| As a part of the use of tense, the sequence of tenses is of vital importance to the learning and application of English. However, at present, the sequence of tenses is still one of the weakest points of English learners when they use English. The reason is that previous studies overemphasize the concord of tense forms, neglecting not only the relationship between form and meaning but also the purpose of language use.This thesis, in the course of reviewing related studies at home and abroad, has found that Qin Yuxiang's study (2005) of the sequence of tenses of English verbs can very well explain the linguistic phenomena concerned. He defines the sequence of tenses as the principle according to which the tenses of verbs are suited to each other, and classifies it into the sequence of tenses in its narrow sense and the sequence of tenses in its broad sense. He puts forward the "meaning concord" criterion of the sequence of tenses and, by applying this criterion, he succeeds in accounting for the sequence of tenses in its narrow sense, that is, the sequence of tenses in complex sentences with indirect speeches or object clauses. This thesis, on the basis of Qin's study, and under the guidance of cognitive theories of metaphor and image schema, has made a deeper and broader investigation into the complicated phenomenon of the sequence of tenses The thesis has analyzed the "form concord" criterion and the "meaning concord" criterion and pointed out the limitations of the "form concord" criterion and the advantages of the "meaning concord" criterion. Based on the analyses, the thesis has discussed the cognitive motivation of the "meaning concord" criterion. It points out that tense is the result of cognition; the sequence of tenses is a normal use of tenses; it is a cognitive process, a process in which the time relation between the action state and its reference time is first cognized and the tense form of the verb denoting the action state is then selected according to the result of the cognition; the "meaning concord" criterion is meaning-centered, attaches importance to the inherent relation between form and meaning of tense, conforms to the purpose of language use and reflects the nature and the inherent law of the sequence of tenses.By applying the "meaning concord" criterion, the thesis has managed to explain the different cases of the sequence of tenses, especially the sequence of tenses in the broad sense (the sequence of tenses in other types of complex sentences and all kinds of texts). The result indicates that both the sequence of tenses in the narrow sense and the sequence of tenses in the broad sense observe the "meaning concord" criterion, that is, they both involve the selection of the tense form of a verb in accordance of the time relation between the action state denoted by the verb and its reference time. This study is a further investigation of the sequence of tenses based on previous achievements and conducted from the perspective of cognitive linguistics. It focuses on meaning and is believed to be helpful in revealing the nature of and enabling English learners to better understand and grasp the sequence of tenses of English verbs. |
