UNIT 19

THE VERB: TIME, TENSE, ASPECT AND MOOD

0. INTRODUCTION
1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1.1. LINGUISTIC LEVELS INVOLVED IN THE NOTION OF VERB PHRASE SEMANTICS .
1.2. ON DEFINING VERB PHRASE SEMANTICS: WHAT AND HOW.
2. VERB PHRASE
3. TIME
4. TENSE
4.1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
4.1.1. Meanings of the simple present tense with reference to
present time.
A. State Present
B. Habitual Present
C. Instantaneous present
4.1.2. Special non-present uses of the present tense
A. Simple Present referring to past
B. simple present referring to the future
C. simple present in fictional narrative
4.2. SIMPLE PAST TENSE
4.2.1. Meanings of the past tense with reference to past time
A. Situational Use of the Past tense
B. Anaphoric and cathaphoric use of the past tense
C. Event, State and Habit in the past.
4.2.2. Meaning of the past tense with reference to present and
future time
4.3. SOME MEANS OF EXPRESSING FUTURE TIME
4.3.1. Will/shall + infinitive
4.3.2. be going to + infinitive
4.3.3. Present progressive
4.3.4. Simple present
4.3.5. will/shall + progressive infinitive

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5. ASPECT
5.1. PERFECTIVE ASPECT 5.1.1. Perfective aspect in use
5.2. PROGRESSIVE ASPECT 5.2.1. Progressive aspect in use
5.3. THE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
6. THE VERB PHRASE SEMANTICS: MOOD
6. 1. DEFINITION: MOOD VS. MODALITY.
6.2. MOOD: THE GRAMMATICAL VIEW.
6.2.1. The indicative mood
6.2.2. The subjunctive mood
6.2.3. The imperative mood
6.3. MODALITY: THE SEMANTIC VIEW. 6.3.1. The modal operators.
6.4. SPELLING, PHONOLOGY AND SYNTAX.
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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0. INTRODUCTION

The unit under consideration is of special interest due to the important role of verbs in
everyday communication. Verbs provide the focal point of the clause. The main verb in a
clause determines the other clause elements that can occur and specifies a meaning relation
among those elements.
Verbs have certain features that are not shared by other parts of speech. These features are
the expressions of tense, aspect, time and mood. In this paper we are going to concentrate
on these four variations of verb phrases. First a theoretical framework for the unit will be
offered as means of locating the unit in linguistic terms. Then, some general considerations
will be made about the verb phrase. Finally, the concepts of time, tense, aspect and mood
will be analyzed in depth.
In order to deal with this analysis a number of relevant classical works in the field have been
used; the first one being Quirk and Greenbaum's major work, A University Grammar of
English (1973), which provides a thorough analysis of the English grammar, and the second
one, Thomson and Martinet's A Practical English Grammar (1986), which offers a practical
view of the English grammar. Nevertheless, some other current references have been used,
namely David Bolton and Noel Goodey, Grammar Practice in Context (1997) and Gerald
Nelson, English: An Essential Grammar (2002).

1. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Before examining in detail the notion of verb phrase semantics in English, that is, time,
tense, aspect and mood, it is relevant to establish first a theoretical framework for this
notion, since it must be described in grammatical terms. in fact, this theoretical chapter
aims at answering questions such as, first, where this notion is to be found within the
linguistic level; second, what it describes and how and, third, which grammar categories are
involved in its description at a functional level.

1.1. Linguistic levels involved in the notion of verb phrase semantics.

Yet, although there is no consensus of opinion on the number of levels to be distinguished,
the usual description of a language comprises four major components: phonology, grammar,
lexicon, and semantics, out of which we get five major levels: phonological, morphological
and syntactic, lexical, and semantic (Huddleston, 1988).
First, phonology describes the sound level, that is, how to pronounce the present and past
verb inflections (i.e. -s/-es third person singular and -ed past simple) and so on. Secondly, the
morphological level (i.e. verbal tense formation) and the syntactic level (i.e. how to place
verbal tenses in a sentence). Third, the lexicon, or lexical level, deals with lists of vocabulary
items which, for our purposes, are different types of verbs: lexical (also called full or
ordinary), primary and modal verbs.
Finally, another dimension between the study of linguistic form and the study of meaning is
semantics, or the semantic level, to which all four of the major components are related in
this study. We must not forget that a linguistic description which ignores meaning is
obviously incomplete, and in particular, when dealing with the notion of verb phrase
semantics, since it is from this linguistic field that we get the core of our study, the
expression of time, tense, aspect and mood.

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Therefore, we must point out that each of the linguistic levels discussed above has a
corresponding component when analyzing the notion under study. Thus, phonology deals
with pronunciation of present and past tenses (i.e. -s/-es third person singular and -ed past
simple); morphology deals with verbal tense formation (i.e. -s third person singular for
present simple; -ed for regular past simple tenses); and syntax deals with which
combinations of words constitute grammatical strings and which do not (i.e. not: went she
to the doctor's).
on the other hand, lexis deals with the notion of verb phrase semantics regarding the choice
between different types of verbal aspects (i.e. present vs. past forms, finite vs. non-finite
forms, progressive vs. non-progressive aspect, etc), and other means such as other formal
realizations of these notions (i.e. a noun phrase, a verbless clause, a finite clause, etc); and
finally, semantics deals with meaning where syntactic and morphological levels do not tell
the difference (i.e. he is coming tomorrow: present continuous with future sense).

1.2. On defining verb phrase semantics: what and how.

On defining the term 'verb phrase semantics', we must link this notion (what it is) to the
grammar categories which express it (how it is shown). Actually, on answering what is it?,
the term 'verb phrase semantics' is intended to add information about 'when?' a situation
has happened in order to locate it
(1) in real time, common to all mankind and independent from language, which is
represented by one straight line in terms of temporal dimensions (past, present, future );
(2) in the appropriate verbal tense so as to indicate the way grammar marks the time at
which the action takes place (present with future meaning; simple past);
(3) with respect to aspect, it refers to the duration or type of temporal activity denoted by
the verb, thus progressive (continuous) or non-progressive (perfect/perfective), that is,
indicating whether an action is in progress or is already completed; (4) and finally, the
situation is located in terms of mood, which refers to a set of syntactic and semantic
contrasts signaled by certain paradigms of the verbs such as indicative, subjunctive,
imperative. They follow a theoretical and descriptive study of sentence types, and in
particular, of verbs. Semantically, they convey a wide range of attitudes on the part of the
speaker and syntactically, these contrasts are conveyed by alternative and inflectional focus
of verbs, that is, by using auxiliaries or different verbal inflections.
Regarding how this type of semantics is expressed, there is no doubt that we shall deal
namely with verbs in order to realize real time and verbal tenses. However, we shall also be
helped by lexically specific and labelled 'areas' and 'locations' which shall indicate when
those actions are taking place, such as noun phrases (i.e. last year, next week ); adjectives
which refer to temporal ordering in terms of previous, simultaneous and subsequent time
reference (i.e. former, latter, simultaneous, next); time adverbs (i.e. yesterday, usually, just,
etc); and prepositional phrases (i.e. in the morning, at night). Moreover, we must not forget
specific clause structures, textual markers (conjunctions) and idiomatic expressions which
shall indicate temporal dimension as well (i.e. while I was working, he fainted; first, he gets
up and then, he has breakfast; for ages)

2. VERB PHRASE

Before considering the verb phrase in depth, some considerations should be made about it.
A verb phrase consists of one or more verbs. Verbs, as a class of words, can be divided into
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three major categories, according to their function within the verb phrase; we distinguish
the open class of FULL VERBS (or lexical verbs) such as "leave" from the closed classes of
PRIMARY VERBS (be, have and do) and of MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS (will, might, etc).
Another distinction can be made of verbs depending on the variations they refer to. Thus
FINITE VERBS phrases and NON FINITE phrases can be found:
A) FINITE VERB PHRASES: They show tense, mood, aspect and voice.
He made her happy.
(past tense/indicative mood/non perfective aspect/active voice)
They occur as the verb element of a clause. There is person and number concord
between the subject and the finite verb.
B) NON FINITE VERB PHRASES do not show tense or mood, but are still capable of
indicating aspect and voice. The non finite forms of the verb are the infinitive (to
love), the -ing participle (loving), and the -ed participle (loved).
• Loving: progressive aspect and active voice.
• Loved: perfective aspect and passive voice.

3. TIME

According to Jespersen time is common to all mankind and it is independent of language.

Time is universally conceived as something having one dimension only, capable of being
represented by one straight line.
_______________________________________________________________________
PAST PRESENT FUTURE

All languages in order to express time make use of tenses. However, the word time and
tense must not be confused in English. Tense stands for a verb form or series of verb forms
used to express a time relation. Tenses vary from language to language. Tenses indicate
whether an action or state is past, present or future.
Units of time are extralinguistic, universal and not grammatical. All languages in order to
cope with them, make use of tenses and in English there are only two verbal forms: present
tense and past tense.

4. TENSE

Tense is a category used in the grammatical description of verbs (along with aspect and
mood) referring to the way grammar marks the time at which the action denoted by the
verb took place. Traditionally, a distinction is made between past, present and future
1
tenses . These tense's focuses can be used to signal meanings other than temporal ones. In
English, for example the past tense form (e.g: I knew) may signal a tentative meaning and
not past time, in some contexts (e.g: I wish I knew). There is not a simple one-to-one
relationship between focus and time. The present tense in English may refer to future or
past time, depending on context (e.g: I'm going home tomorrow).

1
We understand by tense the correspondence between the form of the verb and our concept of time. the verb,
as defined here, has only two tenses. the present and the past. this is so because we restricted the use of the
term tense to those time-expressions which take the form of an inflexional verbal suffix. in English there are no
inflectional suffixes to express such traditional tenses as the perfect, the pluperfect, the future....

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According to Wales, in English, future time is commonly expressed by modal verbs
(will/shall) and also the present tense that there is some morphological indication of tense
(e.g. I go to London next week). Tense is realized by the base form (identical to infinitive)
except in the third person where "s" is added. The past tense is realized by the addition of "-
ed" or by a vowel change in irregular verbs (e.g. fall-fell).

4.1. Simple present tense

4.1.1. Meanings of the simple present tense with reference to present time.

A. State Present
With Stative verb senses (be, have, know, etc, have stative senses when they refer to
a single unbroken state of mind), the present is used without reference to specific
time. The STATE PRESENT, as we may call this category, includes general timeless
statements, or so-called "eternal truths":
The earth moves round the sun.
Two and four make six.

B. Habitual Present
It refers to a whole sequence of events, repeated over the period in question:
We go to Brussels every year.
Bill drinks heavily.
C. Instantaneous Present
While the habitual present is the most common meaning of the simple present with
a dynamic verb sense, a second possibility, the INSTANTANEOUS present, occurs
where the verb refers to a single action begun and completed approximately at the
moment of speech:
Beckham passes the ball to Owen.

4.1.2. Special non-present uses of the present tense

A. Simple Present referring to past

The so-called historic present is characteristic of popular narrative style:
I couldn't believe it! Just as we arrive, up comes Ben and slaps me on the back!
A very different use of the present tense in reference to the past is that found with
the verbs of communication:
The ten o'clock news says that is going to be a good weather.
Such verbs include also verbs like understand, hear and learn, which refer to the
receptive end of the communicative process:
I hear that Mark and Caroline have left the city.
The notion that the past can remain alive in the present also explains the optional
use of the present tense in sentences referring to writers, composers, artists, etc and
their works:
Like Picasso, Monet is/was able to convey an impression of vividness.

B. Simple Present referring to the future

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 In main clauses, this typically occurs with time-position adverbials to suggest that the
event is unalterably fixed in advance:
The plane leaves for Dublin at eight o'clock tonight.
In dependent clauses, the future use of the simple present is much more common,
particularly in conditional and temporal clauses.
He'll do it if you go with him. I'll pay you as soon as I receive the money.

C. Simple Present in fictional narrative

The normal convention establishes the past tense for story-telling. However, a
special exception is the use of the present in stage directions:
Bernarda Alba enters. The girls pretend to be working hard.

4.2. Simple past tense

4.2.1. Meanings of the past tense with reference to past

time The Past tense combines two features of meaning:
a) The event/state must have taken place in the past, with a gap between its
completion and the present moment.
b) The speaker or writer must have in mind a definite time at which the event/state
took place.

A. Situational Use of the Past tense

It refers to the use of the past in relation to an immediate situation:
Did you lock the front door?

B. Anaphoric and Cathaphoric use of the past tense

In line with the use of the term anaphoric with reference to the definite article, we
may call the use of the past tense "anaphoric" where the time in the past to which
the reference is made is already indicated by a previous use of the past tense. In this
sense, "was" is anaphoric in:
Then we entered the city ... the streets were crowded.
In other cases, anaphoric reference is to an adverbial of time in the same clause:
Last Friday, we went to a concert.
When the adverbial follows the past tense, this may be called the cataphoric use of
the definite past:
We went to a concert last Friday.

C. Event, State and Habit in the past.

1. Event Past: it refers to a single definite event in the past.
The American Civil War provoked many casualties.
2. State Past: It refers to a Past sequence of events.
Archery was a popular sport for the Victorians.
3. Habitual Past: It refers to past events that repeatedly occur.
In Ancient times, the Olympic Games were held at Olympia in Southern Greece.

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 4.2.2. Meaning of the past tense with reference to present and future time
Just as the simple present does not always refer to present time, so the past tense is not
always confined to past time reference. There are three special meanings to mention:
1. In Indirect Speech: the past tense in the reporting verb tends to make the verb of
the subordinate clause past tense as well.
He says he likes chocolate. He said he liked chocolate.
2. Attitudinal Past: it refers to attitudes of the speaker rather than to time.
Do/Did you want to see me now? I wonder/ed if you could come.
3. Hypothetical Past: it is used especially in subordinate if-clauses.
If you were rich, you would buy me a ring.

4.3. Some means of expressing future time

Although there is no future tense in English, there exist some constructions for expressing
future time. Futurity, modality, and aspect are closely interrelated, and this is reflected in
the fact that future time is rendered by means of modal auxiliaries, by semi-auxiliaries, or by
the simple present or present progressive forms.

4.3.1. Will/shall + infinitive

The most common way of expressing futurity is the modal auxiliary construction with WILL
and SHALL:
He will be here in a month.
The modal verb WILL is used with future meaning with subjects of all three persons. The
infrequent modal SHALL is used to indicate futurity, but only with a first person subject:
No doubt I shall see you next week.
Although SHALL and, particularly, WILL are the closest approximations to a neutral future,
they do cover a wide range of meaning with modal couloring, from prediction to volition.
Predictive WILL is particularly common in the clause superordinate to conditional or
temporal clauses:
You'll feel better if/when you say that secret.
Even where no conditional clause is present, there is nevertheless frequently an implication
that the future event or state of affairs will result from the fulfilment of certain future
conditions.
st nd
As far as the volitional sense of the future, WILL and SHALL especially with the 1 and 2
persons often express intention, e.g in making agreements, promises, threats...
How soon will you announce your decision?
We shall ensure that your car is repaired.

4.3.2. be going to + infinitive

Another construction frequently used to express futurity, especially in informal speech, is BE
GOING TO followed by infinitive. Its general meaning is "future fulfilment of the present".

Mark is going to lend us his computer.

4.3.3. present progressive

The present progressive can refer to a future happening anticipated in the present. Its basic
meaning is: future arising from present arrangement, plan or programme:
The match is starting at 3.30 (tomorrow).
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The progressive cannot normally be used with certain stative verb types (e.g. with the verb
"be") and this restriction also applies to the use of the progressive for future time:
NO — Strawberries are being more expensive next week.

4.3.4. Simple present

The simple present is, after the WILL/SHALL construction, the next most common means of
referring to future actions in English. This future use of the simple present is frequent,
however, only in dependent clauses, where it is regularly used after conditional and
temporal conjunctions such as IF and WHEN, as well as in some THAT-CLAUSES.
What will you say if I go to the party?
The guests will be drunk before they leave.

4.3.5. Will/shall + progressive infinitive

The modal verb construction WILL/SHALL can be used with the progressive infinitive in a
way which simply combines reference to a future time with the temporal frame associated
with the progressive:
When you reach the end of the bridge, I'll be waiting there to show you the way.

5. ASPECT
The term aspect refers to a grammatical category which refers the way in which the verb
action is regarded or experienced with respect to time. Unlike tense, aspect is not deictic, in
the sense that it is not relative to the time of utterance. For some purposes, the two aspect
constructions of English, perfective and progressive, can be seen as realizing a basic contrast
of aspect between the action viewed as complete (perfective), and the action viewed as
incomplete, i.e in progress (imperfective or progressive).
But this is an oversimplified view, as it is clear as soon as we observe that these two aspects
may combine within a single verb phrase (e.g. "I have been reading") is both perfective and
progressive). In fact, aspect is so closely connected in meaning with tense, that the
distinction in English grammar between tense and aspect is little more than a terminological
convenience which helps us to separate in our minds two different kinds of realization: the
morphological realization of tense and the syntactic realization of aspect.

5.1. Perfective aspect

The perfective aspect most often describes events or states taking place during a preceding
period of time. That period of time can be past or present time. The Present Perfect is much
more common than past perfect in conversation, news, and academic prose. However, past
perfect is somewhat more common in fiction. One of the easiest ways to see the functions
of present and past perfect is to consider the verbs that are most common with these
aspects.

5.1.1. Perfective aspect in use

HAS/HAVE BEEN
The Present Perfect have/has been is common in all registers. It often has a copular
use:
The Times has been critical to Redgrave's book.
Have/has been can also have a meaning similar to "go":
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 Where have you been?
<compare: Where did you go?

HAS/HAVE GOT and HAS/HAVE HAD

Two other common present perfect verbs are HAS/HAVE GOT and HAS/HAVE HAD.
HAS/HAVE GOT is extremely common in British English. It has a range of meanings
similar to the simple present tense HAVE:
John has got the letter. I've
got a problem actually.
She's got blond hair.

OTHER VERBS COMMON IN PRESENT PERFECT ASPECT

The other verbs most commonly used with present perfect aspect are some of the
most common verbs overall (e.g. gone, done, made, seen, come, said, taken,
become, given, shown, thought...). Most of these are physical or communication
verbs and their consequences may persist over an extended period of time:
He's gone home. <implying that he is still here>
Doctors in the region have called for a review of the prescription charge system
<implying that it is expected to be done>

VERBS THAT ARE RARE WITH PERFECTIVE ASPECT Some verbs rarely occur with the
present perfect. These are mostly verbs that describe mental or logical states:
- Mental States:
He needs it for something.
- Logical States:
Durkheim seeks to delimit what constitutes crime.
Other verbs that are rarely used in the present perfect refer to physical actions (like
glance, kiss, nod, scream, smile). These verbs usually describe brief actions:
She glanced at him shyly.

VERBS THAT ARE COMMON IN THE PAST PERFECT Like the simple past tense, past
perfect verb phrases are especially common in fiction. They are used especially for
reference to an early period in the middle of a past tense narrative:
He hadn't even been jealous of her dead husband.
Nancy had gone with them.
The most common verbs with the past perfect are some of the most common verbs
overall. These are mostly verbs that describe physical movements and other
activities (e.g. gone, come, left, given, got, etc.), speech acts (said, told), and mental
perceptions or thoughts (see, heard, known).

5.2. Progressive aspect

The progressive aspect describes activities or events in progress at a particular time, usually
for a limited amount of time. The present progressive describes events that are currently in
progress, or events that are going to take place in the future and about which the speaker
feels quite certain:
- Present progressive describing an event in progress:
What's she doing?
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 - Present progressive with future time reference:
I'm going with him next week.

Past progressive verbs describe events that were in progress at an earlier time:
I was just coming back from Witham.
It is sometimes assumed that the progressive aspect occurs only with dynamic verbs that
describe activities. However, the progressive is also used with verbs that describe a situation
or state. In this case, the progressive refers to the ongoing continuation of the state:
Chris is living there now.
I was sitting in my office smoking one of Laura's cigarettes.
Some of the most common verbs occurring with the progressive aspect describe a short-
term state, like most of the examples above.

5.2.1. Progressive aspect in use

The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb "be"+
the present participle. E.g. I am working. The past continuous tense is formed by the past
tense of the verb to "be"+ the present participle. E.g. I was working.
The progressive or continuous aspect focuses on the situation as being in progress at a
particular time, so the situation has limited duration and it is not necessarily complete.
Verbs that are stative do not occur in the progressive and if they do occur they adopt
dynamic meanings. They may indicate a type of behaviour with limited duration.
I'm having to take my exam soon.

In English we can find two types of progressive:

THE EVENT PROGRESSIVE

It is used with dynamic verb senses to refer to an event that has duration and is not
completed:
I was reading an economics book last night.

THE HABITUAL PROGRESSIVE

It is used with dynamic verb senses to refer to events that repeatedly occur over a
limited period of time. It is important to emphasize that the progressive in English
implies temporariness whereas the non-progressive implies "permanence".
She's writing some short stories - TEMPORARINESS
She writes short stories - PERMANENCE
The habitual progressive is not used to refer to sporadic events:
She's sometimes walking to the office.
The non-progressive is required for this purpose:
She sometimes walks to the office.
The habitual progressive in combination with indefinite frequency adverbs such as
"always" and "continually", loses its temporary meaning and conveys "disapproval".
Bill is always working late at the office.
The relationship between a simple form is normally one of time sequence. E.g. When
we arrived, John made some fresh coffee. The relation between progressive and a
simple form is that of time-inclusion. E.g. When we arrived, John was making some
coffee (the arrival took place during the coffee making).
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 5.3. The perfect progressive
Verb phrases can be marked for both aspects (perfect and progressive) at the same time:
- Present perfect progressive:
God knows how long I've been doing it.
Have I been talking out loud?
- Past perfect progressive:
For months she had been waiting for that particular house.
The combination of the two aspects conveys the sense of a situation in progress with
limited duration:
I've been writing a letter to my aunt.
If the perfect progressive sense is combined with process predications, the verb phrase the
conveys the possibility of incompleteness.
I've been cleaning two windows (the job may not be finished).
The present perfect progressive may be used with dynamic verb senses to refer to a
temporary habit up to the present and possibly into the future.
Martin has been scoring plenty of goals (this season). The
perfect progressive may combine with the past tense and with modals.
By Friday, we'll have been living here for ten years (the temporary state is earlier than the
time in the future, indicated by Friday).
This combination with past tense or modal can be accompanied by an adverbial of time
position.
I had been talking with him only last Monday. I must have been talking with him last
Monday.

6. THE VERB PHRASE SEMANTICS: MOOD

In this section, then, we shall analyze the verb phrase semantics with reference to mood. In
doing so, we must introduce first (1) a definition of mood in contrast to modality; (2) mood
approached from two different perspectives: (a) the grammatical view and (b) the semantic
view, called respectively mood and modality. This analysis of aspect includes morphological,
phonological and syntactic comments when necessary.

6. 1. Definition: mood vs. modality.

Following Huddleston (1988), as we must distinguish between tense, a category of
grammatical form, and time, a category of meaning, it is relevant as well to distinguish
grammatical mood from semantic modality. Mood is defined as the grammatical term used
to denote the forms that a verb takes to show the manner in which the action is thought by
the speaker, that is, as ordinary statements or questions (the indicative mood as factual
predication), as wishes or recommendations (the subjunctive mood as nonfactual
predication) and finally, as commands and other directive speech acts (the imperative mood
as counterfactual predication).
Mood will approach the speaker's attitudes from a grammatical point of view which,
undoubtedly, needs of a semantic feature in order to amplify the forms that a verb can take
to show the manner in which an action is conceived in terms of attitudes, that is, it needs of
a variety of linguistic devices, lexical, grammatical and prosodic, which are the modal
operators. Then, we shall approach the notion of mood from a grammatical and a semantic
point of view in order to review the relationship between mood and time, tense and aspect.
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 6.2. Mood: the grammatical view.
As stated before, mood is a verbal paradigm represented by the oppositions indicative vs.
subjunctive vs. imperative within finite verb phrases. Since finite verb phrases have mood to
indicate the speaker's attitude in his speech, for instance, facts, wishes or commands, we
distinguish three main moods: indicative, subjunctive and imperative, respectively. Whereas
the indicative mood is defined as 'unmarked', the imperative and subjunctive moods are
defined as 'marked'.
These three moods are not so clear-cut in English as they are in other languages such as
Spanish, French or Italian. For instance, in English the indicative and the subjunctive forms in
the present share the same spelling (i.e. It is true vs. I hope it is true, respectively) whereas
in the past forms, only the verb 'be' has distinct forms for the indicative and the subjunctive
(i.e. He was a sensible man vs. He would not go if he were a sensible man), although this
trend has recently changed into the duality of usage between 'was' and 'were'. But let us
examine the three types of mood.

6.2.1. The indicative mood

The indicative mood indicates 'facts' and 'states' concerned with the truth-value of the
speakers' speech, that is, with their attitude. It is mainly conveyed by factual verbs which
express the action as a real fact (i.e. admit, agree, answer, believe, declare, deny, expect,
hope, insist, know, report, say, see, suggest, suppose, think, and understand among others).
The indicative mood can be distinguished by the following features: (1) it can occur as the
verb phrase of independent clauses (i.e. She will cook if he washes up); (2) it has tense
contrast, that is, distinction between present and past tenses (i.e. He is a doctor vs. He was a
doctor); (3) it shows person and number concord between the subject of a clause and the
finite verb phrase, especially with the third person singular in the present tense (i.e. I/You
love but he/she/it loves). Note that concord is particularly clear with the present tense of
'be' (i.e. I am, you/we/they are, he/she/it is) and no concord at all with modal auxiliaries (i.e.
I/You/He can swim).

6.2.2. The subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood is used to express the actions from as subjective point of view, not as
a real fact but as volition or wish and, hence, it is common to find it in subordinate clauses.
Traditionally, we find two forms of the subjunctive mood: the present and past subjunctive,
although the distinction relates more to mood than to tense.
The present subjunctive is namely expressed by the base form of the verb, for instance, 'be'
in contrast to the indicative forms 'am, is, are'. For other verbs, the subjunctive is distinctive
only in the third person singular, for instance, 'I insist that we talk about it' (indicative or
subjunctive) vs. 'I insist that Ann talk about it'. On the other hand, the past subjunctive (or
were-subjunctive) survives nowadays in the forms 'was' and 'were', so it is not
distinguishable from the indicative form any more (Nelson, 2001).
Greenbaum & Quirk (1990) distinguish two main types of subjunctive: the present and the
past subjunctive. First, (1) the present subjunctive expresses a necessity, plan or intention in
the future and is classified into two main types: the mandative subjunctive and the formulaic
subjunctive: (a) The former one is namely used in that-clauses after expressions denoting
demand, recommendation, proposal, intention and so on (i.e. I
prefer/recommend/propose/it is desirable/etc). Note that this use is more characteristic of
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American English than British English. Secondly, (b) the formulaic (or optative) subjunctive
mood is used in certain expressions such as God save the Queen, Long live the King, Come
what may,...;Heaven forbid that, Be that as it may,...; Suffice it to say that... and so on.
On the other hand, (2) the past subjunctive is used in formal style and is hypothetical in
meaning. It is namely used in conditional and concessive clauses and in subordinate clauses
after 'wish' , 'suppose' and 'imagine' (i.e. If I were rich, I would.../I wish you were here/Just
suppose everybody were rich for one day). In nonformal styles, the hypothetical past
(second conditional) replaces subjunctive 'were' (i.e. I wish she was not married).

6.2.3. The imperative mood

The imperative mood is the last element in finite verb clauses which expresses commands,
orders and requests. The imperative verb, however, is restricted as to tense, aspect, voice,
and modality.
There is no tense distinction or perfect aspect, and only very rarely does the progressive
form occur (i.e. Be preparing lunch when he comes in). Similarly, a passive is quite rare (i.e.
Get washed). Note that modal auxiliaries do not occur at all in imperative sentences.
One of its main characteristic is that it appears in sentences which have no overt
grammatical subject (i.e. Call Tom for dinner!) but makes implicit reference to the second
singular and plural person (you, we). Another relevant feature is that commands may sound
abrupt unless toned down by markers of politeness such as 'please' (i.e. Please, sign here).
Even this achieves a minimum degree of ceremony or a more tactful form of request (i.e. I
wonder if you would kindly sign here).
Quirk & Greenbaum (1973) distinguish five main types of commands: (a) commands without
a subject, (b) with subject, (c) commands with let, (d) negative commands and (e) persuasive
imperatives. First, (a) commands without a subject is the most common category of
imperatives (i.e. Come here!); (b) commands with a subject are confirmed when the second
person pronoun 'you', usually omitted, appears as a tag-question (i.e. Be quiet, will you? ).
(c) Moreover, commands with 'let' are formed by let + us/me/you + bare infinitive to
indicate an objective point of view (i.e. Let us examine this point); (d) negative commands
are used to negate the second and third person imperatives, simply adding 'Don't' (i.e. Open
your book vs. Don't open your book); and finally, (e) the persuasive imperative, which is
created to express persuasion or insistence by the addition of 'do' (with a nuclear tone)
before the main verb (i.e. Do let's go to the cinema ).

6.3. Modality: the semantic view.

It should be borne in mind that in the relationship of time and tense regarding modality, we
are dealing with just two tenses in English: past and present by means of modal operators.
Note that unlike such languages as French and Latin, English has no future tense. This means
that in English there is no verbal category so as to locate any situation in future time. Yet,
futurity is of course very often indicated by the modal operator will (i.e. He will see her
tomorrow).
It is worth mentioning that the will construction, however, does not satisfy the conditions
for analysis as a future tense. Grammatically will is a catenative, not an auxiliary, hence not
the marker of a verbal category. Moreover, will would belong grammatically to the category
of modal operators, which would be mood markers. Like them, it has no non-tensed forms
and shows no person-number agreement with the subject, but carries either the past tense
inflection (would) or the present (will).
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And finally, from a semantic point of view, will involves elements of both futurity and
modality, and has the sense of 'remoteness' from the present, thus not immediately
accessible. This association is reflected in the use of the past tense to indicate factual
remoteness as well as past time. Now let's move on to examine the main means to express
modality, the modal operators and their main features.

6.3.1. The modal operators.

Yet, there are a considerable number of lexical items with modal meanings, among which
we include the class of modal operators: may, must, can, will, shall, should, ought, need,
and also be and have in some of their uses (i.e. You are to be back by ten or You'll have to
work harder). These modal operators are used to convey a considerable range and variety of
meanings which will provide a basis for the general semantic category of modality and the
grammatical category of mood.
Modal operators are to be grouped under three headings although we must bear in mind
that in the three uses, lots of sentences out of context, allow more than one interpretation:
(1) epistemic uses, (2) deontic uses and (3) subject-oriented uses:
(1) First, regarding the term 'epistemic', it derives from the Greek word 'knowledge'
and therefore, its use involves implications concerning the speaker's knowledge of
the situation in question: possibility (He may come tonight), certainty (She must be
his girlfriend) and prediction (He will have finished by ten).
(2) The term 'deontic' derives from the Greek word for 'binding', and in these uses
we are concerned with obligation (must, have to ), prohibition (mustn't, don't have
to), permission (can) and the like. Thus, those most typically used to give permission
are 'can/may' (i.e. You can have a chocolate); we have 'must' to impose an obligation
(i.e. You must be in bed before midnight); and we have 'shall' to put oneself under
an obligation (i.e. You shall have your money back).
(3) Subject-oriented uses involve some property, disposition or the like on the part of
whoever or whatever is referred to by the subject, as in 'She can run faster than me' ,
concerning her physical capabilities, and 'She wouldn't lend me the money I need',
concerning her willingness.

6.4. Spelling, phonology and syntax.

We shall point out the most relevant features of the three types of mood. (1) First, regarding
morphological features, the indicative mood shows specific morphological markers such as
the distinction between present and past tenses, person and number concord between the
subject of a clause and the finite verb phrase, especially with the third person singular in the
present tense and no concord at all with modal auxiliaries. The subjunctive mood shares
similar features with the indicative mood except in certain clauses where the -s third person
singular is omitted. Finally, the imperative mood shows an absence of subject, except in tag-
questions.
(2) Secondly, regarding pronunciation, the indicative mood presents special rules when
pronouncing the third person singular in the simple present tense. With respect to the
subjunctive form, no special mention is done and finally, take into account the
pronunciation of the imperative forms which, for instance, in the persuasive type, 'do' is
pronounced with a nuclear tone before the main verb. Another relevant feature is that
commands may sound abrupt unless toned down by markers of politeness such as 'please'
(i.e. Please, sign here).
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(3) Regarding syntax, we must point out certain specific structures in the formulaic
subjunctive in certain expressions such as God save the Queen, Long live the King and so on.
Moreover, one of the most relevant syntactic characteristic of the imperative form is that it
appears in sentences which have no overt grammatical subject (i.e. Call Tom for dinner!) and
this achieves a minimum degree of ceremony and a more tactful form of request (i.e. I
wonder if you would kindly sign here).

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Aarts, F., and J. Aarts. English Syntactic Structures. Functions & Categories in Sentence
Analysis. Prentice Hall Europe. 1988.
Greenbaum, S. and R. Quirk. A Student's Grammar of the English Language. London:
Longman Group UK Limited, 1990.
Greenbaum, S. The Oxford Reference Grammar. Edited by Edmund Weiner. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
Huddleston, R. and G.K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.
Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Quirk, R & S. Greenbaum. A University Grammar of English. Longman, 1973.
Thomson, A.J. and A.V. Martinet. A Practical English Grammar. Oxford University Press,
1986.

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