TESL 623 REPORT

SLIDE 1 VERB-TENSE PROBLEMS

SLIDE 2 NAME

SLIDE 3 Desired Learning Outcome

• Distinguish between tense and aspect and give examples.

SLIDE 4 VERB TENSE

Verb tense refers to the form of a verb that indicates the time of an action, event or state. In
English, there are several different tenses, including the present, past, and future.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "Tenses are forms of verbs used to show when in time
something happened, is happening, or will happen." (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.)

SLIDE 5 The verb of a finite clause is inflected or marked for tense (present or past).

A finite clause is a clause that has a subject and a verb that is inflected for tense (present or
past).

In other words, the verb in a finite clause changes its form to indicate whether the action or event
being described is happening in the present or the past.

SLIDE 6
• Marga plays (V) online games. [present]
• Marga played (V) online games. [past]

In the first sentence, the verb "plays" is in the present tense, which indicates that the action of
playing is happening regularly in the present. In the second sentence, the verb "played" is in the
past tense, which indicates that the action of walking happened in the past.

The inflection or marking of the verb for tense in a finite clause is an important part of English
grammar, as it helps to convey when actions or events are happening or have happened in
relation to the time of the speaker or writer.

SLIDE 7 Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will in will play is a modal auxiliary
verb, and future tenses are sometimes called “modal tenses.”

In linguistics, inflection refers to the process of adding affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to a base or
root word.

SLIDE 8 How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

SLIDE 9 MENU

SLIDE 10 MENU – NO PLAN

SLIDE 11 1. NO PLAN

We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we
speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking.

For example, if someone asks you if you want to go to the movies tonight, and you reply, "I will
go with you," you are using the simple future tense to indicate that you have decided to go to the
movies at that moment.

SLIDE 12 Other examples of using the simple future tense to indicate a spontaneous decision include:

• "I will help you with your project tomorrow."

• "I will call you later."
• "I will buy that book when I see it."

In each of these examples, the speaker is deciding to perform an action in the future at the moment
of speaking without any prior planning or decision-making.

SLIDE 13 We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

• I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

• I think I will have a holiday next year.
• I don't think I'll buy that car.

When we use the verb "think" before the simple future tense, it typically expresses a prediction
or assumption about something that will happen in the future. In this context, "think" is used as
a modal verb to express the speaker's beliefs, opinions, or ideas about the future.

SLIDE 14 MENU - PREDICTION

SLIDE 15 2. PREDICTION

We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no
firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen.

The simple future tense can also be used to make a prediction about the future, based on what
the speaker thinks or expects to happen. In this case, the speaker is not stating a firm plan or
decision, but rather expressing a belief or assumption about what will occur in the future.

SLIDE 16 For example:

• She will probably be late for the meeting.

• They won't pass the exam if they don't study.
• It will rain tomorrow.
• The supervisor and her friend won't go to the concert.
• Who do you think will get the promotion?

In each of these examples, the speaker is using the simple future tense to express a prediction or
expectation about something that may happen in the future. It's important to note that these are not
firm plans or decisions, but rather possibilities that the speaker believes are likely to occur based
on their knowledge or experience.
SLIDE 17 MENU - BE

SLIDE 18 3. BE

When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or
decision before speaking.

When the main verb in a sentence is "be," we can use the simple future tense to express a firm
plan or decision that has been made before speaking, even though it is not a spontaneous
decision made at the time of speaking.

SLIDE 19 For example:

• I will be at the meeting at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

• She will be taking the train to the city tonight.
• We will be staying at the hotel for the weekend.

In each of these examples, the speaker is using the simple future tense to express a firm plan or
decision that has already been made regarding a future event. Even though the main verb in each
sentence is "be," the use of the simple future tense indicates that the plan or decision is definite and
has already been made, rather than being a spontaneous decision made at the time of speaking.

SLIDE 20 VERB ASPECT

The verb can be marked as completing or continuing the process indicated by the main verb (perfect
and/or progressive). Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or
duration.

In grammar, aspect is a feature of verbs that expresses how the action or event described by the verb
relates to time, such as completion or duration. There are two primary aspects in English: perfect and
progressive.

SLIDE 21 The present simple and past simple tenses are known as simple tenses, which means they
do not have a specific aspect.

The present simple tense is used to describe actions that are habitual, general, or factual.

It is formed by using the base form of the verb, without any auxiliary verbs. For example:

• "She eats breakfast every morning. (The action of eating breakfast is habitual.)

SLIDE 22 The past simple tense is used to describe actions that were completed or finished at a specific
point in the past.

It is formed by adding "-ed" to regular verbs or using the second form of irregular verbs. For example:

• I walked to the store yesterday." (The action of walking to the store was completed in the
past.)
Simple tenses do not express any particular aspect. They simply describe the action in a
straightforward, direct manner.

SLIDE 23 How do we use other tenses to emphasize certain aspects of the action or event
described by the verb?

SLIDE 24 How do we use other tenses to emphasize certain aspects of the action or event
described by the verb? USING PERFECT AND PROGRESSIVE TENSES.

SLIDE 25 How do we use other tenses to emphasize certain aspects of the action or event
described by the verb? USING PERFECT TENSES

SLIDE 26 Although the present simple and past simple tenses do not have an aspect of their own, we
can still use other tenses to emphasize certain aspects of the action or event described by the verb.

This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.

We can use the present perfect tense to emphasize the completed or finished nature of an action in
the present, or the past perfect tense to emphasize the completed nature of an action in the past. For
example:

• I have finished my homework. (The action of finishing homework is completed at the present
moment.)

• She had already eaten breakfast before she went to work. (The action of eating breakfast was
completed before the action of going to work.)

SLIDE 27 EXERCISE

SLIDE 28 How do we use other tenses to emphasize certain aspects of the action or event
described by the verb? USING PROGRESSIVE TENSES

SLIDE 29 The action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is, uncompleted),
for example:

• We are eating.
• We have been eating for one hour now.

This is called progressive aspect, using progressive (continuous) tenses.

The progressive aspect is also known as the continuous aspect, and it is used to describe an action or
state that is ongoing or in progress at a particular time.

In English, the progressive aspect is formed by using the auxiliary verb "be" in combination with the
present participle (the "-ing" form) of the main verb.
SLIDE 30 We can use the present continuous tense to emphasize the ongoing or temporary nature of
an action in the present.

For example:

• I am studying for my exam right now. (The action of studying is ongoing or in

progress at the present moment.)

SLIDE 31 Similarly, we can use the past continuous tense to emphasize the ongoing nature of an action
in the past.

For example:

• "She was reading a book when I called her." (The action of reading was ongoing
when the speaker called.)

The progressive aspect allows us to indicate that the action or state described by the verb is not a
completed or finished action, but rather one that is still in progress or continuing.

SLIDE 32 EXERCISE

SLIDE 33 PICTURE

To illustrate the difference between tense and aspect, let's take the verb "to walk" and examine how
it can be used with different tenses and aspects:

• Simple present tense: I walk to the store. (This describes a habitual or repeated action.)
• Present progressive aspect: I am walking to the store. (This describes an ongoing action
that is currently happening.)
• Present perfect tense: I have walked to the store. (This describes a completed action
with a connection to the present moment.)
• Present perfect progressive aspect: I have been walking to the store. (This describes an
ongoing action that started in the past and continues up to the presentmoment.)

In conclusion, Verb tense is a grammatical category that expresses the time frame of an action, event,
or state.Past, present and (problematic) future.

Aspect, on the other hand, is a grammatical category that expresses how the action, event, or state isbeing viewed or
presented in relation to time. Aspect provides information on the nature of the action, whether it is ongoing, completed,
or repeated.

Hence, they are both important elements of English grammar that are used together to convey different
meanings and nuances in language.

SLIDE 34 EXERCISE

Reference:

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Aspect. Retrieved from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/aspect
Liao, Y.-H., & Fukuda, S. (2016). Second language acquisition of aspect: An overview. In S. Loewen &
M. Sato (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Instructed Second Language Acquisition (pp. 250-
267). Routledge.

Straus, J. (2014). The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (11th ed.). Jane Straus.

Goals and Aims of MEG Handout (2023). (pp. 46-58)