Arabic and English Sentence Patterns: A Comparative Guide

10 | P a g e The other future time references can be constructed using the same pattern, varying the relative placement of E and R. Thus, English tense refers to past- and present-tense forms, and aspect to forms that indicate either complete or ongoing action. Both function within the time set by the context. Aspect, though, is a more consistent determiner of the “shape” or “cycle” of time (inception, progression, completion, etc.) than tense is of its location in the past, present, or future. That is, aspect more consistently indicates meaning. Whereas a past- or present-tense verb does not always indicate equivalent time, a perfect- or progressive-aspect verb nearly always indicates either completed or ongoing action. The present perfect and progressive are more complex, primarily because R and P coincide. PRESENt PERFECT (Charts 7, 9): past present future --- E ----------------R/P------------------------ I have read the book. PROGRESSIVE (Charts 8, 9): past present future ------------------- E /R/P----------------------- I am reading the book. If R and P are coincident, we are now viewing the event on its own, almost as if no reference exists. This accounts for the occasionally ongoing appearance of the present perfect action. As in the following sentences, the event can extend to and include the present.