University of Zenica

Faculty of Philosophy

Department of English Language and Literature

Course: Contrastive analysis

CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF PERFECT TENSES IN ENGLISH AND BCS

LANGUAGES

Course instructor: Dr. Edina Rizvić-Eminović, Ass. Prof.

Course Assistant: Goran Grubešić, BA Student:Velida Ćerim

Zenica, 14.01.2020
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction............................................................................................................................................. 4
Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Results ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Discussion ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 11
References ............................................................................................................................................. 12
 Abstract

This research paper will deal with the contrastive analysis of the verb phrase, more
specifically perfect tenses in English language and BCS languages. Firstly, some basic
information about perfect tenses will be given to explain closer what the purpose and use of
each tense is. This will then be contrasted with BCS. The possible changes in tense or aspect
that is undergone while translating will also be examined. In addition, the methods of this
research will be presented as well as the results. Furthermore, the result of the survey will be
discussed and compared. At the end, a conclusion will be given.
 Introduction

One of the most demanding tenses to master for English learners is perfect tenses.
They are specifically challenging for learners that come from our region because there is no
exact equivalent of perfect tenses in BCS, as in the same use. This can create difficulties when
trying to translate from one language to the other. Perfect tenses are divided into present
perfect, past perfect and future perfect tense. Present perfect is used when talking about some
completed actions that have consequences in the present or when the exact time of the action
is not of great importance (Bratić, 2016). It is also used to denote actions that have been
repeated several times in the past. Past perfect is used when talking about one action that
happened before another past action (Bratić, 2016). Future perfect is less frequently used as
we rarely know with certainty the sequence of events in the future. It is used when the person
speaking knows that one future activity will be completed before another one (Bratić, 2016).
However, when it comes to BCS there is a tense called perfekt, but its use is somewhat
different. It also denotes an activity that happened in the past but no references to the present
are taken into consideration. It is more similar to the past tense in English. In addition, the
tense called prezent in BCS is used for actions that are happening at the time of speaking or
continuously and repeatedly. Prezent is usually used when translating perfect tenses. The
main factor that could be the reason for any possible confusion or mistakes made by L2
learners could be the name of the tense itself. The word perfect stems from the Latin language
and means “completed”(VOA, 2016). Thus, L2 learners more often than not reach for the past
time in BCS, perfekt, when translating perfect tense because their previously acquired
knowledge leads them to thinking that the action happened in the past and is therefore
translated accordingly. The aforementioned and other factors will be further explained after
presenting the survey results.
Methodology

The participants (32) of the conducted survey were of intermediate proficiency level,
more specifically undergraduate students and high school students. The aim of the survey was
to demonstrate how people who do not possess advanced knowledge of English language use
and understand the perfect tenses. They were given 10 example sentences that included
several tasks which were to translate, choose the correct form of a verb or fill in the gaps.
What preceded this survey was collecting a corpus. This was done by the students of the
fourth year. The assignment was to find relevant examples of sentences using perfect tense in
different texts from various scientific fields then translate them into BCS and compare by
adding comments about the changes that happened during translation. These examples were
then presented and discussed in classes with the teaching assistant and at the end used also for
the survey. What could be noticed from these in-class discussions is that even students who
are almost graduates make mistakes in spite of learnt grammar rules and everyday use of the
language. These discussions were also useful for choosing the most interesting examples for
the survey questions in order to deal with the problems L2 speakers face. The survey was
done using Google forms and the participants did not have any specific or strict time frame to
finish it in. In the following section of the paper the results of the survey will be listed
followed by a discussion.
Results

In this section of the paper the results of the conducted survey will be presented. Brief
comments will accompany the results but will further be discussed in detail later on in the
paper.

Figure 1

Figure 2

In the two charts above we can see similar sentences with one exception; the second
one is missing the adverbial. Adverbials have an important temporal function in perfect tenses
(Werner, 2013). They can indicate whether the action was repeated, when it happened, and
the duration of the action and so on. Students often rely on adverbials to guide them when it
comes to determining which tense to use.

Figure 3

The example above was one of the sentences that had the greatest amount of wrong
answers. One possible reason for this could be the lack of time reference and adverbials.
Another indicator that the students might have been lead wrongly by is the past form of the
verb call.

Figure 4

From this example it could be concluded that the time reference is stronger of an
indicator for choosing the tense than the sequence of events. 40, 6% of students considered
the exact time of the event (in the pre-monsoon summer) when choosing past simple (dried
out) but neglected that the action of drying out happened before the action of raining.

Figure 5

In contrast to the previous sentence, this one has clearer time indicators. Besides the
adverbial “for ten years”, the preposition “before” precisely indicates that one action
happened before another. Therefore, the majority of students recognised that perfect tense
should be used.

Figure 6
 Figure 7

Figure 8

The last three examples were the ones that had the highest percentage of correct
answers. This might be the case because of the adverbials that are frequently collocated with
perfect tenses (so far, just, three times, already).

Discussion

In the previous section the results of the survey were presented along with brief
comments. In this part the contrast between English and BCS will be further discussed
focussing on the major factors that influence non-native speakers while translating or forming
sentences in L2. From the previously stated facts it could be concluded that the mother tongue
greatly influences the translation into English. L2 speakers equalize perfect tenses with the
perfekt tense in BCS mainly because of the similar name but also some other factors. For
example, the already acquired knowledge in the first language affects the use of the second
language.

The first two sentences (Figures 1 and 2) are different only when it comes to the
presence of the adverbial. The results indicate that the function of “for thousands of years” is
clear in the sense that students understand that it is there to denote the fact that sailors from
one point in the past have relied on stars and still do. 68,8% have chosen perfect tense in this
case. In the second sentence without any adverbial, 84,4% of students chose present simple
tense as it is used when stating a fact or generally known and accepted information. It is
commonly known that stars guide sailors and without any time reference it is taken as a fact
that takes place in general.

The sentence from Figure 3 might be more difficult to analyse as it is out of context.
Majority of students (62,5%) chose past simple when translating with the reason being the
focus on the fact that at one point in time he was named father of India and therefore
“nazvali”. They neglected the possibility that that action has consequences and that he still
bears that name.

In the fourth figure the confusion between past simple and past perfect is proven.
These two tenses can be used interchangeably and that is why most students are usually in
doubt whether to use one or the other. Both denote finished past actions, but past perfect
emphasizes that one action happened before another. This sequence of events is more often
than not overlooked and L2 learners rather focus on the time the action happened thus
reaching for past simple tense. In contrast to this sentence, figure 5 shows that with additional
time references it is more apparent which tense should be used. The preposition “before” also
played a major role in indicating and shifting the focus on the sequence of events.

In the Figures 6,7,8 it is indisputable that the so called signal words greatly help L2
learners when it comes to perfect tenses. The adverbials already, just, so far and three times
are commonly used together with perfect tenses and it was fairly easy for the participants to
choose the correct answer which is evident from Figure 6 where 65,6% picked the right
option and in Figure 7 with 78,1%.
Conclusion

In this research paper the understanding and use of perfect tenses by L2 learners of
intermediate level of proficiency is examined. As it can be assumed various factors influence
the choice of which tense to go for when translating from English to BCS and vice versa. The
conclusion that can be drawn from this survey is that students are greatly under the influence
of their mother tongue and are still not thinking in the second language. They often rely on the
rules they already know to find their way around and get the meaning across rather than to
differentiate between the two languages. It is important to realize that each language has its
own grammar and even though some occurrences might be similar it does not mean they are
the same and should be used in the same way. As already mentioned, the perfect tenses do
have the same name in both languages but sometimes they are not translated literally or used
in the same contexts. Literal translation is also a major problem for non-native speakers,
which does not affect only the choice of tenses but other instances of language as well. When
translating the time references, sequence of events and wider context should be taken in
consideration.
References

1. Voa. “Have You Perfected the Perfect Tenses?” VOA, VOA - Voice of America
English News, 17 Jan. 2016, https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/everyday-
grammar-have-you-perfected-the-perfect-tenses/3137265.html.
2. Werner, Valentin. “The Present Perfect and Definite Temporal Adverbials: Reference
Grammars and Corpus Evidence.” ELOPE: English Language Overseas Perspectives
and Enquiries, vol. 10, no. 1, Sept. 2013, pp. 9–21., doi:10.4312/elope.10.1.9-21.
3. Bratić, Ivana. “OSNOVNA GRAMATIKA ENGLESKOG JEZIKA I.” , Veleučilište u
Šibeniku,2016,
https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/970704.Osnovna_gramatika_engleskog_jezika_I.pdf.