دلالات زمن الفعل الماضي بين العربية والإنجليزية دراسة تقابلية

Abstract

This research examines the morphological and contextual patterns of the past tense in Arabic and English languages. The research does not only serve as a comparative study between Arabic and English with regard to the various patterns of the past tense, but also applies the comparative method to conclude the similarities and differences between both languages in relation to the morphological and contextual forms of the past. The study came up with the facts that both languages have the same form of the past verb, Arabic expresses the form morphologically through definite forms, then asserts or modifies it contextually, while English expresses the form contextually through the context marks or context. The context in English is more needed than in Arabic for the meaning of past tense. Out of the context, the morphological suffix /- ed/ is not sufficient to denote past tense as it is used for past tense and past participle as well. Thus, context in English is needed not only to modify past tense, but also to reveal the ambiguity in it.