An Analysis of the English Language Tenses Used in Educational Research Abstracts

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This research aims to study the use of tenses in different moves of the educational research abstracts. A sample of 108 research abstracts was used. The tenses were studied and classified in each move of the abstracts. The results show that there are 3 tenses mostly used in writing research abstracts; present simple, present perfect and past simple. Past simple tense was mostly used in the abstracts and in move 3 that describes the research methodology to discuss the what, why, and how the research was done. This tense was also used in move 4 to show the research findings and to report information about issues and ideas that were dealt with before writing the actual research. The present simple tense was mostly used in move 5 for the conclusion and discussion and also in move 1 for the introduction of the research concerning general truths, general knowledge and the other research works in the order of the chronology of the study reported. The present simple tense was also employed when discussing information derived from different document sources. The present perfect tense was rarely used in the abstract but sometimes it was used in move 1 and move 5 to indicate narrative progression or to mention the prior researches that had just been done.