TIME - Meaning, Definition and Application

 ~ BY J. C. IRO

TIME

Time is a universal concept with three [3] divisions or dimensions, namely: The Present Time, The Past Time and The Future Time. The concept of time is regarded as universal because the units of time are 'extra-linguistic' i.e. they do exist independently of the grammar of any language known to man. However, when we discuss time in the perspective of language [The English Language], we make linguistic reference to these extra-linguistic realities by means of a grammatical category called 'Tense'. 

TENSE

Tense is simply defined as the correspondence between the finite verb form (in a sentence) and any of the three divisions of time. In the English Language, there exist only two types of tenses which are the past and the present tense. This is because there is no finite verb form that corresponds with future time in the English Language. however, the English Language has different ways of referring to future time; this will be discussed much later. 

The Present Tense

The present tense has so many uses and some of which include:

1. Sentences without reference to a specific time e.g. Fishes are Pisces 
2. Habitual statements e.g. The sun sets in the West 
3. Instantaneous statements e.g. the referee gives a red card to the defender 
4. Simple present tense with future time reference especially in conjunction with a temporal adverbial e.g. the class starts at 3:00 pm today 

The Past Tense

The most important use of the past tense is to denote definite past time i.e. an event that took place before the time of speaking. It is used:

1. in indirect or reported speech e.g. he sees you; We are told that he sees you 
2. to relate to a polite attitude of the speaker [attitudinal past] e.g. you were going to tell me something? 
3. for hypothetical past e.g. if i were healthy, i would hear you properly 

The Future Time

This is often done with the use of verbs such as: shall, will, gerunds [i.e. -ing verbs e.g. going etc.] etc. Although the above is true, it is still an unjustified fact to claim that the 'future tense' does exist in the English Language. 

ASPECT

Now, this is simply the manner in which we experience, perceive or evaluate the action of the verb either as - 'completed action' or 'progressive action'. There are two types of aspects:

• The Progressive Aspect: Which is made up of the present progressive e.g. She is sleeping and the past progressive e.g. She was sleeping. 
• The Perfective Aspect: This is equally of two divisions, namely: the present perfective e.g. I have lived here for eight years now and the past perfective e.g. I had lived here for eight years.

We can also attempt to combine the two aspects above to give us a new type of aspect known as The Perfective Progressive. This will also be made up of:

1. The Present Perfective Progressive e.g. I have been living here for the past five years 
2. The Past Perfective Progressive e.g. They had been living there for long 

Now that you have know the concept of time, tense and aspect, you're equally expected to know the agreement between subjects and verbs in sentences. This area is often tagged Concord or Subject - Verb Agreement. Let's take a quick look at it, shall we? 

CONCORD

Concord in the simplest of terms is the agreement between a verb and the other parts of a sentence. But for this study, we will restrict our focus to concord as the agreement between a subject and the verb in a given sentence. 

Types of Concord

There are three main types of concord but several applications of concord. Let's take a look at the types and some applications of concord. 

1. Grammatical Concord: This is considered as the 'basic rule/type' of concord and it states that - 'the SUBJECT and the VERB must AGREE in NUMBER and PERSON' i.e. a singular subject must take a singular verb and vice versa. Examples: The boy plays a lot; The boys play a lot. 
2. Proximity Concord: This type of concord involves the use of some correlative conjunctions such as: either - or, neither - nor, not only - but also; its rule states that - when any of the aforementioned conjunctions are used in joining two subjects, the verb agrees with the last subject or the subject closer to the gap or the subject immediately after 'or/nor' as the case may be. Examples: Either Mary or He is responsible for the accident; Neither you nor I am to blame for this accident. 
3. Notional Concord: This concord has its name coined from the word 'notion' which means perception. Therefore, answering questions under this category involves a correct perception of the noun either as a group/entity or individuals. Examples: The audience are shouting; The audience is large. Other nouns that could function as the subject in this category include: family, government, team, group, party, congregation etc. 

Some Applications of Concord

1. When a sentence begins with 'here/there' the verb agrees with the noun after it. Examples: Here ______ the book you requested (a) is (b) are. Now if you observe the noun after the gap, 'the book', you will find it is singular. Hence, in obedience to the grammatical rule of concord, the verb that should fill that gap must equally be singular. So our answer is option A. Now you attempt this: There ______ the books you need (a) is (b) are. 
2. When the subject of a sentence is a 'summation noun/plural' you must always attach a plural verb. Example: My glasses are on the shelf. Summation nouns are nouns which refer to objects and pieces of clothing that possess equal parts e.g. pajamas or pyjamas, binoculars, glasses, trousers, shorts, knickers, pincers, scissors etc. Though they are expected to take plural verbs, they can be made singular by the attachment of the expression 'a pair of/my pair of' and when this occurs, a singular verb follows. Example: My pair of glasses is on the shelf. 
3. When Invariable Singular nouns that end with -s, such as:

• Names of Diseases: syphilis, tuberculosis, AIDS, arthritis, measles etc. 
• Names of subjects: physics, mathematics, civics, statistics etc. 
• Names of Games: snakes and ladders, billiards, darts etc. are used as the subject of a given sentence, a singular verb must follow at all times. Example: Measles is no longer a deadly disease. 

Summary of all the Main Points:

1. Time is a universal concept possessing extra-linguistic features. 
2. In the English Language, the agreement between Time and the finite verb form is known as TENSE. 
3. There are basically two types of tense in the English Language - past and present. 
4. The manner in which we perceive or regard the action of a verb with respect to time is known as ASPECT. 
5. Aspect is of two known types: progressive and perfective, while with the combination of both progressive and perfective we have a new aspect known as perfective - progressive. 
6. The agreement between the finite verb form and the other parts of a sentence especially the subject is known as CONCORD. 
7. There are three [3] main types of concord - grammatical, notional and proximity concord. With myriads of applications of concord. 
8. A verb is singular when it takes the -s morpheme and plural when it doesn't. While a subject, especially a noun, is plural when it takes the -s, -es or -ies morpheme and singular when it doesn't. This is not true for all nouns.