week five

Question 1

Timeline elements

Answer 1

• the moment of speech ( S )
• the reference time ( R )
• the event time ( E )

Question 2

Perfect aspect traits

Answer 2

• Recursivity of aspect : you can combine the perfect aspect with the progressive and any tense !
• link to the past based on viewpoint : situation described via past relationship between the event time (E) and a point of reference (R)

Question 3

Present Perfect

Answer 3

“I’ve been on dating site”

• indicates that the action is in the ‘Pre-present’ = started to the past but is still relevant in the present

Question 4

Simple Past

Answer 4

“I was on dating site”

• the action is entirely situated in the past, with no relation to the present.

Question 5

Temporal Adjuncts as trigger words

Answer 5

“I’ve been teaching since I moved to France”
- “since” : refers to the starting point of a period , the simple past is used in the ‘since’-clause

“I’ve been working since I’ve lived in France”
- “since” : refers to a whole time period, the present perfect is used in the ‘since’-clause

Question 6

Distance in Time :

Answer 6

• perfect and single aspects does not necessarily relate to how long ago
• simple aspect + recent action : even a recent action, if looked at from a POV taking the entire action wholly in the past, can be simple
• perfect + distant action : even a distant action, if looked at from a POV considering the relationship between the past and the moment of reference, can be perfect.

Question 7

The three types of perfect

Answer 7

Continuative, Indefinite and Continuous

Question 8

Continuative Perfect

Answer 8

• the situation started in the past and has continued up till the moment of speech : “ We’ve been seeing each other for 2 years”
  (often translated in French by ‘depuis’ )
• commonly found with : situation type Activity , the adjuncts ‘for’, ‘since’

Question 9

Perfect Repetitive

Answer 9

• the situation has occurred before the moment of speech and may well repeat again after : “ the workers have been asking for better wages for months”
• commonly found with : all types of situation and adverbials to reinforce repetition ( again, over and over, more than, many times …)

Question 10

Perfect Indefinite

Answer 10

• the situation occurred in the past and is relevant to the moment of speech based on the curent activity: “I’ve studied Latin, let me try to read it”
• commonly found with all types of situation type but often accomplishments , associated adjuncts like ( before, ever, until till, for, already…)