A Cognitive Explanation Of English Constructions Expressing Future Time

The present thesis calls attention to the different meanings expressed by various English constructions expressing future time, which is always a controversial issue but remains an increasingly significant topic within the research on tense & aspect. Against the theoretical background of grammaticalization, metaphorical mapping and image schema, the present study explains the cognitive process behind the meanings of the constructions expressing future time mainly based on the prescribed rules offered by Quirk et al.The study views that some of the constructions can be considered as the space to time metaphor (e.g. the construction of be about to + infinitive) and that the meanings expressed by all the constructions expressing future time are much related to the root meanings that the main word in the construction convey or the basic use of the construction. This can be regarded as metonymy within the same model on the basis of a prototype analysis.The present study offers a new approach to explain the uses of future expressions, so it is of both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, it enlarges the field that the cognitive approach is applied to; practically, it has some implications on English grammar teaching in China.