UDC

811.111

DOI

10.17238/issn2227-6564.2019.1.66

Authors

Irina F. Pogrebnaya
Southern Federal University; ul. Bol’shaya Sadovaya 33, Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russian Federation;
e-mail: irina.pogrebnaya@bk.ru

Abstract

This article presents a linguistic interpretation of the space-time concept in relation to the English tense system seen as a field with two planes of expression – present and past – visualized in a diagram showing the formation formulae, the use of tenses, and their distribution on the scale of tenses. The paper aimed at introducing the grammatical category of English verb tense to the system of planes. The author correlates the category of verb tense in Russian and English as well as patterns of expressing their tense and aspect differences. The theoretical basis for this research is represented by the works of both Russian and foreign scholars. Turning to theoretical grammar and the historical approach, the author systematizes active verb forms. The development of the theories of such Russian scholars as M.Ya. Bloch, A.I. Smirnitsky and others on the oppositions of tenses and on verb aspect in the theoretical grammar and history of English is reflected in the innovative view on the tense-aspect system as a space-time continuum. The paper describes a new, tested over the years, way of explaining the sequence of tenses by means of an algorithm of choosing a tense and aspect form in a diagram from the existing forms in the past plane of expression: to denote simultaneous, prior or posterior actions in relation to the verb in the Past Indefinite. The results of the research can be used in both theoretical and practical grammar, as well as in English teaching methodology.

Keywords

space-time continuum, grammatical tense, tense-aspect forms, sequence of tenses, plane of the present, plane of the past

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