Past Tense Research Articles

The Relationship Between Cognitive and Morphological Skills: Evidence from Turkish Kindergarten Children

ABSTRACT This study investigated the role of domain-general cognitive processes, specifically inhibitory control, verbal working memory (WM), and nonverbal reasoning, on children’s productive grammar skills, focusing on Turkish past tense (e.g. fırçala-DI brush-PAST.3sg) and causative suffix (e.g. fırçala-t-TI brush-CAUSE-PAST.3sg), representing the broader categories of inflectional versus derivational morphology, respectively. We tested 84 5-year-old Turkish-learning children from a densely populated district in Istanbul, Türkiye on a sentence completion task to assess the use of morphology. Children were more successful in producing the correct suffix for the past tense than causative suffix, when using both familiar and pseudo verbs. Zero-order correlations showed significant relations between correct suffix use and all cognitive assessments. However, regression analyses revealed that only nonverbal reasoning predicted children’s overall correct suffix use and inhibition predicted it only for the past tense with pseudo verbs. Hence, children who have better reasoning abilities may have more robustly abstracted the grammar rules of their native language. Children with better inhibitory control can more effectively suppress the primed present tense verb and correctly use the past tense. This ability is particularly evident when dealing with pseudo verbs, which make the task more abstract. These findings imply the consideration of domain-general cognition in the development of abstract grammar in childhood.

A critical analysis of Purnomo and colleagues’ interpretation in Matthew 6:9–13

The reinterpretation of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9–13) as a prayer of thanksgiving rather than petition, based on their argument that the aorist tense in imperative and/or subjunctive verbs signifies actions completed in the past, along with their critique of the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (LAI) translation as erroneous, sparked debates among Christians in Indonesia and was leveraged by non-Christian groups to question the Bible’s authenticity. This study aimed to evaluate the validity of Purnomo et al.’s research by focussing on their interpretation of the aorist tense in imperative and/or subjunctive verbs, research methodology, use of literature, critique of the LAI translation and theological implications. A comprehensive review of literature and exegesis was conducted to analyse the grammatical, linguistic, methodological and theological aspects of the text. Based on a detailed examination, this study found that their interpretation of the aorist tense in imperative and/or subjunctive verbs in the prayer was unsupported by linguistic evidence and contradicted the principles of biblical Greek grammar, where the aorist tense emphasises ‘aspect’ rather than ‘time’ (e.g., ‘past tense’) of actions. Consequently, the theology derived from their study was flawed. Moreover, the study affirmed that the LAI translation accurately reflects the original context of the text. This research concluded that Purnomo et al.’s interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9–13) contained significant theological and linguistic errors that require revision.Contribution: This research critically contributes to biblical theology by addressing interpretative challenges in Matthew 6:9–13, refuting claims that the Lord’s Prayer expresses gratitude based on the aorist tense. It reaffirms the prayer as a supplication, grounded in biblical Greek grammar and theology, while defending the accuracy of the LAI translation. Advancing critical exegesis, the study promotes rigorous theological discourse and a deeper understanding of Scripture.

Studi Inflectional Affixes pada Teks Naratif: Implikasinya untuk Pengajaran Bahasa Inggris

This study aims to examine the use of the inflectional affixes -es and -ed in the narrative text "The Enchanted Fish" and their implications for English language teaching. Employing a descriptive qualitative research method through content analysis, the study identifies the patterns of -es and -ed suffixes attached to verbs in the narrative text. The analysis reveals that the -es suffix represents verbs in the third-person singular form in the present tense, while the -ed suffix represents verbs in the past tense within the narrative. The findings suggest that the use of various tenses in narrative texts enhances storytelling depth and richness, aiding students in understanding contrasts between ongoing events, habitual actions or permanent states, and past occurrences. In this context, the analysis of -es and -ed inflectional affixes on verbs in narrative texts can serve as a resource for teaching students about word formation, which can then be expanded into sentence construction. Furthermore, mastering this grammatical aspect can simultaneously support students' competence in reading and writing narrative texts

Periphrastic Constructions with the Verb Imet' (to Have) and the Passive Participle in Pyotr Tolstoy's Translation of The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire

The article examines the periphrastic constructions, which consist of the verb imet' (to have) in the form of the present or past tense and the passive participle with the suffix -n- in The History of the Present State of the Ottoman Empire translated by P.A. Tolstoy in the early 18 th century. They are noted to appear in certain cases instead of the forms of passato prossimo and trapassato prossimo of the Italian version of this text. First of all, they are used in a meta-text function when referring to the above mentioned or to someone's words. Such verbal periphrases occur when there is a direct complement in the sentence. The participle in this construction is most often coordinated with the direct object, but in some examples, it can take the form of the neuter singular. This kind of the construction has a typological similarity with the second, or possessive, perfect in a number of Slavic languages (Czech, Kashubian, Macedonian). But unlike the possessive perfect proper, participial forms in such constructions in the translation of The History are formed only from Perfective or Imperfective of transitive verbs. Their use remains characteristic of a specific text, and it is not a part of the grammatical system of the language itself. However, the presence of different models of participle coordination in them indirectly reflects the process of grammaticalization of the passive participle form of the past tense in the Old Russian language.

Technology-Enhanced Teaching Strategies for Simple Past Tense: A Study with Year 3 Pupils

Technology-Enhanced Teaching Strategies for Simple Past Tense: A Study with Year 3 Pupils

TRANSITIVITY AND MOOD RESOURCES REALISING EXPERIENTIAL AND INTERPERSONAL MEANINGS IN “A TALE OF TWO CITIES”: A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL LINGUISTICS ANALYSIS

This paper examines in depth how transitivity and mood resources are employed to construct experiential and interpersonal meanings in a literary text – a topic that has received limited attention in English literature teaching, learning and research, particularly at tertiary EFL (English as a Foreign Language) departments or faculties. The data for analysis is “Chapter 1 – “The Period” of “Book the First” of the three-book novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by the eminent British novelist Charles Dickens. The theoretical framework adopted for analysis is SFL (Systemic Functional Linguistics). The units of analysis are major clause simplexes. Findings of the study exhibit a number of noticeable transitivity and mood features employed in the text. In terms of transitivity resources, the writer represents experiential meanings in “The Period” by employing a very high frequency of material and relational processes, no behavioural process, all represented participants, a relatively small number of Circumstances, and a very high proportion of the past simple tense. As regards mood resources, the writer constructs interpersonal meanings in “The Period” by employing one hundred per cent of declarative mood, a predominant proportion of explicit Subjects, all non-interactive Subjects, and a predominant proportion of first participant Subjects. The study ends with a summary of the salient findings found in the text, a recommendation affirming the relevance of SFL as a theoretical framework for analysing and interpreting experiential and interpersonal meanings of texts in general and literary texts in particular for literature teaching, learning and research, and some suggestions for further study.

Present understanding of ignition and gain using indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion target designs on the U.S. National Ignition Facility

Abstract For many decades, the running joke in fusion research has been that `fusion' is thirty years away and always will be. Yet, these past few years we find ourselves in a position where we can now talk about the milestones of burning plasmas, fusion ignition, and target energy gain greater than unity (scientific breakeven) in the past tense. Fusion is no longer a joke! Yet getting to fusion ignition, the tipping-point of thermonuclear instability resulting in an explosive increase in ion thermal temperature and fusion reaction-rate, and scientific breakeven (target gain, $G_{target}=$ fusion yield/deposited laser energy $> 1$, in the laser-driven inertial confinement fusion context) has not been easy. In this publication we discuss our present understanding of the physics and technological challenges surrounding ignition and Gain as well as highlight some outstanding problems that still need resolution.

An Error Analysis of EFL Students’ Use of Simple Past Tense in Writing Narrative Text

This study investigated the errors in the use of the simple past tense in narrative texts written by tenth-grade students at SMA Negeri Taekas. Employing a descriptive quantitative approach, this research focused on identifying and analyzing errors using the surface strategy taxonomy. A total of 113 errors were identified and categorized into omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. The findings revealed that misformation were the most frequent errors (50%), followed by omission errors (32%). These results highlight the need for more targeted instruction in verb forms and tense usage, suggesting that more practice and explicit teaching of grammatical rules could significantly improve students’ writing accuracy.

The Effect of Mind Mapping on Jamboard in Tenth-Grade Students Past Tense Mastery

The purpose of this study to investigates the impact of mind mapping in google Jamboard on students' Simple past tense mastery. The instrument used in this research is a multiple-choice test. Quasi-experimental design is a method in this research with a sample of 60 class X MA Darullughah Wal Karomah students who were divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group received teaching using mind mapping on google Jamboard, while the control group followed traditional teaching methods. The data shows that the average value obtained in the experimental class was 73.07, while in the control class it was 64.69. The research results show that the use of mind mapping in google Jamboard can improve students' simple past tense mastery. Mind mapping is an effective way or method for teaching grammar. Additionally, combining mind mapping with a digital platform like google Jamboard can create a more interactive, fun, and engaging learning environment. research should explore the impact of mind mapping through jamboard on other areas or skills of language learning. This study did not have much time. If the time were longer enough, the finding would be more effective. So, in the future, researchers should have more time to do it and ensure the internet connection is good because if it is bad, it will also take a lot of time

A critical review of instructional-effect studies of past tense-aspect: language development and pedagogical implications

ABSTRACT This paper explores the potential of studies on instructed second language acquisition to inform pedagogical practices for L2 teaching. It focuses on instructional-effect studies published between 2000 and 2024 that examined the acquisition of perfective and imperfective past tense in L2 Spanish, French, and Catalan. Eleven studies were selected based on pretest-posttest designs and evidence of interlanguage development in past morphology. Key findings indicate that perfective forms are typically acquired earlier and more robustly than imperfective forms, regardless of instructional approach or language. The analysis reveals consistent acquisition patterns, suggesting that effective teaching practices can be derived from these studies. Pedagogical implications emphasize the importance of targeted instruction, exposure to both prototypical and nonprototypical form-meaning mappings, and extended learning time for acquiring complex tense-aspect systems. The paper concludes with recommendations for bridging the gap between second language acquisition research and classroom practice, particularly in teaching tense and aspect in Romance languages.

Errors of multiple exponence in child English: a study of past tense formation

Errors of multiple exponence in child English: a study of past tense formation

CONTEMPORARY GERMAN SPORT NEWS IN TEMPORAL ASPECT

The article is devoted to the analysis of sport news items in modern German-language media from a temporal perspective. The material of the study was 30 sport news items selected in July 2024 from the German newspapers "Nordsee-Zeitung", "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and "Die Tageszeitung". The aim of the article is to identify the peculiarities of the contextual use of verb tenses in German sport news items in order to achieve specific communicative goals. For this purpose, the study uses general and specific linguistic methods, namely: critical analysis of professional and illustrative sources, quantitative analysis, descriptive method and method of theoretical analysis. In the corpus analysed, the following three types of notes were recorded, according to their linguistic genre and thematic design: announcement news item, photo description news items and annotation news item. A German sport news item conventionally consists of a headline and the main text. The headline section is characterised by the use of verb forms in the present tense or the use of noun constructions. In the main text, past tense verbs are mostly found, which indicates that this genre is used to describe past events. Less frequently used in the analysed corpus are verb forms in the present tense. They are used to describe current events and events in the near future in order to bring the news up to date for the readers. In the analysed corpus, verb forms in the subjunctive mood are also used to convey indirect speech and to distinguish the author's statements from the content of the text or the statements of other people. The use of the Futur I form is insignificant in the analysed corpus of sport news items, and the Futur II form was not found at all.

Collective effect of self-learning and social learning on language dynamics: a naming game approach in social networks.

Linguistic rules form the cornerstone of human communication, enabling people to understand and interact with one another effectively. However, there are always irregular exceptions to regular rules, with one of the most notable being the past tense of verbs in English. In this work, a naming game approach is developed to investigate the collective effect of social behaviours on language dynamics, which encompasses social learning, self-learning with preference and forgetting due to memory constraints. Two features that pertain to individuals' influential ability and affinity are introduced to assess an individual's role of social influence and discount the information they communicate in the Bayesian inference-based social learning model. Our findings suggest that network heterogeneity and community structure significantly impact language dynamics, as evidenced in synthetic and real-world networks. Furthermore, self-learning significantly enhances the process of language regularization, while forgetting has a relatively minor impact. The results highlight the substantial influence of network structure and social behaviours on the transition of opinions, from consensus to polarization, demonstrating its importance in language dynamics. This work sheds new light on how individual learners adopt language rules through the lenses of complexity science and decision science, advancing our understanding of language dynamics.

Interactive Teaching Media Design for Past Tense Lesson Material Using VB.NET

The development of information technology has influenced the use of various types of media, as a tool in the learning process. So teachers are expected to be able to use these tools or equipment effectively classroom learning. In this article, we design teaching media or applications for English subjects. This teaching media is designed using the Microsoft Visual Studio 2022/VB.Net programming language with Past Tense subject matter. The aim of this teaching media design is to increase students' understanding through a visual and interactive approach. This application provides a menu including simple past tense, past continuous tense, past perfect tense, past perfect continuous tense, and is equipped with quiz questions. With this, it is hoped that students will be more involved in the learning process so that they can master the use of past tense effectively and have fun.

Groundings in French and Indonesian narrative discourses: linguistic and culture analysis

AbstractThis study conducts a comparative analysis of grounding strategies employed in French and Indonesian narrative discourse. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the research draws upon a corpus of French and Indonesian novels to examine the linguistic mechanisms utilized to establish grounding in these languages. This research questions the different markers of grounding in French and Indonesian narrative discourses, the types of grounding meanings, the role of culture in grounding, and what elements can strengthen grounding. The results of the textual analysis reveal that French employs the use of tenses, specifically the passé simple and imparfait (past tenses), to convey grounding, whereas Indonesian utilizes affixes, specifically the “me(N)-” and “di-” prefixes, for the same purpose. Further, the analysis illustrates that the “me(N)-” affix can be utilized to express both backgrounding and foregrounding, while the “di-” affix is restricted to foregrounding. Additionally, Indonesian also employs the use of third-person singular pronouns—“dia” and “ia”—to enhance grounding. The contextual analysis also highlights that in Indonesian narrative discourse, there is a tendency to repeat self-names as a form of politeness. This conclusion applies to languages that use tenses (e.g., French and English) as grounding markers and applies to languages that use affixes for grounding markers (e.g., Indonesian and Malay).

On the relation between negation and phases

Abstract This research article provides evidence from Jordanian Arabic (JA) that negation is syntactically bound to the projection of a phasal head, wherein NegP is structurally licensed to project exclusively within phase-bound configurations. Therefore, NegP can project separately in CP and v*P, offering support to the multi-locus view (Alqassas 2012. The morpho-syntax and pragmatics of Levantine Arabic negation: A synchronic and diachronic analysis. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University) that NegP in Arabic is not restricted to one structural position in the clause structure. NegP can rather project separately above TP or below TP. However, as we argue for in this article the projection of NegP is correlated with the presence of a phasal head (Chomsky 2007. Approaching UG from below. In Uli Sauerland & Hans-Martin Gärtner (eds.), Interfaces+recursion=language? Chomsky’s minimalism and the view from syntax-semantics, 1–30. Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter). Our evidence comes from two interrelated phenomena in JA: (1) the possibility of negating the past tense copula ka:n independently from the negation of the main verb in transitive and passive sentences and (2) the impossibility of independently negating the verb and the past-tense copula ka:n in unaccusative clauses. Following Jarrah’s (2023. Passive vs. unaccusative predicates: A phase-based account. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 41. 1397–1424) assumption that unaccusative predicates, unlike passive or transitive verbs, do not project phases in JA grammar, we propose that the use of two NegPs in the same clause with unaccusative clauses is prohibited as these unaccusative predicates do not project phases. This assumption is significant as phases, local domains, are not only found to be independent in terms of their Φ-content (their head bears an independent set of unvalued Φ-features) but also in terms of negation.

Resolving the problem of surface dyslexia in Italian through inflection of irregular verbs.

Surface dyslexia and dysgraphia are considered diagnostic features of semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) and are useful signs in English, a language whose attributes afford numerous opportunities to observe these phenomena. This, however, is not the case in many languages, including Italian, that have high transparency between orthography and phonology, making surface reading and spelling errors scarce. This creates a problem in applying the diagnostic recommendations for svPPA in such languages. Surface dyslexia and dysgraphia are examples of 'regularization' errors in which semantic knowledge loss leads to a failure to recognize exceptions that do not follow standard rules of pronunciation. Another form of regularization involves the incorrect inflection of irregular verbs using the rules that govern regular verbs. Unlike irregularly pronounced words, Italian, as with many languages, has numerous irregular verbs. The Italian Verb Inflection Test (IVIT) was developed to test the hypothesis that svPPA would regularize irregular verbs when inflecting them into two Italian past tenses. Results confirmed that people with svPPA made a significantly greater proportion of regularization errors compared to people with typical Alzheimer's disease or logopenic variant PPA. Without recourse to the other diagnostic features of PPA subgroups, the IVIT on its own could separate svPPA from these other two groups with 70% sensitivity and ~ 80% specificity. Regularization of irregular verb inflection offers a solution to the problem of applying the surface dyslexia/dysgraphia criterion for svPPA diagnosis in Italian.

Research Article Abstracts in Management Sciences Written by Thai EFL Scholars: An Analysis of Rhetorical Moves, Verb Tenses and Voices

Research article (RA) abstracts play a critical role in disseminating research findings, particularly challenging for non-native English speakers. While prior studies have explored the move analysis of RA abstracts across various subjects, the management sciences—a globally prominent field—have received less attention. This study addresses this gap by examining the rhetorical move patterns, verb tense usage, and voice constructions in 200 RA abstracts from Thai tier 1 management journals written by Thai scholars. The results showed that: 1) the Purpose-Method-Product structure was the most commonly employed move pattern; 2) present simple tense was mostly found in the Introduction, Purpose, and Conclusion sections, while past simple tense was preferred in the Method and Result sections; and 3) active voice was frequently used in the Introduction, Purpose, Product, and Conclusion sections, with a mix of active and passive voice mainly appearing in the Method section. The findings of the present study offer valuable insights for academic writing course developers, material designers, lecturers, and novice researchers, enhancing their understanding of RA abstract writing and supporting their integration into scientific communities.

DISMANTLING AND ANALYSING MULTI-PARAGRAPHS TO IMPROVE THE USE OF PRESENT AND PAST TENSES IN WRITING AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Grammar is the backbone of language, providing a set of rules and principles that govern the structure, formation, and usage of words and sentences. This study aims to “dismantle” paragraphs from non-friction material, learn the usage of present and past tenses in these sentence structures, and apply this knowledge in writing sentences containing present and past tenses. A pretest-post-test control group design was employed. The participants of this study would consist of 20 college students who were randomly assigned to a treatment and a control group. Both groups were exposed to the same classroom conditions except for the intervention. Only the treatment group was given intervention. The respondents’ scores were measured at two points, pre-test and post-test. This was followed by a semi-structured interview in which three participants from the treatment group were interviewed. The findings revealed improved participants’ use of present and past-tense writing based on the difference between the pretest and the post-test results. The interview data also revealed that the participants were able to construct more accurate sentences using these tenses. Interestingly, the study respondents said that this activity had made them pay close attention to sentence structures when they read materials in the English language. Exposing students to different genres and studying sentence structure thoroughly can help improve students' grammar, specifically present and past tense, in their writing.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0808/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

The effectiveness of Processing Instruction and Production-Based Instruction on the acquisition of the past tense in Greek by child heritage learners: A preliminary study

The study compares the effectiveness of two communicative approaches to grammar teaching, Processing Instruction (PI) and Production-Based instruction with collaborative tasks (PB), on the acquisition of past tense verb morphology by child heritage learners of Greek. Fourteen child learners of Greek, students at a heritage language school in Hungary, participated in the study. Half of them received PI instruction, which focuses only on the input, providing structured-input activities, and the other half received PB instruction, which focuses on the production of output with meaningful collaborative tasks. Both teaching interventions included a short explicit grammar teaching module. A pre-/post-test design was employed, which consisted of two tasks: a written production task and a sentence repetition task. Results revealed significant gains for both PI and PB instruction. However, both teaching interventions yielded better results in the written production task than in the more cognitively demanding sentence repetition task. Additionally, children who had little or no previous exposure to Greek seem to have profited more in the more cognitively demanding task, irrespective of the type of teaching intervention.