Verbal Group Structure

Matthiessen (1995: 84):

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To be clear, Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 427) identify the Auxiliary as the function of an auxiliary verb in the verbal group:

More importantly, the elements of the logical structure of the verbal group (α,β, γ etc.) are not realised by auxiliary verbs. Halliday & Matthiessen (2014: 398-9):

… the elements of the logical structure are not the individual words but certain rather more complex elements. … The logical structure of the verbal group realises the system of tense. … The primary tense is that functioning as Head, shown as α. This is the Deictic tense: past, present or future relative to the speech event. The modifying elements, at β and beyond, are secondary tenses; they express past, present or future relative to the time selected in the previous tense. Realisations are shown in Table 6-12.