A C T A U N I V E R S I T A T I S l o d z i e n s i s

FOLIA LIXCUISTICA U , 1986_____________________

J a m ie z W r b le w s k i

THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE AND IT S POLISH EQUIVALENTS

One o f t h e m o s t d iffic u lt p ro b lem s fa c in g p eo p le le a rn in g

E n g lish as a fo re ig n la n g u a g e i s th e use of th e g ra m m a tic a l
t e n s e s . The stru c tu re o f th e E n g lish te n se s is fa irly easy to
m a ste r (at le a s t In w r i t i n g ) , b u t even t h o s e l e a r n e r s who n e v
er fo rg e t to in se rt an " i s " betw een "Joan" and " w ritin g a
le ttu r" s e l d o m know th e range o f th e situ a tio n a l usage of th e
te n se in q u e s tio n , and very few e v e r come t o fu lly re a liz e its
m e an in g .
T he m o s t co m p lic a te d of all th e E n g lish te n s e s is u n d o u b t
ed ly th e F u tu re -P e rfe c t-C o n tin u o u a -in -th e -P a st, but fo rtu n a te ly
one does n o t o f t e n m eet w ith s e n te n c e s lik e : "S ay, Jo h n , do you
know t h a t i f you h ad n o t come o n t i m e , b y now I w o u l d h a v e b e e n
w a i t i n g f o r you f o r fo rty f iv e m in u tes? " o r "N o, i t ' s to o la te
to v i s i t h er; s h e t o l d me t h i s m o rn in g t h a t by te n o 'c lo c k she
w o u ld h av e been s le e p i n g so u n d ly for a t le a st tw o h o u r s . " How
ever, one does e n c o u n te r's e n te n c e s lik e "H a v e y o u b e e n to Lon
don?" o r "H a v e y o u s e e n H aiders o f th e L o st A rk? " , and th e P re s e n t
P e r f e c t T ense seem s to b e no l e s s d i f f i c u l t to com prehend.
Its nam e s u g g e s t s th * t i t is a p resen t te n se , but its m e an
in g i n v o l v e s an a c t i o n w h ich i s p a st; on th e o t h e r h a n d , i t is
n o t n o rm ally u&ed w i t h "an adverb o f co m p letely p a s t and fin
ish e d t i m e " 1. T he nam e i s not a te rrib ly im p o rta n t fa c to r and

J , K. W a r d , The Use o f Tenses in E n g lish, London 1954, p. 47;

b u t c f . a l s o * . K. P a l m e r , The E nglish verb, London 1974, p. 42;
T . K r z e s z o w s k i , Gramatyka angielska d la Polakw, Warszawa
1980, p. 90; c f . a l s o i d e m , A n g ie lsk ie czasy perfektyw he w p rocesie
nauczania , "Z eszyty Naukowe U" 1967, No 48, pp. 131-140; i d e m , Teach
in g E nglish to P o lish Learners , Warszawa 1970, p. 112.
can e a s i l y be changed - in f a c t some d i f f e r e n t nam es h a v e a l-
2
ready been p ro p o sed , f o r ex a m p le K o rsak o v , o ffers a co in ao e
3
th e B e fo re p re se n t S t a t i c , w hereas K rzeszo w sk i fo llo w s R eich en -
4
bach and p o s t u l a t e s t h a t th e w ord " p e r f e c t be re p la c e d w ith
a n te rio r" - b u t th e p ro b le m s o f m ean in g and u sa g e rem a in .
Some e x p l a n a t i o n a s t o why a p r e s e n t te n se can d en o te a p a s t
a c tio n is p ro v id e d by th e h isto ry of th is te n se .
T he P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T e n s e d e v e lo p e d from O ld E n g l i s h stru c
tu r e s o f th e ty p e "I have i t done", w hose "h a v e" was of course
n o t c a u sa tiv e , b u t had th e b a s i c m ean in g o f "hold" o r "possess",
and w hose " d o n e " was o rig in a lly in fle c te d fo r case and n u m b er,
in agreem ent w ith th e d i r e c t o b je c t o f th e a p p ro p ria te form of
"to have"5.
R e le v a n t and u s e f u l as i t is, how ever, th e e x p la n a tio n is
f a r fro m b e i n g su ffic ie n t, fo r th e p re se n t-d a y P resen t P erfect
is c o n s i d e r a b l y m o re c o m p l e x t h a n its an c e sto r.
G en e ra lly s p e a k in g , th e p re se n t-d a y P re s e n t P e r f e c t T ense has
tw o f u n c t i o n s - it is used e ith e r to d en o te an a c t i o n co m p leted
a t any tira s b e f o r e th e p r e s e n t, o r to show t h a t a n a c t i o n b e g a n
to happen in th e p a s t b u t has n o t y et fin ish e d , i.e . it is
still h a p p e n in g a t t h e m om en t o f sp e a k in g . The f o rm e r is c a ll
ed th e F i n is h e d " U se, th e l a t t a r - t h e " U n f i n i s h e d " U s e 6 . The
" U n f i n i s h e d " U se is very ea sy to e x p la in . T he t r o u b l e sta rts
w ith th e a n a ly s is o f th e "F in ish e d " U se, because m o st gram m ar
ia n s te n d to o v e rlo o k its h e te ro g e n e ity .

2
A. K. K o r s a k o v , The te e o f Tenses in E n g lish , Kiev 1978.
3 r z e s z o v s k i , G ram atyka...
4 i
H. R e i c h e n b a c h , Elements o f Symbolic Logic, New York 1947.
5 For more i n f o r m a t i o n as w ell as f o r some Old and Middle E n g lish Examples
se e f o r i n s t a n c e s e e : R. B e r n d t , H istory o f th e E nglish Language, L e i
p z i g 1982, pp. 154-156; c f . a l s o H. S w e e t , A New E nglish Grammar, v o l .
2, O xford 1398, pp. 8 6 -8 7 ; G. 0 . C u r m e , S y n ta x , [ i n : ] G. 0 . C u r m e ,
J . A. u r a t h , A Grammar o f the E nglish Language, v o l . 3, Boston 1931,
pp . 3 5 8 -3 5 9 ; G. 0 . C u r m e , Part o f Speech and Accidence, [ i n : ] C u r-
m e , u r a t h, Grammar..., v o l . 2 , B oston 1935, pp. 320-321; J . M a -
j e r, The p resen t p e r fe c t Tense, and i t s P olish E q u iva len ts, U n iv e r s it y of
d 1974, u n p u b l . A. t h e s i s .
6 A fter Wa r d, op. c i t .; th e s e two fu n c tio n s a r e r e f e r r e d to as Ex
c l u s i v e and I n c l u s i v e , r e s p c c t i v e l l y , by G. G r a u s t e i n e t a l . , En
g l i s h Grammar. A U n iv e r s ity H andbook, L eip zig 1977, p. 160.
 THE "FINISHED" USE

The u s u a l e x p l a n a t i o n of th is use o f th e P re s e n t P e r f e c t is
th a t th e te n se is e m p lo y ed t o e x p r e s s an a c t i o n w h ich to o k p l a c e
in th e p a s t , b u t th e re su lts o f w h ich a r e s t i l l in e x iste n c e ,
7
and i t is th e re su lts t h a t are b ein g s tr e s s e d h ere . F o l l o w i n g W.

M au rice . som e g r a m m a r i a n s observe th e d iffe ren ce in th e d i
re c tn e ss o f th e re su lts o f s o m e b o d y 's h a v i n g come s o m e w h e r e and
o f som ebodys h a v in g r e a d a book, and d i s t i n g u i s h b etw een o b j e c
tiv e (o r d ire c t) and s u b je c t iv e (in d ire c t) re su lts, th e la tte r
b e in g u n d e rsto o d very b r o a d ly , y e t even w ith th is re se rv a tio n ,
th e e x p la n a tio n , a lth o u g h n o t u n ac c e p ta b le , does n o t seem ad
eq u a te .
F irst of a ll, th e n o tio n o f in d ire c t re su lts appears to be
co m p letely g r o u n d le s s . A cco rd in g to tra d itio n a l gram m ars, a se n
ten ce lik e

(1) I have re a d David C o p p e rfie ld .

w o u ld in p ly th a t th e s p e a k e r kno w s t h e c o n te n ts o f th e book and

is ab le to d isc u ss i t , t h i s k n o w led g e an d a b i l i t y b e i n g t h e re-
9
su its in q u e stio n . Any p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t th e s p e a k e r w an ts to
co n v e y s u c h an id e a c a n n o t be e x c lu d e d , b u t th e id e a is not
in h e re n t in th e P re s e n t P e r f e c t T ense: re a d in g and rem em b erin g
a r e n o t t h e sa m e t h i n g , a n d a p e r s o n who h a s r e a d some b o o k s may
in s is t th a t he has r e a d them e v e n i f he has a bad irem ory and
d o e s n o t rem em ber h a l f o f th e m .
S e c o n d l y , we f i n d e x a m p l e s w h i c h re fu te th e tn e o ry of d ire c t
re su lts.
(2) The sev en te en -fo u rte en tra in has come ana gone. v jo n n
C h eev er)10.

7 C f. f o r e x a n p l e : F . V. B y w a t e r , A P ro ficien cy Course in E nglish,

London 1969; J . C y g a n, O znaczeniach k a te g o rii gramatycznych czasowni
ka a n g ielsk ie g o , " j z y k i Obce w S z k o le " 1966, n r 2 ( 4 9 ) , p p . 6 5 -7 3 ; V. L.
K a u s h a n s k a y a e t a l . , A Grammar o f th e E nglish Language, L e n in
g r a d 1S73; J . B. K h l e b n i k o v a , Binary R s l a t i o n s in Horphology
( wi t h Specia l R eference to the E nglish Verb), " P h i l o l o g i c a P r a g e n s i a " 1964, no
7 (.46 )2 , pp. 150-158; A. P r e j b i s z , Gramatyka j f z y k a a n g ie lsk ieg o ,
Warszawa 1959.
til
W. M a u r i c e , P r e s e n t . Past and future Versus P e r fe c t, " Z e i t
s c h r i f t f r F r a n z s i s c h e n und E n g l i s c h e n U n t e r r i c h t " 1927 Bd. 2 , H. 7 , p.
524 ( a f t e r K o rsa k o v , op. c i t . , p . 4 3 ) .
P r e j b i s z , op. c i t . , p . f15 .
The e x a u p le i s ta k e n from K o r s a k o v , op. c i t . , p. 44.
 (3) I 'v e h i t i t tw ic e , b u t i t ' s still sta n d in g up11.

A n aly sed r s u l t a t ! v e l y , se n ten c e (2) y ie ld s co n tra d ic to ry re

su lts, and s e n te n c e (3) w h a t P alm e r c a l l s "n il re su lts" . U nder
th e re su lta tiv e in te rp re ta tio n th e first p a r t o f se n te n c e (2 ) -
th e tra in h a s come - w o u l d mean t h a t a t th e m om ent o f sp e a k in g
th e tra in is still a t th e sta tio n , m ean w h ile th e second part
makes i t p e rfe c tly clea r th a t it is alread y som ew here else ,
fu rth e r on i t s w ay. S in ce t h a t is im p o s sib le , th e re seem s to
b e no o th e r e x p la n a tio n b u t th a t th e th o u g h t of re su lts is not
th e s p e a k e r 's reaso n f o r em p lo y in g th e P re s e n t P e r f e c t. As B r y a n
sta te s :

" I b eliev e th at any i d e a t h e r e ia of r e s u lts o r co n se q u e n c e s i s n o t im p lie d

i n th e p e r f e c t ten se form b u t d e r i v e s from th e meaning o r c h a r a c t e r o f th e
v erb, o r from t h e c o n t e x t , o r from th e s t a t e m e n t as a w h o le . That is to
a s s i g n to the p e r f e c t tense form i t s e l f a r e s u l t a t i v e f u n c t i o n means a f a i l -
. . 12
ure in a n aly sis

W hat t h e n i s th e t r u e m ean in g o f th e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t ?
A cco rd in g to T w a d d e ll, th e te n s e ( o r w hat he c a lls M o d ifi
c a tio n II)

"e x p lic itly l i n k s an e a r l i e r event o r sta te w i t h th e c u r r e n t s i t u a t i o n . It

sig n als a sig n ific a n t p ersisten ce of re su lts, a co n tin u ed tru th v alu e, a
v alid , p r e s e n t r e l e v a n c e o f th e e ffe c ts of e a r lie r e v e n ts , th e co n tin u ed re
l i a b i l i t y o f c o n clu sio n s b a s e d on e l a r l i e r b e h a v i o r " 1^.

T w a d d e ll's d e f i n i t i o n i s p ro b a b ly s u f fic ie n tly broad to in c lu d e

every se n te n c e in th e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t , but its p h rasin g i s ra th
er u n fo rtu n a te because re le v a n c e is re la tiv e , and b e s id e s h is
d e sc rip tio n does n o t e x c lu d e s e n te n c e s in t h e P a s t S i m p l e . Twad
d ell h im s e lf ad m its th a t th e 'P a s t' m o d ific a tio n by no means
d e n ie s such c u r r e n t r e le v a n c e " 14.

' ' p a l m e r , op. c i t . , p . 50.

12
W. F. 3 r y a n , The P r e te r ite and th e P erfec t Tense in Present-D au
E n g lish . " J o u r n a l o f E n g l i s h and G erm anic P h i l o l o g y " 1936, v o l . 35, p . 363-
- 3 8 2 , 369 ( a f t e r M a j e r , op. c i t . ) ; c f . a lso A. A. H i I 1 , Introduc
tio n to L in g u is tic S tru c tu re s: from Sound to Sentence in E n g lish , New
York 1958, p . 212; R. L. A 1 1 e n , The \erb System o f Present-Day Ameri
can E n g lish , The Hague 1966, p p. 1 42-143.
JO
rf. F . T w a d d e l l , The E nglish Verb A u x ilia r ie s , P r o v i d e n c e , Rhode
I s l a n d 1965, p . 8.
 A k ir a O t a ' s v iew i s s a f e r :

"The a c t u a l p e r f e c t ( g e n e r i c a s p e c t) in d icates the o ccurrence of an action

o r th e e x i s te n c e of a state in or fo r a p e r io d extending from some time in
the p a s t up to the moment o f speaking"

In h is rev iew Joos c ritic iz e s O ta and i n s i s t s th a t T w ad d e ll

has "been to ta lly rig h t ab o u t 'c u r r e n t r e le v a n c e ' as th e m ean
in g o f our 'p e r f e c t'" * ^ b u t h i s own fo rm u latio n is ra th e r d if
feren t from T w a d d e l l's : "th e p e r f e c t p h a s e means t h a t th e e v e n t
is n o t m e n tio n e d fo r its own s a k e b u t fo r th e sake of its con
s e q u e n c e s " 1 7, and- a t le a st to th e p r e s e n t a u th o r - seem s to
be ju st a re fo rm u la tio n o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l re su lta tiv e hypo
th e s is 18.
H ow ever, i t m u st n o t be i n f e r r e d th a t th e id e a of re su lts
is c o n p le te ly absent from a ll th e uses o f th e P resen t P erfect
T ense. O ta 's s ta te m e n t, as w e ll as W a r d 's d e fin itio n th a t "th e
F i n i s h e d U se o f t h e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t show s t h a t an a c t i o n happend
and fin ish e d a t some tim e in th e p a s t but it says n o th in g
10
at a ll to in d ic a te w hen" , a l t h o u g h much b e t t e r th an th e tra
d itio n a l ex p la n a tio n , are n o t p e r f e c t e ith e r, because in some
cases, lik e f o r ex a m p le

(4 )1 have d e c id e d to c a tc h a H effalu m p 20.

th e re su lts a re to o ta n g ib le to be ig n o re d . ^
The c o n c l u s i o n is o b v io u s - th e so -c a lle d " F in ish e d " U se
co m p rises a t l e a s t tw o d iffe re n t uses, f o r w h ich one d e f i n i t i o n
21
does not su ffic e . A c o o r d i n a t o M cCaw ley , w hose a p p ro a c h seem s
b e s t to me a n d w h o s e p o i n t o f v iew I s h a ll adopt here, it com-

A. 0 t a , Review o f M, Jo o s, The E n g lish Verb: Form and M eanings,

Madison and M ilwaukee 1964, "Language" 1965, No 41, pp. 657-674, quot. p. 668 .
16
M. J o o s , Review o f A. O ta , Tense and A sp ec t o f P resen t Day Amer
ic a n E n g lis h , Tokyo 1963, "Language" 1964, No 4 0 , pp. 487-498, q u o t. p. 495.
J s, The E n g lish V e r b . ,. , p. 140.
18
Oddly enough, Joos* and Tw addells conceptions a re equated by F. R.
P a l m e r, The Sem a n tics o f t h e E n g lish Verb, L ingua" 1967, no 1S, p.
186, b u t see a l s o pp. 189-190.
19 W a r d, op. c i t . , p. 47.
20
A. A. M i 1 n e , W innie-th e-P o o h , Magnet 1980, p. 52.
21
J . D. M C a w 1 e y . Tense and Time R e fe re n c e in E n g lis h , [in :]
Ch. J . F i l l m o r e , D. T. L a n g e n d o e n f e d s . ] , S tu d ie s in L in
g u i s t i c S em a n tics, New York 1971, pp. 97-113.
p rise s th re e , n am ely : th e E x is te n tia l, th e S ta ti v e , and t h e Hot
News U s e . (To b e e x a c t - M cCaw ley d o e s n o t use th e te rm "F in
i s h e d " , n o r does he group th e s e th ree uses u n d e r a n y common h e a d
in g ).

THE EXISTENTIAL USE

The E x i s t e n t i a l U se o f th e P re se n t P e rfe c t in d ic a te s t h e exi

ste n c e o f a p a s t a c tio n , th a t is, it in fo rm s us about th e fact
of th e o ccu rren ce o f som e a c t i o n on th e u n d e r s ta n d in g th a t it
i s n o t im p o rta n t w h en t h e a c t i o n h a p p e n e d but ra th e r th a t it is
now o n r e c o r d . W h eth er an y re su lts o f th e a c tio n are still in
e x iste n c e is ab so lu te ly irre le v a n t from t h e l i n g u i s t i c p o i n t of
v ie w . The a c t i o n can b e te rm in a tiv e o r n o n -te rm in a tiv e , sin g le
o r rep e ate d .

( 5 ) B u t God f o r g i v e me t h e w r o n g I ' v e d o n e y o u t 22

(6 ) "T e rm o li, i s it? P lac e I 'v e alw ays w an te d t o s e e ."

M ille r paused. " W h e re t h e h e l l ' s T e r m o l i ? " 23

( 7 ) T h e v a m p i r e h a s b e e n d e a d many t i m e s .

The t e p p o r a l d i s t a n c e betw een th e end o f th e a c tio n and th e

moment o f s p e a k i n g is i n n o w ay lim ite d , but th e tim e of th e
a c tio n cannot be s p e c ifie d in th e s e n te n c e . S tate m e n ts in th e
P r e s e n t P e r f e c t Tense alw ay s r e l a t e th e a c tio n to th e p re se n t,
and t h e r e f o r e a p p a re n tly th e y sh o u ld e i t h e r c o n ta in no a d v e r b ia l
o f tim e , o r h a v e som e p r e s e n t tim e a d v e r b i a l , w h ich i s o n ly l o
g ic a l. U n fo rtu n a te ly , in p r a c tic e n o t everybody conform s to
th a t lo g ic , and th e p o p u la r ru le t h a t th e a d v e rb ia li of tim e
used w ith th e E n g lis h P r e s e n t P e r f e c t m ust alw ays in c lu d e th e
p r e s e n t moment h a s t o b e r e f o r m u l a t e d .
C o n sid e r th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s :

( 8 ) W a ll, I 'v e come a c r o s s h im i n ^ t h e p a s t t o o . (A . C ro n in )

22
A. H o p e , P riso n e r of Zenda, K iaster C lassics 1968,
p. 20 *.
A. M a c L e a n , Fox 10 from Navarone, Foat&na 1970, p .
 (9) You n e e d n ' t th in k I 'm a o in g to ao on e n d u rin g a l l th is
2
as I have in th e p a s t . I 'm n o t . (T h. D r e is e r )

K o r s a k o v , who p re s e n ts th e se e x a n p le s, does n o t n o tic e an y th in g

s t r a n g e a b o u t them and h en c e does n o t o f f e r any e x p la n a tio n ,
but it seem s to ' ms t h a t t h e y d e s e r v e a t l e a s t som e r e m a r k s . A f
te r a ll, th e e x p re ssio n "in th e p a s t" c le a rly is o la te s th e v e r
b al process from th e p r e s e n t m om ent a n d is in co n sp icu o u s con
f l i c t w ith th e ru le . Can we somehow a c c o u n t f o r t h i s ?
T here a re at le a st tw o p o s s i b i l i t i e s . T he f i r s t i s th e fo l
lo w in g : t h e s e ex a m p le s m ig h t ev id en c e a lin g u istic change in
flu e n c in g th e ru le g o v ern in g th e co -o ccu rren ce o f th e tim e ad
v e rb ia le w ith th e E n g lish P resen t P e rfe c t. It is p e rfe c tly
g ram m atic al i n G erman to use daa P e r fe k t w ith ad v e rb la ls w h ich
are d e f in ite ly p a st, alth o u g h th e a u x i lia r y verb i s m arked f o r
th e p re s e n t:

(10) W ir h ab e n g e e te rn d ie S ta d t b e s ic h t ig t.'
25
(1 1 ) Der L e h r e r h a t in vorigen Jahr s e i n E xam en a b g e l e g t

A lso in F ren ch p a s t ad v e rb lals are norm al w ith pass c o m p o s

(th e F rench c o u n t e r p a r t o f th e E n g lish P re s e n t P e r f e c t ) , e .g .:

(12) H i e r , j'a i t d an s une p a p e t e r i e 2*.

Somehow i n th e s e la n g u a g e s th e a d v e r b la ls o f tim e ar^ a s s o c i a t e d

w i t h t h e m ain v e r b r a th e r th a n w ith th e a u x i lia r y . P erhaps a de
v elo p m en t in th is d ire c tio n is now t a k i n g p l a c e i n E n g l i s h ?
But th e re is an o th er p o ssib ility . The e x p r e s s i o n "in th e
p a st" is not m a rk e d ly d i f f e r e n t from su c h a d v e rb s of tim e as
"la te ly ", "re c e a tly , and "b efo re", w hose o c c u r r e n c e w i t h th e
P r e s e n t P e r f e c t Tense is approved o f by even th e m ost c o n s e rv a
tiv e p re sc rip tiv e g ram m arian s on acco u n t o f t h e i r b e in g so in
d e fin ite a s t o sonehcw b o r d e r on th e p re s e n t. Why t h e n sh o u ld
"in th e p a s t" be re fu se d t h i 3 p riv ile g e and l e f t o u t? P erhaps
i t is enough to sa y t h a t t h e tim e r e f e r e n c e o f th e P r e s e n t P er
f e c t m ust e i t h e r In c lu d e th e p re s e n t m om ent o r b e in som e way

24 _ cp . c i t . , p. 143.
K o r s s k o v ,
5 . 4 e 1 b i g , J . B u s h a , ' Deutsche GraomatiJt, L e ip z ig 1975,
p . 128.
26 , , P arlez-vous fra n a is! Kurs I , W arszawa 1969, p . 97.
A. 2 a a b.
ta n g e n tia l to it, or, in o th e r w o rd s, th a t o n ly d e f i n i t e p a s t ad-
27
v e rb ia ls are fo rb id d e n w ith th is te n se
U n fo rtu n a tely ag a in , o c c a s i o n a l l y we f i n d s e n t e n c e s i n w h ich
even d e f in ite p a s t a d v e rb ia ls co -o ccu r w ith th e P re se n t P erfect
T ense.

( 1 3 ) Ohe memoe r o f t h e g r o u p has a c tu a lly serv ed as a P u l-

28
b r i i t s c h o l a r i n B u rm a a few y e a r s a g o

O ta i s a t a lo ss to acoount f o r t h i s usage. Joos e x p la in s :

"The a d v e r b ia l a few yea rs ago i s n ot c o llig a t e d w ic h h a s s e r v e d but o n ly

w ith th e w ord in g th a t f o l lo w s i t , p e r h a p s o n l y w it h i n Burma, perhaps e sp e
c i a l l y w it h as a F u lb rig h t sc h o la rs t h i s much a n b i g u i t y i s r o u tin e in co n
v e r s a t i o n in any la n g u a g e , w h il e c o l l i g a t i o n w ith th e p e r f e c t verb i s gram -
29
m a t i c a l l y im p o s s ib le "

O t a 1965 a c e p t s J o o s ' a n a l y s i s , a d d s o n e m ore e x a m p le :

(.1 4 ) D r T u r n e r [...) has had, i t is announced, a h e a rt a tta c k

th re e days ago.

b u t expresses h is doubt about Jo o s' -rig h t to r e je c t se n te n c e s o f

th e ty p e " I h a v e shown it to h e r y e s te rd a y " . But a p p a re n tly in
such se n te n c e s a p a s t tim e a d v e r b i a l is ju stifie d o n ly if it is
a d d e d a s an a f t e r t h o u g h t 3 0 .
I t is also n ecessary to d i s t i n g u i s h b etw een a sp e c ific and
an i n d e f i n i t e p o in t o f reference. At f i r s t g la n c e , a se n ten c e
lik e :

( 1 5 ) T he t r a i n h a s a r r i v p d a t 5 o ' c l o c k 3 *.

seem s t o b e u n g r a m m a tic a l, and i t d e fin ite ly is, if w e mean one

d e fin ite 5 o 'c lo c k . But s e n te n c e (15) has not been tr ig g e re d by
and does n o t answ er th e q u e s tio n

( 1 6 ) When d i d t h e t r a i n a rriv e ?

Sencence (15) co u ld o n ly be u tte re d - w ith th e se n ten c e s t r e s s

on " h a s " - w h en we a r e fa n n in g hopes- ( o r . sim p ly ex p e ct) th a t

C f. A l l e n , op. c i t . , p p . 1 5 6 -1 5 7 .
28
Ota, Tense and A s p e c t . ..
29
J o o s , R eview o f . . . , p. 4 9 5 .
30 Ibidem ; also . m r i e, A sp ec t, Cambridge 1 9 7 8 , p . 54.
31 1 owe t h i s example to P r o f . T. P . Krzeszowski.
 a t r a i n w h ich is fre q u e n tly la te may be p u n c tu a l t h i s tim e ,
m e an in g th a t th e re has been a t l e a s t one ca se b e fo re now of
th e tra in b ein g a t o u r s ta tio n on tim e . The o v e r t t i n e a d v e r b j
ia l w o u ld t h e n b e an in d e fin ite p o in t o f reference not conne
cte d w ith th e c o n stra in t _on t h e use o f th e ad v e rb ia ls o f tim e
w ith th e P resen t P e rfe c t, and th e re a l s p e c if ic p o in t of ref
erence to w h ich th e a c t i o n is a n te rio r w o u ld be th e covert
32
"now ", th a t is t h e m om ent o f s p e a k i n g
S im ila r ly , th e use o f th e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t Tense is e n tire ly
j u s t i f i e d in th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s :

(1 7 ) I t e l l y o u . I 'v e s a t and lo o k e d i n t o th a t d o g 's eyes

till th e s h iv e rs r a n up a n d down my s p i n e . (j. London)

(1 8) I have s a t and th o u g h t upon i t till my h e a d w e n t round.

( . J , L o n d o n ) 33

because th e a d v e rb ia l c la u se s o f tim e c o n t a i n i n g th e P a s t S im
p le Tense a re n o t m eant to be p o in ts o f reference fo r th e
ac tio n s in q u e stio n . In a se n se th e y lie on a d if fe r e n t p la n e,
m arking o n ly th e te rm in a tio n o f th e a c tio n s w h ich in a c tu a l
fa c t are r e l a t e d t o t h e m om ent o f s p e a k i n g .
T he p r o b l e m o f th e tim e r e f e r e n c e o f th e P resen t P erfect
is clo sely co n n e cted w ith th e q u e stio n o f th e e x is te n c e o f th e
s u b je c t o f th e record.
I t is a common b e lie f th a t th e s u b je c t of a se n te n c e in
th e P re s e n t P e r f e c t m ust be a liv e or still e x istin g . Curme i l
lu s tra te s t h i s by c o x p a rln g th e se n te n c e s:

(19) My g r a n d f a t h e r h a s s e e n a good d e a l in h i s life tim e .

and

( 2 0 ) E n g l a n d h a s h a d many a b l e ru le rs.

w ith

(2 1 ) *C aesar has seen a good d e a l in h i s life tim e .

and

(22) ^ A s s y r i a h a s h a d many a b l e r u l e r s .

32
m r i e, op. c i t . , p. 54.
33
152 _____ __________J a n u s z Wr b l e w s k i _________ __________________________
3/ J5
re sp e c tiv e ly .
McCawley p ro v es how ever th a t th e b e lie f is
36
w rong. To Chomsky , th e se n te n c e :

(23) E in s te in h as v i s i t e d P rin c e to n .

seem s odd a s com pared w ith :

(2 4 ) P r i n c e t o n h a s b e e n v i s i t e d by E i n s t e i n .

b ecau se w h ile P rin c e to n s t i l l e x ists, E in ste in is no lo n g e r

a liv e . But a c c o rd in g to M c C a w le y , i f one read s th e se n ten c es
w ith th e se n te n c e s t r e s s on th e f i r s t w ord in b o th ex a m p le s,
th e n c le a rly in (21) "one i s ta lk in g about ev e n ts of v isitin g
q7
P rin c e to n ", and in ( 2 2 ) "ab o u t ev e n ts o f E in ste in v isitin g " .
Thut th e f i r s t se n ten c e becom es g ra m m a tic a l and th e s e c o n d one
seem s odd in t u r n , w h ich p r o v e s t h a t th e c o n d itio n of b ein g
a liv e o r e x istin g refers to th e to p ic ra th e r th a n to th e sub
je c t o f th e s e n te n c e - th e s u b je c t o f th e s e n te n c e does not
38
have to be th e s u b je c t o f th e rec o rd
M cC aw ley c o m p a r e s a l s o th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s :

( 2 5 ) Many p e o p l e h a v e d i e d i n a u t o a c c i d e n t s .

( 2 6 ) D e n n i s B r a i n h a s d i e d i n an a u t o a c c i d e n t 3 9 . ,

The s u b j e c t s o f b o t h se n te n c e s are dead, b u t o n ly th e second

se n ten c e is u n g ram m atic al. The f i r s t se n ten c e speaks about
d ea th s in car a c c i d e n t s w h ich can (and w h ich do) s t i l l happen,
w hereas th e second one i s ab o u t one d e a th in one p a rtic u la r
accid en t - and th u s b elo n g s to th e p a s t (u n le ss it is "H ot
N ew s , d i s c u s s e d l a t e r ) . It.is how ever p o s s ib le to say ;

34
u r m e. Parts o f S p e e c h . . . , p . 321.
35
M c C a w l e y , op. c i t .
3^ . C h o m s k y , Ocep s t r u c t u r e . S u r f a c e S tru c tu re and Semantic In
te r p r e ta tio n , [ i n : ] . D. S t e i n b e r g , L. A. J a k o b o v i t s
[ e d s . j . Sem antics, Cambridge 1971, p p . 183-217.
37 .
M c C a w l e y , op. c i t . , p . 106.
38
I t s e e a s to r e t h a t Cherasky i s s l i g h t l y i n c o n s i s t e n t , b ec a u se q u e s
t i o n i n g the g r a m m a t ic a l i t y o f ( 2 3 ) , he a t th e s a a e t i n e a d m i ts " t h a t i f H i
la ry h ad j u s t aBnour.cfcd t h a t h e had suc c e e d e d i n c lim b in g E v e r e s t , i t would
have b e e n a p p r o p r i a t e , w i t h o u t th e p r e s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t Marco P o lo i s aliv e,
to have s a i d , But Marco P o lo has done i t to o " - C h o m s k y , op. c it.,
pp . 2 1 2 -2 1 3 . C t . a l s o P a l m e r , The E nglish Verb, p. 53.
39
 ( 2 7 ) D en n is B r a i n an d manv o t h e fam ous m u sic ia n s have d ie d
40
in au to a c c id e n ts

. TUE STATIVE USE

The S t a t i v e U se in d ic a te s t h a t an a c t i o n w h ich happened in

th e p a s t has som e r e s u l t s in th e p r e s e n t , th a t is , its d ire c t
effect still c o n tin u e s. E v id e n tly , th e tra d itio n a l ex p lan a
tio n o f th e P resen t P e rfe c t corresponds o n ly to th is use. For
ex a m p le :

( 2 8 ) I 'm from t h e o o lle c tio n agency [...] I 'v e come to co l-

41
l e c t my w i f e

T he w ay o f lo o k in g a t th e a c tio n in th e S ta ti v e Use i s n a t
u ra lly t h e sam e as in th e E x i s t e n t i a l U se, hence th e p resen ce
o f th e a d v e rb ia ls o f tim e is re g u la te d by m ore o r l e s s t h e sam e
c o n stra in ts. The t i m e o f th e a c tio n , if it is at a ll g iv e n ,
is s p e c i f i e d o n ly as b e lo n g in g t o som e b ro ad e r o r narrow er se c
t o r o f th e p re se n t, or - i n s o ir e c a s e s - a very g e n e ra l past
ex p re ssio n is used, f o r ex a itp le:

(2 9 ) Why, I b e l i e v e y o u . You h a v e co n v in ced me lo n g ago.

(G. B . S h a w )

(3 0 ) I 'm s u r e s h e 's fo rg o tte n a ll about you lo n g ago. (H .

W a l p o l e ) 42

To s a y to w hat e ffe c ts se n ten c es in th e S ta tiv e U se re

fer is fa irly easy; to account for i t is how ever im p o ssib le .
O n ly o n e t h i n g can be s t a t e d : in s p i t e o f w hat we fre q u e n tly
fin d i n gram m ars and t e x t b o o k s , th e re su lts of th e a c tio n do
n o t have to a ffe c t th e s u b j e c t o f th e se n te n c e ; for ex am p le
in th e s e n te n c e :

T he p o l i c e h a v e a r r e s t e d my w ife , s o we c a n 't com e to

your p a rty .

40
Ib id e m , p. 108.
4t
P. o w e n, M. H a y d e n , F. R i e s s , Screen T e s t, P inguin
dooks 197 4 , p . 148.
42 r s a v , o p. c i t . , p . 142.
" it is th e s p e a k e r 's w if e and n o t th e p o lic e th a t is b ein a as-
43
s e r t e d to be in th e sta te in q u e stio n *
A lso , i t sh o u ld b e added th a t th e c u rre n t e x iste n c e o f th e
re su lts o f th e a c tio n is t o som e e x t e n t o n ly a s id e e f f e c t and
i n som e cases can be e x p re s s e d alm o st e q u a lly w e ll by means
o f th e P a s t S im p le . As K o r s a k o v h as k een ly o b se rv e d , we fin d
t h e tw o r e s p e c t i v e te n se s n o t o n l y i n m o re o r le ss p a ra lle l si
tu a tio n s, e g .: ^

(32) I 'v e b ro u g h t you a box o f c h o c o la te s. Get t h r o u g h th e m

as q u ic k ly as you can a n d p u t som e w e ig h t on. (D . C usack)

( 3 3 ) "By t h e w a y , I b ro u g h t you a box of cig a rs . A n n ix te r

sta re d as P r e s le y l a id th e box on th e edge of th e w ash stan d
(F. N o r r i s ')**4

(34) "They l i k e h a y c o m s, s a id Pooh, "so t h a t ' s w h at w e 'v e

come f o r , because p oor T ig g e r h a s n 't h a d any b reak fast y e t"45.

(35) ... T ig g e r e x p la in e d to anybody who w a s lis te n in g th a t

h e h a d n ' t h a d any b r e a k f a s t y e t .

" I kn ew t h e r e w a s s o m e t h i n g , " s a id Pooh. T i g g e r s alw ays e a t

A6
th is tle s, so t h a t w as why w e came to see y ou, B ey b re .

b u t a l s o e m p lo y ed by one p e rs o n in a sequence referrin g to th e

sam e e v e n t :

( 3 6 ) A nd t h a t ' s th e reason I 'v e come to see you. I came

m ore o r l e s s to ask y o u r ad v ice . (A . C r o n i n ) 47

The tw o t e n s e s can n o t be s a id to be in te r c h a n g e a b le , b ecau se

th e use of e ith e r does b r in g about a change o f m e an in g , o n ly
so m e tim es th e change is very s l i g h t and does n o t affect th e
re su lta tiv e ch a racter o f th e u tte ra n c e . T he c r i t e r i o n govern
in g th e ch o ice betw een t h e tw o t e n s e s in such cases is th e
s p e a k e r 's s t a t e o f m in d a t th e m om ent o f sp e a k in g . If th e
speaker is co n c en tra tin g on. t h e re su lts w ith o u t re la tin g th e

/3
M c C a w l e y , op. c i t . , p . 109.
K o r s a k o v , op. c i t . , p. 43.
45
A. A. M i l n e , The House v o f Pooh C orner, Magnet 1980, p . 23,
46
Ib id em , p . 26.
47
 ac tio n to an y p a r t i c u l a r past tim e , he w i l l use th e P resen t
P e rfe c t; i f he i s m e n tally in th e p a s t , if h e somehow a s s o c i a
te s th e a c tio n w i t h some p a s t circ u m sta n ce s, he w i l l s h i f t to
th e P a s t S im p le .
H ow ever, t h e r e 4 a r e se n ten c es in w h ich in o rd e r to convey
th e id e a th a t th e re su lts o f th e ac tio n are s t i l l in e x is te n c e
th e speaker h a s no o p tio n b u t to use t h e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T ense.
F o r ex am p le Jespersen s ta te s t h a t we s h o u l d s a y :

( 3 7 ) N e w to n h a s e x p la in e d th e m o v e m e n ts o f t h e .

i f N e w to n 's th e o ry is still th o u g h t to be c o r r e c t , b e c a u s e th e
use o f th e P a s t S im p le in th is se n te n c e :

( 3 8 ) N e w to n e x p l a i n e d t h e m o v e m e n ts o f t h e moon.

m i g h t m ean t h a t N e w t o n ' s e x p l a n a t i o n h a s s i n c e b e e n g i v e n up48.

(N o te, in c id e n ta lly , an o th er p ro o f th a t th e s u b je c t of a sen
ten ce in th e P resen t P e rfe c t d e fin ite ly need n o t be a liv e ) .

THE HOT NEWS USE

U su ally th e te n s e in its H o t News U se expresses a c tio n s

from t h e im m ed ia te p a s t . The a c t i o n s are so r e c e n t, th a t it
does not yet make s e n s e t o se p a ra te th e tim e o f t h e i r happen
i n g from t h e m om ent o f sp e a k in g . T he u s e is fre q u e n tly (a l
though n o t n e c e ssa rily ) a s s o c ia te d w ith th e adverb "ju st".

(39) I t has ju s t stru c k tw e lv e .

( 4 0 ) W h e re h a v e y o u b e e n ? I t 's alm o st m id n ig h t.

H ow ever, th e te m p o ra l p ro x im ity of th e a c tio n is no t a p re

re q u isite fo r th e em p lo y m en t o f th e H o t News U s e . T he a c t i o n
can b e fa irly rem o te, o n ly th e liste n e r is n o t s u p p o s e d t o have
heard about i t . As M cCaw ley e x p l a i n s it:

"The h o t nevs p r e s e n t perfect i s an e x i s t e n t i a l present p erfect in which

th e s p e a k e r b a s e s th e range o f th e q u a n tifie r not on h i s own p resu p p o si-

40
0. J e s p e r s e n , E s s e n tia ls o f E n g lis h Grammar, U n iv ersity of
Alabama P r e s s 1964, p . 245.
t i o n s as t o when th e e v e n t in q u e s t io n n i g h t happen b u t on h i e s tim a te o f
M49
h i s a d d r e s s e e s p r e s u p p o s it io n s "

In other words: a speaker reporting the news of an event as

smes that his hearer does not yet know that the event - took
place in the pastj not knowing about it, the hearer cannot
treat the action as definitely past; therefore, the period in
which the action happened somehow seems to belong to the pres
ent.
To quote McCawley once again:

"The p e r io d i s a lw a y s e x te n d e d fo r w a rd s so a s to in c lu d e th e t in e th a t i t
w ou ld cak e f o r th e news o f i t s h a p p en in g to g e t around and [ . . . ] i n th e c a s e
of a se n te n c e a c t u a l l y b e in g u sed t o c o n v e y th e n e w s, g e t around i s ta k en
50 "
t o mean g e t to th e p e r so n to whom t h e se n te n c e i s ad d ressed " .

Thus it is possible to say:

(41) Kennedy has been assassinated51.

provided that the sentence is uttered to a person who has lived

50
in complete isolation since, for instance, 1960
Before we pass on to the next section, tu o more things have
to be pointed out.
First, that the three subtypes of the "Finished" Use are
not always easily distinguishable and that some utterances
might be hard to classify. For exairple the sentence "Max has
been fired" can be either interpreted existentially (there
were occasions on which Max was fired), or regarded as Hot
News ("Hi, Johnny, what's.new?"), with a possible resultative
connotation (he has not found another job yet)53.
Second, that an action expressed by the Present Perfect
Tense is not always related to the moment of speaking (a
common misconception). Sometimes it can be anterior simply to
a general present point of reference, regardless of whether the
tense is in its Existential, Stative, or Hot Newe Use.

49
M c C a w l e y , op. c i t . , p . 109.
I b id en.
51 Ibidem .
32
C f. a l s o m r i e, op. c i t . , p.
53 C i. M c C t w l e y , op. c i t . , p.
 ( 4 2 ) A lu m n u s - n . A Boy o r man w ho h a s a t t e n d e d o r b e e n g r a d -
54
uated from a s c h o o l , c o l l e g e , e t c .

( 4 3) T h e f e m a l e b o x t u r t l e com es t o s e l e c t a p l a c e to la y h e r
eggs a t about s ix o 'c lo c k in th e ev e n in g , a t a t i m e w h en t u r t l e s
have g e n e r a lly re tire d f o r "th e n ig h t. (P . F. C o l l i e r ) 55

( 4 4 ) So P o o h r o s e a n d s a t down a n d s a i d "Thank y o u ," w h ich I s

th e p r o p e r th in g t o s a y w h en y o u h a v e b e e n made a K n i g h t [. , . ] 56

THE "UNFINISHED" USE

T he " U n f i n i s h e d " U se o f th e P re s e n t P erfect ( c a l l e d U n iv er

s a l by M cC aw ley) in d ic a te s th a t a sta te of a f f a ir s p re v a ile d
th ro u g h o u t some I n t e r v a l s t r e t c h i n g from th e p a s t i n t o t h e p r e s -
57
ent . in o th e r w o rd s, it expresses th e p a s t d u ra tio n of a
present s ta te o r a c tio n .
A s im ila r fu n c tio n is p erfo rm ed by th e P re se n t P e r f e c t Con
tin u o u s Tense b u t , n a tu ra lly , its d istrib u tio n i s n o t co m p lete
ly e q u iv a le n t w ith th a t o f th e P re se n t P e r f e c t (alth o u g h th e re
is som e o v e r l a p p i n g betw een th e tw o t e n s e s ) . T h e m a in d iffe r
en c e b etw een th e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T ense and i t s p ro g re ssiv e coun
te rp a rt is t h e w ay o f lo o k in g a t th e a c tio n . If th e a c tio n is
im p o rta n t as a w h o le, i f we v i e w it sy n o p tic a lly , we u s e th e
P resen t P e rfe c t; i f we w a n t to em p h asize th e p ro g re ss o f th e ac
tio n , i f we v i e w it a n a ly tic a lly , we u s e t h e P resen t P erfect
C o n tin u o u s.
The P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T e n s e in i t s " U n f i n i s h e d " Use is th e re
fo re r e s tr ic te d to s ta tiv e v erbs:

(45) I h a v e know n h e r fo r about e ig h t y e a rs,

to c e r ta in n o n -t e rm in a tiv e v e rb s:

(4 6 ) B i l l h a s w orked i n o u r f a c t o r y sin c e 1977.

( 4 7 ) How l o n g h a v e y o u l i v e d i n o u r t o w n ?

54
K o r s a k o v , op. c i t . , p . 135.
" 5 Ib id e m .
^ i 1 e, The H o u s e . . . , p . 174.
57 M c C a w l e y , op. c i t . , p . 104.
and to s e n te n c e s e x p r e s s in g th e s t a t e o f th e co m p lete l a c k o f an
a c tiv ity :
58
( 4 6 ) I h a v e n ' t s e e n h i m f o r tw o y e a r s

I t is n o rm ally v ery easy to d is tin g u is h betw een th e " F i n i s h

ed" and th e "U n fin ish e d " U se o f th e P re se n t P e r f e c t, because
o f th e p e rio d s o f tim e t h a t m ust alw ays appear w ith th is use:
th e sp e ak e r has to s p e c if y e i t h e r th e le n g th o f th e p e rio d
f o r w h ich th e a c tio n has been h a p p e n in g or th e sta rtin g
p o in t s i n c e w hen th e a c tio n h as been h a p p e n in g .
Thus t h e s e n t e n c e "R ic h a rd h as been i l l " re p re se n ts th e "F in
ish e d * Use a n d means t h a t he is n o t i l l any l o n g e r , and th e
s e n ten c e "R ich a rd h as been ill fo r n ea rly a m o n th / sin c e Mon
day" im m ed ia te ly te lls us t h a t he is still i l l 59.
U n fo rtu n a te ly , th e re are e x c e p tio n s to t h a t r u l e o f th u m b -
i n so m e c a s e s the P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T ense in i t s "F in ish e d " Use
can a ls o be fo llo w ed by a p e r io d . F o r ex am p le, a co n p lete d ac
tio n may h a v e t a k e n a sig n ific a n t am ount o f t i m e , w h ich th e
s p e a k e r w an ts t o em p h asize (th e E x is te n tia l and, c o n se q u e n tly ,
t h e H o t News U s e ) :

( 4 9 ) He l i v e s i n E n g l a n d p e r m a n e n t l y now - b u t he has been in

C h in a f o r t h i r t y years.

( 5 0 ) W he re h a v e y o u b e e n f o r s u c h a l o n g t i m e ? 60

o r th e sp e a k e r may w a n t to s p e c if y th e le n g th o f tim e a sta te

has been in tro d u c e d fo r ( p le a s e n o te t h a t th e use o f a p e rio d
in th e S ta ti v e U se alw ays i n d i c a t e s th a t th e re su lt w ill con
tin u e beyond th e m om ent o f s p e a k i n g ) :

( 5 1 ) T h e y ' v e g o n e t o E n g l a n d f o r tw o m o n t h s .

58 .
C f. K a u s h a n s k a y a , o p . c i t . , p . 97. P a s t d u r a t i o n o f a
p r e s e n t s t a t e i s so m etim es e x p r e s s e d by means o f th e P r e s e n t Sim ple T en se:
" I know you f o r tO y e a r s a l r e a d y now" (T h , D r e i s e r ) a f t e r K o r s a k o v ,
op . c i t . , p . 5. " S i n c e when do you smoke so much"? bu t t h e g r a m m a t ic a l s t a
t u s o f su c h s e n t e n c e s i s n o t q u i t e d e a r . K orsakov a t t r i b u t e s su ch c a s e s to a
change o f i n t e n t i o n i n th e m id d le o f t h e s e n t e n c e . C l o s e - s p e a k s ab o u t th e
" d o u b l e fo c u s " o f su ch c o n s t r u c t i o n s - t h e s p e a k e r w an ts t o em phasize b o th
th e p a s t d u r a t i o n and t h e g e n e r a l p r e s e n t v a l i d i t y o f t h e s t a t e o r a c t i o n
(R. A. C l o s e , E n g lis h a s a F o re ig n Language: Grammar and S y n ta x fo r
T e a ch ers and A dvanced S t u d e n t s , London 1 9 6 2 ).
W a r d, op . c i t . , p . 55.
60 Ib id e m , p . 54.
H ow ever, t h e m e an in g o f such se n te n c e s is clea r and m isin te r
p r e ta tio n h a rd ly p o s s ib le .

SPECIAL USE

T he P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T e n s e re p la c e s th e F u tu re P e r f e c t Tense
i n te m p o ra l and c o n d i tio n a l c l a u s e s :

( 5 2 ) As s o o n a s y o u h a v e r e a d t h i s b o o k , b r i n g i t b a c k t o me.

( 5 3 ) When y o u h a v e f i n i s h e d , w e ' l l go t o t h e z o o .

( 5 4 ) H u r r y u p ! You w o n ' t go t o th e p a r ty u n le ss y o u h a v e done

y o u r hom ew ork b y s e v e n o ' c l o c k .

THE POLISH EQUIVALENTS OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

T he P o l i s h la n g u a g e does n o t have a present p e rfe c t te n se.

In fa c t, none o f th e te m p o ro -a sp e c tu a l o p p o s itio n s present in
th e g ram m atic al te n s e s o f E n g lish is re fle c te d in th e P o lish
sy stem o f te n s e s .
The c a t e g o r y o f t e n s e in E n g lish can be s a i d to co m p rise
fo u r e le m e n ts, one o b lig a to r y and th re e o p tio n a l. Tje o b l i g a t o
ry e le m e n t is te n se p ro p e r, e sta b lish in g fo r th e a c tio n a p o in t
Of reference in re la tio n to th e tim e o f th e u tte r a n c e , w ith
j u s t tw o r e a l i z a t i o n s , n am ely th e P re s e n t, o r ra th e r N o n ~ P a st,
and th e P a s t . The t h r e e o p t i o n a l e le m e n ts ae :
- m o d a lity - fo r th e sake o f sim p lic ity le t us assum e th a t
it is re p re s e n te d by "sh a ll" and "w ill" o n ly and i s used to de
n o te fu tu rity , a lth o u g h in re a lity th e ca te g o ry i s much m ore
co m p lex , a n d , In clu d in g a lso su c h modal a u x i l i a r i e s as "can",
"m ay", "m u st , "need", e tc ., it i s em p lo y ed to s ta te t h a t ac
tio n s are p o s s ib le , a llo w e d , fo rb id d e n , necessary, ad v isab le, o r
th e lik e ;
- asp ect p e rfe c tiv e ,, im p ly in g t h a t th e a c tio n i s a n te r io r to
th e p o in t o f re fe re n c e , n o t sim u lta n e o u s w ith i t ;
- aspect p ro g re ssiv e , in d ic a tin g th a t th e a c tio n is v iew ed
a n a ly tic a lly , as i f from th e i n s i d e , n o t s y n o p t i c a l l y , from t h e
o u trid e.
 Thus a p r e d ic a te in E n g lish w i l l b e m arked f o r t h e fo llo w in g
c o n tra sts :

+ past
+ fu tu re
+ a n te rio r
+ a n a ly tic a l

and s e n te n c e s in th e P re s e n t P e r fe c t w ill be ch a ra c te riz e d as

[- p a st, - fu tu re , + a n te rio r, - a n a ly tic a l], w h ic h means t h a t
th e y express sy n o p tic a lly seen a c tio n s a n te rio r to a present
p o in t o f referen c e.
In P o lis h , th e c a te g o ry o f te n se p ro p er does not e s ta b lish
an a b s t r a c t p o i n t of reference, ra th e r i t d ire c tly re la te s th e
tim e o f th e a c tio n re fe rre d to in th e s e n te n c e t o th e tim e of
th e u tte r a n c e , and, th e P r e - P a s t Tense h av in g f a ll e n o u t o f u se ,
its th re e re a liz a tio n s - th e P a s t, th e P re s e n t, and th e F u tu re
- correspond to th e usual d iv isio n o f tim e. (it m ust be remem
bered th a t from th e p h y s i c a l p o i n t o f v iew th e p re s e n t c o n sti
t u t e s o n ly th e u n d im e n sio n a l b o u n d ary b etw een th e p a s t and th e
fu tu re , and t h a t in p r a c tic e it is ex ten d ed in to b o th of th e m
and can em brace ev e n th e w h o le o f e t e r n i t y ) .
M o reo ver, P o l i s h verbs d is p la y a tw o - w a y a sp e c tu a l o p p o si
tio n , b u t it is n e ith e r th a t o f a n te rio rity v s . non- a n t e r i o r i t y
nor th a t o f a n a ly tic a l vs. s y n o p tic a l v ie w in g . A spect in P o lish
in v o lv e s co m p letio n o r in c o m p le tio n o f th e a c tio n 61, and a l
th o u g h th e te rm s e m p lo y ed h e r e may b e t h e sam e (co m p leted v erb s
a r e so m etim es c a lle d p e rfe c tiv e , in c o m p le ted n a tu ra lly im p e r
f e c t ! ve ), t h e phenom ena th e y d e n o te a r e n o t t h e sam e. It may
be w o rth w h ile ad d in g t h a t w i t h m o m e n ta r y verbs c o n p l e t i o n means
a sin g le a c t, and in c o ir p le ti o n a se rie s of a c ts, fo r in sta n c e :
aachn/m aaha.
Not every P o lis h verb b o th a sp e c tu a l v e rsio n s - th e re
does n o t ex ist for e x a m p le an im p e rfe c tiv e form o f z a s tr z e li ,
n o r can we f i n d a p e rfe c tiv e form o f th e verb c h o d z i ( .p j
seem s r a t h e r th e co m p leted v e rsio n of i ). On t h e o t h e r h a n d ,

6 T '
I. G r a n i c * a, E n g lis h P a s t T e n se s and P o lis h A s p e c t - a C o n tr
b u tio n to th e L i n g u i s t i c Theory o f T r a n s l a t i o n , U n i v e r s i t y o f d 1967,
u n p u b l. Ph . D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , p . 5.
som e v e r b s have a ls o s p e c ia l fo rirs i n d i c a t i n g ar o c c a sio n a lly
rep e ate d a c tio n (th e general iirp e rfe c tiv e form s e x p r e s s it as
w e ll), so as a m a tte r o f f a c t th e c a te g o ry o f a sp e c t in P o lish
is th re e fo ld :

p e rfe c tiv e
general
im p e rfe c tiv e ^
62
ite ra tiv e (fre q u e n ta tiv e )

The c o m b i n a t i o n o f th e th r e e te n ses and t h e th ree-w ay a sp ec -

tu a l o p p o sitio n re su lts in an i n v e n t o r y o f e ig h t te n se form s
(p e rfe c tiv e v e rb s c a n n o t be used in th e P re se n t T ense). As h a s
been s a id , n o n e o f th em w o u l d m ean e x a c t l y t h a t an a c t i o n w h ich
is v ie w e d s y n o p t i c a l l y is a n te rio r to a present p o in t o f r e f e r
ence, ' b u t th e th e o re tic a l sim ila rity b etw een tw o s y s t e m s is
not a p re re q u is ite of th e estab lish m e n t o f c e rta in p ra c tic a l
correspondences b e t w e e n th e m ( toes i t b y the way g u a r a n t e e
th e e q u i v a l e n t d istrib u tio n s of t h e e l e m e n t s within t h e r e s p e c
t i v e sy stem s - com pare th e d i s t r i b u t i o n of the E n g l i s h P r e s e n t
P erfect w ith t h a t o f dae P e r fe k t in G erm an).
Thus t h e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T e n se in its "F in ish ed " U se corre
s p o n d s t o t h e P o l i s h P a s t Tense-,
When i t d en o tes a te rm in a tiv e ac tio n (single or r e p e a t e d ) ,
it is u su a lly ren d ered by m e an s o f the Past Tense in its P er
f e c t i v e A sp ec t. When t h e a c t i o n is n o n -te rm in a tiv e , th e te n se
is tra n sla te d i n t o t h e P a s t T ense in its Iirperfective A sp ec t.
When i t is o b v io u s th a t a re p e a te d n o n -te rm in a tiv e ac tio n is
in e an t an d th e P o lish verb happens to have t h e iterative form,
th e P a s t I t e r a t i v e can be u s e d .
H ow ever, i t happens very fre q u en tly th a t we u s e th e P ast
Im p e rfe c tiv e in ste a d of (and in th e m ean in g o f ) th e P a st P er
fe c tiv e : th e p ro c e s s is id e n tifie d w ith th e co m p letio n o f th e
62
F ar ore i n f o r o a t i o o se e : .1. F i s i a k a M. I i p i s k a-G r z e -
g e , I . Z a fa i , In tr o d u c to r y g lI s n - P lis h C o n tr a s tiv e
(. V a n t u a <4 78 ; 2 . 1 o r n e n t ; i e w i r., podszawowe uIbohd-
c i z gram atyki Je y ka p o ls k ie g o , Wars za w 19 73 ; W. S m i e h , Funk
c j e aspektw czasownikowych we w spczesnym j z y k u o g ln o p o lskim . d
' 1 ; , T u r a w i z , The Couplet? and uticimpi e t - vor.jj in
and t h e i r E q u iv a le n ts in E n g lis h , U n iv e r s it y of d 1977, un-
p u b l. M. A. t h e s i s .
 63
a c tio n . C zo ch ralsk i c a lls th is phenom enon A o r ie tia c h e E xten
s io n . a n d d i s t i n g u i s h e s tw o c a s e s o f s u c h u s a g e :

1) S e n t e n c e s e x p r e s s i n g sin g le ac tio n s of a sp e c ia l tv p e
w here i t is se lf-e v id e n t t h a t th e co m p leted a c tio n is m e an t:
bh
(55) C z y ta e t k si k ?

(56) S y s z a e m o ty m w c z o r a j .

2 ) S e n t e n c e s i n w h ic h we m e n tio n ( o r a s k a b o u t ) a c re a to r and
th e fin ish e d r e s u lt o f h is a c tio n :

( 5 7 ) K to m a l o w a t e n o b r a z ? ^ 5

( 5 8 ) Ten f i l m r e y s e r o w a G e o r g e Roy H i l l .

Thus i t is also p o ssib le to tr a n s la te th e P re se n t P e rfe c t deno

tin g a te rm in a tiv e a c tio n b y m e an s o f t h e P o lish P ast Im perfec-
tiv e 66.
S e n te n c e s (l)-(9 ) and ( l 7 ) - ( 2 0 ) w o u ld t h e r e f o r e b e t r a n s l a t e d
in th e f o l lo w in g w ay:

( 1 ') C zy ta em "D a v id a C o p p e r f i e l d a " .

( 2 ') P o ci g sie d e m n a sta c z te r n a c ie [?] p rz y je c h a i o d je ch a .

( 3 ') U derzyem to dwa r a z y , ale nad al s to i.

( 4 ') P o stan o w iem z a p a S o n ia .

(5*) A l e n i e c h <5g w y b a c z y mi z o , k td re c i w y rz d z ie m .

(6 ') - A ha, T e r m o li. M ie jsc e, k td re zaw sze c h c ia e m zo b a cz y

- M i l l e r p r z e r w a - G d zie u d i a b a j e s t T e r m o li?

( 7 ') W a ir p ir b y m a rtw y w i e l e razy.

( 8 ') C , ja rw nie n a tk n e m s i n a n ie g o w p r z e s z o c i .

( 9 ') N ie m y l, e z a m ie rz a m d a l e j z n o s i t o w s z y s tk o t a k , ja k
zn o si-e m ( - a m ) t o w p r z e s z o c i , n i e mam z a m i a r u .

63
J. z o c h r a 1 s i, terbalaspekt und Tempussystem im Deutschen
und P o ln isc h en . Eine K onfro n ta tive D a rstellu n g , Warszawa 1975, p. 181.
64
Ibidem.
65 Ibidem .
f tf i
Cf. a l s o T. W j i k, Gramatyka j f z y k a ro syjskieg o - studium -
tra sty w n e , Warszawa 1973, p. 121-122.
 ( 1 7 ') Mwi c i , sia d y w a e m i w p atry w aem s i w o c z y te g o p sa ,
a c i a r k i p r z e c h o d z i y mi p o p l e c a c h .

( 1 8 ') P rz esia d y w ae m i ro z m y la e m n a d ty m , a z a c z y n a o mi
s i k o o w a w g o w ie .

( 1 9 ') Mj d z i a d e k w i d z i a s p o r o w sw o im y c i u .

( 2 0 ') A n g lia m ia a w ie lu z d o ln y c h w ad c w .

A nd h e r e i s th e tr a n s l a ti o n o f th e r e l e v a n t ex a m p le s from
am ong s e n t e n c e s (28)*-(44 ):

( 2 8 ') J e s t e m z MPO.. . [?] P r z y s z e d e m po s w o j o n .

( 2 9 ') A le w i e r z c i . P rz ek o n a -e ( - a ) m n ie daw no t e m u .

( 3 0 ') J e s te m p ew ie n , e z a p o m n i a a o t o b i e daw no t e m u .

( 3 1 ') P o lic ja a r e s z t o w a a m o j o n , w ic n ie moemy p rz y j

n a tw o je p r z y j c i e .

( 3 2 ') P rz y n io se m c i p udeko c z e k o la d e k . 2 je d z je ja k n a j s z y
b ciej i przybd tro c h na w adze.

( 3 4 ') - One l u b i o d z ie - p o w ie d z ia P u ch atek - w ic po t o

p rz y sz lim y , gdy b ie d n y T y g ry s n ie ja d je szc ze n ia d an ia.

( 3 6 ') I w a n ie d la te g o p rz y sz e d e m s i z to b zo b aczy . P rz y
s z e d e m m n ie j w i c e j p r o s i c i o r a d .

( 3 7 ') N e w to n w y j a n i r u c h y K s i y c a .

( 3 9 ') W an ie w y b ia d w u n asta.

( 4 0 ') G d zie b y e ? J e s t ju p raw ie p n o c .

(4 1 ' ) K ennedy z o s t a zam ordow any.

T h e U n f i n i s h e d " U se o f th e P resen t P erfect is rendered in

to P o lis h b y m eans o f t h e P re s e n t G en e ra l, except fo r se n ten c es
e x p re ssin g th e s t a t e o f th e c o m p lete la c k o f an a c t i v i t y , w h e re
it is tra n sla te d by m eans o f e i th e r th e P a st P e rfe c tiv e (.te rm i-
n a tiv e a c tio n s) o r th e P a s t Im p e rfe c tiv e ( a c t i o n s w h ich a r e n o n -
- t e r m i n a t i v e ):

(45') Znam j od okoo omiu lat.

(46') Bill pracuje w naszej fabryce od 1977 roku.

(47') Od jak dawna mieszkasz w naszym miecie?

(48') Nie widziaem go od dwch lat.

 When t h e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T e n s s is used in ste a d o f th e F u tu re
P e r fe c t T ense, it is tra n sla te d in to P o l i s h b y means of one o f
th e fu tu re te n s e s :

( 5 2 ') Jak ty lk o p rz e c z y ta sz t k si k , p r z y n i e mi j po
w rotem .

( 5 3 ') K i e d y s k o c z y s z , p j d z i e m y do z o o .

( 5 4 ') P o p iesz s i ! N ie p j d z i e s z n a p r z y j c i e , je e li n ie
z r o b i s z ( s k o c z y s z ) p r a c y dom ow ej p r z e d s i d m .

The c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s e s t a b l i s h e d above can b e p re se n te d in

th e f o llo w in g d ia g ra m (ta b le 1).

T a b l e I

The c o rre s p o n d e n c e s betw een th e P r e s e n t P e r f e c t T ense

and th e P o l i s h te n s e form s

--- ----- ----------

Past P re s e n t Future
P o lis h
censes
P erfec Im p erf. Imp.
Cen. Ite r. P erf.
tiv e Cen.
P resent Gen, It.
P erfect X"x

-o
<V Term inative X /X /

*4
X /X/
H ' N on-T erm inative
U

S ta tiv e X
f in is h e d
Un-

Lack o f an ac
tiv ity X X

F o r F u tu r e P e r f e c t
in T em poral and
C o n d itio n a l
C la u s e s X /X /

X - t y p i c a l r e n d e r in g
/ X / - o c c a s io n a l re n d e r in g

I t m ust be added, how ever, th a t w h ile th e P re s e n t P e r f e c t in

its F in is h e d ' a n d " U n f i n i s h e d " U se is g en e rally re a d ily tr a n s
la ta b le in to p o lish , th e te n se in its S p e c i a l U se c a n p o s e se
rio u s p ro b lem s fo r th e t r a n s l a t o r ( a s can th e F u tu re P erfect
T ense). S ay in g t h a t an a c t i o n is a n t e r i o r to a future
p o i n t of
referenoe is n o t t h e sa m e t h i n g it is f u t u r e
as s a y in g t h a t in
re la tio n t o t h e m om ent o f s p e a k i n g , and, c o n s e o u e n t l y , in or
d e r t o c o n v e y t h e p r e c i s e m e a n i n g o f a p e r f e c t t e n s e w i t h a future
reference, th e tr a n s la to r .ir.a y o f te n have to reso rt to para
ph rase, and p e rh a p s use a d i f f e r e n t P o lis h te n se .
N ee d less to s a y , even th e "easy" Per
uses o f th e P resen t
f e c t can so m etim es b e d i f f i c u l t to r e n d e r , f o r example' because
o f th e la c k o f e q u iv a le n c e betw een som e v e r b s i n E n g lish and
P o lis h , b u t th e se a r e p ro b lem s fo r th e th e o ry o f , translation
a n d l i e b e y o n d t h e s c o p e o f this paper.

I n s ty tu t F il o l o g i i A n g ielsk iej
Z ak ad Jzykoznaw stw a Stosowanego

J a n u s z Wrblewski

CZAS PRESENT PERFECT I .JEGO POLSKIE ODPOWIEDNIKI

A rty k u d o ty c z y u y c ia a n g ie ls k ie g o c z a s u P re se n t P e rfe c t i jfy,. odpo

w iednikw w je y k u p o le
Aj t o r p rz e c iw s ta w ia s i e p o p u la r n e j k o n c e p c ji, e u y c ie P r e s e n t P e rfe c t
zw izane j e s t z trw aniem w c h w ili m w ienia r e z u l ta t w c z y n n o c i, o k t r e j mo
wa u z d a n iu , a n a s t p n ie p rz e d s ta w ia sz c ze g o w a d y s t r y b u c je te g o c z a s u .
C zas P r e s e n t P e r f e c t s u y d o: w yraania czynnoci p rz e s z y c h , je e li
n ie is to tn e j e s t , k ie d y s i one o d b y y , l e c z r a c z e j , e S3 o b e c n ie re je
s trz e ; p o d k relen ia fak tu , e bezp o red n ie re z u lta ty czynnoci p rz e s z e j
trw aj w te r a n ie j s z o c i ; a w ien ia o czynnociach z p rzeszo ci bezpored
n ie j; p o d a w a n ia , ja k d u g o j a k a c z y n n o t e r a n i e j s z a j e s t ju wykonywana.
Wspocmiane j e s t te u y c ie sp e c ja ln e - w z d a n i a c h p o d rz d n y ch r k o l i c z n i k o w y c h
c z a s u i w arunku.
A u to r zw raca uw ag, e n iep raw d j e e t , i c z a s fr.s?>it r e r f e c t n ie Boe
by u y ty z ! ic z o i-k a a i c z a s u p r z e s z e g o , p o d k r e la ' , e ak cja w yraona
tym czasvQ n i e (susi by u p rz e d n ia w s to su n k u do '. siw xenia; je j p un k-
te n o d n ie s ie n i a moe b y dow olna ( n a v e t w ie lo k r o tn a ] < h y i l * w t e r a n i e j s z o c i .
W c z c i lo o n tra sty w n e j porw nana j e s t s t r u k t u r a s y .ita k ty c z n o -s e m a n ty c i a
system u czasw v J z y k u a n g ic l s W s i p o lsk i"* , o ra z pi J it* .v io n c s p o ls k ie
o d p o w ie d n ik i a n g ie l s k i e g o c z a s u P r e s e n t P e r f e c t .