Tense

and
Aspect
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 Tense
Grammatical tense refers to the conjugation of a verb to reflect its place in
time that is when the action occurred.

There are technically only 2 grammatical tenses in English:

1. Past - a tense expressing an action that has happened or a state that

previously existed.

2. Present - a tense expressing an action that is currently going on or

habitually performed, or a state that currently or generally exists.
 The Present Tense

1. Present simple tense/ Simple present –is used to express habits, facts, and timetables. It is
usually conjugated for the third person singular by adding “s” or “es” to the end of the
verb.(except for irregular verbs)

Ex. Lea calls the technical support daily.

2. Present continuous tense/Present progressive tense – is used by something in progress at

the moment of speaking. It is used to describe present happening and also for expressing
future arrangement. It can only be used with action verbs

Ex. John is sleeping at the moment

3. Present perfect tense/Present perfect simple tense – it is used to give general information
about something that happened at an indefinite point in the past. We also use the present perfect
with the prepositions for and since when we speak about something that started in the past and
is still true now.

Auxiliary verb have + the past participle of the main verb.

Ex. I have lived in Italy for many years

4. Present perfect continuous tense – it is use when we talk about which began in the past and
still happening in the present. We often use it to emphasize the length of time that has passed
while something is happening. It can only be used with action words

Auxiliary verb have + been + the present participle of the main verb

Ex. I have been writing for over an hour.

 The Past Tense

1. Past simple tense – it is used to express finished actions. It is often used with an expression of
past time to give more complete information. Adding “d” or “ed” to the end of the verb

Ex. She worked in finance before this job.

2. Past continuous tense/ Past progressive tense - is used for something in progress at a certain
moment in the past. It can only be used with action words.

Was + present participle of the main verb

Ex. I was reading a book when they arrived

3. Past perfect tense – expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in
the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Had + the past participle of the main verb

Ex. The movie had already ended when I turned on the TV.

4. Past perfect continuous tense – is used to express something that began and was in
progress until a moment in the past or until another past action occurred.

Had + been + the past participle of the main verb

Ex. He had been feeling unwell, so he went to lie down.

 The Future Tense
The most common construction of future tenses uses the modal auxiliary verb will and the
verb phase be going to. We can also use shall but this is generally reserved for more formal
or polite English, and it is not very common in everyday speech or writing.

1. Future simple tense – is use to describe an intended action, make a prediction, state
future facts, make promises, or offer to do something.

The modal verb will or the verb phase be going to + base form of the verb

Ex. I am going to wash my hair after dinner .

The Queen will be in Rome tomorrow.

2. Future continuous tense – is used to describe an unfinished action occurring in the future.
This action can either begin in the future, or it can already be in progress in the present and
continue into the future. It can only be used with action words.

The modal verb will + the auxiliary verb be + the present participle of the main verb.

Ex. I will be flying to Boston tomorrow, so I cant come to lunch.

3. Future perfect tense – we use this to say that something will finish or complete at a specific
point in the future, often indicating how long something will have been happening once a
future moment in time is reached. It is also use to make a prediction that something has or
should have happened in the past.

Modal verb will + auxiliary verb have + past participle of the main verb

Ex. By October, we will have lived in this house for 20 years.

4. Future perfect continuous tense – it is to indicate how long something has been
happening once a future moment in time is reached; the emphasize is on the
continual progression of the action. It can also be used to indicate the cause of a
possible future result. It can only be use with action words.

Modal verb will + auxiliary verb have + been + present participle of the main verb

Ex. She will have been waiting for nearly an hour by the time we arrive.
 Aspect
Is a grammatical element that has to do with how an action, state of
being, or event as described by a verb relates to time. Aspect is
often confuse with tense. When tense is concerned with when the
action, state of being , or event occurs ( past, present or future).
Aspect is concerned with how it occurs in the time. It is through
aspect that we understand whether an action takes place at a single
point in time.
Perfective aspect – it highlights actions, states or events as a whole,
presenting the action from an outside perspective as complete, bounded
events. It is encountered in all of the tenses, but it is easiest to illustrate in
the past.

Ex. I went to the supermarket yesterday (past simple tense)

We had eaten already ( past perfect tense)

In the examples above, the action is presented as a complete event in the

past, we are simply told that the event occurred, with no clues as to how
often the actions happened or how long they took.
Imperfective aspect – is used when we focus on the internal
structures of an action, state, or event as it relates to time, such as
being continuous or habitual. Again, this has nothing to do with
when the event occurs, and, as with the perfective there is no
separate verb form in English for the imperfective aspect.

Instead it is express through different grammatical structures, we

sometimes classify these structures as the continuous aspect and the
habitual aspect both of which are subclasses of the imperfective.
Continuous aspect – this emphasize the progressive nature of the verb, looking at it as an incomplete action in
progress over a specific period of time.

It does not indicate the duration of the action, nor how often it occurs. It simply shows that the action or event
is in progress.

Habitual aspect – it is used when an action occurs repetitively and (usually) predictably.
English only has 2 marked ways of expressing habitual aspect:

Would + base form of the verb (the infinitive without to) and used

To + base form of the verb

When we use this structures, we imply that the action occurred habitually in the past, but does not anymore.

Ex. When I was young I used to walk to school

When I was young I would walk to school
Future habits – English does not have an explicit habitual aspect marker for the
future either. Most often, we used the future simple tense along with the time
marker to indicate habit.

Ex. I will go for a run everyday after school this year.

 Aspect of the present tense

The present tense is combined with 4 traditional aspects to form the structures that
are known as the present simple, the present continuous, the present perfect, and
the present perfect continuous. Although these structures are generally thought as
individual “tenses” or verbs, they are actually a combination of the present tense
and aspect. When the tense tells us when the action takes place in relation to time
(in this case the present), then added aspect gives us information about how the
event takes place in time.
Present simple – is used to express facts and habits that are true in the present time. It is
form using the bare infinitive (the base form of the verb) or in the case of the third
person singular, the bare infinitive + “s”

Ex. We study at the library everyday

James swims on Sundays

Present continuous – is the combination of the present tense with the continuous aspect.
It is used in action that are either in progress at the moment of speaking or will be in
progress in the near future.

Form of the verb be(are, am, or is) + the present participle

Ex. They are playing outside.

Present perfect – is a combination of present tense and the perfect aspect. It is used for actions or
states that began in the past but have an effect on the present, stressing the completion of the
action.

Has/have + the past participle

Ex. She has already eaten.

Present perfect continuous – is a combination of the continuous and perfect aspects with the
present tense. It is used for actions that began in the past and continue to have relevance in the
present. It is typically only used with action verbs.

Have/has + been + the present participle

Ex. We have been waiting for a long time.

 Aspect of past tense

The past tense is combined with 4 traditional aspects to form the structures that are
known as the past simple, past continuous, past perfect, and the past perfect
continuous. Although these structures are generally thought as individual “tenses”
or verbs, they are actually a combination of the past tense and aspect. When the
tense tells us when the action takes place in relation to time (in this case the past),
then added aspect gives us information about how the event takes place in time.
Past simple – is used to express action and events that were complete at a given
moment in the past. Whether the occurrence if of short or long duration, the simple
aspects emphasize its completion.
The past simple is formed by adding “d” or “ed” to the end of regular verbs.

Ex. They lived next door to us for years.

Past continuous – is the combination of the past tense with the continuous aspect. It
emphasize the progress of an action that occurred in the past, rather than its
completion.

Was/were + present participle

Ex. They were playing outside when their father arrived.

Past perfect – is the combination of the past tense and the perfect aspect. It is used for
actions or states that began and completed before another action in the past took place.

Had + past participle

Ex. She had already eaten when she arrived.

Past perfect continuous – is the combination of the continuous and perfect aspects with
the past tense. It is used for actions that took place before another past action. Generally
only used in action verbs.

Had + been + present participle

Ex. We had been waiting for a long time when the bus finally came.
Future simple – is the combination of future tense and simple aspect. It is used to express
actions and events that will occur at a given moment in the future. The simple aspect
emphasizes the action or state as a whole.

Will + base form of the verb

Ex. We will go to a private school when we are older.

Future continuous – is the combination of the future tense with the continuous aspect. It is
used to express actions and events that will be in progress at a given moment in the future.

Will + be + present participle

Ex. They will be playing outside when their father arrives.

Future perfect – is the combination of the future tense and the perfect simple
aspect. It is used to express action and events that will be completed at a given
moment in the future.

Future perfect continuous – is the combination of the perfect and continuous

aspects with the future tense. It is used to emphasize that an action will be in
progress until a given moment in the future, at which time the action will stop. It
can only be used with action verbs.

Will + have + been + present participle

Ex. We will have been waiting for a long time when the bus finally comes.
Quiz time