How many verb tenses are there in English? - Anna Ananichuk

翻译人员: Yijing Li 校对人员: Ellie Zhao

时态，指的是语言如何谈论时间，

Grammatical tense is how languages talk about time

without explicitly naming time periods

而不需要直接说出时间段，

by, instead, modifying verbs to specify when action occurs.

通过修饰动词， 来具体说明行为何时发生。

So how many different tenses are there in a language like English?

在一种语言，比如英语中， 有多少种不同时态呢？

At first, the answer seems obvious:

乍一看，答案似乎显而易见：

there's past,

有过去时、

present,

现在时

and future.

和将来时。

But thanks to something called grammatical aspect,

但由于“语法体”的存在，

each of those time periods actually divides further.

以上每种时间段， 实际上有更详细的划分。

There are four kinds of aspect.

语法体共有四种。

In the continuous or progressive aspect,

在持续体或进行体中，

the actions are still happening at the time of reference.

行为在所指的时间内，一直在持续发生。

The perfect aspect describes actions that are finished.

完成体用来形容已经完成的行为。

The perfect progressive aspect is a combination,

完成进行体，是一种组合，

describing a completed part of a continuous action.

用来形容一个持续行为中， 一个已经完成的部分。

And finally, there's the simple aspect,

最后，是一般体，

the basic form of the past, present, and future tense,

它是过去、现在、将来时态的基本形式，

where an action is not specified as continuous or discrete.

它并不具体说明一个行为是否连续。

That's all a little hard to follow, so let's see how it works in action.

听起来有点难懂，下面我们举个例子。

Let's say your friends tell you they went on a secret naval mission

比如说，你朋友告诉你， 他们曾进行了一次秘密的海军行动，

to collect evidence of a mysterious sea creature.

去寻找一种秘密海生动物的迹象。

The tense sets the overall frame of reference in the past,

总的来说，时态为过去时，

but within that, there are many options.

但是具体地说，有很多种选择。

Your friends might say a creature attacked their boat,

你的朋友们可能会说， 一只生物袭击了他们的船。

that's the past simple, the most general aspect,

这就是一般过去时， 最笼统的一种语法体，

which gives no further clarification.

而没有给出进一步的划分。

They were sleeping when it happened,

这件事发生时，他们正在睡觉。

a continuous process underway at that point.

站在那个时间点看， 这是一个连续进行的过程。

They might also tell you they had departed from Nantucket

他们还可能告诉你， 他们已经从楠塔基特岛出发，

to describe an action completed even earlier.

用这种方式，去描述 一个更早完成的行为。

That's an example of the past perfect.

这就是一个过去完成时的例子。

Or that they had been sailing for three weeks,

或者，他们已经航行了三个星期，

something that was ongoing up until that point.

这件事截止到那个时间点，一直在发生。

In the present, they tell you that they still search for the creature today,

现在，他们告诉你， 他们今天还在寻找那种生物，

their present simple activity.

他们的这一活动，属于一般现在时。

Perhaps they are preparing for their next mission continuously as they speak.

也许，在他们说话的那一刻， 他们在持续地为下一次行动做准备。

And they have built a special submarine for it, a completed achievement.

他们已为这次活动造了一艘特制 的潜水艇，这是一个已达成的成就。

Plus, if they have been researching possible sightings of the creature,

另外，如果他们一直在搜寻 这种生物可能的露面机会，

it's something they've been doing for a while and are still doing now

则表示他们已经做了一段时间， 并且目前仍然在做。

making it present perfect progressive.

这样一来，就是一般现在进行时。

So what does this next mission hold?

那么，下一次行动会怎样呢？

You know it still hasn't happened because they will depart next week,

下一次行动还未发生， 因为他们将会于下周出发，

the future simple.

也就是一般将来时。

Your friends will be searching for the elusive creature,

你的朋友们将会在搜寻 那种难以寻找的生物，

an extended continuous undertaking.

这是一个长期的持续行动。

They tell you the submarine will have reached uncharted depths a month from now.

他们告诉你，从现在起一个月后， 潜水艇将会已经达到一个新的深度。

That's a confident prediction

这是一个很有信心的预测，

about what will be achieved by a specific point in the future,

说的是在未来某一个确切 的时间点，将会达成何种成就，

a point at which they will have been voyaging for three weeks

在那个时间点， 他们将会已经航行了三周，

in the future perfect progressive.

这就是将来完成进行时。

The key insight to all these different tenses

对于这些不同的时态来说， 很关键的一点，

is that each sentence takes place in a specific moment,

就是每一个句子， 都产生于一个特定的时刻，

whether it's past, present, or future.

无论这一刻在过去、现在还是将来。

The point of aspects is that they tell you as of that moment

语法体的关键，就在于它们告诉你， 在那一个特定时刻，

the status of the action.

行为的状态是怎样的。

In total, they give us twelve possibilities in English.

在英语中，这些排列组合 共有十二种可能性。

What about other languages?

那么其他语言如何呢？

Some, like French,

有的语言，比如法语、

Swahili,

斯瓦希里语

and Russian take a similar approach to English.

和俄语，与英语类似。

Others describe and divide time differently.

另一些语言，描述和划分时间 的方式则有所不同。

Some have fewer grammatical tenses, like Japanese,

有的语言时态更少，比如日语，

which only distinguishes past from non-past,

只区分过去时和非过去时。

Buli and Tukang Basi,

古法文和图康伯西群岛的语言，

which only distinguish future from non-future,

只区分将来时和非将来时。

and Mandarin Chinese with no verb tenses at all, only aspect.

而中文普通话则完全没有 动词时态，只有语法体。

On the other hand, languages like Yagwa split past tense into multiple degrees,

另一方面，有的语言，比如火地群岛的语言， 将过去时划分为多种程度，

like whether something happened hours, weeks, or years ago.

也就是某件事发生于几小时前、 几周前还是几年前。

In others, tenses are intertwined with moods that can convey urgency,

在另外一些语言中，时态和语气相交织， 而语气可以传达事件的紧急性、

necessity,

必要性、

or probability of events.

或可能性。

This makes translation difficult but not impossible.

这就让翻译变得很难， 但也不是不可能。

Speakers of most languages without certain tenses can express the same ideas

大多数无特定时态语言的使用者， 也可以表达同样的意思，

with auxiliary words, like would or did,

他们会运用助动词， 比如”将会“或者”曾经“，

or by specifying the time they mean.

或者具体说明他们想表达的时间。

Are the variations from language to language

不同语言之间的差异，

just differents ways of describing the same fundamental reality?

仅仅是对同一个事实 有着不同描述方式吗？

Or do their diverse structures reflect different ways of thinking about the world

还是说，这些多元的结构， 反映了对世界的不同思考方式，

and even time itself?

甚至是对时间本身的思考方式？

And if so, what other ways of conceiving time may be out there?

如果是这样，会不会还有 其他表达时间的方式呢？