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Mapping tense form and meaning for L2 learning – From theory to practice

  • Agneta Marie-Louise Svalberg EMAIL logo

Abstract

English tense presents second/foreign language learners with considerable cognitive challenges and, it will be argued, grammars and textbooks are generally inadequate sources of knowledge of the tense system as system. A modified version of Reichenbach's (1947. Elements of Symbolic Logic. New York: Macmillan) tense model is then presented. The original model has been criticized for its inability to deal with temporal relationships in natural text (e. g. Declerck, R. 1986. From Reichenbach (1947) to Comrie (1985) and beyond. Towards a theory of tense. Lingua 70. 305–364; Declerck, R. 2015. Tense in English. Its structure and use in discourse. London: Routledge; Carroll, M., C. Von Stutterheim & W. Klein. 2003. Two ways of construing complex temporal structures. In F. Lenz (ed.), Deictic Conceptualisation of Time, Space and Person, 97–134. Amsterdam: Benjamins). It is argued here instead that speakers employ the limited choices the system provides creatively, to express a wide range of temporal and interpersonal relations in the real world. The tense - aspect and tense - modality interfaces are briefly discussed. A pedagogical Language Awareness approach (Svalberg, A. M-L. 2007. Language Awareness and Language Learning. Language Teaching 40(4). 287–308) is then illustrated, with the theoretical model as mediating artefact providing visual and metalinguistic scaffolding, allowing learners to investigate tense use in context while drawing on both intuitive understanding and conscious knowledge.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. Any remaining shortcomings are entirely my own.

Appendix A: Explanations of key terms and abbreviations

AspectThe simple/progressive/perfect distinction
DirectThe metaphorical use of present tense form for past situations
DistantThe metaphorical use of past tense form for present situations
Event Time (E)Here: Sequence point
Moment of Speech (S)The time of utterance; the speaker’s present
Reference Time (R)The time (past, present or future) to which a situation is oriented
SequenceThe temporal relationship of a situation to R; the before/at/after R distinction
SituationEvent or state
SpeakerThe person (actual or fictional) making the linguistic choices
TenseSemantically: The past – present reference time distinction Formally: Specific verb forms signalling this distinction

Appendix B: The reference and sequence points encoded by English tense grammar (notation adapted from Reichenbach 1947)

(…)=Reference Point/R

S=Moment of speech/Speaker’s present

E=Event/situation

X(Y)=X at Y

X^Y=X before Y, or Y after X

NotationSample realizationTemporal interpretation
E(S)takeat present
E^(S)has takenbefore present
(S)^Ewill takeafter present (future in the present)
E(E^S)tookat past
E^(E^S)had takenbefore past
(E^S)^Ewould takeafter past (future in the past)
E(S^E)will takeat after-present (future)
E^(S^E)will have takenbefore after-present
(S^E)^E?will be going to takeafter after-present
E((E^S)^E)would takeat after-past
E^((E^S)^E)would have takenbefore after-past
((E^S)^E)^E?would be going to takeafter after-past
  1. (Table adapted from Svalberg 1991).

Text sources

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Radio Times 07.09.2016. http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/fb6jdb/neighbours–episode-7448 (accessed 27 March 2017)

Tayeb Salih, 1965. Season of Migration to the North. Oxford: Heinemann.

The Guardian. 24.08.2016. Trio forced off EasyJet plane over false claims they support Isis. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/aug/24/dharas-siblings-forced-off-easyjet-plane-stansted-accused-supporting-isis (accessed 27 March 2017)

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Published Online: 2018-03-15
Published in Print: 2019-11-26

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