Aspectual content of tenses

The static tenses are opposed to the dynamic tenses by four semantic models.

Present, past, and future tenses (absolute tenses)

Model I

In 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 meaning of the perfective and the imperfective aspects in Russian. Since in Russian there is 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 in the end after the meaning of the opposition has been properly understood on examples having as­pectual correspondences in both languages.

PastStatic a n d p a s t d у n a m і с

1. 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 wick of the slush-lamp (J. London); 5. She rose from her knees (J. Galsworthy)//Meanwhile he was again rising to his feet (Th. Dreiser); 6. The little china clock struck half past two (H. Walpole) // The church clock was striking one (H. Wells).

Future Static and Future Dynamic

1. "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 be passing here this day fortnight at exactly the same time» (Th. Hardy); 4. "You'll say 'yes' of course. But what will you be saying 'yes' to?" (M. Wilson); 5. "I shall start before you are up" (Ch. Dickens) // "Finish your breakfast and we shall be start­ing" (E. Hemingway); 6. "I'll tell them the truth" (Q. Gordon)//"We shall 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 number of special uses as well as in common colloquial speech in case of verbal processes referred to the moment of speaking.

Author's Speech. Consider the following passage from Hunger by D. Lessing in which the author represents the main events as if they were taking place before her and her reader's eyes (mental present):

After some time, he becomes certain that there is one girl who has walked past him, then come back, and now is walking past him again. He is certain because of her dress.. It is bright yellow with big red flow­ers on it. He stares round him and can see no other dress like it, so it must be the same girl. For the third time she saunters by, close on the pavement, and he sees she has smart shoes on her feet and wears a crochet cap of pink wool.

Substituting the past tenses for the corresponding present forms of the heavy-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 with emphasis 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 past him, then come back, and was now walking past him again. He was certain because of her dress. It was bright yellow with big flowers on it. He stared round him and could see no other dress like it, so it must have been the same girl. For the third time she sauntered by, close on the pavement, and he saw she had smart shoes on her feet and a crochet cap of pink wool. (Oppose: he became certain // he was becoming certain; she was walking past him // she walked past him; he stared round him // he was staring round him; she sauntered by // she was sauntering by).

Historical Present. Frequently an author or a speaker, while he is narrating about the past, wants to represent some of the verbal processes as if they were taking place just before his or his listener's (reader's) eyes, i. e. at the moment of speaking. While doing so, he is using present tenses, which are known as Historical Present (Praesens historicum). Example:

I am talking of nearly twenty years ago; but let me speak of the time for awhile 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 little flagged court; where I buy the macaroons for Cyril ... The banker is probably going to give a dinner party. A tall gentleman of melancholy visage has seen him enter, and reconnoiters him through

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the window with vivid interest. At some movement of Mr. Latham — who is perhaps pantomimically declining goose pie — Mr. Myers shakes his head with pensive deprication ... (Ch. Dickens)¹.

It is evident that the meaning of the historical tenses corresponds strictly to that of the respective past forms.

Comments to Demonstrations and Sports Games; Reproduction in Speech of Verbal Processes Directly Watched by the Speaker. To express in speech what has just been 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-step explanations and comments. In reproducing verbal processes directly watched by the 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 progression 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 mean to say: "Look how I am doing this or that." What he actually means is: "Look what action has just been or will imme­diately be performed by me." This becomes more 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. He struck the table with the stick. He removed the cloth and he pulled out a rabbit. 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 out a rabbit.

It will be noticed that all the verbal processes in the example ana­lysed are terminative.

Now some examples of verbal processes directly watched by the speaker and reproduced 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. Пасует его правому нападающему, кото­рый быстро продвигается вперед). 2. The pitcher takes the stretch. He looks at first where Hays is taking a good lead. Here's the pitch. The batter swings and it's a hard-hit grounder to short. The shortstop is up 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 the room to an identical built-in cupboard on the left-hand side of the fireplace. He is opening the centre compartment and putting his hand inside; now he is taking out two objects and putting them into his left-hand jacket pocket" (M. Joos).

In all the above examples the Present Dynamic represents verbal processes as going on, developing in time, while the Present Static lays

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emphasis 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 Present Dynamic in stage directions have also the aspectual meaning of the corresponding past and future tenses. Compare the following examples:

1. She clasps his hands; but seeing that Frust is coming back, flits across to the curtain and vanishes (J. Galsworthy) // Suddenly he turns and comes back again, full of force and decision (B. Shaw); 2, He is crossing to the outer door when she interrupts him (B. Shaw) // Essie, almost in tears, crosses the room to the door near the sofa (B. Shaw); 3. The curtain rises. In the armchair the Professor is yawning, tall, thin, abstracted (J. Galsworthy) // He shuts the door; yawns; and loafs across to the sofa (B. Shaw).

Colloquial Speech. In certain established sentences processes re­ferred to the moment of speaking are practically never denoted by verbs in the Present Dynamic Tense, e. g.:

1. Tremain sank down with his face in his hands. "I give up! I've done my best, but I'm beat" (J. Lindsay). (The information conveyed by the sentence is not that Tremain is in the process of losing more and more all hope of success but 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, I own, struck me as being a little old-fashioned" (M. Mitchell); 3. "My love, I guarantee 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, that you 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 as progressing at the moment of speaking and that the meaning of the static form is equal to that of the Past and Future Static (Cf., e. g.: "The U. S. Government yesterday publicly admitted that West Germany could eventually get full control of 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 in either 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 lubricating oil come from?" — "I am coming to that," said the refiner (H. McKay) // "Then we come 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 patient reacts 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

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you 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 at the 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).