One of the characteristics of tense/aspect marking in English interlanguage is that the way verbs are marked in obligatory past contexts is highly variable. Although such variable patterns are often said to be random, it has been claimed that L2 learners have their own reasons for using some systematically variable patterns. The present study investigated two specific issues in tense/aspect marking patterns in English interlanguage using VARBRUL as a statistical tool. (1) hat linguistic factors consistently affect past tense marking in English interlanguage? Seven linguistic factors are investigated: discourse type, co-occurrence with adverbials, grounding, sentence structure, lexical/semantic aspect, phonological environment, and phonetic saliency of verbs. Another issue addressed is: (2) How is lexical/semantic aspect associated with uses of verbal inflection for tense/aspect in English interlanguage?;The interlanguage data analyzed were produced by adolescent native Japanese speakers learning English (high-intermediate) with a mainly formal instructional background in Japan. They produced three oral past tense narratives in their L2. From among seven factor groups investigated by VARBRUL analysis, three significantly influenced L2 variable past tense marking rates: discourse type, the foreground vs. background distinction, and sentence structural differences such a's matrix/independent clauses, conjuncts, and subordinate clauses. Two factor groups, the lexical/semantic aspect distinction in terms of perfective vs. imperfective aspect, and phonetic saliency of verbs, showed a non-significant tendency toward contributing to variable patterns of tense marking. Two more factor groups, co-occurrence with "anchored" or "unanchored" adverbials and phonological environment, did not affect variable tense marking. It is concluded that it is higher level interlanguage constraints such as discourse type, grounding, and sentence structure that more consistently affect verb past marking rates for L2 learners who are at a relatively higher proficiency level.;Concerning the second research question, a relationship between the English simple past and achievement verbs was identified, and activity verbs were found to attract the progressive.;The study demonstrates the value of VARBRUL for understanding variable patterns in interlanguage. VARBRUL, being very different from type/token analysis, allows us to closely analyze variable patterns as they occur and reanalyze them from various points of view.
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