CC BY
9
УДК 8
Ataniyazova K.
Senior Lecturer of Magtymguly Turkmen State University,
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
THE SEQUENCE OF TENSES IN ENGLISH Annotation
The sequence of tenses is an arrangement of the tenses of successive verbs in a sentence designed to express a coherent relationship, especially between main and subordinate parts.
Key words sequence of tenses, English grammar.
Let's analyze the points of view of different scholars who studied the category of the "Sequence of Tenses" in English grammar. Different linguists outlined different hypothesis on this language phenomena.
The linguist Comrie (1986) raises the question of why English speakers use the Past tense in the complement clauses of examples like:
(1) Arthur said that he was sick.
The fact that we use was in the sub-clause, and not is, is traditionally traced back to the so-called "Sequence of Tenses" (SoT) rule, which is claimed to be operative in indirect speech in English. It is difficult, however, to determine the exact nature of this rule. Is it a formal (syntactic) rule, which is applied mechanically, or is it a rule that is semantically motivated? And if it is semantically motivated, which is the relevant semantic factor?
As far as we know, the linguistic literature shows three different hypotheses to answer these questions. The first is that the sub-clause of the sentence (1) is in the past tense because it refers to past time.
Comrie (1986) calls this the "absolute deixis hypothesis", because it treats was as an absolute tense form, i.e., as a tense which relates a situation (i.e. event, state, etc.) directly to the moment of speaking. The second hypothesis is that was is in the past tense because it expresses that the sub-clause situation is simultaneous with the head clause situation, which lies in the past. This hypothesis is called the "relative time hypothesis". The third hypothesis is that indirect speech in English is subject to a formal Sequence of Tenses rule which automatically back shifts the tense forms from direct speech when the introductory verb is in the past tense. But Comrie aims to prove that only the third hypothesis is consistent with the facts of English. The term "sequence of tenses" refers to the choice of the verb tense in the subordinate clause depending on the tense of the verb in the main clause. The rule of the sequence of tenses means that the tense in the subordinate clause is determined by the tense in the main clause and should agree with it both logically and grammatically. The term "sequence of tenses" is often translated into Russian as "agreement of tenses".
English speakers view a situation as either past or non-past with respect to the moment of speech. That is, they locate a situation either in the "past time-sphere" or in the "present time-sphere". The past time-sphere lies wholly before the moment of speech (i.e., it does not include the time of utterance). To locate a situation in it the speaker uses the past tense. The present time-sphere is divided into three "sectors" by the moment of speech: the portion of the present time-sphere that precedes the moment of speech is the "pre-present sector"; the portion that is centered around the moment of speech is the "present sector"; and the portion that follows the moment of speech is the "post-present sector". The tenses used to locate situations in these three sectors are the present perfect, the present tense and the future tense, respectively.
For ease of reference, we can use the term "absolute sectors" to refer to the above three sectors plus the past time-sphere. The four tenses that are used to locate situations in one of these four sectors can therefore be called "absolute tenses".
When two situations are located within the same time-sphere, there are two possibilities: either both of them are represented as related to the time of speech, or one situation is related to the time.
Generally, in complex sentences with all types of subordinate clauses, except the object clause, the sequence of the tenses in the pair "verb in the main clause - verb in the subordinate clause" is logical and based on sense and general rules of the use of tenses. The verb in the subordinate clause may be in any tense that reflects the actual time of the action and conveys the meaning correctly in the pair with the verb in the main clause.
She goes for a walk in the park when the weather is good. She went for a walk in the park when the weather was good. She has been teaching since she graduated from college.
Object subordinate clauses answer the question "what?" and stand in the place of an object after such verbs as "know, think, believe, understand, wonder, agree, say, tell, ask, answer, remark" and phrases like "I'm sure (that); I'm afraid (that)".
Object clauses are connected to the main clause by the conjunctions "that, whether, if" and by conjunctive adverbs and pronouns, such as "where, when, why, how, who, what", and some others.
Object clauses are most often introduced by the conjunction "that", which is often omitted. For example:
✓ I think that she is tired. - I think she is tired.
✓ I was sure that they were waiting for us. - I was sure they were waiting for us.
The other conjunctions and conjunctive words introducing object clauses are not omitted. Generally, the rules of the sequence of tenses are quite strictly observed in object subordinate clauses in cases where the past tense is used in the main clause. Literature
1. Comrie, B. "Tense in Indirect Speech." Folia Linguistica, 1986. № 20, 265-296.
2. Declerck, R. Tense in English: lts Structure and Use in Discourse. London: Routledge.
© Ataniyazova K., 2025
УДК 8
Babaniyazova A.A.,
lecturer
Magtymguly Turkmen State University
Atayeva H.R., student
Magtymguly Turkmen State University Turkmenistan, Ashgabat
BREAKING THE FEAR OF SPEAKING ENGLISH: OVERCOMING LANGUAGE BARRIERS
Abstract
Fear of speaking English is one of the most common challenges faced by learners worldwide, significantly hindering language acquisition and effective communication. Addressing this issue is crucial in an increasingly globalized world, where English serves as the primary medium of international interaction. This study aims to explore the psychological and linguistic factors contributing to the fear of speaking English and propose practical strategies to help learners overcome these barriers.
