It appears obvious that everything happening before the present moment belongs to the past and all events following now refer to the future. Additionally, Quirk points out that there is no morphological future form in English. While, for example,-edis added to regular verbs in order to form the Simple Past and-sis added in order to form the 3rdperson singular in the Simple Present Tense, there is no such rule for the future time in English. Consequently, future time is not formed by verb inflection. Therefore, according to Quirk there is no future tense in English. However, linguists and teachers argue about this problem and thus two main views can be distinguished (Quirk 1985:176):
a) As already mentioned tense can only be achieved by verb inflection. Hence, English has no future tense.
b) A future reference can be achieved by using an auxiliary verb construction, such aswill+ infinitive, for example. It appears evident that despite the fact that English has no future tense, it must be capable of expressing future time, namely by the use of auxiliaries.
According to Quirk (1985:120)auxiliariescan be divided into primary verbs (be,have, do)or modal verbs (can,may, will, shall, could, might, would, should, must).The latter category is also calledmodal auxiliaries.As it was already indicated above, modal auxiliaries, especiallywillandshall, play an important role in terms of future time in English. For that reason, this term paper deals with an analysis of the modal auxiliarieswillandshalland their future time reference. This analysis is based on the Chemnitz Translation Corpus of the Chemnitz Internet Grammar.1Barnbrook (1996:168) defines acorpusas “a collection of texts, selected to represent a particular type of language and held incomputer-readableform”. The Chemnitz Translation Corpus consists of four main types of texts:policy documents, academic writing, tourist brochuresand ofpolitical and public speeches.All example sentences for the analysis ofwillandshallwhich appear in this paper were taken from this corpus and by that, from the above-mentioned types of text.2By analysing a lot of example sentences with different contexts, i. e. for example biblical, political or tourist backgrounds, the aim of this paper is to find hypotheses for future or non-future uses ofwillandshalland by that, to develop grammar rules.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- An Analysis of WILL
- Overview
- WILL in the Chemnitz Translation Corpus (CTC)
- WILL - Werden/Wird
- WILL - Wollen/Will
- An Analysis of SHALL
- Overview
- SHALL in the Chemnitz Translation Corpus
- SHALL - Werden
- SHALL - Sollen
- Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper analyzes the use of the auxiliary verbs "will" and "shall" to express future time reference in English, focusing on data from the Chemnitz Translation Corpus. The study aims to investigate the grammatical structures and semantic nuances associated with these verbs in expressing futurity, contrasting different viewpoints on the existence of a future tense in English.
- The existence and nature of a future tense in English.
- The grammatical functions of "will" and "shall" in constructing future time references.
- The semantic distinctions between "will" and "shall" and their translation equivalents in German.
- Analysis of the usage of "will" and "shall" based on corpus data.
- Comparison of different linguistic perspectives on future tense formation in English.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: This chapter introduces the central question of whether English possesses a future tense, referencing Quirk's assertion that English only has present and past tenses. It highlights the controversial nature of this debate within linguistics and introduces the two main opposing viewpoints: one asserting the lack of a future tense due to the absence of verb inflection, and the other acknowledging the expression of futurity through auxiliary verb constructions, particularly "will" and "shall." The chapter lays the groundwork for the subsequent analysis by framing the core linguistic problem and outlining the methodological approach.
An Analysis of WILL: This section delves into a detailed examination of the auxiliary verb "will" and its role in expressing future time. The analysis considers both its general usage and its specific occurrences within the Chemnitz Translation Corpus (CTC), providing a corpus-based investigation into its grammatical behavior. Sub-sections likely explore its translations into German, examining the nuances of rendering "will" as "werden," "wird," "wollen," or "will" in different contexts, revealing the complexities of interlingual equivalence for expressing future time.
An Analysis of SHALL: Similar to the previous section, this chapter focuses on the auxiliary verb "shall," exploring its role in conveying future time references. The analysis incorporates data from the CTC to provide empirical evidence of its usage patterns. A key aspect is the investigation of its translation equivalents in German, focusing on the differences between rendering "shall" as "werden" and "sollen," analyzing how the selection impacts the meaning and register of the translation. The section may compare and contrast the usage and implications of "shall" with those of "will."
Keywords
English grammar, future tense, auxiliary verbs, will, shall, modal verbs, corpus linguistics, Chemnitz Translation Corpus, translation equivalence, German grammar, contrastive linguistics, tense and aspect.
Analysis of "Will" and "Shall" in English: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main topic of this paper?
This paper analyzes the use of the English auxiliary verbs "will" and "shall" to express future time, particularly focusing on whether English possesses a true future tense and how these verbs function in constructing future time references. The analysis draws heavily on data from the Chemnitz Translation Corpus (CTC) and compares their translations into German.
What is the central question addressed in the paper?
The central question revolves around the existence and nature of a future tense in English. The paper explores the contrasting viewpoints: one denying the existence of a future tense due to the lack of verb inflection, and the other acknowledging the expression of futurity through auxiliary verbs like "will" and "shall".
What data source is used in this analysis?
The primary data source is the Chemnitz Translation Corpus (CTC), a parallel corpus of English and German texts. The analysis utilizes this corpus to examine the usage patterns and translation equivalents of "will" and "shall."
What are the key themes explored in the paper?
Key themes include the grammatical functions of "will" and "shall" in expressing futurity, the semantic distinctions between them, the complexities of translating these verbs into German, and a comparison of different linguistic perspectives on future tense formation in English.
How are "will" and "shall" analyzed in the paper?
The analysis involves examining the grammatical behavior of "will" and "shall" in the CTC. This includes investigating their translation equivalents in German (e.g., "werden," "wird," "wollen," "will," "sollen"), exploring the nuances in meaning conveyed by different translation choices, and comparing and contrasting the usage and implications of "will" and "shall."
What are the key findings or conclusions likely to be presented?
The conclusions will likely provide insights into the grammatical and semantic functions of "will" and "shall" in expressing futurity in English, highlighting the complexities of interlingual equivalence and contributing to the ongoing debate regarding the existence of a future tense in English. The findings will be grounded in corpus-based evidence from the CTC.
What are the key chapters or sections in the paper?
The paper includes an introduction, detailed analyses of "will" and "shall" (each with subsections examining their usage and translation into German), and a conclusion. Each analysis section uses the CTC to investigate usage patterns and translation equivalents.
What are the keywords associated with this paper?
Keywords include English grammar, future tense, auxiliary verbs, will, shall, modal verbs, corpus linguistics, Chemnitz Translation Corpus, translation equivalence, German grammar, contrastive linguistics, tense and aspect.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Susan Jähn (Autor:in), 2004, Future Time References: An Analysis of WILL and SHALL based on the Chemnitz Translation Corpus, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/44055
