PACK 3-A- ASPECT AND TENSES

Why is it necessary
to know what
ASPECT is?
How does TENSE
"Traditional grammarians and modern linguists have approached this work with ASPECT?
complicated area of languages with slightly different terminological Contextual use of
conventions. What many traditional grammarians label as various kinds of tenses in English
'tense,' modern linguists split into two different ideas, namely: Exceptions: TIME
CLAUSES
Tense, which is strictly to do with WHEN something happened or was the
case;

Aspect, which is concerned with factors such as the DURATION or COMPLETENESS of

events and states of affairs.

For English, this difference of terminology comes out mainly in relation to the PERFECT and
the PROGRESSIVE, which many traditional grammarians would treat as part of the system
of tense, but modern linguists treat as belonging to the system of aspect."
(James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994)

"Tense and aspect have risen to some prominence within linguistics in recent decades as
various theories have taken first the verb and then the inflectional system associated with it
to be the central component of the clause. This has manifested itself most obviously in
syntax and morphology, but the effort to understand the meaning and use of time-related
expressions has coincidentally played a significant role in the development of new theories of
semantics and pragmatics, and those theories, in turn, have prompted further research into
tense and aspect. . . .

"Almost every area of linguistics, with the exception of phonetics and phonology, has its own
approach to tense and aspect. Not only do morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
differ in their terminology and methodology, but each area has its own distinct Problematik -
they naturally seek to answer quite different questions where tense and aspect are
concerned."
(Robert I. Binnick, "Introduction." The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect. Oxford
University Press, 2012).

In English, as you know, there are several determiners at the sentence level that trigger the
use of a particular tense. In fact, there are only 3 tenses in English, like in any other
European language: PRESENT, PAST, FUTURE. However, in English tenses combine with
COMPLETENESS or DURATION reflected by PERFECT AND PROGRESSIVE aspects. So,
here is what we obtain in the end:

PRESENT
- Present + Progressive = Present Progressive (Continuous): I am looking at you.
- Present + Perfect = Present Perfect: I have looked up the word in the dictionary already.

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- Present + Perfect + Progressive = Present Perfect Progressive: I have been looking up the
word but I haven’t found it yet/ I haven’t finished my search.

PAST
-Past + Progressive = Past Progressive (Continuous): I was waiting for the bus when you
saw me.
-Past + Perfect = Past Perfect: I had purchased a tele two weeks before the exam.
-Past + Perfect + Progressive = Past Perfect Progressive: They had been dealing with wrong
person at that time, and couldn’t get what they wanted.
FUTURE

-Future + Progressive = Future Progressive: I’ll be meeting them this time next month.
-Future + Perfect = Future Perfect: I’ll have completed my project by that time.
-Future + Perfect + Progressive = Future Perfect Progressive: They’ll have been travelling to
South America for two weeks by next Monday.

Certainly, the system of English Tense & Aspect is more complex and, as I will always say, it
depends on the nature of the verb (static vs. dynamic, etc.) and on the character of the
discourse.

You are going to analyse and practise the uses of the verb in several exercises from Virginia
Evans’ book, and in the end, a more complex series of texts will challenge your ability to
recognise and discuss the use of verbs at the level of discourse.

STOP READING! LET’S PRACTISE

PRESENT TENSE & ASPECT; FUTURE TENSE & ASPECT

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate present tense.

1.”Why …(he leave)?” “Because he … (play) football at 5:30 this evening.”
2. Dancers at the ballet school … (train) for the performance since last November.
3.You … (not/really/expect) me to eat this stew! It … (smell) awful!
4. I … (try) to complete that jigsaw for over three months now!
“Why … (you/feel) Annie’s forehead?” “I … (think) she’s got a temperature.
5. The place looks like a bombsite! What … (do) all day?
6. Come on John! You … (not/really/believe) I would do such a terrible thing.
7. The opposition party … (appear) to be making ground in the opinion polls.
8. Randall … (kick) the ball into the net and it … (be) a goal!
9. He … (study) most of the year, but now it’s summer, he … (work) in a shop.
10. You … (always/leave) the bathroom tap running.

HAS BEEN TO/HAS BEEN IN/ HAS GONE TO

He has been to Berlin. = He has gone and come back.
He has been in Buenos Aires for a year. = He lives there.
He has gone to Toledo. = He hasn’t come back yet.

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 2. Fill in the blanks with have been to, have been in, have gone to in their correct
form:
1.I … (never) Cambodia, but I might include it on my itinerary next year.
2. Mrs Bates … Cologne. She won’t be back for at least three weeks.
3. Nick … Wales for three years now, studying for his degree.
4. Why don’t you ask Clare about the tropics? She … Thailand.
5. He … visit his father. I’m afraid you’ve just missed him.

3. Put the verbs in brackets into the Simple Present or Present Continuous.
1.Terry (be) an engineer who (2) (work) for an international aid organisation. Although he
normally (3) (work) in Indonesia, at present he (4) (supervise) a project in Rwanda which (5)
(involve) the co-ordination of local people, aid workers and engineers like himself. Although
he (5) (enjoy) the experience, he (6) (doubt) the project will be finished soon.

4. Put the verbs in brackets into the Present Perfect or Present Perfect
Continuous.
Stonehenge (1) (be) the subject of archaeological debate for many years. No one (2)
(yet/explain) satisfactorily why or how it was built, although teams of experts (3) (excavate)
the site for years and a team of American scientists (4) (recently/start) working in the area
with sophisticated new equipment. Popular theories (5) (suggest) that Stonehenge was built
as a temple, but no one (6) (manage) to work out how the stones were transported here. A
group of students from Bangor University (7) (discuss) the possibility of re-enacting the
journey from Wales, where such stones are to be found, overland to Stonehenge and
sponsors (8) (come) forward with offers of financial assistance. The British Museum (9)
(also/announce) a forthcoming exhibition of artefacts from the Stonehenge period which they
(10) (gather) over the last five years from all over Northern Europe.

Be + to-infinitive (future plans, instructions). The meeting is to take place on Tuesday. You are
not to leave the premises until 5 p. m.
Be about + to-infinitive/be on the point of + gerund (immediate future). They are about to leave.
They are on the point/verge of leaving.

5. Choose the correct item.

1.“I suppose your report isn’t ready yet.” “Don’t worry. I … it by tomorrow. A. will have been
finishing. B. will be finishing. C. am finishing. D. will have finished.
2. “So, are you coming along, after all?” “Well, I don’t know. What time …?
A. you’re leaving. B. will you be leaving. C. will you leave. D. do you leave.
3. “I’ve called Eddie a hundred times but he won’t answer the phone.” “Try once more. He …”
A. will sleep. B. sleeps. C. will be sleeping. D. is to be sleeping.
4. “Well, I first came here last June.” “So, by the end of May you … with us for almost a
year.”
A. will have been working. B. are going to have worked. C. will have working. D. will work.
5. “Shall I call Eddie at home?” “I think he … now.”
A. will be working. B. is going to work. C. is to work. D. will work.

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6. “Is Nigel still here?” “Yes, but hurry up, he is just …”.
A. about to leave. B. about leaving. C. to be leaving. D. to leave.
7. “Do you know it’s Maggie’s birthday today?” “Yes, she … a party tonight.”
A. has. B. is having. C. is to have. D. will have.
8. “Doesn’t she feel nervous about having to teach that class?” “I shouldn’t think so as she’s
such an experienced teacher. By October she … teaching for 15 years.”
A. is going to be. B. has been. C. will have been. D. is to be.
9. “Why don’t we go to the cinema?” “It’s too late; the film … started by now.”
A. will be. B. is going to be. C. shall have. D. will have.
10. “You look gorgeous in that dress.” “Really? I … it then”.

6. Put the verbs in brackets into an appropriate present or future form.

“If I (1) (be) re-elected, I (2) (give) you my word that the first issues I (3) (tackle) are those of
the environment and education. As of next month, I (4) (serve) my country in a public
capacity for 6 years; I (5) (hope) to continue for at least as many more. While the general
attitude (6) (seem) to that things in this country (7) (go) from bad to worse, I believe that by
the end of my next term of office we (8) (be/able) to look back and count the improvements
that have been made. In fact, I am so confident that if it (9) (not/be) the case, I (10)
(never/make) another promise in my life. But I firmly believe that these (11) (be) years of
positive change and dramatic improvements.”

7. Fill in will or be going to.

1.A: I’m going to start learning Chinese. B: Are you? … (let/know) what it’s like as I I’d like to
have a go, too?
2. A: Sheila ……………have an operation next Tuesday. B. If you tell me which hospital
she’ll be in, I’ll go and visit her.
3. A: So, I’ll book your dental appointment for 4:30, shall I? B. No later than that, as I ………
(not) be at the office before 5 today.
4. I have to be at work by 8:30. B: You ………… be late.
5. I’m sure I …………. Pass the course this time. B: I hope you do. You’ve worked hard this
term.
6. A: Look at those clouds. It’s definitely going to rain. B. Is it? I ………….. bring the chairs in
from the garden, then.
7. A: So, are you ready to go? B: I’ve told you a thousand times! I ……. come.
8. A: If you buy the flowers, I’ll get some chocolates. B: OK, but get a move on or we ….. be
late.

8. Put the verbs in brackets in appropriate tense.

1.The true story about the new housing estate (to be published) after further investigation (to
be carried on).
2.When his maneuvers (to be discovered), he (to be) the brick that’ll fall out of the office wall,
leaving a hole of about $ 100 billion.
3.They (to let) you know about the midterm results as soon as you (to finish) talking on the
phone.

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4.At a time when the disposal of nuclear wastes (to become) problematic, serious measures
(to have to) be taken.
5.When the famous novelist (to die), biographers (to rake over) his life.
6.My tutor certainly (to dislike) the idea, when I (to tell) him that I’ve taken it from an
architectural review.
7.The scholarly work (to shed) more light on F. L. Wright relation to myths, when his best
designs (to be studied).
8.Critics (to be amazed) when they (to find out) that the atmosphere in the houses he
designed was due to his childhood experience.

PAST TENSE & ASPECT

For other uses see Virginia Evans’ book. However, the exercises given below will
refresh your knowledge about the cases when the forms of past are used.

USED TO / GET USED TO / WOULD

Used to + infinitive = past habitual state/action: This theatre used to be a hospital. He

used to work till late at night (he doesn’t anymore)

Be / get used to + gerund/noun = habitual action: She isn’t used to driving on the left. I
haven’t got used to living abroad.

Would = repeated past action and routine: When I was young, I would play the piano
every day.

9. Put the verbs in brackets into an appropriate past tense.

1. He (walk) to the front of the stage, (take) a bow and (wave) to the audience.
2. Her clothes were soaked because she (walk) in the rain.
3. We (not/enjoy) the play so we (leave) early.
4. While you (sleep), Joan (try) hard to finish her dissertation.
5. In June 1979 they (still/build) this shopping centre.
6. Susan and Tom (meet) when they (study) in Edinburgh 20 years ago.
7. They (walk) to the water’s edge, (wade) in and (swim) to the other side.
8. While the soldiers (advance) they did not realise that the enemy (plan) a surprise attack.
9. The politician (already/finish) his speech by the time the TV reporter (arrive).
10. By the time Monica (get) to the library, Elena (already/do) all the research.

10. Put the verbs in brackets into the appropriate past tense.
1.If it (not/be) for Louis, Joan (2) (never/survive) her trip to Paris last month. She (3)
(not/meet) him before, but she (4) (be) certainly glad that she had by the end of her stay. The
first thing that (5) (happen) was that the hotel where she (6) (plan) to stay (7) (not receive)
her booking, so they had no room for her. Then, as she (8) (try) to get a taxi to take her to
another hotel, someone on a motorbike (9) (snatch) her bag with all her tickets and credit
cards in it. As her French (10) (be) quite rusty, she (11) (not/know) how to explain what (12)
(happen). It was then that Louis (13) (approach) her and (introduce) himself.

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