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of speech involve a stand-for relationship because the words actually used are
intended to mean something else. In other words, linguistic expressions that are actually
used stand for some other linguistic expressions (or, rather their meanings) that are not
present explicitly. Both metaphors and metonymies are usually regarded as parasitic on
literal meanings, and therefore as paramount examples of stand-for relationships.
Metaphors, along with similes, are probably the most frequent figures of speech. A
simile is a figure in which something is compared to something else by the use of a
function word such as like or as:
(10) a. A job interview can feel like being in a lions den.
b. He was pleased as Punch.
Metaphors are often considered to be shortened similes, i.e. two entities are again
compared but there are no function words making the comparison explicit. In other
words, something is described by stating another thing with which it is implicitly
compared:
(11) a. Her words stabbed at my heart.
b. A flood of protests poured in following the chairmans announcement.
Metonymy, on the other hand, is traditionally approached as a stand-for relationship
that is, unlike metaphor, not based on similarity but on contiguity or proximity. This
means that metonyms are expressions that are used instead of some other expressions
because the latter are associated with or suggested by the former:
(12) a. The White House declined to comment on the issue.
b. Keep your eye on the ball!
In the two examples above, the expressions the White House and your eye are
metonyms used for the U.S. President and his advisers and your gaze, respectively.

4.R. Reading list

4.R.1. Recommended reading
Quirk, R., S. Greenbaum (1973: 3.26-29)
Leech, G., J. Svartvik (1975: 106-108; 113; 121)
4.R.2. Further reading
Greenbaum, S., R. Quirk (1990: 4.1-4.6)

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Quirk, R. S. Greenbaum, G. Leech, J. Svartvik (1985: 4.2; 4.5-4.16)

4.R.3. Sample texts for discussion

4.R.3.1. John Lyons: Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1968, pages 304-306.
The term tense derives (via Old French) from the Latin translation of the Greek
word for time (Greek khrnos, Latin tempus). The category of tense has to do with
time-relations in so far as these are expressed by systematic grammatical contrasts.
Three such contrasts were recognized by traditional grammarians in the analysis of
Greek and Latin: past, present and future. And it has often been supposed that the
same three-way opposition of tense is a universal feature of language. This is not so. In
fact tense itself is not found in all languages; and, as we shall see, the opposition of
past, present and future is not simply a matter of tense even in Greek and Latin. The
essential characteristic of the category of tense is that it relates the time of the action,
event or state of affairs referred to in the sentence to the time of utterance (the time of
utterance being now). Tense is therefore a deictic category, which (like all syntactic
features partly or wholly dependent upon deixis ) is simultaneously a property of the
sentence and the utterance (). Many treatments of tense have been vitiated by the
assumption that the natural division of time into past, present and future is
necessarily reflected in language. Even Jespersen falls victim to this assumption in his
discussion of tense in The Philosophy of Grammar.
before
after
--------------------o----------------
now
Fig. 16. Time and tense.
Making reference to a diagram similar to that which is given in Fig. 16, he first of all
establishes the present as contemporaneous with the theoretical zero-point (the now
of the time of utterance), the past as before-now and the future as after-now. The
primary distinctions of past and future are then subdivided by Jespersen by means
of a secondary application of the notions before and after: before-past, afterpast, before-future and after-future. (As the theoretical zero-point, the present is
not subdivided.) The result is a seven-term notional tense-system, partly or wholly
realized in various languages.
But tense admits of categorization in many different ways. One might grant (as has
often been suggested) that the directionality of time is given in nature (as expressed by

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104

the arrowhead in the diagram in Fig. 16), but this may or may not be relevant to the
analysis of tense in particular languages. Various categorizations are possible. The
theoretical zero point (the now of utterance) might be included with either past or
future to yield, on the one hand, a dichotomy between future and non-future, or, on
the other, a dichotomy between past and non-past. A different dichotomy (based on
the distinction of now and not-now without reference to the directionality of time)
could be present v. non-present. Other possible categorizations might depend upon
the notion of proximity (with or without reference to directionality): e.g. a dichotomy
of proximate v. non-proximate (with respect to time of utterance), a trichotomy of
now v. proximate v. remote. And these distinctions might be combined in various
ways, and not merely as suggested in Jespersens scheme.

4.R.3.2. Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, Jan Svartvik: A

Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman, 1985,
pages 176-177.
[] we distinguished past, present and future on a referential level, and also on a
semantic level. It remains only to mention the familiar fact that present and past are
also interpreted on a grammatical level, in reference to tense. Here, however, the
threefold opposition is reduced to two, since morphologically English has no future
form of the verb in addition to present and past forms. Some grammarians have argued
for a third, future tense, maintaining that English realizes this tense by the use of an
auxiliary verb construction (such as will + infinitive): but we prefer to follow those
grammarians who have treated tense strictly as a category realized by verb inflection. In
this grammar, then, we do not talk about the FUTURE as a formal category: what we do
say is that certain grammatical constructions are capable of expressing the semantic
category of FUTURE TIME ().
Some grammarians have gone further, avoiding the term present in reference to
tense, and preferring nonpast. The terms PRESENT TENSE and PAST TENSE have
this justification: that the tenses they name typically have reference to present and past
time respectively:
She is quite well today. Yesterday she was sick.
But there is also some morphological justification for treating the present as the
unmarked tense, since it is often realized by the base or uninflected form of the verb
(compare the present tense I need a rest with the past tense I needed a rest). There is
also a semantic justification, to the extent the present tense may be used to express not
only present but future time. Contrast:
Yesterday *is/was Sunday.
Today is Monday.
Tomorrow is Tuesday.

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Notice we can use the present tense in questioning someone about a future activity as
well as about a present one:
What are you doing today?
*What are you doing yesterday?
What are you doing tomorrow?
And we can use the present form of the modal with future meaning, but not with past
meaning:
I can help you today.
*I can help you yesterday.
I can help you tomorrow.
We have good reason for arguing, therefore, that the semantic triad of past, present, and
future is unequally separated into past and nonpast categories for the purposes of tense.
Tradition and familiarity favour the retention of the label present in place of nonpast.
But this concession places upon us the responsibility of continually maintaining a clear
distinction between present and past TENSE, on the one hand, and present and past
TIME on the other.

4.R.3.3. Frank R. Palmer: The English Verb. London: Longman, 1965, page 60.
The simple present, causes difficulty to the teacher of English if he tries to illustrate
the verb forms situationally; for in order to illustrate the use of the present progressive,
he is likely to perform actions and describe them:
Now I am opening the door.
Now I am writing on the blackboard.
The difficulty arises from the fact that in the situation the teacher is demonstrating, and
so would normally use the simple forms:
Now I open the door.
Now I write on the blackboard.
But these forms would be unhelpful, or even misleading, to learners of English. The
difficulty can, in part, be overcome by making such sentences replies to What am I
doing? But that may create a more artificial situation.

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106

4.E. Exercises

4.E.1. What is your opinion about each of the statements (heard and overheard)
that follow? Do you agree or disagree? Wholly? Partly? Note your
reasoning in each case.
1 The present simple tells us that an action is habitual.
2 The present tense is the easiest to understand and teach.
3 Teaching and learning the past tense in English is a pretty straightforward matter.
4.E.2. Complete these sentences so that they represent a universal truth or a
situation that may be regarded as permanent, using the present simple of
the verbs in the list. Add any other words that may be needed to complete
the sentences: a, an, the, at, on, etc.
believe
work

exist
make

float
rise

flow
sell

generates
set

indicate
treat

stand

1 The sun __________________ east, and ______________ the west.

2 A tobacconist ________________ cigarettes.
3 The Thames ________________ London.
4 London _______________ Thames.
5 Water ______________ Moon. (negative)
6 Jet aircraft _____________ a lot of noise.
7 Combustion _____________ heat.
8 Hospitals _____________ sick.
9 A drop in barometric pressure ________________ change in weather.
10 Computers ________________ a great speed.
11 Oil ______________ water.
12 An atheist ______________ God. (negative)
4.E.3. Present simple in proverbs. Complete the following by choosing appropriate
verbs from the list.
pour
flock

make (2)
dread

leap
run

end
gather

1 The early bird _____________ the worm.

2 Look before you _____________.
3 It never __________ but it ____________.
4 A rolling stone ___________ no moss.
5 Birds of a feather ___________ together.
6 Still waters __________ deep.
7 A burnt child ___________ the fire.

have
catch

break
rain

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8 All work and no play __________ Jack a dull boy.

9 Walls _________ ears.
10 All`s well that ___________ well.
11 Clothes __________ the man.
12 It is the last straw that ____________ the camel`s back.
4.E.4. Present Simple in explanations. The following paragraph explains the
working of an automatic ticket barrier on the London Underground
Railway system. Complete the paragraph using the present simple tense of
the verbs in the list. Use each verb once only.
be

buy

leave

let

record

release scan

show

suck

take

When you ____________ a ticket you ____________ it to a machine which

_____________ it in, ____________ it, ______________ it, and ____________ a
barrier for you - in about a third of a second. And when you ____________ a station a
similar gate _____________ your ticket from you (always assuming you've got the
correct ticket) and ________________ you out, returning ticket if it _____________ a
season.
4.E.5. Present Simple for daily habits. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. describes a typical
day's activities. Complete the extract with the present simple tense of the
verbs in the list. Some verbs are used more than once.
be
read

eat
separate

get
take

go
throw

have
wake up

need
walk

I normally ____________ about seven. I seldom __________ to be called because I

___________ a built-in alarm clock. I ____________ sparingly, one piece of dry toast,
fruit juice and tea. It ____________ (negative) long to dress, about three minutes. I
_____________ relatively large wardrobe, but that _______________ because I rarely
___________ anything away. I _____________ the New York Times, Daily News and
Washington Post over breakfast, and then _______________ the mail between my
wife's and mine. The business mail _____________ into my brief-case, to be dealt with
at the office. My office _____________ about a mile away and I usually ___________.
It ____________ about the only exercise I _____________ in the city.
4.E.6. Present simple in headlines. Complete with the present simple tense of the
verbs in the list, putting the verb in its correct position. Do not add any
other words.
continue
find

crash
forecast

demand
hit

1 MP URGENT INQUIRY

face
launch

fear
retain

6 AMERICA SPACE SHUTTLE

Grammatical Functions and Categories

2 INJURIES ENGLISH TEAM

3 CONSUMER BOOM
4 BRITISH RAIL LOWER LOSSES
5 PLANE IN FOG

108

7 BOYS GOLD COIN HOARD

8 SIX DRUG CHARGES
9 DOCTOR FLU EPIDEMIC
10 CHAMPION TITLE

4.E.7. All the following sentences illustrate performative verbs. Identify the kind of
context from which they are taken:
1 I pledge you - I pledge myself - to a new deal for the American people.
2 I vow to thee, my country all earthly things above entire and whole and perfect,
the service of my love.
3 Lighten our darkness, we beseech Thee, O Lord.
4 I declare this meeting closed.
5 I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth.
6 I take thee, John, to be my lawful wedded husband.
7 I pronounce that they be man and wife.
8 We therefore commit his body to the ground.
9 I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of five pounds.
4.E.8. True or false?
1 Lexical verbs and auxiliary verbs are two major word classes.
2 We use auxiliaries to form tenses and express modality.
3 Auxiliary verbs usually carry more meaning than lexical verbs.
4 Every verb is marked for tense.
5 All verbs have finite and non-finite forms.
6 The present simple tense may refer to past, present or future time.
7 By using a performative verb in the first person, present simple tense the speaker
performs an action.
8 With other persons and tenses the performative verb describes the performance.
9 We can usually use hereby in front of a performative verb.
10 Many performative verbs are used in official documents and ceremonies.
11 We never use performative verbs in daily conversation.
4.E.9. Subordinate clauses referring to the future, especially clauses of time and
condition, usually use a present tense, because the verb in the main clause is
sufficient to indicate the future meaning. Join the pairs of sentences
together, using the words given and making any other small changes
necessary.
1 I'm going to be sixty-five soon, Im going to retire. (when)
2 I'm going to retire. I shall go round the world. (as soon as)
3 I shall let my house. I shall be away. (while)
4 Perhaps I shall live to be a hundred. There wont be time to do everything I want to

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Part 3: Tense and aspect

do. (even if)

5 I can hardly wait. I'm going to be sixty. (until)
6 I will keep my health. I hope. (that)
7 I shall go round the world. But it could be too late. (unless)
8 You should retire yourself. Or you could be too old. (before)
9 Our health could fail. Then what would we do? (suppose)
10 What will be happening in ten years' time? I do wonder about this. (-)
4.E.10. Complete the sentences, using the present simple or past simple of the verbs
suggested.
1 I understood exactly what.... (mean).
2 ... everything he tells me. (not believe)
3 Listen! ... there's someone at the door. (think)
4 Five plus five ... (make)
5 ... his suit. (not match)
6 John ... when he was young. (resemble)
7 Who ... to? (belong)
8 The ... ten gallons. (hold)
9 How ... where I lived? (know)
10 Do you think the winner ...? (deserve)
11 ... what I see? (see)
12 This wine ... (taste)
13 How do I look in this dress? ... me? (suit)
14 ... better than he speaks. (understand)
15 What exactly ... of? (consist)
4.E.11. Complete the following, using verbs from the list. Pay attention to the
correct word order.
wear

discover

beat

begin

meet

hide

win

fly

write

fight

1 When Muhammed Ali __________ George Foreman?

2 When the Second World War ____________?
3 When the Wright Brothers ______________ in the first aeroplane?
4 What Marie Curie ______________ in 1898?
5 What prize the Curies ______________ in 1903?
6 Who Churchill and Roosevelt ____________ at Yalta in 1945?
7 What the Romans _____________ in the Senate?
8 Where Charles II of England ____________ in order to escape from the Roundheads?
9 When Shakespeare _____________ 'Hamlet'?
10 Who J F Kennedy ________________ in the 1960 US presidential election?
4.E.12. Put the verbs in the following sentences into the past simple.

Grammatical Functions and Categories

110

1 Because of the bad weather, they (defer) ___________ the meeting till the following
week.
2 We (enjoy) _____________ our stay in Devon last year.
3 I (receive) _____________ his letter and (reply) ____________to it promptly. It
(contain) ____________ many things that (amuse) ____________ me.
4 The cinema manager (agree) ___________ to our proposal and (allot) ____________
us seats at a cheap rate.
5 During the match, the referee (blunder) _____________ several times, which (anger)
___________ the crowd.
6 We (remit) __________ the amount to you on 5 April.
7 In his first job, he (quarrel) ____________ with his colleagues and (incur)
____________ the anger of his employer.
8 This morning I (satisfy) ___________ my hunger at breakfast by eating six eggs.
9 In 1478 the people (rebel) _____________ against this tyrant, whose rule they (abhor)
__________.
10 In the 1965 race, snow and ice (hinder) ______________ the competitors` progress.
11 When he was older, he (regret) ____________ not having studied harder.
12 Yesterday I (enter) ______________ the dentist's surgery at the appointed time.
4.E.13. Put the verbs in the following sentences into the past simple.
1 Yesterday I (drop) _____________ my watch and damaged it.
2 Last Saturday our team (play) ______________ well.
3 It (snow) ______________ heavily last night and Tom (slip) ___________ in the
snow when he went out this morning, and (hop) ___________ back home with a
sprained ankle.
4 My sister Mary (knit)_____________ a jumper for me last Christmas.
5 It was the first time the child had seen a cow: when the cow (moo) _____________,
the child (cry) ____________.
6 By way of answer, he (nod) ____________ but said nothing.
7 On that windy morning, he (hum) _____________ an old song as he trudged along.
8 Yesterday some wicked thieves (rob) ____________ the poor old lady of her handbag.
4.E.14. Complete the following newspaper report with the past simple of the verbs
in the list. The verb be is used twice, all others only once.
advance
reach

be
say

come
submerge

leap
watch

make
sink

order

One minute Mr Jack Jones was using his huge mechanical digger to clear sand which
had been blown up against the foreshore at Swansea. The next his mighty machine had
scooped up a breathless police sergeant and a constable who _____________ him to
follow a man running along the beach.
With the two determined lawmen crouching in the bucket, the digger ____________
its top speed of 10 mph as it ____________ on the fugitive. When the digger

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Part 3: Tense and aspect

___________ level with the man, the two law officers ____________ out of the bucket
and _____________ their arrest. But as Mr Jones ______________ in horror the 10-ton
digger ______________ deeper and deeper into the sand. His efforts to free it
___________ fruitless and soon the tide ____________ in and ____________ it.
Last night, after a five-hour rescue operation, Mr Mervyn Owens, head of the
company which owns the digger, ______________: 'We have been landed with a repair
bill of at least 6,000.' [The Times, 25 October 1984]