Skip to main content

THE PAST



THE PAST

The typical vision which students learn about the Past Tense in English is that there are some regular verbs that form the past with the ending -ed, others with various irregular changes and yet others that strangely never change at all.

Even without conjugational differences in the first, second and third person forms, whether singular or plural, the mere idea that there are regular verbs and irregular verbs casts uncertainty onto the issue and many students even embark on that terrible list-learning, in an attempt to memorize every last verb in the English language. And all this trouble and strife, without mentioning the pronunciation, even with just the so-called “regular” verbs!
Nevertheless, if we perceive the past through our new vision of Directed Pronunciation, we can skip around this problem, without the slightest of difficulty.
The idea is simple and the best part about it is that there are just two aspects to observe.

1.Shift the verb in the mouth by directing the pronunciation backwards

2.Place the modal in the relative position of emphasis required:
  • Strong emphasis before the verb
  • Negative emphasis before the verb
In normal smooth and unexaggerated speech the model inflection comes after the verb

Other languages actually have the same projection, with the position intoned backwards to indicate the past is behind us. However, unlike other languages, English is based around an essentially modal and auxiliary logic to the verb system and, thus, presents certain particular features.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How the Present Perfect Tense works

Timeline - How the Present Perfect Tense works Experiences The essence of the present perfect tense pulls the verbal expression down, inside us. This movement reflects our experience and even belief and true knowledge, which even in mediaeval times was placed in the heart. The sense we are aiming for is very similar in all of the following three examples: • I have visited the Louvre. • I believe in aliens. • I know it’s true. No Details The movement physically collapses our lungs. For this reason we do not go into detail, because in simple structures, we can not add extensive information. To add detail of past experiences, we typically use the simple and progressive past tense or use an adverb. • There has been a plane crash • A Transatlantic flight out of Paris crashed at 7.45 pm, twenty minutes after take off. Nobody was killed …etc. Recent Time In a similar movement - a slight variation on the theme - the expression is pulled back and released until the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chart of Modal Inflection

With each movement and directional vector (or sense) of each modal, we can start to map out the areas of modal expression. The chart (illustrated above) shows how each aspect is directed;a skill we certainly need to emulate, if we are to give the correct language signals. As the chart shows , the high area is reserved for probability, the degree of which ranges from positive certainty through possibility to uncertainty at the back of the head. The forward area (ahead of the eye) carries the different notions of future modality, rising from the low downward driven decisive intention or acceptance (will) and determination (shall) through obligation(must), permission (may) and advice – or deferred obligation (should) to prediction (will) and desire (will, must, should). The past forms are set back or directed behind us, with past probability looped high in speculation but ending low - so as to combine with the auxiliary have and the past pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Infinitive or Gerund - Part 1

Infinitive or Gerund - ? The area of infinitive or gerund is as much of a headache for students as it is for teachers. On the other hand, the native speaker has a perfect control over the choice. Again, it all comes down to the instinctive use of language and to how our brains have programmed the information in terms of the positional dynamic of pronunciation.  Back in the classroom, however, many teachers still use the old tedious method of list learning which essentially achieves two purposes: 1. That the teacher, having the lists, is shown to be knowledgeable. 2. That certain students will excel at list-learning, gaining confidence at the expense of others. Assuming that the area needs to be learnt in such a fashion, native speakers would need to learn in the same way and if the area was actually difficult or confusing, many natural errors would, in fact, result. Of course, in reality, no errors are made by native speakers when choosing a gerund or infinitiv...
Post a Comment
Read more