The Tense-Aspect System of English
A Comprehensive Analysis for Language Learners
Younes Zhiri
Moulay Ismail University, Meknes
Tense and aspect are two grammatical areas that learners of English as a foreign language find difficult to learn. Firstly, this difficulty stems from the complexity of the system of the TL itself regarding both form and function. Secondly, it can be attributed to students’ failure, especially students whose L1 is distinct from English, to internalize that there is another way (other than their L1) of conceiving of the relation / connection of what the verb expresses with the passage of time such as is the case of the English way of conceiving of this connection. Thirdly, school syllabi and classroom practices are governed by time, content, and schedule constraints. Hence, they do not often provide students with sufficient information about the real meaning and function of each tense/aspect. Therefore, EFL/ESL learners are really in need for supplementary material (such as the present book) to help them carefully scrutinize this system of English in a more detailed manner. More precisely, this book gives language learners the opportunity to study the literature related to tense and aspect. A lot of concepts and issues are discussed in this respect. Additionally, the book presents an exhaustive overview of the different functions of each tense/aspect backed up with varied illustrative examples.
Younes ZHIRI is an assistant professor of English language and linguistics at Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), Moulay Ismail University- Meknes, Morocco. He got his Ph.D in applied linguistics in 2017 from Ibn Tofail University-Morocco. His Major field of research is temporal studies / event structure and he has publications in this respect. The author is also interested in other research disciplines such as: applied linguistics, theoretical linguistics, sociolinguistics, TEFL, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
ISBN 9783862889716. LINCOM Studies in English Linguistics 20. 137pp. 2019.
