Tema 30 EOI

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS.
EPO 1 - 15
UNIT 30 ‘EOI’
THE VERB: TIME, TENSE, ASPECT AND MOOD
By Cristóbal Martínez Alfaro

OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION.
2. VERB.
2.1. Verb accidence.
2.1.1. Time.
2.1.2. Tense-terms for the different verbal tenses.
2.1.3. Voice
2.1.3.1. Active.
2.1.3.2. Passive.
2.1.4. Aspect.
2.1.4.1. Progressive/Non-Progressive.
2.1.4.2. Perfective/Non-Perfective.
2.1.5. Mood.
2.1.5.1. Indicative.
2.1.5.2. Subjunctive.
2.1.5.3. Imperative.
3. CONCLUSION.
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 1 - 15

1. INTRODUCTION.
Grammatical tense is a temporal linguistic quality expressing the time at,
during, or over which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs.
Tense is one of at least five qualities, along with mood, voice, aspect, and
person, which verb forms may express.
Tenses cannot always be translated from one language to another. While
verbs in all languages have typical forms by which they are identified and indexed in
dictionaries, usually the most common present tense or an infinitive, their meanings
vary among languages.
There are languages (such as isolating languages, like Chinese) in which
tense is not used, but implied in temporal adverbs when needed, and some (such as
Japanese) in which temporal information appears in the inflection of adjectives,
lending them a verb-like quality. In some languages (such as Russian) a simple verb
may indicate aspect and tense.
The number of tenses in a language may be controversial, since its verbs may
indicate qualities of uncertainty, frequency, completion, duration, possibility, and
even whether information derives from experience or hearsay.
Knud Schibsbye points out that in practice it is not difficult to
distinguish this part of speech: it is generally agreed that it comprises such
words as "be", "have", "must", "take", "live", "teach", "spend". But he
observes that it is difficult to define the class.
If we take the form as our basic we might, for instance, fix on the suffix
-s in the third person singular present, but this would exclude "can", "may",
etc. ... Another form criterion that seems applicable is the difference in the

expression of present and past: "live/lived", "fight/fought". But this definition
would not cover "put", "set", etc. ..., since they have only one form for these
expressions.
If we distinguish according to function , verbs could be defined as the
sentence-forming element of a word-group. But this definition would not
include infinitives, gerunds and participles. For example, the following
expressions do not form sentences:
To be or not to be / lost horizon /Erring ...
A definition by content is the most comprehensive, but also the
vaguest. One might say that verbs express "behaving" partly in the sense of
the subject manifesting itself (in the case of verbs intransitively); partly of the
way the subject behaves towards somebody or something else (in the case of
verbs used transitively). In the first case the dividing line between verbs and
adverbs will become blurred, as can be seen in: he up and struck me.
In the second case the dividing line between verbs and prepositions
may also become blurred; compare
A. Versus B. /and A. Playing B. /
where "versus" and "playing" may be said to express the same relationship.
At classroom level, the content of this unit connects with the concepts
included in any didactic exploitation, and within them functions, grammar, lexis and
phonology.
With regard to functions, everything will depend on the verb or verbs we are
going to work on.

As far as grammar is concerned we will highlight the different tenses and their
practice in statements, questions, negations,. We will also insist on the use of the
operator whenever it is necessary. Besides, we will highlight the use of –(e)s
formation when using 3rd person singular of the present simple. The importance of
verbs to form sentences will be also emphasised.
Concerning lexis, the pupils will increase their vocabulary and will learn
different verbs orally and in a written form.
Phonologically speaking: Present /s/, /z/, /iz/; Regular Past Simple and Past
Participle /d/, /t/, id/.
2. VERB.
Eckersley observes that in the great majority of sentences, the verb is
the word that plays the most important part: according to this he gives us
some traditional definitions of this part of the speech:
 "A verb is a word for saying something about some person or
thing".
 "It is the part of the speech by which we are able to say what a
person or animal or thing is, or does, or what is done to that
person or animal or thing".
 "It is the part of the speech that predicates, assists in the part of
the speech that predicates, assists in predication, asks a
question and expresses a command.
2.1. Verb accidence.

Verbs have certain features that are not shared by other parts of
speech; they have forms that indicate the time of an action (present, past,);
they can indicate the duration completeness or incompleteness of an action;
and can even express, in certain cases, the emotional attitude of the speaker
toward the action. All these features are to be dealt with in this topic, but
before that, it would be convenient to distinguish between finite and non finite
verb phrases.
a) Finite verb phrases show tense, mood, aspect and voice:
 She made him happy. (past tense / indicative mood / non perfective
aspect / active voice).
They occur as the verb element of a clause. So, there is person and
number concord between the subject and the finite verb.
b) Non-finite verb phrases do not show tense or mood, but are still capable of
indicating aspect and voice. The non-finite forms of the verb are the
infinitive (to call), the -ing participle (calling), and the -ed participle (called).
- Calling (progressive aspect and active voice).
- Called (perfective aspect and passive voice).
2.1.1. Time.
Time is a universal, non-linguistic concept with three divisions: past,
present and future. All languages in order to express time, make use of
tenses. However, the word time and tense must not be confused in English.
The word time stands for a concept which is common to all mankind and is
independent of language. The word tense stands for a verb form or series of
verb forms used to express a time relation. Tenses vary from language to

language. Tenses indicate whether an action or state is past , present or
future.
Units of time are extra linguistic, universal and not grammatical. There
are three of them:
PAST TIME PRESENT TIME FUTURE TIME
(not in English)
------X-----------------------X--------------------------------X--------------
All languages in order to cope with them, make use of tenses and in
English there are only two verbal forms:
PRESENT TENSE: I play, etc. ...
PAST TENSE: I played...
English is different from other languages because it only expresses
present and past. In Spanish we have the notions of the three times:
PAST: fui PRESENT: voy FUTURE: iré
English only has two verbal forms, present and past, it hasn’t future as
in Spanish:
PAST: went PRESENT: go
The words "time" and "tense" must not be confused in English: the word
"time" stands for a concept which is common to all mankind and is
independent of language. The word "tense" stands for a verb form or series
of verb forms used to express a time relation; tenses vary from language to
language. Tenses may indicate whether an action, activity or state is past,
present or future. Tenses may also indicate whether it is, was, or will be in
progress over a period of time.

2.1.2. Tense.
According to Palmer tense has three functions:
1. To mark purely temporal relations of past and present time.
 Temporal relations: She comes back home now, she is old.
We sent him a letter last week.
2. In the sequence of tense that is mainly relevant for reported speech.
 Reported speech: ‘I love dancing’, said she.
She said she loves dancing (what was said in the past is still valid).
She said that she loved dancing (this has been called a deictic
tense).
3. To mark unreality, particularly in conditional clauses and wishes.
 Unreality: I wish I had a lot of money.
If I were you . . .
We shall now consider the tenses found at present in English verb.
English verbs have only two simple tenses, the tenses called the Simple
Present (e.g. "he writes") and the Simple Past (e.g. "he wrote"); the
remainder of the conjugation is made up by the infinitive, past participle and
present participle compounded with various auxiliaries.
1. Simple Present Tense.
It has various uses:
a. Present without reference to specific time.

It is used where there is no limitation on the extension of the state
through the present into the past and future time. This category includes
‘eternal truths’, which do not refer specially to the present, but are general
timeless statements:
- Universal time statements: two and two make four. (Usually with stative
verb).
- Habitual time statements: we travel abroad once a year. (usually with
dynamic verbs).
b) The instantaneous simple present.
It is only used with dynamic verbs which express an event simultaneous
with the present moment:
Commentaries: Now, Romario gets the ball and ...
Demonstrations: Now, I stir the sauce slowly.
Exclamations: Here is Brad Pitt.
Performative declarations: I acknowledge your letter.
c) Simple present with future time reference.
It is used:
1. When there is a temporal adverbial in the clause:
The show starts at 9 o’clock.
2. In conditional and temporal clauses introduced by ‘if’, ‘unless’, ‘after’,
‘before’, ‘as soon as’, ‘when’, etc. ...
If he studies hard, he’ll pass the exam.
d) Simple present with past time reference.

It is used with verbs such as tell, hear, lean, write, etc., which indicate
communication to express the persistence in the present of the effect of a
past communication:
I heard that your brother has left his wife.
2. Simple Past Tense.
According to Quirk the basic meaning of the simple past tense is to
denote definite past time, i.e. what took place at a given time or in a given
period before the present moment. It is found with adverbs referring to past
time:
I spoke to him last week.
There are, however, some exceptional cases in which the past tense
does not have to refer to past time.
a) Indirect speech.
In indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the verb
of the subordinate clause tends to be in the past.
Direct speech: ‘Mary likes sweets’.
Indirect speech: She says she likes sweets.
She said she liked sweets.
b) Attitudinal past.
It refers to the attitudes of the speaker rather than to time.
Do did you want to see en now?
I wonder/ wondered if you could help me.
In these examples the past tense is more polite than the present tense.
c) Hypothetical past.

It is used in some subordinate clauses, especially if clauses.
If I were you I’d buy this dress.
Since tense can be defined as the form taken by the verb to indicate
the time of an action, there is no reason for not giving the name tense to each
of the different ways of referring to the future (modal auxiliaries, semi-
auxiliaries, simple present, progressive for and so on). But, what we cannot
do is to speak to the future tense as if there were only one form taken by the
verb to indicate future time.
Apart from this, Millington Ward among other grammarians
distinguishes thirty-two tenses (half of them being in the passive voice)
without including the non-finite forms, i.e. infinitives, past participles and -ing
forms.
These are:
 Simple Present: He teaches (stem or stem plus -s)
 Present continuous: He is teaching (Present of "be" + -ing form)
 Simple Past: He taught (stem + dental suffix)
 Past Continuous: He was teaching (Past of "be" + -ing form)
 Future Tense: He will teach (shall /will + infinitive)
 Future Continuous: He will be (future of "be" + -ing form) teaching.
 Conditional: He would teach (Should/would + infinitive)
 Conditional Continuous: (conditional of "be" + -ing form)
 Present Perfect: He has taught (Have/has + past participle)

 Present Perfect Continuous: He has (present perfect of "be" + -ing
form) been teaching.
 Past perfect: He had taught (had + past participle)
 Past Perfect Continuous: He had (past perfect of "be" + -ing form)
been teaching.
 Future Perfect: He will have (Shall/will + have + past part.) taught
 Future Perfect Continuous: He will (future perfect of "be" + -ing
form) have been teaching.
 Conditional Perfect: He would have (Should/would + have + past
participle) taught.
 Conditional Perfect Continuous: He (Conditional Perfect of "be" + -
ing form) would have been teaching.
These tenses have their corresponding forms in the passive, though
some of them are rarely used; thus we have:
 Present Passive: He is taught.
 Present Con. Passive: He is being taught.
 Past Passive: He was taught.
 Past Cont. Passive: He was being taught.
 Future Passive: He will be taught.
 Future Cont. Passive: He will be being taught.
 Conditional Passive: He would be taught.
 Conditional Cont. Passive: He would be being taught.
 Present Perfect Passive: He has been taught.

 Present Perfect Con. Passive: He has been being taught (rarely
used).
 Past Perfect Passive: He had been taught.
 Past Perfect Cont. Passive: He had been being taught (rarely used).
 Future Perfect Passive: He will have been taught.
 Future Perfect Con. Passive: He will have been being taught (rarely
used).
 Conditional Perfect Passive: He would have been taught.
 Conditional Perfect Cont. Passive: He would have been being
taught (rarely used).
Palmer and Bradford include in their list two other forms for the Present
and Past tenses, which should be considered as emphatic forms of the verb
in question. These forms are called by them:
 Compound Present: He does teach.
 Compound Preterit: He did teach.
2.1.3. Voice.
The English verb has two voices, as we have already observed. If the
person or thing denoted by the subject of a sentence is the doer of the action,
then that form of the verb is in the "active" voice. If the person or thing
denoted by the subject of a sentence is the receiver or sufferer of the action,
then that form of the verb is in the "passive" voice.

As we have already noticed, the passive voice is formed by using the
appropriate tense of the verb "be" (sometimes "get" or "become") + the past
participle of the verb.
The passive voice is not merely a formal variant of the active voice,
able to replace it without any change of meaning; there is a difference of
emphasis. Generally speaking, the passive voice is the grammatical device
that gives the object of a transitive verb prominence by making it the subject.
So, when we want to place the emphasis on the receiver of the action, we
use the passive voice.
The car is being cleaned by Albert (emphasis on the car).
Finally, we must say that there are verbs that can never be used in the
passive voice, especially linking and intransitive verbs.
2.1.4. Aspect.
This concept refers to the manner in which the verb is regarded or
experienced. The choice of aspect is a particular view of the action. English
has two sets of aspectual contrasts:
2.1.4.1. Progressive/Non-Progressive.
These concepts refer to aspect of action. Here we are concerned with
an act at the time of its occurrence. The simple tenses are used to express
such an action, completed in the past, present or future. (Non progressive).
I bought a new hat last week/
The continuous form also describes the action and do so while it is in
progress; we are not interested in its beginning or and (progressive):
I was buying a hat when I first met my wife/

(the action is more precise in this sentence).
2.1.4.2. Perfective/Non-Perfective.
These concepts refer to aspect of fact. Here we are not interested in
the action but in the completed fact and its relationship to a general given
time aspect. The perfect tenses express this idea (perfective).
Example: I’ve bought a new hat/ (we are calling attention to the present
possession of the article and not the precise act of buying. But if I add
"yesterday", I must say "I bought" (non perfective), because the mention of a
past time automatically throws our mind back into the time when the action
took place).
Not all verbs have continuous tenses: stative verbs normally have no
progressive forms, as against dynamic verbs, which have them.
2.1.5. Mood.
Eckersley observes that mood is a grammatical term used to denote the
forms
that a verb takes to show what work it is doing, and the manner in which the
action or state is thought by the speaker.
Zandvoort says that mood is a verbal category represented in English
by opposition "(he) play" - "(he) plays", of which the former (subjective)
denotes non-fact, the later (indicative) either fact or non-fact.
Grammarians distinguish three moods in the English verb: indicative,
Subjunctive and Imperative. But these three moods are not kept distinct in
English in the same clear way as in many other languages. The Imperative
has the same form as the base of the verb, and the same is true of the

present indicative (except the third person singular) and of the whole of the
present subjunctive. These may therefore be considered various functions of
the same form. In the preterit only one verb has a subjunctive form that is
distinct from the indicative, and that only in the singular: "were" (indicative
"was"), and this form is to a great extent being displaced by "was", so that the
tendency is to get rid of the preterit subjunctive form in all cases. The
Infinitives and the Participles, which are often reckoned among the moods,
stand apart and form categories of their own; they are called the "non- finite"
forms of the verb because they cannot form the predicate of a sentence by
themselves. Let us see the use of these moods in general:
2.1.5.1. Indicative.
The indicative m ood is used in all ordinary statements and questions.
From simple matter-of- fact sentences it has been extended to many
sentences in which formerly the subjunctive was used, so that now it is the
normal mood of English verbs.
2.1.5.2. Subjunctive.
In the old language the subjunctive served in clauses to express
various subjective moods, uncertainty, hesitation, diffidence, etc. But these
meanings are no longer felt with the same force as formerly, and as the
subjunctive is hardly never used colloquially, it may now, to a great extent, be
considered a literally trick to remove the style from everyday associations.
The following sentences will serve to show it in various kinds of clauses:
I do not know whether this rumour be true or not/
I did not know whether this rumour were true or not/

If this rumour be true, everything is possible/
The rustic sits waiting till the river run dry/
I move that Mr. N. be expelled from this club/
In most of these examples a single indicative would be used in present-
day English; or instead of the subjunctive a modal auxiliary plus infinitive is
often used as for example in the last sentence, where "be expelled" can be
expressed by "shall be expelled".
As Zandvoort observes the Subjunctive may be used to express:
 A wish; in this sense it may be called an "optative":
The captain demanded that flag be lowered/
 Possibility: in this sense it may be called a "potential";
If two angles of a triangle be equal to one another.../
 Unreality: in this sense it may be called an "irrealist":
If I were you, I shall go/
Of the three, the irrealist ("were") only is in common use in spoken and
ordinary written English.
2.1.5.3. Imperative.
The imperative mood is used in requests, which according to
circumstances may range from brusque commands to humble entreaties, the
tone generally serving as a key to the exact meaning.

The imperative has the same form, in the second person, singular and plural,
as the base of the verb. In the first and the third person, it is preceded by
"let" plus accusative.
3. CONCLUSION.
As we have already stated Time is a universal concept with three
divisions: Past Time, Present Time and Future Time . The concept is
universal in that the units of time are extra-linguistic: they exist independently
of the grammar of any particular language. In our use of language, however,
we make linguistic reference to these extra-linguistic realities by means of the
language-specific category of tense.
As far as Tense is concerned, English has two tenses: Present Tense
and Past Tense. As the names imply, the present tense normally refers to
present time and past tense to past time.
Aspect refers to the manner in which the verb action is regarded or
experienced. The choice of aspect is a comment on or particular view of the
action. English has two sets of aspectual contrast: Perfective / Non-
Perfective and Progressive / Non-Progressive.
The tense and aspect categories can be combined in various ways, so
that we get a system of contrasts in the complex verb phrase.
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
 Aarts, F. & Aarts, J.: English Syntactic Structures, Functions & categories in
Sentence Analysis, Prentice Hall International Language Teaching, Redwood
Books, Trowbridge, Wilshire, 1998.

 Campos, M.A., Lillo, A, & Pina, V. M., Grammar in Gobbets, Agua Clara, Alicante,
2002.
 Greenbaum, S., & Svartik, J., Stone, L. New Lower Cambridge Certificate ,
Macmillan, London, 1969.
 Jespersen, O. A Modern English Grammar , Munksgaard, Copenhagen,
1909.
 Joos, M. The English Verb. Form and Meaning , the University of
Wisconsin Press, Madison, Milwaukee and London, 1968.
 Murphy, R., Essential Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1994.
 Onions, C. T. Modern English Syntax , Routledge and Kegan Paul, London,
1974.
 Palmer, F.R. Grammar , Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1971.
 Palmer, F.R. The English Verb , Longman, Essex, 1987.
 Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., LEECH, G., SVARTVIK, J., A Grammar of
Contemporary English , Longman, London, 1972.
 Swan, M., A Practical English Usage , O.U.P., Oxford, 1980.
 Thomson, A. J. and Martinet, A. V. A Practical English Grammar , Oxford
University Press, 1969.
 Zandvoort, R. W. A Handbook of English Grammar , Longman, London,
1972.


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UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS.

THE VERB: TIME, TENSE, ASPECT AND MOOD

By Cristóbal Martínez Alfaro

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 1 - 15

during, or over which a state or action denoted by a verb occurs.

person, which verb forms may express.

Tenses cannot always be translated from one language to another. While

vary among languages.

There are languages (such as isolating languages, like Chinese) in which

Japanese) in which temporal information appears in the inflection of adjectives,

may indicate aspect and tense.

indicate qualities of uncertainty, frequency, completion, duration, possibility, and

even whether information derives from experience or hearsay.

Knud Schibsbye points out that in practice it is not difficult to

distinguish this part of speech: it is generally agreed that it comprises such

words as "be", "have", "must", "take", "live", "teach", "spend". But he

observes that it is difficult to define the class.

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 2 - 19

expression of present and past: "live/lived", "fight/fought". But this definition

If we distinguish according to function , verbs could be defined as the

sentence-forming element of a word-group. But this definition would not

include infinitives, gerunds and participles. For example, the following

expressions do not form sentences:

To be or not to be / lost horizon /Erring ...

A definition by content is the most comprehensive, but also the

may also become blurred; compare

A. Versus B. /and A. Playing B. /

going to work on.

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 3 - 19

operator whenever it is necessary. Besides, we will highlight the use of –(e)s

verbs to form sentences will be also emphasised.

different verbs orally and in a written form.

Participle /d/, /t/, id/.

Eckersley observes that in the great majority of sentences, the verb is

some traditional definitions of this part of the speech:

 "A verb is a word for saying something about some person or

person or animal or thing is, or does, or what is done to that

person or animal or thing".

the speech that predicates, assists in predication, asks a

question and expresses a command.

2.1. Verb accidence.

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 4 - 19

they can indicate the duration completeness or incompleteness of an action;

a) Finite verb phrases show tense, mood, aspect and voice:

aspect / active voice).

number concord between the subject and the finite verb.

- Calling (progressive aspect and active voice).

- Called (perfective aspect and passive voice).

Time is a universal, non-linguistic concept with three divisions: past,

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 5 - 19

language. Tenses indicate whether an action or state is past , present or

are three of them:

PAST TIME PRESENT TIME FUTURE TIME

English there are only two verbal forms:

PRESENT TENSE: I play, etc. ...

PAST TENSE: I played...

English is different from other languages because it only expresses

PAST: fui PRESENT: voy FUTURE: iré

PAST: went PRESENT: go

"time" stands for a concept which is common to all mankind and is

language. Tenses may indicate whether an action, activity or state is past,

progress over a period of time.

UPDATED EDITION C RISTÓBAL MARTÍNEZ ALFARO. INGLÉS. EPO 6 - 19