The Realisation Of Lingvo-Cognitive Paradigm Constituents Of Present Perfect Continuousforms

Abstract

In this work, the Present Perfect Continuous tense form is subjected to analysis. The invariant cognitive meanings of this form are the perception of the consequences of actions preceding the zero vector of time orientation and the duration of the action. Depending on the correlation with the moment of speech, the form of Present Perfect Continuous can get three different meanings: exclusivity, inclusiveness, and multiplicity, but these meanings are not easily identified. Linguistic componential analysis, with the help of which grammatical meanings can be dissected into semes – the smallest and further indivisible units of meaning – shows that depending on the internal and external lexical neighbourhood, sentence structure, and contextual environment, Present Perfect Continuous can have various cognitive meanings. For example, depending on the structure of a sentence – the presence or absence of circumstantial elements – Present Perfect Continuous expresses the meaning of localisation or non-localisation of the action. Under the influence of contextual factors, Present Perfect Continuous acquires the meanings of the inclusion of vector zero and contact retrospection. Depending on the semantics of the verbs, the form takes the meaning of the recurrence of action. These meanings constitute the linguo-cognitive paradigm of the Present Perfect Continuous tense form in the English language.