The Present Tense in English, Again

Abstract

We report on an experimental study examining what aspectual tense forms we use to convey aspectual meanings when talking about present events in English. We test the effect of structural priming on the use of aspectual tense morphosyntax in the English present tense by native speakers, upper-intermediate and advanced L2 learners of English with French as their native language. Comparative production data from a video retell task is used. Aspectual choices from two previous studies by Liszka are compared with our partial replication. While Liszka primed participants to use the progressive tense, our instructions were neutral in this respect. Findings for native speakers point to a high level of individual variation in the use of present progressive and present simple to denote events simultaneous with the speech moment. Not only are choices variable, but they are also influenced by priming. We argue that this variability creates difficulties for learners of English that teachers should know about.