jackloved honey, of course, and knew quite well what abees' nest was; he knew that bees have stings (E.Seton-Thompson); 17. Chink slowly realized thatthere were long whips and big; that horses haveteeth in their heels
222(E. Seton-Thompson); 18. "I understand how it
is, I think. I know what your ambitions are. I havealways felt that I did, in part" (Th. Dreiser) 19.To each poet, to each professor she addressed thesame question: "How long have you known you had thispower?" (F. Norris); 20. "I love you! Ever since Imet you I have known that you were the one girl inthis vast world" (H. Walpole); 21. I have fought forwhat I believed in for a year now. If we win here wewill win everywhere (E. Hemingway); 22. "Say thatwe'll open the letter together." — "Yes! Yes!" criedNessie fretfully, "have I not told you that I wouldlong ago" (A. Cronin); 23. "You've often said thatyou'd have to marry money" (E. Delafield).
Андрей Константинович КорсаковУПОТРЕБЛЕНИЕ ВРЕМЕН В АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ(на английском языке)
КиевГоловное издательство издательского объединения
«Вища школа»
Редактор А. А. Гусак Переплет художника А. А.Бенкендорфа Художественный редактор Н. М. ПанасюкТехнический редактор И. И. Каткова Корректоры С. Г.Чиркина, И. В. Семенюк
Информ. бланк № 3395Сдано в набор 19.05.77. Подп. в печать 5.04.78.
Формат 60x90Vi,. Бумага типогр. №3- Лит. гари. Быс.печать. 14 печ. л. 15.84 уч.-изд. л. Тираж 8000экз. Изд. № 2729. Зак. № 8-163. Цена 60 коп.
Головное издательство издательского объединения«Вища школа», 252054, Кнев-54, Гоголевская, 7
Книжная фабрика «Коммунист» РПО «Полиграфкнига»Госкомиздата УССР, 310012, Харьков-12, ул. Энгельса,11.