Future tense - Revision history

Volker gast: /* Future time reference in English */

2009-09-19T22:00:14Z

Future time reference in English

Volker gast at 21:59, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T21:59:34Z

Volker gast at 21:53, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T21:53:42Z

Volker gast at 21:37, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T21:37:46Z

Volker gast: /* Will/Shall + progressive infinitive */

2009-09-19T21:37:22Z

Will/Shall + progressive infinitive

Volker gast: /* Simple Present */

2009-09-19T21:36:45Z

Simple Present

Volker gast: /* Present Progressive */

2009-09-19T21:36:17Z

Present Progressive

Volker gast at 21:35, 19 September 2009

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Volker gast at 21:34, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T21:34:36Z

Volker gast at 21:11, 19 September 2009

2009-09-19T21:11:15Z

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 While English expresses past and present tense with affixes, future time reference is often encoded with [[analytic]] strategies (with modal auxiliaries and semi-modals). Moreover, under specific circumstances the present tense can used with future times reference.
-According to Leech (2002), the most common future construction of English is the one expressed with the modal auxiliaries ''will'' or ''shall'' followed by a [[base form]] of the verb (Leech 2002: 78). Furthermore the ''be going to''-construction is commonly used to refer to the future. In English as well as in other languages, futurity may be combined with other tenses or aspects to express “more subtle shades of meaning” (Hurford 1994: 77).
+According to Leech and Svartvik (2002), the most common future construction of English is the one expressed with the modal auxiliaries ''will'' or ''shall'' followed by a [[base form]] of the verb (Leech 2002: 78). Furthermore the ''be going to''-construction is commonly used to refer to the future. In English as well as in other languages, futurity may be combined with other tenses or aspects to express “more subtle shades of meaning” (Hurford 1994: 77).
 ===''Will/shall'' + infinitive===

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:59, 19 September 2009
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	There is another possibility of interpreting the constructions, namely as a “future as a matter of course” (Quirk et al. 1985: 216). This interpretation does not allow volition, intention, or promise and thus presents the future as something independent of all factors that could influence it. The construction is furthermore said to appear more polite and tactful, especially in questions.		There is another possibility of interpreting the constructions, namely as a “future as a matter of course” (Quirk et al. 1985: 216). This interpretation does not allow volition, intention, or promise and thus presents the future as something independent of all factors that could influence it. The construction is furthermore said to appear more polite and tactful, especially in questions.
		+
		+	==Literature==
		+	* Dahl, Östen. 2000. ''Tense and Aspect in the Languages of Europe''. Empirical Approaches to Language Typology: Eurotyp 20-6. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter Verlag.
		+	* Hilpert, Martin. 2008. ''Germanic Future Constructions: A Usage-Based Approach to Grammaticalization.'' Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
		+	* Hurford, R. James. 1994. ''Grammar. A Student`s Guide.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
		+	* Leech, Geoffrey. 1971. ''Meaning and the English Verb.'' Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
		+	* Leech, Geoffrey and Jan Svartvik. 2002. ''A Communicative Grammar of English.'' Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
		+	* Quirk, Randolph and Sidney Greenbaum. 1973. ''A University Grammar of English''. London: Longman Group Limited.
		+	* Quirk, Randolph et al. 1985. ''A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language''. London: Longman Group Limited.

	==Other languages==		==Other languages==

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:53, 19 September 2009
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	Alternatively, a '''future tense''' can be regarded as a [[tense]] which indicates that the [[topic time]] is located after the [[moment of speech]] (cf. Klein 1994).		Alternatively, a '''future tense''' can be regarded as a [[tense]] which indicates that the [[topic time]] is located after the [[moment of speech]] (cf. Klein 1994).
		+
		+	==Future tenses in European languages==
		+	The future tenses of European languages can be classified according to their sources of grammaticalization (cf. Dahl 2000: 317). The English auxiliary ''will'', for instance, developed from a marker which was originally restricted to intention-based future time reference into a general future marker. Besides such auxiliaries and other light verbs which extended their basic meanings, bound morphemes are also found as primary markers of future time reference. Those markers represent an advanced stage of grammaticalization (Dahl 2000: 325).
		+
		+	An inflectional future is found in several modern Romance languages, e.g in Italian, French and Spain. These future forms derive from the Latin Infinitive + ''habere'' (have) construction. The English ''going to''-construction is typical of several future tenses in Germanic and Romance languages such as Dutch, French and Portuguese. The construction is based on the meaning of the verb ''go'' followed by an infinitive. It originates from an intention-based construction expressing future time reference. In some languages the meaning has been extended from intention-based non-remote future time reference to non-intentional future time reference. In most of these languages there is an asymmetry between the markers of future time references and other tenses. In English, past tense is marked with a suffix while the future is marked by an auxiliary verb. SImilar systems are found in most Germanic languages. In general, these constructions are preferred for prediction-based rather than intention-based future time reference. Balkan languages prefer constructions based on the meanings 'want' and 'have' to refer to the future. Other future time markers originate from verbs meaning 'seize', 'take' and 'begin'.

	==Future time reference in English==		==Future time reference in English==

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 There is another possibility of interpreting the constructions, namely as a “future as a matter of course” (Quirk et al. 1985: 216). This interpretation does not allow volition, intention, or promise and thus presents the future as something independent of all factors that could influence it. The construction is furthermore said to appear more polite and tactful, especially in questions.
-===Other languages===
+==Other languages==
 *German [[Futur]]

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 ===''Will/Shall'' + progressive infinitive===
-Ex.: ''He will be scoring a goal.''
+Ex.: ''I will be driving into the city tomorrow.''
 ''Will/Shall'' + progressive infinitive constructions combine future time reference and a temporal frame associated with the progressive:

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 ===Simple Present===
-Ex.: ''He scores a goal.''
+Ex.: ''The train leaves tomorrow at eight.''
 The [[simple present]] with future time meaning is frequently used in conditional or temporal subordinate clauses starting with ''if'', ''even'', ''unless'', ''once'', ''until'' etc. If this is not the case and the simple present construction is used in a main clause, it implies absolute certainty since the future is determined in advance by calendar or timetable:
@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 (11)	We start for Istanbul tonight. (Leech 1971: 66)
 Since the simple present with future meaning refers to a definite future it is generally accompanied by a time adverbial.
 ===''Will/Shall'' + progressive infinitive===

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 ===Present Progressive===
-Ex.: ''He is scoring a goal.''
+Ex.: ''I'm going to the movies tonight.''
 The [[present progressive]] with future meaning refers to a future event anticipated in the present. In contrast to the ''going to''-construction, it does not imply a present intention or cause but rather an arrangement which has already been made. Leech (1971) describes the progressive construction in its futurate use as describing a “future event anticipated by virtue of a present plan, programme or arrangement” (Leech 1971: 62). The main difference between ''be going to'' and present progressive constructions is that in the latter case something has been predetermined. Consequently, progressive constructions often refer to the near future while ''going to''-constructions refer to the distant future. As a result of the implied plan or arrangement, the usage of progressive constructions is almost limited to verbs involving human agents. Since these constructions can imply present as well as future meaning, a time adverbial is often helpful to specify the meaning:

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 According to Leech (2002), the most common future construction of English is the one expressed with the modal auxiliaries ''will'' or ''shall'' followed by a [[base form]] of the verb (Leech 2002: 78). Furthermore the ''be going to''-construction is commonly used to refer to the future. In English as well as in other languages, futurity may be combined with other tenses or aspects to express “more subtle shades of meaning” (Hurford 1994: 77).
-===''Will/Shall'' + infinitive===
+===''Will/shall'' + infinitive===
 Ex.:  ''He will score a goal.''
@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 The volitional range the ''will''-construction covers intentions, willingness and insistence and thus extends from weak to strong volition (Quirk et al. 1985: 228).
 ===''Be going to'' + infinitive===
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 (9) 	They are washing the dishes now/later. (Quirk et al. 1973: 48)
 ===Simple Present===

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-A '''future tense''' is a [[tense]] which indicates that an event occurs after the [[moment of speech]] (cf. Comrie 1985). Alternatively, a '''future tense''' can be regarded as a [[tense]] which indicates that the [[topic time]] is located after the [[moment of speech]] (cf. Klein 1994).
+==Definition==
 According to Bybee, Perkins, and Pagliuca (1994: 244), a future tense expresses ''“a prediction on the part of the speaker that the situation in the proposition, which refers to an event taking place after the moment of speech, will hold.”''
 ===Other languages===