Грамматика английского языка Морфология. Синтаксис (стр. 9 из 71)
He seemed very absent-minded, he was constantly loosing things.
4. To denote future actions viewed from the past, with verbs of motion (to arrive, to come, to go, to leave, to return, etc.), usually if the action is planned or expected. In this case adverbials of future time are generally used, or the future reference of the verb is clear from the context or situation:
She said she was leaving in a week.
Then I understood that they were not returning either that year or the next.
The ship was sailing in a few hours.
If no future reference of the action is evident, it implies that though the action was planned, it was not and will not be carried out:
“Listen”, I said. “I’ve brought a little cousin of mine along. Joanna was coming up too but was prevented.”
I said quickly: “She was coming to tea yesterday afternoon.” (was due to come, but did not).
§ 36. As follows from the meaning of the past continuous and from its uses described above, it cannot denote a succession of past actions. Two or more verbs having the form of the past continuous, whether used in the same or in adjoining sentences, always denote simultaneous actions performed by different persons or non-persons:
Nash made periodic appearances in the town but what he was doing and what traps the police were setting, I had no idea.
It was a glorious day. The sun was shining high in the sky. There was no wind. The larks were singing in the blue depth. Only far away, over the horizon, soft milky clouds were moving placidly towards the east.
In all its uses the past continuous is translated into Russian by means of the past tense of the imperfective aspect.
The past perfect
§ 37. Formation. The past perfect is formed analytically by the auxiliary to have in the past indefinite and participle II of the notional verb. The interrogative and negative forms and built in the way usual for all analytic forms.
The paradigm of the verb in the past perfect
§ 38. In all its uses the past perfect denotes actions the beginning of which (always) and the end (usually) precede a certain moment of time in the past. The prepast period of time to which the actions in the past perfect refer is unlimited, that is, they may take place either immediately before some moment in the past or in the very remote past.
This tense is used with both actional and statal verbs. Its sphere of application is mainly that of narratives, though it is also used in conversation.
The past perfect is used:
1. To denote an action of which both the beginning and the end precede some moment of time in the past. This moment can be specified by an adverbial of time, or by another action, or else by the situation.
What should be borne in mind is that the use of the past perfect form is in itself a sufficient indication of the precedence of the denoted action to some moment in the past which therefore need not be specified.
He had finished his work by then.
I knew him a little: we had met in Rome a year before.
She felt wretched. She had not slept for two nights.
I opened the window. The rain had stopped, but the sharp east wind was still blowing.
After everybody had left, she rushed to her room and began packing hurriedly.
2. To denote an action in progress which began before a certain moment of time in the past and went on up to that moment and sometimes into it. In such cases either the starting point of the action is specified (by means of the adverb since, a prepositional phrase with since or an adverbial clause introduced by the conjunction since), or the period during which the action was in progress (by various adverbials):
a) with statal verbs, which do not normally allow of continuous forms:
He had been away for some months before his first letter came.
They had thought it over and over again since that dinner.
I could not believe the rumour. I had known him for a good many years.
b) with some actional durative verbs (in the similar way as with the past perfect continuous).
When we first met she had lived in the country for two years and was quite happy.
And thus he had sat in his chair till the clock in the hall chimed midnight.
Since her mother's death she had slept in the comer room.
In this case the past perfect continuous can also be used, though with a slight difference of meaning: while the past perfect lays the stress on the mere fact that the action took place, the past perfect continuous accentuates the duration of the action.
3. To denote a succession of past actions belonging to the time preceding the narrative as a whole, thus describing a succession of events in the prepast time.
I gave a slight shiver. In front of me was a neat square of grass and a path and the low gate. Someone had opened the gate, had walked very correctly and quietly up to the house, and had pushed a letter through the letter-box.
§ 39. The ways of rendering the past perfect in Russian are varied, owing to its aspective meaning of the verb or the context. It can be translated by Russian verbs in the past tense of both perfective and imperfective aspects with all possible shades of their meaning. These are mostly supported by lexical means:
| I had admitted everything before. | Я все это признал еще раньше. (A perfective (completed) action.) |
| Не had banged his fist on the table two or three times before they turned to him. | Он стукнул кулаком по столу два или три раза, прежде чем они обернулись. (A perfective, iterative action.) |
| Of late years I had sometimes found him at parties. | В последние годы я иногда встречал его на вечерах. (An imperfective, iterative action.) |
| He had looked scared during the prolonged examination. | Во время этого затянувшегося экзамена он казался совсем испуганным. (An imperfective, durative action.) |
The past perfect continuous
§ 40. Formation. The past perfect continuous is formed analytically by means of the auxiliary to be in the past perfect (had been) and participle 1 of the notional verb.
In the interrogative the first auxiliary (had) comes before the subject, and the second auxiliary (been) and participle I follow the subject.
In the negative the corresponding negative forms of the first auxiliary (had) are used, the second auxiliary (been) and participle I follow the negation.
In the negative-interrogative the corresponding negative-interrogative forms of the first auxiliary are used first, the second auxiliary and participle I follow the subject.
The paradigm of the verb in the past perfect continuous
| Affirmative | Interrogative | |||
   I He (she, it) We You They | had been speaking | Had | I he (she, it) we you they | been speaking? |
 Negative | |
| I He (she, it) We You They | had not (hadn’t) been speaking |
Negative –interrogative
  a) Had | I he (she, it) we you they | not been speaking? | b) Hadn’t | I he (she, it) we you they | been speaking? |
§ 41. The past perfect continuous denotes an action which began before a given moment in the past, continued for a certain period of time up to that moment and possibly still continued at that past moment.
The moment of time in the past before which the action begins is usually indicated by other past actions in the past indefinite or, rather rarely, by the past continuous. Sometimes it is indicated directly by adverbials (by that time, by the 1st of August, etc.).
The past perfect continuous is used with actional verbs to denote:
1. Actions in progress that began before a certain moment of time in the past and continued up to that moment, but not into it. As a rule no indications of time are present: the exact time of the beginning of the action is more or less clear from the situation, while the end, closely precedes the given moment of past time (the exclusive past perfect continuous).
Dick, who had been reading aloud Pit’s letter, suddenly stopped.
I had been feeling very tired, but now I grew alert.
They had been walking rapidly and now they were approaching the spot.
Her eyes were red. I saw she had been crying.
2. Actions in progress that began before a certain moment of time in the past and continued into it. In this case either the starting point of the action or its duration is indicated (the inclusive past perfect continuous).
Ever since his return he had been losing strength and flesh.
She had been acting for a long time without a rest and she badly needed one.
Even now he could not stop, though he had been running all the way from the village.
The past perfect continuous is usually rendered in Russian by the past tense, imperfective.
§ 42. All the future tenses (the future indefinite (the simple future), the future continuous, the future perfect, the future perfect continuous) refer the actions they denote to the future. The difference between them is due to their different relation to the categories of aspect and perfect.
Their specific time reference limits their use in comparison with the present and the past tenses.
Among the future tenses the future indefinite is the most frequently used, while the use of the future continuous and the future perfect is rather limited, because the situations to which they are applicable seldom arise. As to the future perfect continuous, it is hardly ever used.
The future indefinite
§ 43. Formation. The future indefinite is formed analytically by means of the auxiliary verb shall for the first person singular or plural and will for the second and third person singular or plural and the infinitive of the notional verb without the particle to.
The modern tendency is to use will for all the persons*.
* In modern spoken English no person distinctions are found in future tenses. The only marker for any future tense is ‘ll used for all persons singular and plural (I’ll speak, He’ll speak). Historically ‘ll is the contracted form of will.
The paradigm of the verb in the future indefinite
| Affirmative | Interrogative | |
| I shall speak He (she, it) will speak We shall speak You will speak They will speak | (I’ll speak) | Shall I speak? Will he (she, it) speak? Shall we speak? Will you speak? Will they speak? |
Negative
| I shall not (shan’t) speak He (she, it) will not (won’t) speak We shall not (shan’t) speak You will not (won’t) speak They will not (won’t) speak |
Negative-interrogative
| a) | Shall I not speak? Will he (she, it) not speak? Shall we not speak? Will you not speak? Will they not speak? | b) | Shan’t I speak? Won’t be (she, it) speak? Shan’t we speak? Won’t you speak? Won’t they speak? |
§ 44. The future indefinite is used to denote:
1. Simple facts in the future.
He will return tomorrow.
I shan’t stay with them.
It will be cold in the evening.
2. A succession of actions in the future.
He’ll ring you up and tell you everything.
I’ll take her up to town, we’ll do some shopping, and have lunch, so we shall be back in late afternoon.
3. Habitual actions in the future.
So I’ll see you often in winter?
He will stay with us as often as possible.
I hope you will write regularly.
The future indefinite is not used in subordinate adverbial clauses of time and condition introduced by the connectives when, while, till, until, before, after, as soon as, if, unless, in case (that), on condition that, provided, etc. In such clauses the present indefinite tense is used instead: