The Nature of English – Time

at denis collette

There are certain concepts in the study of English which are vital and it is important to analyze them and try to understand them as soon as possible. The first one is time.

important to analyze
important to understand
important to try to understand

Meaningful Utterances – Sentences

Every meaningful utterance, even if incomplete in terms of spoken word, is a sentence or a part of a sentence, which is the basic unit of meaning.

adjective – noun
meaningful utterance
spoken word
basic unit

Subject Verb Object

The English language is fabricated around the idea of “the subject, verb and object” equation.

Subject Verb Object

I see you

Each meaningful unit is a sentence, each sentence has a verb, each verb has a tense and tense means time.

meaning – sentence – verb – tense – time

Time is Fundamental

So we see that each meaningful utterance in English is associated with some perspective on time.

a perspective on time
a view of time
a view on time
a place in time

The speaker of English is embedded in time. Everything he says or hears has a tense.

time – tense

Let’s look at the tenses:

1. The Future

i. Simple – The train will leave at seven.
ii. Planned – The train is going to leave at seven.
iii. Informal soonish – The train is leaving at seven.
iv. Timetables – The train leaves at seven.

To begin with it does not matter which one you use. The important thing is to distinguish past present and future, and to use one form. Do not mix the forms up and speak gibberish.

past – present – future

At higher levels of analysis it is more important to be familiar with the nuances of each form for reasons of fluency of communication. Click the links to read details of each type of perspective on the future.

Link to the Tense Page – verbs and tenses
Link to Universal City
Link to World English Course
Link to Real Conversations
Link to Dialogues
Link to Lessons

World English Course

There are lots of things you can learn in the World English Course. There is a place where you can talk about work and there is also a place where you can find a job and a place where you can find staff. There is a place where you can have fun and there is a place where you can talk about food or family. There is also a place where you can talk about money or love or philosophy. You can study anything you want anytime you want. You can do it once a week or every day or any time you like. Have fun! Work hard! Tell your friends and family members! Enjoy!

Links to More Lessons on More Pages

The Work Page

Routine and Habit – The Routine Page

Verbs in Context in Many Tenses with Audio
Philosophy of Grammar and the Idea of Verbs as Actions
Verbs and Tenses – The Tense Page

Present Participle or Gerund or “ing” Form

Verbal Phrases 1 (with Audio)

Verbal Phrases 2 (with Audio)

Verbal Phrases 3 (with Audio)

Verbal phrases 4 (with Audio)
Verbal Phrases 5 (with Audio)

Verbal Phrases 6 (with Audio)