F u n k s I ya L i m I t I

Perfect tenses
The theme of our graduation project sounds as following: «Perfect Tenses». Before beginning of investigation in our theme, we would like to say some words dealt with the theme of our graduation project.
In most languages the perfect is constructed by the use of an auxiliary verb (either to be or to have) in the present and the past participle. Other names are sometimes given to the perfect tense. In English the perfect tense is often misleadingly referred to as the present perfect, an allusion to the auxiliary verb component in the present tense. The term "composed past" is also used in languages where this past tense is composed of an auxiliary and a participle [11,p.56].
In some languages, the perfect tense is effectively the same as the preterit tense, or the aorist tense, but these two terms are not actually synonymous with the perfect tense [11, p. 57].
The subject of our project is the Perfect Tenses themselves.
The object is the usage of the Perfect Tenses in different original texts, such as novels, essays and so on.
The aim of our graduation project is to research the usage of the Perfect Tenses in the Modern English and it's formation.
Standing on such ground, we would like to point out tasks and aims of our work:
1. To describe the formation and application of the Perfect Tenses.
2. To describe the usage of the Perfect Tenses.
3. To classify the Perfect Tenses.
4. To investigate the functioning of the Perfect Tenses in the works of English and American writers.
In our opinion the practical significance of our work is hard to be overvalued. This work reflects modern trends in grammar and we hope it would serve as a good manual for those who want to master modern English language and it's grammar. Also this work can be used by teachers of English language for teaching the Perfect Tenses. It can be useful for everyone who wants to enlarge their knowledge in English.
Our work is based on researches of soviet linguists 60^th - 80^th and also on later works of 90^th years. Main sourses of our graduation project are books by Irtenyeva N.F., Barsova O.M., Blokh M.Y., Shapkin A.P. Beside we used some information from the Internet, mostly diagrams.
In the conclusion to our work we tried to draw some results from the scientific investigations made within the present graduation project.
1. THE PERFECT FORM
1.1 The usage of the Perfect Forms
We have accepted the definition of the basic meaning of the perfect forms as that of "precedence". However, this definition can only be the starting point for a study of the various uses of the perfect forms. Indeed, for more than one case this definition of its meaning will seem wholly inadequate, because its actual meaning in a given context will be influenced by various factors. Though a very great amount of investigation has been carried on in this field and many phenomena have by now been elucidated, it is only fair to say that a complete solution of all the problems involved in the uses and shades of meaning of the perfect forms in Modern English is not yet in sight [25,p.78].
Let us first ask the question: what kinds of linguistic factors can be expected to have an influence on the use and shades of meaning of the perfect forms? We will try to answer this question in a general way, before proceeding to investigate the possible concrete cases.
These factors, then, would seem to be the following: 1) the lexical meaning of the verb; 2) the tense category of the form, i.e. whether it is the present perfect, past perfect, or future perfect (we cannot be certain in advance that the tense relation is irrelevant here); 3) the syntactical context, i. e. whether the perfect form is used in a simple sentence, or the main clause, or again in a subordinate clause of a complex sentence. To these should be added an extralinguistic factor: 4) the situation in which the perfect form is used [21,p. 89].
Let us now consider each of these factors separately and then come to the question of their possible interaction.
1. The meaning of the verb used can affect the meaning of the perfect form in so far as the verb may denote either an action which is apt to produce an essential change in the state of the object (e. g. He has broken the cup) or a process which can last indefinitely without bringing about any change (e. g. He has lived in this city since 1945), etc. With the verb break, for instance, the shade of meaning would then be the result of the action (the cup is no longer a cup but a collection of fragments), whereas with the verb live no result in this exact sense can be found; we might infer a resultative meaning only in a somewhat roundabout way, by saying that he has now so many years of life in this city behind him. Thus the meaning of result, which we indeed do find in the sentence He has broken the cup, appears to be the effect of the combined meanings of the verb as such (in whatever form) and the perfect form as such. It is quite natural that this meaning should have more than once been taken to be the meaning of the perfect category as such, which was a misconception [21,p.92].
To give another example, if the verb denotes an action which brings about some new state of things, its perfect form is liable to acquire a shade of meaning which will not be found with a verb denoting an action unable to bring about a new state. We may, for instance, compare the sentences:
We have found the book. (this implies that the book, which had been lost, is now once more in our possession).
We have searched the whole room for the book. (which does not imply any new state with reference to the book) [25,p.86].
Of course many more examples of this kind might be given. The basic requirement is clear enough: we must find the meaning of the form itself, or its invariable, and not the meaning of the form as modified or coloured by the lexical meaning of the verb. If this requirement is clearly kept in mind, many errors which have been committed in defining the meaning of the form will be avoided [25,p.88].
2. The possible dependence of the meaning of perfect forms on the tense category (present, past or future) is one of the most difficult problems which the theory of the perfect has had to face. It is quite natural to suppose that there ought to be an invariable meaning of the phrase "have + second participle", no matter what the tense of the verb have happens to be, and this indeed is the assumption we start from. However, it would be dangerous to consider this hypothesis as something ascertained, without undertaking an objective investigation of all the facts which may throw some light on the problem. We may, for instance, suspect that the present perfect, which denotes "precedence to the present", i.e. to the moment of speech, may prove different from the past perfect, denoting precedence to a moment in the past, or the future perfect, denoting precedence to a moment in the future: both the past and the future are, of course, themselves related in some way to the present, which appears as the centre to which all other moments of time are referred in some way or other. One of the chief points in this sphere is the following. If an action precedes another action, and the meaning of the verb is such a one that the action can have a distinct result, the present perfect form, together with the lexical meaning of the verb (and, we should add, possibly with some element of the context) may produce the meaning of a result to be soon at the very moment the sentence is uttered, so that the speaker can point at that result with his finger, as it were. Now with the past perfect and with the future perfect things are bound to be somewhat different. The past perfect (together with the factors mentioned above) would mean that the result was there at a certain moment in the past, so that the speaker could not possibly point at it with his finger. Still less could he do that if the action he spoke about was in the future, and the future perfect (again, together with all those factors) denoted a result that would be there in the future only (that is, it would only be an expected result). All this has to be carefully gone into, if we are to achieve really objective conclusions and if we are to avoid unfounded generalizations and haphazard assertions which may be disproved by examining an example or two which did not happen to be at our disposal at the moment of writing [25,p. 97].
3. The syntactical context in which a perfect form is used is occasionally a factor of the highest importance in determining the ultimate meaning of the sentence. To illustrate this point, let us consider a few examples: There was a half-hearted attempt at a maintenance of the properties, and then Wilbraham Hall rang with the laughter of a joke which the next day had become the common precious property of the Five Towns [21,p.105]. Overton waited quietly till he had finished. [21,p.105].But before he had answered, she made a grimace which Mark understood [21,p.105]. The action denoted by the past perfect in these sentences is not thought of as preceding the action denoted by the past tense.
Another possibility of the context influencing the actual meaning of the sentence will be seen in the following examples:
The question:
How long have you been here? (of course implies that the person addressed still is in the place meant by the adverb here.)
An answer like:
I have been here for half an hour.( would then practically mean, 'I have been here for half an hour and I still am here and may stay here for some time to come'.) [25,p.103]. On the other hand, when, in G. B. Shaw's play, "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (Act I), Vivie comes into the room and Mrs. Warren asks her, 'Where have you been, Vivie? ' it is quite evident that Vivie no longer is in the place about which Mrs. Warren is inquiring; now she is in the room with her mother and it would be pointless for Mrs. Warren to ask any question about that. These two uses of the present perfect (and similar uses of the past perfect, too) have sometimes been classed under the headings "present (or past) perfect inclusive" and "present (or past) perfect exclusive". This terminology cannot be recommended, because it suggests the idea that there are two different meanings of the present (or past) perfect, which is surely wrong. The difference does not lie in the meanings of the perfect form, but depends on the situation in which the sentence is used. The same consideration applies to the present (or past) perfect continuous, which is also occasionally classified into present (or past) perfect continuous inclusive and present (or past) perfect continuous exclusive. The difference in the meaning of sentences is a very real one, as will be seen from the following examples. "Sam, you know everybody " she said, "who is that terrible man I've been talking to? His name is Campofiore." [21,p.112]. I have been saving money these many months [21,p.112]. Do you mean to say that Jack has been playing with me all the time? That he has been urging me not to marry you because he intends to marry you himself? [21,p.113]. However, this is not a difference in the meaning of the verbal form itself, which is the same in all cases, but a difference depending on the situation or context. If we were to ascribe the two meanings to the form as such, we should be losing its grammatical invariable, which we are trying to determine [21,p.114].
Of course it cannot be said that the analysis here given exhausts all possible uses and applications of the perfect forms in Modern English. We should always bear in mind that extensions of use are possible which may sometimes go beyond the strict limits of the system. Thus, we occasionally find the present perfect used in complex sentences both in the main and in the subordinate clause-- a use which does not quite fit in with the definition of the meaning of the form. E.g. I've sometimes wondered if I haven't seemed a little too frank and free with you, if you might not have thought I had "'gone gay", considering our friendship was so far from intimate. [21,p.113]. We shall best understand this use if we substitute the past tense for the present perfect. The sentence then would run like this: I have sometimes wondered if I hadn't seemed a little too frank and free with you... An important shade of meaning of the original sentence has been lost in this variant, viz. that of an experience summed up and ready at the time of speaking. With the past tense, the sentence merely deals with events of a past time unconnected with the present, whereas with the present perfect there is the additional meaning of all those past events being alive in the speaker's mind [21,p.118].
Other examples might of course be found in which there is some peculiarity or other in the use of a perfect form. In the course of time, if such varied uses accumulate, they may indeed bring about a modification of the meaning of the form itself. This, however, lies beyond the scope of our present study[21,p.118].
The Perfect form denotes an action completed before the present moment ( and connected with it ) or before the present moment in the past or future.
It is formed by means of the auxiliary verb to have in the required tense and Participle II of the notional verb [12, p.48]. (pict.1.)
pict.1
perfect tense continuous text
1.2 The Present Perfect
The formation of the Present Perfect.
1. The present perfect is formed by means of the Present Indefinite of the auxiliary verb to have and Participle II of the notional verb.
2. In the interrogative form the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject. In the negative form particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb.
I have worked. Have I worked? I have not worked [12, p.117].
3. The contracted affirmative forms are:
I've worked. He's worked. You've worked [12, p.117].
The contracted negative forms are:
I haven't worked. He hasn't worked. You haven't worked [12, p. 117].
4. The negative-interrogative forms are:
Has she not worked? Hasn't she worked?
Have you not worked? Haven't you worked? [12, p. 117].
The use of the Present Perfect.
1. The present perfect denotes a completed action connected with the present. ( pict.2)
pict. 2.
Stop the car! They have killed a child [XIII, p. 58].
I am a little frightened for I have lost my way [III, p. 13].
The present perfect is frequently used with the adverbs just, yet, already and of late. The adverb yet is used only in interrogative and negative sentences.
Mr. Worthing, I suppose, has not returned from town yet! [XI, p. 18].
I have just written to him [V, p. 31].
He has done a great deal of work of late [12, p. 117].
The Present Perfect can be rendered in Russian by the past perfective or imperfective.
How many pages have you translated for today? - Сколько страниц вы перевели к сегодняшнему дню? [12, p.118].
Have you ever translated technical articles? - Вы переводили когда-нибудь технические статьи? [12, p. 118].
2. The Present Perfect is used in adverbial clauses of time after the conjunctions when, till, until, before, after, as soon as to denote an action completed before a definite moment in the future.
Don't buy any more meat tomorrow until you have spoken to the mistress about it [ I, p.78].
I am not going till you have answered me [X, p.37].
3. The Present Perfect denotes an action which began in the past, has been going on up to the present and is still going on. In this case either the starting point of the action is indicated or the whole period of duration. The preposition for is used to denote the whole period of duration. Since is used to indicate the starting point of the action. If the conjunction since introduces a clause, the verb in this clause is in the Past Indefinite. Mr. Cowperwood, I have known you now for something like fourteen years [XV, p.260].
We have been engaged these four years [IX, p.81].
Where have you been since last Thursday? [XI, p.25].
Have you been alone, Florence, since I was here last? [IV, p.192].
This use of the Present Perfect is called the Present Perfect Inclusive. The Present Perfect Inclusive is used:
a) with verbs not admitting of the Continuous form.
“ There is nothing to be done. She's dead - has been dead for hours”, said the doctor [VIII, p.64].
b) in negative sentences [12, p.42-43].
I have not slept since that night [I, p.97].
c) with non-terminative verbs such as to live, to work, to study, to teach, to travel etc.[12, p.42-43].
I have worked upon the problem for a long time without reaching any conclusion [II.p.163].
The Present Perfect in this case is translated into Russian by the present or sometimes by the past imperfective.
I have know him for many years. - Я знаю его много лет.
I have always been fond of music. - Я всегда любил музику [12,p.120].
The Past Indefinite and the Present Perfect.
An action expressed by the Past Indefinite belongs exclusively to the sphere of the past, while the Present Perfect shows that a past occurrence is connected with the present time.
She is not well and has changed very much of late. She changed very much a great many years ago [ IV,p.212].
The present Perfect is never used with such adverbial modifiers of the past time as yesterday, the other day, last week etc. With such adverbial modifiers as today, this week etc., both the Present Perfect and the Past Indefinite are used. The tenses are used according to the principle mentioned above [11,p.15/p.35].
I have told you three times this week that she is coming home for a year [XIII,p.145].
I want your sister, the woman who gave me money today [ IV,p.251].
With the adverb just The Present Perfect is used.
I have just hired a new pianist from St. Joe - a Negro [XIII,p.76].
With the expression just now the Past Indefinite is used.
I saw you come in just now [XV,p.267].
1.3 The Past Perfect
The formation of the Past Perfect.
1. The Past Perfect is formed by means of the Past Indefinite of the auxiliary verb to have and Participle II of the notional verb.
2. In the interrogative form the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject. In the negative form the negative particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb.
Had I worked? I had not worked [12,p.121].
3. The contracted affirmative forms are:
I'd written. We'd written [12,p.121].
The contracted negative forms are:
I hadn't written. We hadn't written.
4. The negative-interrogative forms are:
Had he not written? Hadn't he written?
Had you not written? Hadn't you written? [12,p.122].
The use of the Past Perfect.
1. The Past Perfect denotes an action completed before a certain moment in the past. The moment may be indicated by another past action expressed by a verb in the Past Indefinite or by an adverbial phrase. (pict.3.)
pict.3.
They had walked only a few steps when a second group of tanks drew up on the side road [XII,p.130].
After she had cried out, she felt easier [XII, p.171].
Fortunately the rain had stopped before we started [I,p.80].
By this time Cowperwood had written Aileen under no circumstances to try to see him [XIV,p.62].
The clock had not struck when he reached Gray's Inn [V,p.231].
The definite moment can be understood from the situation.
The Squire had laid down his knife and fork, and was staring at his son in amazement [VIII,p.134].
The definite moment need not necessarily be expressed in the same sentence as the action expressed by the Past Perfect.
Everybody noticed how sad she was the whole evening. She had got an unpleasant letter [XVI,p.87].