The English Present Perfect in Authentic Use and Textbooks: A Corpus-driven Study

Authors

Chanakarn Chareonkul
Raksangob Wijitsopon

Publication Date

2020-07-01

Abstract

One of the reasons why EFL learners have difficulties with the English present perfect tense is that little attention has been paid to the relationship between patterns and meanings of the tense (Yoshimura et al., 2014). To fill this gap, the present study takes a corpus-driven approach to the pattern-meaning interface of the present perfect, using British and American English corpora. It is found that the present perfect can express seven groups of meanings: 'accomplishment with relevance to the present', 'continuing from the past to the present', 'change of condition', 'experience', 'recency', 'discovery', and 'possession'. These meanings are found to be associated with distinctive cooccurrence patterns. The corpus-informed insights were then applied to an analysis of present perfect instances presented in textbooks used in Thailand's universities. It is found that the corresponding patterns and meanings can also be found in the sampled textbooks, but the textbooks tend to under-present a core meaning and highlight only a few uses of the present perfect. The study thereby offers a new perspective on the English present perfect and also provides empirical evidence for development of EFL textbooks and teaching materials.

DOI

10.58837/CHULA.PASAA.60.1.10

First Page

275

Last Page

308

Recommended Citation

Chareonkul, Chanakarn and Wijitsopon, Raksangob (2020) "The English Present Perfect in Authentic Use and Textbooks: A Corpus-driven Study," PASAA: Vol. 60: Iss. 1, Article 10.
DOI: 10.58837/CHULA.PASAA.60.1.10
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/pasaa/vol60/iss1/10