Дипломная работа: Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in modern English

oppositions – represent an event on the plane of content of morphological forms which is reflected on the plane of expression .

e.g.: Mr. X arrives at London airport tomorrow .

I am taking the girl to London next week .

(neutralization)

The author gives definitions of abstract grammatical categories which find expression in the tense-aspect microsystem (active). There are three in number: tense, temporal relativity (perfect-ness) and aspect (durative) .

We agree with the author that «the items selected for study here represent the most debatable parts of morphology. It concerns, first of all, the grammatical categories of the verb». Before presenting some facts at lecture a teacher have to transfer them according to the student's understanding.

Stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms can be presented only in conditions of an utterance. An utterance is expressed by means of words and sentences. I.P. Verkhowskaya in her monograph «Tense-Aspect forms in English Complexs Sentence» conveys some results of her research work in the frames of the complex sentences (18290 examples). The author presents three tenses: Present, Past, Future Indefinite and shows how to use them according to the Sequences of Tenses. She pays her special attention to how to use the Present and Past Perfect and completes specific qualification in the frames of the complex sentence.

At the same time of discussion on a question about stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms in Modern English we, the teachers, have to expand the students’ skill in the sphere of grammatical usage of these forms in utterances. In this case we can elicit a lot of examples given by I.P. Verkhovskaya in her monograph.

«Practical Stylistics of English» written by L.P. Efimov is an attempt to supply the student of English Stylistics with a practical appendix to the lecture and seminar course of stylystic study. The f purpose of this book is to aid the teaching process by which a student becomes aware of the richness and variety of English stylistic means of communication. The author writes that the central notion of Morphologicai Stylistics is the notion of transposition : a divergence between the traditional usage of a neutral word and its situational (stylistic) usage. Transposition of verb is even more varied than that of nouns. It is explained by a greater number of grammatical categories the meanings of which may be transposed. Mast expressive are tense forms, mood and voice forms. One of peculiar features of English tense forms is their polysemantism : the same form may realize various meanings in speech . Deviation from the general meaning makes verbs stylistically coloured.

e.g.: (Present continuous as future time.)

Pete is staring a new life tomorrow.

(The present continuous introduces the negative connotations of irritation, regret, sadness and others)

John is constantly grumbling .

There is a rule that verbs of sense perception and mental activity are not used in the continuous tense forms. This rule is often broken intentionally or subconsciously. In both cases verbal forms convey additional stylistic meanings of subjective modality:

e.g.: I an seeing you = I am not blind.

e.g.: I am understanding you = You need not go into further details.

I am feeling your touch = So tender you are, etc.

The author marks that «historical present» brightens the narration, raises its emotional tension, expresses intrigue, makes the continuity of events visual and graphic.

e.g.: It was yesterday and looked this way. The perpetrator comes to his victim, takes a long dagger out of his inner pocket and stabs the poor man right into. – his belly without saying a word…

Transposition is not the only way to make expressive. A good many verbal forms are expressive in themselves, for example, the imperative mood .

e.g.: Just come to me now – «may contextually imply love or hate, threat of warning, promise or desire.

The wide range of subjunctive mood forms offers a good stylistic choice of synonymous ways to verbalize one and the same idea.

e.g.: It is time for me to go (stylistically neutral)

It is time that I went (bookish and obsolescent)

In many contexts passive verbal forma are more expressive.

e.g.: A round table occupied the centre of the room,

cf: The centre of the room was occupied by a round table.

e.g.: They answered him nothing=He was answered nothing.

All these notes are very important for our paper: they give some additional features to our subject but it is not enough for leaning in the frames of stylistic potential of tense-aspect verbal forms.