Tense Categories of the English Language

The category of tense may be defined as a verbal category which reflects the objective category of time and expresses on this background the relations between the time of the action and the time of the utterance. English Tenses

In Engl there are three tenses (past, present and future) represented by the forms wrote, writes, will write. Strangely enough, some doubts have been expressed about the existence of a future tense in Engl. O. Jespersen discussed this question more than once. The reason why Jespersen denied the existence of a future tense in English was that the English future is expressed by the phrase “ shall/will + infinitive ”, their original meaning (shall an element of obligation and will an element of volition). However, this reasoning is not convincing. It is well known that a present tense form may also be used when the action belongs to the future. “ Maroo is is coming tomorrow” So it might also have beeen expressed by the future tense: Maroo will come tomorrow. Maroo’s arrival tomorrow is part of a plan already fixed at the present. So the three main divisions of time are represented in the Engl verbal system by the three tenses. Each of them may appear in the common and in the continuous aspect. Thus we get six tense-aspect forms.

Besides these six, however, there are two more, namely, the future-in-the-past and the future-continuous-in-the-past. The future-in-the-past and future-cont-in-the-past do not easily fit into a system of tenses represented by a straight line running out of the past into the future. They are a deviation from this straight line: their starting point is not the present, from which the past and the future are reckoned, but the past itself.

A different view of the English tense system has been put forward by Irtenyeva. According to this view, the system is divided into two halves: that of tenses centring in the present, and that of tenses centring in the past. The former would comprise the present, present perfect, future, present continuous, and present prefect continuous, whereas the latter would comprise the past, past perfect, future-in-the-past, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. The latter half is characterized by specific features: the root vowel (sang as against sing); and the suffix –d (-t), looked, had sung, would sing, had been singing.

2.Polyfunctionality and the Nature of Gerund.

The gerund developed from the verbal noun, which in course of time became verbalized preserving at the same time its nominal character. The gerund is formed by adding the suffix – ing to the stem of the verb, and cincides in form with Part.I.

As a natural result of its origin and development the gerund has nominal and verbal properties. The nominal characteristics are:

1) it can perform the function of subject, object, and predicative: They say smoking leads to meditation – subject, I like making people happy – object, The duty of all mankind is fighting for peace – predicative.

2) The gerund can be preceded by a preposition: I am very tired of rowing.

3) Like a noun the gerund can be modified by a noun in the possessive case or by a possessive pronoun: Is there any objection tot my seeing her?

The verbal characteristics are the same as those of the participle:

1) the gerund of transitive verbs can take a direct object: I had now made a good progress in understanding and speaking their language.

2) The gerund can be modified by an adverb: She burst out crying bitterly.

3) The gerund has tense distinctions; the gerund of transitive verbs has also voice distinctions.

Active Passive

Indefinite writing being written

Perfect having written having been written

There is no gerund in the Ukr language and the English gerund is rendered in Ukrainian in different ways:

a) by a noun: Dancing had not begun yet… Танці ще не почалися

b) by an infinitive: She had tea with Cipriano before leaving. Перед тим як піти, вона випила чаю з Чиприано.

c) By дієприслівник: And without waiting for her answer he turned and left us. І, не дочекавшись її відповіді,…

d) By a subordinate clause: He regretted now having come. Зараз він жалкував, що прийшов.

The gerund may be used in various syntactic functions. A single gerund occurs but seldom; in most cases we find a gerundial phrase or a gerundial construction.

1. the gerund as a subject: Talking mends no holes. Балачки не допомогають у біді.

2. the gerund as a predicative: The only remedy for such a headache as mine is going to bed.

3. the gerund as part of a compound verbal predicate: She began sobbing and weeping.

4. the gerund as an object: the gerund maybe used as a direct object and as a prepositional indirect object: I simply love riding. – direct, The times were good for building … - prepositional indirect.

5. the gerund as an attribute: in this function the gerund is always preceded by a preposition: He was born with the gift of winning hearts.

a) as an adverbial modifier of time the gerund is preceded by the prepositions after, before, on (upon), in, at: Upon walking I found myself much recovered.