LESSON 3 – The Tense and System Aspect

The Simple Aspect

The simple aspect, according to Hirtle (in Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 2008), refers to” events
that are conceptualized as complete wholes. The events are not presented as allowing for further
development.” To understand this better, let us look at the contrast between the simple aspect and the
progressive aspect which refers to an action or event that is incomplete, exemplified in the following
example:

a. Mr. Santos works in Iligan City.

b. Mr. Santos is working in Iligan City.

The first sentence presents the fact that Mr. Santos works in Iligan City as a whole event, as
something that is not likely to change. The second sentence in the present progressive suggests that Mr.
Santos’s working in Iligan City is something temporary. It presents Mr. Santos’s working in Iligan City as
some portion of the whole, in the sense that he may have worked elsewhere before and that it is possible
that he may work in another place at some future time.

In combination with the tenses, these are now the meanings and uses.

The Simple Present, Past and Future

The simple present tense expresses general timeless truths such as physical laws or customs,
habitual action in the present, relationship, and the conversational historical present and with be and other
stative verbs to indicate states.

1. Filipinos celebrate fiestas throughout the year.

2. She goes to the beauty parlor weekly.
3. That mansion belongs to the richest man in town.
4. “…Then the bull comes charging from the thick bush and we run for our lives…”
5. Sheila is as charming as her twin brother.

The simple past tense expresses a definite single completed event or action in the past. The basic
meaning of the past tense is a sense of remoteness, whether this is remote in time or remote from reality
(Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 2008).

1. They migrated to the United States when Martial Law was declared in 1972.
2. If he owned that condominium, he would not be sleeping on the streets.

The simple past tense may occur with adverbials such as last night, yesterday, etc. It may also
express habitual or repeated action or event in the past, states in the past, an event with duration in the past
with the implication that it no longer applies in the present (Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 2008).
 1. Larry arrived from Singapore yesterday.
2. We spent summer in Dumaguete every year.
3. He seemed precocious as a child.
4. She taught in this university for 35 years.

The simple future is used when an action or event is conceptualized as a whole. It is used for an
action or event that will take place at some definite future time, a habitual action or future or a situation that
may be true in the present and may be true in the future but with some future termination in sight.

1. Hero will take the bar exam next September.

2. When the baby is two years old, she will teach again.
3. My cousin will live with us until she finds a suitable boarding house.

(Do Activity B in Activity Sheet)