Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: English verb tenses
Message-ID: <D5FLK9.n30@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <D5Bq8y.G41@indirect.com> <3jvunv$o1f@netnews.upenn.edu> <3k3jjg$3ue@decaxp.harvard.edu>
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 13:02:31 GMT
Lines: 35

In article <3k3jjg$3ue@decaxp.harvard.edu> smandel@scws29.harvard.edu (Susannah Mandel) writes:
>Maelstrom (ccardona@mail2.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
>: Pascal MacProgrammer (stevemac@bud.indirect.com) wrote:
>: : Not so very long ago, eassong@yorku.ca (Gord Easson) said...
>: : >As far as I know, it is generally accepted that
>: : >English has two tenses of which future is NOT one.
>
>: : Well, then, it must be the =American= language that has six tenses.
>: : At least, in grammar school, I was taught that the language we were
>: : speaking has six tenses.
>
>: i remember 12.
>
>English has _two_ tenses: the present, and the preterite.  This is a
>characteristic it shares with all the Germanic languages.  The other
>tenses are constructed with auxiliary verbs; this is a little
>different...

Is it really their syntax that disqualifies them from being counted as
temporal categories?  Are they not tenses because they are analytic
rather than synthetic, or are they considered to be modal (the future)
or aspectual (the continuous and the perfect) categories because of
their semantics?  You seem to imply the former, but I think a case can
be made for the latter.  (That may have to do with my being a semanticist.)

As for the apparent mismatch between the English and the American language,
it comes from the fact that English has two tenses according to linguistics
as opposed to any other number according to school grammar.  I will let the
reader decide which of these two disciplines sci.lang is better suited for.

-- 
`"Na, na ... ah mean, *no wey*, wi aw due respect, ma lady," stammers Joe.'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)    (J Stuart, _Auld Testament Tales_)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
