txt02-0201.htm
by U Kyaw Tun (UKT), M.S. (I.P.S.T., U.S.A.), and staff of TIL (Tun Institute
of Learning, http://www.tuninst.net ).
Based on Barron’s Educational Series, Grammar In Plain English, by Diamond, H. and Dutwin,
P., Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 1977.
Prepared for students of TIL Computing and Language Center, Yangon, Myanmar. Not for sale.
indx-GPE
Contents of this page
Contents of this page
02. Understanding Time and Number: Performer and Action
02.01. Understanding Time
UKT notes
• English Grammar in
conversation • tense
The time of action and the number of performers are very important in English. However, such importance is not found in Burmese. For example:
with reference to time of action, it is acceptable when we say:
{nga ma. né. ka. Zé: thwa: tèý}
in place of the more correct {nga ma. né. ka. Zé: thwa: hkè. tèý}.
Or,
with reference to the number of subject,
{koan-thèý nè. thu. ta.præÑ. Zé: thwa: tèý} is quite acceptable
in place of {koan-thèý nè. thu. ta.præÑ. to. Zé: thwa: kra. tèý}
However, the direct translations of the above:
<* I go the market yesterday> -- not acceptable
<I went to market yesterday> -- acceptable
Or,
<* a trader and his assistant goes to market> -- not acceptable
<a trader and his assistant go to market> -- acceptable
It is easy to determine the time of the action word <tense> in a single sentence. However, when sentences appear in paragraph form, the time of each action is more difficult to determine.
kaic~sa. tic-hku. nè. pat-thak la ring/ hto kaic~sa ko mæÑ-thu ka. loap-hsaung-tèý/ loap-hsaung-hkyak ka. Ba-lè:/ Bèý toän: ka. loap-ta-lè: / a.sa. rhi. lo. hpau pra. ra. tèý// è:da. mha. kra: tè. thu ka. præÑ.præÑ. soän-soän na: læÑ tèý//
thæÑ-a.teing:Bè: <sentence> hso ring a.Daip~pèý pæÑ. soän hpo. loap-hsaung-thu <performer or subject> ko prau: ra. mèý// po a.ré:kri: ta ka. loap-hsaung-hkyak <predicate> ko hpau: pra. ra. tèý// <predicate> hso ring <verb> nè. <object> pa ra. mèý/ a.næÑ:hsoän: <verb> pa ra. mèý//
loap-hsaung-hkyak <verb> ka. Bèý ka-la. ka. loap ta-lè:// a. hku. la:/ hpric pri:pri la:/ hpric tau. mha la:// præÑ.præÑ soän-soän hpric rè. la: hso ta twé ko hpau pra. ra. tèý// è:thæÑ a.hka mha <verb> poän-sän praung: thwa: tèý//
<verb> poän-sän praung: poän ko <Chapter 01, Section 01.04. Action Words: Special Problems (txt0104.htm)> lé.la siñ-ka. twé. hkè. pri: pri//
a.hkyain ka-la. nè. pat thak pri: <verb> praung: lè ta ko <tense> lo. hkau tèý//
ïn~ga.laip sa.ka: nè. ba.ma sa.ka: to. rè. a.Di.ka. kwa:hkra: tè. né-ra tic-hku. ha <tense> hpris tèý// mran-ma mha <tense> ha a.ré: ma. kri: Bu;// ïn~ga.laip mha a.ré:kri: tèý // U.pa-ma
mran-ma mha
1. nga ma.né.ka. Zé: tho. thwa: thæÑ/
nè.
2. nga ma.né.ka. Zé: tho. thwa:hkè. thæÑ/
to. ha a. tu tu Bè//ïn~ga.laip mha ma. tu Bu://
1. *<I go to market yesterday.> (* pra. hta: ring a.mha: lo. na: læÑ pa//)
2. <I went to market yesterday.>lwan-hkè.tè. ka-la. ka. hpric tè. a.twak <verb> ha <go> mha. <went> tho. praung: thwa: tèý// thæÑ-lo a.praung: a.lè: ko <tense> tho.ma.hoat <time of action> lo. hkau tèý//
sa tic-kraung: si ré: tè. a.hka mha <tense> a.thoän: ra. lwèý pé mè./ sa. tic.kraung: ma. ka. sa-peid a.né nè. ré: tè. a.hka kya. tau. hkak hkè: la tèý//
Though the time of action word <tense> may be wrong, as long as the syntax is right, the hearer (or reader) will still understand you. Remember, <syntax> is the most important, and when you are speaking don't be afraid to make mistakes - as long as your syntax is right you will still be understood.
sa.ka: prau: tè. a.hka mha/ <tense> mha: thwa: ma. la: hso pri: sa.ka: ma.prau: rè: Bè: ma. né pa nè. // <syntax> mhan né tha. rwÉ. kaic~sa. ma. rhi: Bu:// mi.Ba. Bo: Bwa: ïn~ga.laip ka. pauk hpwa: la pri: tic-thak loän: ïn~ga.laip sa.ka: prau:né tè. thu twé taung <grammar> mha: prau: ta ko <radio and TV> mha hka.Na. hka.Na. twé. ra. tèý//
<grammar> ko Bèý né ra mha Bèý lauk thoän: kra. tèý hso ta ko <Geoffrey Leach> ka. thu.té-tha.na. loap hta: tèý//
The time of all action words in a paragraph must be the same. The action word in the first sentence sets the time for the paragraph.
sa.peid tic.hku. htè: ka. <verb> ha. <tense> tu hpo. lo tèý// pa.hta.ma. sa-kraung: rè. <tense> a.teing: nauk. la tè. sa.kraung: twé rè. <verb> twé rè. <tense> ka. leik praung: ra. tèý// sa.ka: a.prau: mha thoän: tè. <grammar> ha, tak~ka.thol mha thoän: ta nè. sa ring 1/8 lauk Bè: rhi. tèý//
by
Geoffrey Leech,
Department of Linguistics and
Modern English Language, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YT, UK
--
http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/chairs/linguist/real/independent/llc/Conference1998/Papers/Leech/Leech.htm
(070708)
(UKT: this article is not specifically dated. However from the URL, we can see
that it was probably presented to Conference 1998. I came across this article at
least 3 years ago, and today (070708) I found it again on the internet.)
We find many such striking differences of frequency between the conversational subcorpus and the three written subcorpora -- but these differences of frequency would not have made any sense, had we not also recognized that the same categories occur across the spoken-written divide. Conversation makes use of entities such as prepositions, modals, noun phrases and relative clauses, just as written language does. So -- assuming, as many would, that differences of frequency belong to the use of the grammar, rather than to the grammatical system itself -- it is quite natural to think in terms of one English grammar, whose use in conversational performance can be contrasted with its use in various kinds of writing. In other words, conversational grammar is seen to be just a rather special implementation of the common grammar of English: a discovery which does not necessarily in any way diminish the interest of studying the grammar (i.e. the grammatical use) of spoken language.
UKT: I have redrawn Figure 1 from the original which was in .gif format. I've indicated my estimate of the length of each cell.
Go back g-leach-b
From:
• LBH - http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/aaronlbh_awl/medialib/terms/gloss_01.html
• UseE - Glossary of English Grammar Terms www.usingenglish.com/glossary.html
• EC.com - English Grammar englishclub.com http://grammar.english.english.com
From LBH
tense grammar The form of a verb that expresses the time of its action, usually indicated by
the verb's inflection and by helping verbs.
• The simple tenses are:
the present
I race / you go
the past
I raced / you went
the future, formed with the helping verb will
I will race / you will go• The perfect tenses, formed with the helping verbs have and had, indicate completed action. They are :
the present perfect
I have raced / you have gone
the past perfect
I had raced / you had gone
the future perfect
I will have raced / you will have gone• The progressive tenses, formed with the helping verb be plus the present participle, indicate continuing action. They include:
the present progressive
I am racing / you are going
the past progressive
I was racing / you were going
the future progressive
I will be racing / you will be going
See p. 319 for a list of tenses with examples.
From UseE
Tense is used to show the relation between the action or state described
by the verb and the
time, which is reflected in the form of the verb. There are two basic tenses in
English; the present tense and the past tense.
The present is like the base form,
although the third person singular adds -s. Regular verbs
add -ed or -d to show the past tense, while irregular
verbs change in many different ways, or not at all in some cases.
From EC.com
For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using
auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using
modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active
voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So now we have 24
tenses.
The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it can and does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.
* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.
Go back tense-note-b
End of TIL file