On Verb Inflections for Tense and Aspect in English and Okpameri

This article is published in AL-QALAM Journal of Languages and Literary Studies, Vol. 1, Issue 1, December 2025 (A Publication of the Department of English and Literature, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria)

ON VERB INFLECTIONS FOR TENSE AND ASPECT IN ENGLISH AND OKPAMERI

By

Raifu Olanrewaju Farinde, PhD¹, Afolabi Innocent Ariremako, PhD², Omolaiye, Happy Ojo²

Department of English and Literary Studies, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State Nigeria¹

Department of General Studies, The federal Polytechnic Ile-Oluji, Ondo State²

Corresponding Author’s Email and Phone No: raifu.farinde@fuoye.edu.ng

Abstract

This study investigates verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri. Through a comparative analysis of the two languages, the study aims at identifying the similarities and differences in their verb inflectional systems. Predicating on Lado’s Contrastive Analysis (1957) as the theoretical framework, this study collected Okpameri data from fieldwork with the instrumentality of word translation while the English data were got from the English grammar texts and information obtained from library and internet sources. The findings of this study revealed significant differences in the verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri. While English has verb inflections that account for number, person, tense and aspect, fhis is not so in Okpameri because almost all Okpameri verbs are not inflected. The only similarity between English and Okpameri inflections is the progressive aspectual inflection. However, the progressive aspectual inflection in English and Okpameri differ in structure. The implication of this study is, therefore, significant in area of language teaching and learning as the predicted problems Okpameri ESL learners may encounter while using the English tense and aspect which may result in errors. This study concludes by recommending that language experts are to come up with practical demonstrations of the English verb inflections markings in the L₂ context. By so doing, the perceived difficulties in learning the English verb inflections while using the English tense and aspect by Okpameri ESL learners will be minimized.

Keywords: Verb inflections, tense, aspect, English, Okpameri.

Introduction

 Verb is the engine of language that drives the action and conveys meaning in any grammatical structure. It is a fundamental part of speech that expresses actions, events, or states of being. In other words, a verb is a word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state that usually involves a subject (performer or experiencer) typically capable of changing form to indicate tense and aspect (Farinde and Ojo 2000, Murthy 2007, Ojo 2011, Jimoh 2009 among others). A verb, especially the action verb, is capable of taking complements.

 An action verb describes what the subject does or experiences in a sentence while a stative verb can be described as action-oriented verb or state-oriented verb. As earlier, mention, a verb is capable of changing its form to reflect number, time and duration. In other word, a verb can be inflected for number, person, tense or aspect (Omolaiye 2023). Some of the examples of action verb are ‘eat’, ‘clap’, ‘run’, ‘beat’ etc. while the stative verbs are ‘is’, ‘was’, ‘are’, ‘were’ among others. A linking verb (also known as copular verb or connecting verb) is a verb capable of connecting the subject to additional information and describing the subject’s state, condition or identity (Ojo, 2008). Typically, a linking verb does not express action, it rather emphasizes the subject’s characteristics, and it is often followed by a complement. Some of the linking verb are ‘seem’, ‘appear’, ‘became’, ‘remain’ among others. It must be emphasized here that linking verbs are of context operations. Some of these types are:

i. copular verbs (seem, appear).

ii resultative verbs (become, get)

iii. Stative verbs (remain, stay)

Consider:

1. Bayo seems nervous (copular)

2. The weather becomes hot (resultative)

3. The man remains in the prison (stative verbs).

 While sentence (1) describes the subject’s qualities, sentence (2) shows the subject’s transformation, sentence (3) simply indicates the subject’s location or state. A verb can also be categorized as either transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs are capable of taking complement (an object). Some examples are ‘kill’, ‘eat’, ‘buy’ etc. Consider:

4. The man killed animals.

5. I eat the food.

6. They buy the book.

 The underlined verbs in the sentences (4), (5) and (6) are transitive verbs while their objects/complements are ‘animals’, ‘food’, and ‘book’ respectively. In case of intransitive verbs, they do not take object directly. Consider:

7. I go there everyday.

8. They come for the money.

9. I sleep on a mat.

 The sentences above have revealed the clausal elements that follow intransitive verbs . The intransitive verb in sentence (7) is followed by an adverb (there) and sentences (8) and (9) prepositions ‘for’, ‘on’ respectively. In essence, verbs can be categorised based on their complementalization tendency (Ojo, 2008). At the verbal group level, verbs are classified as lexical and auxiliary. Lexical verbs are verbs that express action of the subject in a sentence. Consider:

10. The boys eat the bread.

11. I take it.

12. They run along.

 The underlined lexical verbs in the sentences above have given information about the action of their subjects. On the contrary, auxiliary verbs do not indicate actions, rather they help the lexical verbs to fully express such systems as tense aspect, mood, voice, modality among others. (Farinde & Ojo, 2000, p. 27). Consider:

13. The man is reading the book (‘is’ – auxiliary, ‘reading’ – lexical).

14. She has finished the assignment (‘has’ – auxiliary, ‘finished’ – lexical)

15. They were beaten (were – auxiliary’, ‘beaten’ – lexical).

 It must be mentioned here that all the “have – verbs”, “do – verbs”, “be-verbs” and “modal verbs” are primarily seen as auxiliary verbs. However, in a situation whereby any of the auxiliary verbs appears to be the only verb in a sentence, such a verb has automatically assumed the status of lexical verbs. Consider:

16. Ade is good (lexical verb)

17. He has it (lexical verb)

18. She does ((lexical verb)

 Auxiliary verbs are further classified as modal and non-modal auxiliary verbs. Modal auxiliary verbs are so called because they are capable of changing their modes. That is, they are capable of having more than one interpretation. Some of these modal verbs are ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘shall’ among others. Consider:

19. I may go there.

20. You may go there.

In (19) ‘may’ can be interpreted as possibility while in (20) it signifies permission.

 Non-modal auxiliary verbs are do-verbs, have-verbs and be-verbs. Do-verbs are ‘do’, ‘does’ and ‘did’ while have-verbs are ‘have’, ‘has’ and ‘had. ’Be’-verbs have various forms which are ‘be’, ‘been’, ‘being’, ‘am’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘is’ and ‘were’. These verbs are so-called because of their capacity to perform two functions in a sentence. They can occur as auxiliary as well as lexical verbs.

 Verbs can be classified on the basis of whether they can be inflected for person, number, tense, aspect or mood. The verbs that satisfy these operational dynamics are referred to as finite verbs. The verbs that do not account for grammatical category like tense, aspect, mood etc. are non-finite verbs. Farinde and Ojo (2000, p. 29) state the operational dynamics of finite verbs thus:

- My friend plays everyday   tense

- My friend played yesterday

- The girl eats voraciously number

- The girls eat voraciously 

- He attends all the lectures person

- They attend all the lecture

- Kunle ate the food indicative  mood

- Kunle, eat the food – imperative

- I wish I ate the food – subjunctive.

 

 As earlier mentioned, non-finite verbs cannot be inflected for person, number, tense or mood. For instance, the –ing form of the verb, -en form of the verb and to-infinitive cannot be inflected for the grammatical category mentioned. Consider:

21. I eat everyday – finite

22. I know how to do it – non-finite

23. For the man to pay is a problem – non-finite

24. Waiting for him is necessary – non-finite

25. To do it is good- non-finite

26. Given this premise, education is important – non-finite

Verb Inflection

 Having briefly examined what verbs are, their functions and classifications, it is expedient to also briefly examine what verb inflections are. Verbs, the obligatory elements in a sentence, undergo various transformations to convey nuanced meanings. Verb inflections, therefore, refer to the process verbs undergo to account for tense, aspect, mood, voice, person or number. This phenomenon is crucial for effective communication, and understanding its mechanisms can shed light on language acquisition, linguistic typology and cognitive processing. By extension, verb inflections encompass the morphological, syntactic and semantic changes verbs undergo to adapt to various contexts. There are two major changes that occur to verbs. These are inflectional and derivational changes. Grammatical and semantic contexts are the two major factors that influence verb inflections. It must be mentioned here that the focus of this study is on inflectional changes that occur in verbs to indicate tense and aspect in English and Okpameri Languages. The rationale behind this focus is informed by the empirical evidences of errors of tense and aspect committed by Okpameri ELS learners. Contrasting verb inflections in English and Okpameri will reveal their similarities and differences. That is, the study will reveal shared patterns and unique ways English and Okpameri verbs are inflected. The identified problem areas will inform language teachers the method to adopt in teaching the English verb inflections in the L₂ context.

 Having looked at what verb inflection is, it is important to briefly examine how they are inflected for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri.

The English Verb Inflections

 The English verb is capable of changing its forms. By these, suffixes are affixed to the base form of verb. English verb changes its form to account for number, person, tense, aspect mood among others. Consider:

Go: goes, went, going, gone

Come: comes came coming come

Take: takes, took, taking taken

Hurt: hurts, hurt, hurting hurt

Know: knows, knew, knowing, known

Hear: hears, heard, ___ heard

Taste: tastes, tasted, ___ tasted

Have: has, had, having, had

Do: does, did, doing, done

Set: sets, sets, setting set

Throw: throws, threw, throwing, thrown

 The verb inflections above can be grammatically categorized in the table thus:

Table 1: Categorization of Verbs into tense and aspect

S/N	BASE FORM	TENSE		ASPECT
		Present Tense		Past	Progressive Aspect	Perfective Aspect
		Plural Verb	Singular Verb Z3	d1		d2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.	Come Go Take Hurt See Hear Taste Do Throw Set	Come Go Take Hurt See Hear Taste Do Throw Set	Comes Goes Takes Hurts Sees Hears Tastes Does Throws Sets	Came Went Took Hurt Saw Heard Tasted Did Threw Set	Coming Going Taking Hurting ___ ___ ___ Doing Throwing Setting	Come Gone Take Hurt Known Heard Tasted Done Thrown Set

 

 The table above has revealed how the English verbs are inflected for number, persons, tense and aspect. For instance, while the Z₃ morphemes account for number or person, d₁ and d₂ morphemes account for past tense and perfective aspect respectively. The –ing morpheme accounts for progressive aspect. However, the table has revealed absent of inflectional markings in some sensory verbs like ‘hear’, ‘see’, and ‘taste’. This implies that –ing cannot be affixed to the verbs – ‘hear’, ‘see’ and ‘taste’ to indicate progressive aspect. So, inflectional markers – Z₃, d₁, d₂ and –ing affixation bring about grammatical categories.

The Okpameri Verb Inflection

 Conceptually, there are verbs in Okpameri language. However, the verbs are not inflected to account for grammatical categories. This implies that Okpameri verbs are not morphologically realized to indicate number, tense (different in form for present and past tense) and perfective aspect. For instance, the verb re (eat) is not inflected for tense or number. However, progressive aspect is marked. The marking pattern is different from English verb because the progressive marker comes before the base word. Consider the following:

 O͙ o re͙

- She ing eat

- She is eating

 I i zhi

- They ing come

- They are coming

 Ojo O͙ suvie

- Ojo ing sing

- Ojo is singing

In essence, verb inflection in Okpameri is not explicitly manifested. At this juncture, it is necessary to shed light on Okpameri as a language and its location in Nigeria.

A Brief Background of Okpameri

 Elugbe (1989, p. 28) classifies Okpameri as one of the North-western Edoid languages. Ekharo, Aliu and Akanji (2007) corroborate this by citing Hakeem (2003) who classifies Okpameri as belonging to North-Western Edoid language in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. Okpameri is a group of people distinguishable by their common language and custom. This group comprises twenty one (21) socio-cultural communities (Omolaiye, 2023, p. 9). As earlier mentioned, Okpameri natives and communities are found within the confines of Akoko -Edo Local Government Area of the present day, Edo State which has Igarra as its headquarters. The local government is made up of thirty-four autonomous communities out of which, over half are culturally and linguistically Okpameri. This implies that Okpameri is the language widely spoken in the local government.

 Okpameri natives are predominantly farmers. A sizeable number of the female human population are garri producers. Some trade with the nearby villages and towns of Ishua and Ikare (in Akoko district of Ondo State) and Okene (in Kogi State). Okpameri practises religious secretion (that is, the fusion of diverse religions, beliefs and traditions). However, two major religions (Christianity and traditional religion) dominate all the communities in Okpameri. In essence, Okpameri natives hold their tradition and custom to high esteem.

 It must be added that 2006 human population census conducted in Edo state only shows the overall total of every local government in the state. Hence, the overall population in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area is 262, 110 (Oseghele, 2019). The total population does not really indicate the breakdown of the population into towns and villages so as to know the total human population in Okpameri linguistic environment. This might be attributed to political reasons.

Theoretical Framework

 The study is predicated on Contrastive Analysis because it aims at comparing and contrasting features of two languages (as in the case of English and Okpameri). The choice of this theory is informed by its descriptive nature which makes it suitable for contrastive grammar. Also, the choice is hinged on the conviction that the theory satisfies the evaluation criteria. According to Halliday (1964, pp. 155-6), a good grammatical model must have three adequacies. These are observational, descriptive and explanatory adequacies. It is worthy of mentioning here that emphasis on Lado’s CA (1957) Linguistic Across Culture, as well as on the exposition and exemplification of the CA by other Lado-inspired contrastivists like James (1980), Bandjowidjojo (1972), Sander (1976), Gas and Selinker (2001), Josiah (2001) among others had seen cited.

 Contrastive linguists like Di Pieto (1971) and James (1980) report that modern contrastive linguists began with Lado’s Linguistics Across Culture 1917. Lado’s work is built on the earlier works of Weinreinch (1953) on the linguistic integration of immigrants in the united State of America (Ojo, 1996, Omolaiye, 2013).

 Contrastive Analysis has been variously defined by different scholars. James (1980, p.3) sees Contrastive Analysis as a linguistic enterprise aimed at producing inverted two-valued typologies. This is why Josiah (2001) describes CA as a culture of contrasting two different languages. Valdman (1966) summarizes the role of CA to be the comparison of equivalent portions of two languages for the purpose of isolating the probable problems that speakers of one language will have in learning the other (as cited in Josiah & Udoudom, 2012, p. 73). This CA is concerned with a pair of language that is founded on the assumption that language can be compared. This implies that CA is more concerned with the differences that exist between languages than on their similarities. Rutledge, Encyclopedia of Language Teaching (1990, p. 141) classifies CA into theoretical, and applied. Theoretical is the language contrasted while applied CA on the other hand is the reliable prediction of the learners’ difficulties (James, 1980).

 Similarly, Udondata (1993) classifies CA as a branch of linguistic study that uses empirical and synchronic methods in contrasting two or more language structure so as to examine areas of difference that can enhance language learning, particularly in the ESL situation. CA is, therefore, seen as being anchored in the doctrine of behaviourism (Gas & Selinker, 2001). As earlier mentioned, the preoccupation of contrastive linguistics in its comparison of languages is to provide methods for language teaching. Thus, features of the language revealed in CA may suggest modification and will certainly be further modified in the light of future experiences, thereby enhancing final grading of learner’s difficulties.

 Quite a number of linguists like Bardjowidjojo (1972), Sander (1976), Banjo (2004), among others, have expanded the scope of CA and experimented on comparative study of two languages. CA hypothesis claims that the principal barrier to second language learning is the interference of the first language system with the second language system, in that a scientific structural analysis of the two languages in question is what yields a taxonomy of linguistic contrasts between them which in turn would enable linguists and language teachers predict the difficulties a learner would encounter. Lado (1957) claims that where the patterns are similar in the two languages being compared, learners of the Target Language (TL) would find language relatively easy, because the ‘inputs’ they are now exposed to are not new to them. On the other hand, where the language patterns of the TL and MT differ, the learning of the TL would be relatively difficult. The difficulties predicted cannot be properly taken care of without recourse to Error Analysis (EA) since Error Analysis is concerned with the actual errors committed by second language learners. It is, therefore, not out of point to state that CA and EA are related in that no contrastivist has ever really predicted solely on the basis of the CA, but has to rely on his or teachers’ knowledge of errors already committed. This is why James (1980) claims that CA is always prognostic while EA is diagnostic. This implies that CA and EA are essential because their approaches to second language learning account for L₂ learning problems.

Method of Data Collection

 The hallmark of every research rests much on methodological application. In other words, the success or otherwise of a research depends largely on the methodology adopted for it (Koleoso, 2000). To achieve the goal of the research, Okpameri data were got on-the-field through the instrumentality of word translation while that of English data were got from the English grammar texts and information obtained from literary and internet sources. Adopting a primary source, the researchers’ participatory observation and interview enhanced Okpameri data collection. Hence, a test instrument of 58 words with their verb inflections in English were translated to Okpameri language. This was done in order to collect detailed and factual information on Okpameri inflectional verbs. This method of data collection revealed similarities and differences in verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri.

 The population of the study consists of Okpameri speakers and users of English as a second language in Okpameri linguistic environment. Ibillo, being the central community in Okpameri was selected as the field of research. It must be mentioned here that the target population of the study comprises students in secondary schools in Ibillo. Out of ten (public and private) secondary schools in Ibillo community, four selected served as the sample size of the study. Fifty students for each of schools were selected. The selection was based on the outstanding performances of the students selected. The selection was also based on the conviction that the subjects must have attained some level of proficiency in English and Okpameri because the subjects are Okpameri ESL learners.

 In the case of validity and reliability of the research instrument, the test instrument was scrutinized by some experts in language instruments and evaluation. They were able to offer valuable suggestions on the contents which helped in ensuring standardization of the instrument. The self-constructed test instrument was administered by the researchers and some teachers in order to ensure originality of data collected. For the purpose of effectiveness and efficiency, the test instrument was administered to one school a day. It must be mentioned here that two hundred subjects in the four schools selected carried out the translation exercise. For the purpose of reliability, one hundred subjects whose translations were similar or the same in every item translated were taken as the correct translation.

Data Analysis

 It must be mentioned here again that the focus of this study is on verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri. In light of this, data collected were classified into Z₃, d₁, d₂ and –ing inflections. The d₁ and d₂ were sub-classified. The sub-classification revealed how English and Okpameri verb inflections are marked for tense and aspect. For the purpose of clarity, verb inflections were presented side by side in tables and contrasted in order to establish areas of similarities and differences. The findings of the study were used to predict likely problem areas Okpameri learners and users may encounter while marking the English verbs for tense and aspect. The data collected are tabulated thus:

A. 3rd Person-Singular Verb(s)

- Z₃ signifies singular verb inflection. In other words, verbs are inflected to indicate number or person, the data are presented below:

Table 2: Z₃ Singular Verb Inflection (s)

Plural Verbs		Singular Verbs Inflection
English	Okpameri	English	Okpameri
Have Do Go Cook Look Stand See Write Kill Eat Talk Wash Clap Blow	Nyani Ri Waha He Ghe͙he͙ Ziza Mie͙ Che͙ Gbe Re͙ Ko͙li Fue͙ne͙ Kpeli Fie	Has Does goes Cooks Looks Stands Sees Writes Kills Eats Talks Washes Claps Blows	Nyani Ri Waha He Ghe͙he͙ Ziza Mie͙ Che͙ Gbe͙ Re͙ Ko͙li Fue͙ne͙ Kpeli Fie

Contrastive Statement

 In table (2) English verbs are morphologically marked to signify 3rd person singular verbs (Z₃). However, this is not so in Okpameri. In other words, Okpameri verbs in the table above have zero inflection. In view of this, Okpameri ESL learners may be confronted with the problems of appropriate use of subject verb agreement. They may resort to producing expressions like “He go there”, “My father have a big house”, “Nobody know the answer”, “God create everything”, instead “He goes there”, “My father has a big house”, “Nobody knows the answer”, “God creates everything” respectively.

B. d Inflections

 In d inflections, verbs are inflected to indicate tense and aspect. Therefore, d₁, (-), d₁ (ed), d₂ (en), d₂ (en) indicate past tense with vowel change, past tense (ed), perfective aspect with (ed) respectively.

 All these inflections are not realized in Okpameri language. These are shown in the tables below:

Table 3: d₁ (-) Vowel Change Verb Inflections

Present Tense		Past Tense d1 (-)
English	Okpameri	English	Okpameri
Go Come Eat Take Shake Give See Sing Break Build Sell Buy Have Do Speak	Waha Zi Re͙ Nyeh Zigizi Hana Mie͙ Sua Bi Ma Khe͙ne͙ De͙ Nyani Ri Ko͙li	Went Came Ate Took Shook Gave Saw Sang Broke Built Sold Bought Had Did Spoke	Waha Zi Re͙ Nyeh Zigizi Hana Mie͙ Sua Bi Ma Khe͙ne͙ De͙ Nyani Ri Ko͙li

Table 4: d₁ (ed) Verb Inflections

Present Tense		Past Tense d1 (ed)
English	Okpameri	English	Okpameri
Kill Shout Need Dance Collect Submit Gather Finish Arrive Quench Fetch Kick Examine Want Carry	Gbe Suhana Dano͙h Gbizima Nyeh Hazake͙ Khule͙ze͙ Vbozi Zi Vboli Vo Kpi Gbe͙he͙ Dano͙h Ghami	Killed Shouted Needed Danced Collected Submitted Gathered Finished Arrived Quenched Fetched Kicked Examined Wanted Carried	Gbe Suhana Dano͙h Gbizima Nyeh Hazake͙ Khule͙ze͙ Vbozi Zi Vboli Vo Kpi Gbe͙he͙ Dano͙h Ghami

 

Contrastive Statement

 In table (3) and (4) it is observed that English verbs are inflected for tense (past tense). This is not so in Okpameri linguistic system. Hence, Okpameri ESL learners may be confronted with the use of English verbs to indicate time of action. Empirical study has revealed error of tense committed by Okpameri ESL learners. One often hears erroneous expressions like “I see him yesterday”, “The teacher ask me to call you”, “I am here before” among others, instead of: “I saw him yesterday”, “The teacher asked me to call you”, “I was here before” respectively. Okpameri speakers of English may also be confronted with the appropriate use of reporting verbs. This implies that changing of verb tense to reflect past action may pose a problem to Okpameri ESL learners since there is no verb inflection to indicate past action in Okpameri linguistic system. 

d₂ Verb Inflections

These verb inflections indicate perfective aspectual markings. d₂ verb inflection is sub-classified based on its inflectional markers. The sub-clasification is presented in the tables below:

Table 5: d₂ (en) (ne) (n) Inflectional Markers

Root Word		Inflectional Markers for Perfective Aspect d2 (en) (ne) (n)
English	Okpameri	English	Okpameri
Speak Shake Write Break Give Beat Take Go Do Know Grow Hide Steal Blow Draw	Koli Zigizi Che͙ Bi Hana Gbe Nyeh Waha Ri Ne͙ze͙ Se͙ Vbe͙te͙ Zo Fie Yah	Spoken Shaken Written Broken Given Broken Taken Gone Done Known Grown Hidden Stolen Blown Drawn	Koli Zigizi Che͙ Bi Hana Gbe Nyeh Waha Ri Ne͙ze͙ Se͙ Vbe͙te͙ Zo Fie Yha

Table 6: d₂ (ed) Inflectional Markers

Root Word		Inflectional Markers for Perfective Aspect d2 (ed)
English	Okpameri	English	Okpameri
Shout Expect Follow Dance Kill Jump Face Like Close Open Fetch Collect Gather Finish Carry	Suhana Dano͙h Zhezha Gbizima Gbe Vbo͙ Silozo͙ Da Kueze Kueh Vo Nyeh Kule͙ze͙ Vbozi Ghami	Shouted Expected Followed Danced Killed Jumped Faced Liked Closed Opened Fetched Collected Gathered Finished Carried	Suhana Dano͙h Zhezha Gbizima Gbe Vbo Silozo͙ Da Kueze Kueh Vo Nyeh Kule͙ze͙ Vbozi Ghami

 Contrastive Statement

 Tables (5) and (6) have revealed the inflectional markers in the English verbs to indicate perfective aspects. This morphological structure is absent in Okpameri inflectional verbs. This implies that Okpameri verbs are not inflected for perfective aspect. It could be said that Okpameri verbs are neither inflected for tense nor for aspect. Rather, perfective aspect is marked on tense. The likely problem an Okpameri ESL learner will encounter is how to differentiate tense from aspect because tense and aspect are often lumped together to express the completeness of an action. For instance, Okpameri ESL learners may render expression like ‘The students have go out’ instead of: ‘The students have gone out’. Also, variations in tense and aspect markers in English may pose problem to Okpameri ESL learners. For instance, ‘en’, ‘ed’, ‘n’, ‘ne’ which are markers of the English perfective aspect could bring confusion because some morphological affixes in tense and aspect are similar.

-ing Verb Inflection

 Verbs are inflected to indicate continuous actions or activities. While –ing is affixed to the root word as suffix to form a progressive aspect like ‘eat-eating’, ‘talk-talking’, ‘do-doing’, among others in English, progressive markers in Okpameri linguistic system are not affixed to the root-word. Instead, letter equivalent to –ing stands apart. For instance, while English has ‘cook + ing = cooking, Okpameri has ing and cook as two separate words. Instances of these are in the table below:

Table (7): -ing inflection to mark Progressive Aspect

English	Okpameri
Eat: eat + ing = eating	re: re + o = O re eat: eat + ing = ing eat
Go: go + ing = going	Waha: waha + o = O waha Go: go + ing = ing go
Sing: sing + ing = singing	Sua: sua + e = e sua Sing: sing + ing = ing sing
Run: run + ing = running	Zila: Zila + i = i zila Run: Run + ing = ing run
Beat: Beat + ing = beating	Kpeli: Kpeli + e = e kpeli Beat: beat + ing = ing beat
Jump: Jump + ing = jumping	Vbo: Vbo + o = O vbo Jump: Jump + ing = ing jump
Sell: sell + ing = selling	Khene: Khene + e = e khene Sell: Sell + ing = ing sell
See: see + ø = see	Mie: mie͙ + o = o mie See: see + ing = ing see
Taste: taste + ø = taste	Toli: To͙li + e͙ = e͙ toli Taste: taste + ing = ing taste
Hear: hear + ø = hear	Sio: s͙io + i = i sio Hear: hear +ing = ing hear

Contrastive Statement

 It is observed in the table above that the two languages under study have conceptual and functional ‘ing’ inflection. One of the differences between English and Okpameri ‘ing’ inflection is at the level of structure. While English progressive marker is affixed to the root word to form a single word, Okpameri word indicating progressive activity is separated from the root word. Also, while ‘ing’ is affixed to the root word as suffix in English, markers like, o, o͙, e, e͙,, representing ‘ing’ in Okpameri comes first and then followed by the root word to form two separate words expressing progressive activities. It is observed that there is inconsistency in Okpameri progressive marker indicating progressive activity. For example, some letters of Okpameri alphabet indicating progressive activity are e, e͙, i, o, o͙ among others. This is not so in English, as English uses ‘ing’ consistently as the inflectional marker indicating progressive activity. It must be added that while there is no inflectional marker indicating progressive activity in sensory verbs like ‘see’, ‘hear’ or taste in English, Okpameri has progressive markers for sensory verbs indicating progressive activity. This difference may pose difficulties to Okpameri ESL learners. For instance, an Okpameri ESL learner may produce expression like “I am seeing you’ instead of “I can see you.

Findings and Discussion

 A contrastive analysis of verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri has revealed differences in the internal structures in the verbs of the two languages compared. This is because, the internal structure of every word of every language is culturally-bound. This is why Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis claims that each language creates its own word and, therefore, its own meaning. It is realized that something which can be said in English can also be said in Okpameri. This is because verb inflections correspond to the physical reality, but their inflection markings are not exactly the same in all context. Thus, the analysis of verb inflections for tense and aspect call our attention to the fact that physical reality is necessary but not a sufficient basis for morphological analysis.

 As shown in table (2), Okpameri ESL learners may not be able to appropriately use singular verb. In other words, Okpameri speakers and users of English may be faced with the problem of subject-verb agreement because Okpameri verbs do not have inflection that accounts for person or number. The analysis has also shown that d₁ and d₂ morphemes, that is, verb inflectional markers d(-), d₁ (ed), d₂ (en), d₂ (ed) are morphologically realized for tense and aspect in English. However, these verb inflections are absent in Okpameri grammar because tense and aspect are often lumped together. In other words, perfective aspect is marked on tense in Okpameri linguistic system. Thus, Okpameri ESL learners may likely utter an expression like: “They have go out” instead of “they have gone out”. Changing of verb tense to reflect past action may also likely going to pose problem to Okpameri ESL learners because Okpameri verbs are not inflected for past action. So, such a problem may emanate from the speaker’s L₁.

 In the case of ‘ing’ verb inflections, both languages compared inflect for continuous actions. However, there is difference at the level of structure. While English ‘ing’ marker is affixed to the root or stem (verb) to form a single word, Okpameri separates markers representing ‘ing’ from the root word. Since both languages under study have this phenomenon (that is, inflection for continuous actions), Okpameri ESL learners may likely not going to have much problems because English and Okpameri have ‘ing’ markers in their grammars. This is why Lado (1957, p. 267) claims that where the patterns are similar in the two languages being compared, learners of the Target Language (TL) would find language relatively easy, because the ‘inputs’ they are now exposed to are not new to them. Lado further submits that where the language patterns of the TL and MT differ, the learning of the TL would be relatively difficult.

 In view of Lado’s second claim, this study has drawn our attention to what could be considered as structural variation in verb inflections to indicate tense and aspect in the two languages compared. This variation could result in errors by the L₂ learners , and these errors, in most cases, are traced to mother-tongue interference. The comparative study of verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri will, therefore, serve as a guide to language teachers on how to teach the English verb usage in the L₂ context. The predicted problem areas that the Okpameri ESL learners may likely encounter will also serve as an effective guide to the teaching of the English tense and aspect in the L₂ learning situation.

Implication for Pedagogy

 Understanding the similarities and differences in verb inflections in English and Okpameri can inform more effective language instruction for Okpameri ESL learners. In view of this, the findings of this study will facilitate teaching methodology, thereby helping language teachers to identify areas where Okpameri speakers may struggle with English verb inflections and develop targeted instructional strategies.

 This study will bring about the creation of language learning materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, and online resources that will cater for the specific needs of Okpameri ESL learners. Also, this study can be used to design teacher training programmes that will focus on the specific challenges of teaching English to Okpameri ESL learners. By so doing, teachers’ knowledge and skills will be enhanced.

 By highlighting the unique characteristics of Okpameri and its verb inflections, this study has promoted greater appreciation and recognition of language diversity, thereby encouraging bilingualism and language preservation efforts.

Conclusion

 This study provides a comprehensive analysis of verb inflections for tense and aspect in English and Okpameri. The study reveals the complexities and nuances of verb inflections in both languages, highlighting similarities and differences in their verb structures. The findings of this study have significant implications for language teaching and learning. By shedding light on the verb inflectional systems of English and Okpameri, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of the universal principles underlying human language.

 Furthermore, this study’s outcomes have practical applications in designing curricula and instructional materials for Okpameri ESL learners. This study also underscores the importance of considering the linguistic and cultural background of learners in language teaching and learning. Ultimately, this study demonstrates the value of comparative study in advancing the knowledge of language structure, language acquisition and language pedagogy. To this end, language teachers are, therefore, advised to come up with practical demonstrations of these verb inflections in the second language being learnt. By so doing, the perceived difficulties of learning the English verbs inflectional usage and expressing the Okpameri non-verb inflection in English will be minimized.

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