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TENSE
- A set of inflectional forms of a verb that
express distinctions of time
- is a category that expresses time reference.
Tenses are usually manifested by the use of
specific forms of verbs, particularly in their
conjugation patterns
- A verb form which is made with an auxiliary
is technically not “tense”.’
ASPECT
- Refers to the internal structure of the action
occurring at any time
- tells us how an occurs, or how it is viewed by
the speaker, in terms of its frequency, its
duration, and whether or not it is completed.
SIMPLE PRESENT & ITS CORE MEANINGS
1. Habitual actions in the present.
He takes the jeep to school every Monday.
2. General timeless truths, such as physical laws or customs.
Jose Rizal is our national hero.
3. With be and other stative verbs to indicate states
She believes in ghosts.
4. In the subordinate clauses of time or condition when the main clause
contains a future-time verb
Before he takes Syntax, he will need to take basic linguistics first.
If he keeps being condescending, he’ll lose most of his friends.
5. Expresses future
I have a meeting next week.
6. Present event/action (usually in sports /demonstrations and
procedures)
Irving attacks the heart of the defense and scores!
7. Present speech acts (action is accomplished at the moment of
speaking)
I pronounce you husband and wife.
8. Conversational historical present
Juno harbors anger toward Aeneas because Carthage is her favorite
city, and a prophecy holds that the race descended from the Trojans will
someday destroy Carthage.
SIMPLE PAST & ITS CORE MEANINGS
1. A definite single completed event/action in the past.
I skipped classes last week.
2. Habitual or repeated action/event in the past.
It rained almost every night last month.
3. An event with duration that applied in the past with
the implication that it no longer applies in the
present.
Jordan played basketball for 15 years.
4. With states in the past
He looked depressed.
5. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause.
If he kept his mouth shut, we wouldn’t be in the dean’s
office!
6. Social distancing.
Did you want to sit down and stay a while?
 SIMPLE FUTURE
1. An action to take place at some definite future time
The senior citizen will apply for vaccination next week.
2. A future habitual action or state.
After this semester, Jim will commute to school every Monday and
Tuesday.
3. A situation that may obtain in the present and will obtain in the future but
with some future termination in sight.
Thor will stay in Manila until he reaches 5.
4. In the main clause of future conditionals.
If you come, I’ll be very honored.
PERFECT ASPECT

- It’s core meaning is “prior”, and it is used in

relation to some other point in time.
PRESENT PERFECT
(has/have + past participle)
has/have contributed, has/have read

a. A situation that began at a prior point in time and

continues into the present:
I have been a teacher since 2013.
b. An action occurring or not occurring at an unspecified prior
time that has current relevance
I have already watched that movie.
c. A very recently completed action.
I have just finished my lecture in Discourse.
d. An action that occurred over a prior time period and that is
completed at the moment of speaking.
The value of the Johnson’s house has doubled in the last four
years.
e. With verbs in subordinate clauses of time or condition.
She won’t be satisfied until she has finished another episode.
PAST PERFECT
a. An action completed in the past prior to some other
past event or time:
He had already left before I could offer him a ride.
She had worked at the post office before 1962.
b. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause
(referring to past time)
If Sally had studied harder, she would have passed
the exam.
FUTURE PERFECT
a. A future action that will he completed prior to a
specific future time:
I will have finished all this word processing by 5 PM.
b. A state or accomplishment that will be completed in
the future prior to some other future time or event:
At the end of the summer the Blakes will have been
married for 10 years.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

- its core meaning is that it shows

incompleteness or limitation of an action
 PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
1. Activity ln progress
He is attending a meeting now.
2. Extended present (action will end and therefore lacks the
permanence of the simple present tense):
I'm studying geology at the University of Colorado.
3. A temporary situation:
Phyllis is living with her parents.
4. Repetition or iteration in a series of similar ongoing
actions:
Henry is kicking the soccer ball around the backyard.
5. Expresses future (when event is planned; usually with a
future-time adverbial)
She's coming tomorrow.
6. Emotional comment on present habit (usually co-occurring
with frequency adverbs always or forever:
He’s always delivering in a clutch situation. (approving)
He's forever acting up at these affairs. (disapproving)
7. A change in progress:
She's becoming more and more like her mother.
 PAST PROFRESSIVE
1. An action in progress at a specific point of time in the past:
He was walking to school at 8:30 this morning.
2. Past action simultaneous width some other event that is usually sated in the
simple past
Karen was washing her hair when the phone rang.
While Alex was travelling in Europe, he ran into an old friend.
3. Repetition or iteration of some ongoing past action:
Jake was coughing all night long
4. Social distancing (which comes from the pant tense and the tentativeness of
the progressive aspect):
I was hoping you could lend me $10.
FUTURE PROGRESSIVE

1. An action that will be in progress at a specific

time in the future:
He will be taking a test at 8 AM. tomorrow.
2. Duration of some specific future action:
Mavis will be working on her thesis for the next
three years.
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

- This aspect combines the sense of “prior” of

the perfect with the meaning of
incompleteness inherent in the progressive
aspect
 PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
1. A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or distant) and that
continues up to the present (and possibly into the future):
Burt has been going out with Alice.
2. An action in progress that is not yet completed:
I have been reading that book
3. A state that changes over time:
The students have been getting better and better
4. An evaluative comment on something observed over time triggered by
current evidence:
You've been drinking again!
 PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
1. An action or habit Taking place over a period of time in the past prior to
some other past event or time:
Carol had been working hard, so her doctor told her to take a
vacation.
She had been trying to finish her degree that year
2. A past action in progress that was interrupted by a more recent past
action:
We had been planning to vacation in Maine, but changed our minds
after receiving the brochure on Nova Scotia.
3. An ongoing past action or state that becomes satisfied by some other event:
I had been wanting to see that play, so I was pleased when I won the
tickets.
FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE
Durative or habitual action that is taking place in the
present and that will continue into the future up until
or through a specific future time

On Christmas Eve we will have been living in the

same house for 20 years.
He will have been keeping a journal for 10 years next
month.