Language Decoded – Verbs: Moods, Voices, Tenses & Aspects

 

Language Decoded – Verbs: Moods, Voices, Tenses & Aspects

Verbs are the central element of a sentence. Most communicative elements are sentences. Except while identifying things or calling out to people, all other communication is done with sentences or simply verbs.

A verb is like a pivot of a sentence, as is evident from previous articles on Nouns and Cases.  A verb will determine what is the central action and thereby the central theme of the sentence, it establishes the relationship of all nouns in the sentence, and it also conveys the time zone (past, present, or future) and “mood” or “mode” of a sentence.

(“Mood” here is a technical term – not referring to an emotional state but a manner in which a sentence expresses reality, imagination or instruction.)

The next few paragraphs will decipher the meanings of these technical terms.

Moods

Indicative	The statement of reality, as is, was or will be. Most language is expressed in this mood. Simply said – it is the use of language for describing and stating facts in day-to-day life. As simple as, I am hungry. Or what is for dinner today. Shall we go to the mall today? Here, there is a general reference to reality. The reader might not appreciate or fully comprehend this until one reads the section on the subjunctive mood and observes the difference.
Subjunctive	This, on the contrary, is an expression of how things might have been , or one wishes to be. This expression does not exist in reality, just like the phrase above in red suggests. What we could have eaten differently for dinner last night, or what I wish there is for dinner at my friends place tonight, how it would have been had the bomb not gone off or if our friends had not taken that flight – how we wish we had more money, or a better love life, and better children and so on and so forth.
Conditional	In some languages, the subjunctive is further divided into two parts. The other one expresses a condition for a wishful situation to arise. Had the person invested in real estate, he would be a rich man today. Had he selected this stock in his portfolio, he would have been a multi-millionaire today. Had India chosen not to partition based on religion, the country would have faced an extended civil war. The former phrases (marked in red) represent the condition and therefore the conditional mood in which the latter situation (marked in blue) or the subjunctive mood would arise. IN most languages there is little or no distinction in the form and structure of the conditional and the subjunctive, but in some languages, it is marked. French, Spanish and perhaps other European languages have distinct conditional and subjunctive moods.
Imperative	The imperative, in contrast to the indicative, does not STATE or DESCRIBE reality as it is, but instructs the interlocutor to perform actions. Be a good boy, is different from you ARE a good child. Hand me the gun, is not the same as – he helps me with the gun when I go hunting. While the former has the communicative function of instructing and requesting, the latter examples INDICATES a fact of life.
Benedictive	In certain classical, ancient languages, such as Sanskrit, there is even a mood in which one blesses another. Usually seers, elders and parents will bless and wish how the interlocutors’ lives may be. May there be light! May you be blessed! May you be healthy wealth and wise. These are different from imperatives in that they are not instructions but wishes for things to happen for the other.

Tenses & Aspects

Actions are depicted in the past, presented and future. That’s simple. We call that tense.  However, apart from the SIMPLE past, present and future, there are also other ASPECTS of tenses.

Tense >  Aspect Ú	Past		Present		Future
Simple	When a person went to college, he studied things and made friends and met his partner and made a career. All these actions happened in the past. They are a simple past tense in that they happened, as a general reality in the past.		Every day in a common man’s life, one vwakes up, goes about his daily routine, makes a living, comes home, hopefully to family, spends time with friends, engages in his hobbies, and the retires to bed. These are descriptions of the general reality of life in the present.		The coming days will be better than ever for the youth and aged alike. Technology will allow people to have more leisure time and they will have to struggle less for material gains and shall spend more time for higher pursuits. These actions describe a general idea about the future.
Continuous	When we met the person at the college library, he was conducting a search into a lost wallet. He was behaving rather strangely, looking around in odd spaces, oblivious of our presence. This is a description of an activity at a specific occasion, and the action was continuing at that specific occasion in the past.		At the time that we speak right now, the common man is ironing his shirt, cooking his breakfast, and is rushing to work. This is a specific activity at a particular time and the action is going on at the time of description.		And when we visit planet Earth, it is possible the earthlings will still be fighting among themselves. Or it’s possible that they will be flying inter planetary shuttle planes. One never knows. Again, a description of an action continuing during a specific occasion, albeit in the future.
Perfect	By the time we arrived at the college for the interview, the person had already left. He had written a note, stating how sorry he was, and why he had left, and had not been able to wait. These are all actions that were performed BEFORE a SPECIFIC incident in the past. The specific incident is our arrival at the college (simple past). All other actions prior to this past event, are the past perfect.		Today is the common man’s appraisal. He has prepared himself well, (has) laid out his tools, (has) set up the presentation, and has checked the seating for the audience. The actions completed BEFORE a SPECIFIC incidence in the present, are expressed in the PRESENT PERFECT tense. The specific incident in the time of the appraisal. That is in the SIMPLE present. All actions completed BEFORE that, in preparation for it, and leading towards it, are in the PRESENT PERFECT.		By the time we arrive on planet Earth, I am sure the dignitaries will have organizedour reception and will have made arrangements for our transition to their atmosphere. Again, actions BEFORE a specific incident in the FUTURE.
Imperfect Past	The imperfect tense is an action that is not completed unlike the perfect. It is closer to the simple tense. The distinction is hard to make in English. But we can come close to it with the following example. The sun shone, and the wind blew softly, and all the elves lived happily in Elves Ville. Every day Mary would go about picking berries and play in the fields. These actions happen on a regular basis in the past, unlike the simple past, which denotes a specific incident of the past. In English there is no grammatical difference between the imperfect and the simple past. However, in Spanish, Hindi and French, they are two completely different tenses.
	Language	The Imperfect Past		The Simple Past
	Spanish	El hombre me daba el pan.		El hombre me dió el pan.
	Hindi	वह मुझे रोटी देता था ।		उसने मुझे रोटी दी ।
	Kannada	ಅವನು ನನಗೆ ಊಟವನ್ನು ಕೊಡುವನು.		ಅವನು ನನಗೆ ಊಟವನ್ನು ಕೊಟ್ಟನು.
	English	The man would give me bread. (on a regular basis)		The man gave me bread. (at a specific occasion)

Voices

Voices refer to whether the emphasis is on the process or the doer.

In most of the sentences given above, the emphasis is on the doer, i.e. the person performing the action is significant.

In some expressions of reality, the doer is not important, but the process is. For example, in administrative services, experiments, processes and procedures, it does not matter who is doing the action. The action or procedure itself deserves emphasis.

For example: The water is heated. The chemicals are mixed. The participants are invited.

This is the PASSIVE voice, because there is no active doer or performer of the action.