Is it of much use?

[John Dunn]

Konstantin,

It might be helpful if you could illustrate this scheme using a real verb.  Though I am old enough to have been given a reasonably formal grounding in English grammar at school, one part of the system that was never properly explained to us was the tense system of the verb, perhaps because the model that underlay the grammar that we were taught was more appropriate for Latin than for English.  I mention this because one consequence of my ignorance is that whenever I come across an account of the English tense system intended for foreign learners, I find the terminology rather mystifying and often at odds with my own intuitive understanding.

John Dunn.    

________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Goloviznin Konstantin [kottcoos at GMAIL.COM]
Sent: 08 March 2012 11:18
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS] Is it of much use?

Hello Seelangers,

I think this should be of some interest or even more... Some linguist
(= teacher of English from Saint-Petersburg) has proposed a system of
English tenses. Instead of these he uses three times (=Past, Present,
Future) and three + 1 types of actions: one-time actions (=simple
tenses), processes or long-time actions (=progerssive ), results (=
perfects) + long-time results (= progressive perfects). That is, in
every of Past, Present, Future you can have three + 1 type of actions.

I see it real simpification in understanding what English tenses
really are. From another hand this classifier is universal because of
applicable to any language (for Russian as example).

And from the third hand, I consider a methodic having this classifier
in as a real hit, but others see it a miss.

Looking forward to your posts, Konstantin.

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