Aspectual Patterns in Nigerian English and Standard British English: Insights from a Corpus-Based Analysis

Abstract

This study examined aspectual patterns in Nigerian English (NigE) and Standard British English (SBE) with a focus on the simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive aspects. A comparative corpus-based approach was adopted, drawing data from the International Corpus of English–Nigeria (ICE–Nigeria) and the British National Corpus (BNC). Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to identify frequencies, collocates, and usage contexts for each aspect. Findings showed that both varieties shared the same core aspectual framework, with the simple aspect as the most frequent, followed by the progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive. Quantitative analysis revealed that NigE relied more on the simple past and used the present perfect less often than SBE. The progressive appeared more often in NigE, sometimes extending to stative verbs such as *know* and *have*, and was occasionally used for habitual actions. The perfect progressive was rare in both corpora but showed occasional extension in NigE. These divergences reflected systematic influence from Nigerian indigenous languages, where states were expressed as ongoing and tense distinctions between past and perfect were less strict. Genre variation also emerged, with formal writing aligning more closely with SBE norms and informal speech displaying stronger NigE features. The study concluded that NigE is a legitimate variety shaped by its multilingual environment. Recommendations included a contrastive teaching approach, integration of NigE examples in materials, inclusion of NigE features in teacher training, and further research on aspect in African Englishes and digital communication.