Eesti verbi minevikuvormidest venekeelsete üliõpilaste kasutuses
Usage of Estonian past verb tenses by Russian-speaking students

Summary/Abstract: This article gives an overview on 1) how Russian-speaking students who are fl uent in Estonian use temporal categories in Estonian; 2) what they know about the tense system of Estonian and 3) how the Estonian tense system is explained in grammar books written for schools with Russian as the language of instruction. In Estonian past time is expressed by the simple past, the present perfect and the pluperfect, in Russian only by the simple past. The language data was collected from oral presentations and written texts produced by students during two years. Students distinguish between the three past tenses of Estonian but make a lot of mistakes. Features of both positive and negative transfer can be followed in students’ presentations. Students’ opinions about the Estonian tense system repeat the rules given in grammar books. An unexpected fi nding was an understanding that the simple past represents a recent past, the present perfect expresses a time which passed at least three years ago and the pluperfect appears as a very distant past. In the conclusion it is suggested to use the time lines in grammar sources to illustrate Estonian tenses. Two parallel lines enable to mark the time of speaking, the reference time and the time of action, thus improving students’ understanding of the nature and differences between the simple past, the present perfect and the pluperfect.

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