tense & aspect

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ContentsChapter 8 – Tense & Aspect

8.i. Chapter Overview8.i.i. Preview8.i.ii. Vocabulary

8.1. Tense8.1.1. Present Tense

Exercises 8.1.1. Simple Present Tense Identification8.1.2. Past Tense

Exercises 8.1.2. Simple Present/Simple Past Tense Identification8.1.3. Future Tense

Exercises 8.1.3. Tense Identification8.2. Aspect

8.2.1. Progressive AspectExercises 8.2.1. Progressive Aspect Identification

8.2.2. Perfect Aspect8.2.2.1. Simple Past Tense vs. Present PerfectExercises 8.2.2. Progressive/Perfect Aspect Identification

8.2.3. Perfect Progressive AspectExercises 8.2.3. Perfect Progressive Aspect Identification

8.2.4. Simple AspectExercises 8.2.4. Aspect Identification

8.2.5. Review of Tense and Aspect:Exercises 8.2.5. Tense & Aspect Identification

Chapter 8 Cumulative ApplicationSummary Points for Chapter 8:Chapter 8 ReviewAnswer Key for Chapter 8 Review

8.i. Chapter Overview

8.i.i. PreviewThe goal of this chapter is to identify the first two major inflectional properties marked on verbs: tense and aspect. We will study the tense and aspect system of English. We will classify tense as past, present, and future. We will classify aspect as progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive. The aspect types may co-occur with any tense.

Chapter 8

Tense & Aspect

Aygen_English_Grammer01E_Ch08_1PP.indd 155 20/08/14 5:09 PM

Chapter 8: Tense & Aspect from English Grammar: A Descriptive Linguistic Approach by Gulsat Aygen | 9781465262745 | 1st Edition | 2014 Copyright

Property of Kendall Hunt Publishing

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8.i.ii. VocabularyDirections: Write the definitions of the following in your own words, and, if possible, give an example of each type of word.

Word Definition

●● Tense

●❍ utterance time

●❍ inflection

●❍ past

●❍ present

●❍ future

●■ hypothetical

●● aspect

●❍ simple

●❍ progressive

●❍ perfect

●❍ perfect progressive

8.1. TenseWe categorize time as past, present, and future. We locate states and events in one of these categories when we speak or write. The grammaticalized form of time in an utterance is called tense.Tense is always marked on the first verb of the verb complex:

●● The cat is purring right now.●❍ The auxiliary verb is marks present tense.

●● The cat was purring when I held it.●❍ The auxiliary verb was marks past tense.

Tense is marked on verbs that denote states or events:

●● States are expressed with linking verbs or other stative verbs that do not denote actions:●❍ The adventurous young woman is very creative.●❍ He likes the tango.

●● Events are expressed with action verbs:●❍ The department chair throws a party every semester.●❍ They watched a classic film together.




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Table 8.1. Tense

Past Present Future

She walked She walks She will walk

8.1.1. Present TenseThe present refers to the time when a sentence or utterance is spoken or written. The present event (E) or the present time (T) always includes the utterance time, which is the actual time of speech (now, today, this year, this century, etc). If we assume time to be a line, we can place the utterance time (UT) in the middle and refer to it as now.

Using a timeline, events in the present tense occur at the UT or within a time frame that includes the UT.

●● I see him now.

E/T

_______________________UT _______________________ past present future

now

Table 8.1.1. Present Forms of the Auxiliary Verbs

[BE] [DO] [HAVE]

Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural

I am we are I do we do I have we have

you are you are you do you do you have you have

s/he, it is they are s/he, it does they do s/he, it has they have

When the present event refers to a current state, a habitual or recurrent event in the present time, or to a timeless event, it is called the simple present tense.

Simple present tense may refer to:

●● the present state of a subject:●❍ I am in my office now.

●● the timeless present:●❍ Five times five equals twenty-five.

●● a more restricted time frame for a state of affairs that may exist in the future:●❍ He is tall.●❍ We live in Chicago.

Tina Says 8.1.1.a.: The term simple before a tense name refers to the fact that there is no aspect marked on the verb.

! Simple present tense! Simple past tense! Simple future tense

Tina Says 8.1.1.b.: ●● Utterance time is the speech

time. The time when the speaker utters a sentence or the writer writes a sentence is the Utterance time.




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●● habitual events that happen every day/every week:●❍ I run by the lake every morning.

●● even a millennium, as long as that timeframe includes the utterance time. The inclusion of the utterance time is marked by the presence of the present demonstrative this:

●❍ Such shows attract audiences only in this century.

●● future events if it is certain that the future event will take place:●❍ The wedding ceremony begins at five o’clock.●❍ Her plane leaves before noon.

●● the past, called the historic present, aka the narrative present, as a narrative style. It is used to narrate past events, or events of fiction, as well as events in headlines:

●❍ The short story takes place in Kiev.●❍ A store keeper kills the burglar!

In the simple present tense, the verb is in its basic form except when the subject is in the 3rd person singular:

●● I go we go●● you go you go●● s/he, it goes they go

When the subject is in the 3rd person singular, the verb takes the {-s} ending. If the verb ends with the letters s/ss/x/ch or sh, the ending for simple present tense is {-es}:

●● The cat crosses the street at green lights.

The time-denoting adverbs, adjectives or nouns that are used most commonly in the simple present tense are:

●● Adjectives: Every: every day, every week, every time

This: this week, this year, this century

●● Frequency adverbs: always, sometimes, never, etc.●● Nouns functioning as adverbs: now, today

Exercises 8.1.1. Simple Present Tense Identification

Directions: Underline the present tense verbs in the following sentences.

Example: My ninety-four year old neighbor exercises every day.

1. A powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin gives salmon its characteristic color.2. In the novel, the main character falls in love with the daughter of his boss.3. Tina sleeps for eighteen hours every day.4. Researchers claim that there are very good reasons to drink berry juices.5. Cranberry juice protects against hardening of the arteries.6. My doctor insists that blackcurrant juice reduces inflammation.7. Goji berry juice improves energy and promotes weight-loss.8. She claims that Acai juice is good for joint pain.9. She prefers more sweetness in her juice and adds apple juice to her drinks.

10. The flu always makes you feel tired.





8.1.2. Past TensePast tense refers to any event (E) located before the utterance time, and it is marked on auxiliary verbs or content verbs.If we use a timeline, we locate events/times in the past tense before the UT.

●● I saw him yesterday.

E/T

_______________________UT _______________________ past present future

yesterday

Table 8.1.2. Past Forms of the Auxiliary Verbs

[BE] [DO] [HAVE]

Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural

I was we were I did we did I had we had

you were you were you did you did you had you had

s/he, it was they were s/he, it did they did s/he, it had they had

When the past event refers to a past state or a single event in the past, it is called the simple past tense.Simple past tense is marked on content verbs. The past tense marker for regular content verb s is {-ed}:

PRESENT PAST

walk → walked

talk → talked

consider → considered

Irregular content verb s may have different past tense forms, as discussed in Chapter 5:

PRESENT PAST

catch → caught

sleep → Slept

think → thought

There are adverbs, adjectives, and nouns that refer to the past:

●● yesterday, five days ago, last year●● I walked to my office yesterday.

●❍ [WALK]●■ present tense = walk → past tense = walked

●● Rescue dogs saved many lives after the earthquake last year.●❍ [SAVE]

●■ present tense = save → past tense = saved




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Exercises 8.1.2. Simple Present/Simple Past Tense Identification

Directions: Underline the simple present tense verbs and double underline the simple past tense verbs in the following sentences.

Example: They deserted the horses in the mountains last week, but I want to help those horses.

1. Digestion requires more energy than all other activities of the body.2. Her day started with one hour of exercise and resistance training.3. The bestselling author gave an interesting talk at the university club last weekend.4. Most college students prefer to communicate with their extended families through social media.5. The newlyweds decided to have a fall-themed wedding.

8.1.3. Future TenseThe future tense refers to any event after the utterance time. The future is traditionally regarded a tense although it has more modal qualities, given that the future is not factual, but hypothetical. Hypothetical means it is imagined or thought of, but is not a fact in the actual world. When the future event refers to a future state or a single event in the future, it is called the simple future tense.

If we use a timeline, we locate events in the future tense after the UT.

●● I will live here next year.

E/T_______________________ UT

_______________________

past present future next yearThe simple future tense is expressed in different forms in English. The most commonly used form is with the auxiliary will + basic form of the verb:

●● The financial aid personnel will help students in need.●❍ [HELP]

●■ present tense = help → past tense = helped → future tense = will help

There is a tendency to use the will future form when a decision about the immediate future is made only at the utterance time:

●● A: May I have your order please?●● B: I will have chicken and rice.

Another future form is [BE] + going to + basic verb:

●● The students are going to use clickers when they take quizzes in this class.●❍ In this form, the auxiliary verb [BE] is inflected in the present for the meaning to be in the future.

The [BE] + going to future is commonly usually used for expression of intention. If one has thought about what is said in advance, one prefers this form of the future. Imagine a scenario in which you are out to celebrate

Tina Says 8.1.3.a.:●● The present progressive is also

used to express the future.●❍ We are giving a retirement

party for him next week.

●● As we will see, present progressive is formed with [BE] V+ing





your weight loss after you have been dieting for a month, and you have already decided what to eat for celebration in advance:

●● A: May I have your order please?●● B: I am going to have chicken and rice.

The most commonly used adverbs, adjectives, nouns and prepositional phrases which refer to the future are the following:

●● Adjective: Next: next week, next year, next decade●● Noun functioning as an adverb: tomorrow●● Prepositional phrases: in two years, in a week, etc.

Exercises 8.1.3. Tense Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, underline the simple present tense verbs, double underline the simple past tense verbs, and put the future tense verbs within <angled brackets>.

Example: If they hear that you are already here, they <will want> to join us.

1. Last year, he followed the footsteps of Rousseau in Switzerland and Paris and spent three weeks in Europe.

2. Next summer, the researcher will do fieldwork in the Caucasians.3. The attorney objected to the claims of the prosecution because he had full faith in his client’s innocence.4. He decided to propose to his girlfriend right after his promotion.5. My sister worked in a science lab and told me that beets boost immunity.6. Most investigators are going to analyze the initial reports.7. Playing with clay will help you relax.8. You don’t have to be a genius to participate in a book club.9. Many centuries ago, her ancestors migrated from the steppes of Central Asia.

10. When will everybody understand that I will never give up my principles?

8.2. AspectAspect is a grammatical category that refers to the manner in which a verbal action is viewed or experienced in terms of whether the action is complete or ongoing. English has two aspects: progressive and perfect. The progressive refers to an ongoing event; the perfect refers to a completed event. The progressive and perfect aspect may combine in a verb complex and form the third aspect, perfect progressive aspect:

●● The candidates are preparing for the audition now. progressive

●● The candidates have prepared for the audition for two hours. perfect

●● The candidates have been preparing for the audition since they arrived. perfect progressive

Tina Says 8.2.:●● Simple present, simple past

and simple future tenses have no aspect specification because they refer to a single event; therefore we call them simple.

Tina Says 8.1.3.b.:●● Being inflected refers to the

addition of grammatical information such as tense or aspect. When the auxiliary verb [BE] is inflected in the present it takes the forms am, is, are depending on the subject. When a regular content verb is inflected in the past it takes an additional –ed form.




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These aspects co-appear with tenses depending on whether the event takes place during, before or after the utterance time.To determine the tense, we look at the first verb that is the auxiliary verb in a verb complex.

Past Present Future

Progressive The candidates were preparing for the audition yesterday.

●● were = past

The candidates are preparing for the audition now.

●● are = present

The candidates will be preparing for the audition tomorrow.

●● will = future

Perfect The candidates had prepared for the audition for two hours

●● had = past

The candidates have prepared for the audition for two hours.

●● have = present

The candidates will have prepared for the audition for two hours.


Perfect progressive The candidates had been preparing for the audition since they arrived.

●● had = past

The candidates have been preparing for the audition since they arrived.

●● have = present

The candidates will have been preparing for the audition since they arrived.


8.2.1. Progressive AspectThe progressive refers to ongoing events and it is expressed with the presence of the auxiliary verb [BE] and the ending {-ing} on the content verb:

●● She is sleeping now.●❍ The sleeping is an ongoing action.

The auxiliary verb [BE] is inflected with the tense:

●● Present - I am working now.●● Past - I was working when he arrived.●● Future - I will be working when you arrive tomorrow.

When progressive aspect is used with different tenses, what changes is the time of the ongoing event; for instance, in present progressive – the ongoing event includes the utterance time. The speech time may cover the second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year or even the century in which the utterance is spoken or written:

●● Meta-modernism is dominating now/today/this year/this century/this millennium.

If the event is in the present, then the ongoing event (E) or time (T) overlaps with the UT:

Tina Says 8.2.1.a.:●● Inflection refers to endings

with grammatical meaning:●❍ She is dancing.

●■ is = [BE] inflected for present tense

●❍ They were talking.●■ were = [BE] inflected for

past tense





●● I am dancing.

_______________________ UT/ E/T _______________________ past present futureIf the event is in the past, then the ongoing event or time precedes the UT:

●● I was dancing.

______ E/T __________UT _______________________ past present futureIf the event is in the future, then the ongoing event or time follows the UT:

●● I will be dancing.

_______________________UT ______ E/T __________ past present futureIn English, the following formula represents the progressive aspect marked on the verb complex:

●● [BE]Tense V+ing

In this formula, the superscript Tense means that the auxiliary verb [BE] will be inflected for tense. The formula dictates two conditions for progressive aspect. These two conditions will help us identify progressive aspect in verb complexes.

1. The superscript Tense means that the auxiliary verb [BE] will be inflected for any tense.2. The following content verb needs to appear with the addition of ing.

Verbs with stative meanings do not occur in the progressive aspect since a state cannot progress.

●● *He is being tall.●❍ He is tall.

Verbs that refer to actions that are considered to be beyond one’s control, such as [LOVE], [WANT], and [HATE] do not occur in the progressive aspect, either:

●● *They are liking it.●❍ They like it.

●● *She was knowing French.●❍ She knew French.

Exercises 8.2.1. Progressive Aspect Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, underline the progressive aspect verb complex(es). If there are no progressive aspect phrases, write no progressive aspect.

Example: The rich lady is considering leaving her wealth to stray animals.

1. My friend is currently training for an upcoming marathon.2. The Democrats were not expecting such a result.




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3. They will be paying the bills online starting next January.4. Tourists might be shopping on Michigan Avenue right now.5. Who is making all this noise?

8.2.2. Perfect AspectThe perfect aspect refers to completed events, and it is used for events that are complete. The perfect aspect is marked with the presence of the auxiliary verb [HAVE], and the past participle form of the verb (the {ed/en}):

●● I have danced all night.

The tense is marked on the auxiliary verb [HAVE].

●● Present tense/perfect aspect: She has passed all her exams.●❍ has = present tense●❍ passed = perfect aspect

●● Past tense/perfect aspect: She had passed all her exams when she heard the bad news.

●❍ had = present tense●❍ passed = perfect aspect

●● Future tense/perfect aspect: She will have passed all her exams by the time her parents visit her.●❍ will have = present tense●❍ passed = perfect aspect

When the perfect aspect is used with the tenses, it refers to an event completed by a certain time (|T|= completed time) or event (|E|= completed event): the UT (present tense), a time or event before the UT (past tense), or a time or event after the UT (future tense).If the event is completed by the UT or by an event or time in the present, i.e. the UT, then the form is:

●● I have read Shakespeare.

_______________________|E/T| UT _______________________ past present futureIf the event is completed by an event or time in the past, i.e. before the UT, then the form is:

●● I had read Shakespeare before I came to NIU.●❍ E1 = I came to NIU●❍ E2 = I had read Shakespeare

_______|E2| _______|E1|_______ UT _______________________ past present futureIf the event is completed by a time or event in the future, i.e. after the UT, then the form is:

●● I will have read Shakespeare by the end of next semester.●❍ E = I will have read Shakespeare●❍ T = the end of next semester

Tina Says 8.2.2.a:●● The word perfect comes from

the Latin perficere which means to finish.

●❍ She has eaten.●■ The event of eating is

complete.●■ She is full.





_______________________ UT _______|E|_______|T|_______ past present futureIn English, the following formula represents the perfect aspect marked on the verb complex:

●● [HAVE]Tense V+ ed/en

In this formula, the superscript Tense means that the auxiliary verb [HAVE] will be inflected for tense. The formula dictates two conditions for perfect aspect. These two conditions will help us identify perfect aspect in verb complexes.

1. The superscript Tense means that the auxiliary verb [HAVE] will be inflected for tense.2. The following content verb needs to appear in the past participle form with {-ed/-en}.

The most commonly used prepositions referring to time in the perfect aspect are since and for. Prepositional phrases that start with these two prepositions function as adverbs and modify the verb inflected in the perfect aspect:

●● Bob’s visitors have stayed for two days.

8.2.2.1. Simple Past Tense vs. Present Perfect

It is important to distinguish between simple past tense and the present perfect.The simple past refers to events that happened before the utterance time. We usually give a date or time of such events.

●● Selim ate lunch at 11a.m.

The present perfect is usually mistakenly labeled past tense.

●● The Grand Bizarre in Istanbul has operated since 1455.●❍ has = present tense●❍ has been = present perfect aspect

Suppose you stop by your friend’s room and ask her to have lunch with you, and she responds:

●● I have eaten.●❍ What she means is that she is full now because she has already eaten.●❍ The event is completed by the UT. Because of the perfect aspect, we know that the event is completed,

but the completion does not mean that we are in the past tense. The event is completed by the UT, but it is relevant at the UT.

Consider the following example:

●● A: Jane, shall we have lunch together?●● B: Thanks, I have already eaten.

●❍ The present perfect in the answer does not refer directly to the act of eating but to the fact that the speaker is full now because she has eaten.




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Exercises 8.2.2. Progressive/Perfect Aspect Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, underline the progressive aspect verb complex(es), and double underline the perfect aspect verb complex(es).

Example: Her mother has cooked three different dishes for her return from college.

1. Acupuncture has been a major medical treatment since the Zhou dynasty.2. Every creative person is trying to create a new genre in literature.3. They have designed a new floor for modern paintings at the museum.4. Most painters in New York are competing to get a spot on that floor.5. Researchers had given up their hopes of finding a cure before a young researcher discovered a

potential cure.

8.2.3. Perfect Progressive AspectThe perfect and progressive aspects may combine to form the perfect progressive aspect. The perfect progressive aspect is used to refer to an event that has/is/will be completed, but the event is/was/will be ongoing during that given time. The perfect refers to the completed part of the event, the progressive to the ongoing part.

●● The cats have been playing in the garden for three hours.●● The cats have been playing in the garden since 10 a.m.

●❍ have been playing = perfect progressive aspect●❍ The cats played for three hours until now/the utterance time and the cats are still playing now.

When the perfect progressive aspect is used with the tenses, it refers to an event (E) that is both:

1. completed by a certain time (|T|= completed time) or by a certain event (|E|= completed event)2. ongoing at that certain time (T): the UT (present tense), a time or event before the UT (past tense), or a

time or event after the UT (future tense).

If the ongoing event is completed by the UT, then the form is:

●● Die Antwoord has been making cutting-edge music since 2007.●❍ E = Die Antwoord has been making cutting-edge music●❍ T = since 2007

________T______________|E| UT _______________________ past present futureIf the ongoing event is completed by an event E or time T in the past, i.e. before the UT, then the form is:

●● They had been learning Arabic until the semester ended.●❍ E1 = they had been learning Arabic●❍ E2 = the semester ended

_______|E1|_______ |E2| _______ UT _______________________ past present future





If the ongoing event is completed by a time T or event E in the future, i.e. after the UT, then the form is:

●● The class will have been studying grammar for seventeen weeks.●❍ E = the class will have been studying grammar●❍ T = seventeen weeks

_______________________ UT _______|E|_______|T|_______ past present futureThe perfect progressive aspect expresses both the completion of the event and the ongoing nature of the event at the same time. Consequently, the verb comple x needs to satisfy the conditions both for perfect and progressive aspect. The formula for perfect progressive aspect actually combines the perfect aspect formula with the progressive aspect formula. The formula for perfect progressive aspect satisfies the two conditions for perfect aspect as well as the two conditions for progressive aspect:

●● Perfect aspect: [HAVE]Tense V+ -ed/-en

●● Progressive aspect: [BE]Tense V+ -ing

●● Perfect progressive aspect: [HAVE]Tense been V+ -ing

●● Bob’s brother has been living in that place for over twenty years.●❍ has been satisfies the requirements of the perfect aspect

●■ [HAVE]Tense = has●■ V+ -ed/-en = been

●❍ been living satisfies the requirements of the progressive aspect:●■ [BE] = been●■ V+ -ing = living

Exercises 8.2.3. Perfect Progressive Aspect Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, put [brackets] around the perfect progressive aspect verb complex(es).

Example: Children [had been swimming] in the ocean for a while when the sharks swam by.

1. The lazy staff member has been complaining about the difficulty of the tasks assigned to him for years.2. Your horses had been running freely for hours when I saw them.3. The journalists will be trying to convince their editor to get the news piece published.4. Both musicians will have been practicing for five hours in ten minutes.5. Someone had been playing the piano since the early hours of the morning.

8.2.4. Simple AspectIn brief, the tense and aspect of a sentence are marked by the inflection on the verbs as well as the choice of the auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary verb, the aspect is nonexistent, and we call that simple. As we have seen in section 1 above, present, past, and future tenses with no aspect specification are considered to be simple: simple present tense (section 1.1.), simple past tense (section 1.2.), and simple future tense (section 1.3.).The tense is marked on the content verb in the present and past; the future requires the auxiliary will:

●● Simple present: She walks to work every day.●● Simple past: She walked to work yesterday.●● Simple future: She will walk to work tomorrow.




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Exercises 8.2.4. Aspect Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, underline the progressive aspect verb complex(es), double underline the perfect aspect verb complex(es), put [brackets] around the perfect progressive aspect verb complex(es), and put <angled brackets> around the simple aspect verb complex(es).

Example: Retail companies <decided> to expand their investments last year.

1. The police were following the suspect when he attempted to rob a gas station.2. The behavior of the man at the train station has drawn the attention of the security guards.3. Most graduates will still be unemployed next year.4. The teenagers have been dancing on the beach since five o’clock.5. The best jazz musicians have been visiting Chicago since the 1930’s.6. Why had they awarded the man with a single book at the ceremony?7. My neighbors are going to celebrate their 40th anniversary next month.8. My father was a poet.9. As a journalist, she has covered many war stories.

10. The new graduate students will have finished their dissertation by 2018.

8.2.5. Review of Tense and Aspect:The brief review below will help you identify the tense and aspect of a given verb complex.Where is tense marked?

●❍ If there is an auxiliary verb, tense is marked on the auxiliary verb.

●● She was planning to go to a graduate school.●❍ was = auxiliary verb●❍ was is the simple past tense form of the auxiliary verb [BE]

●■ If there is no auxiliary verb, tense is marked on the content verb.●● She hopes for a miracle.

●❍ hopes = content verb●❍ hopes is the 3rd person singular simple present tense form of the verb [HOPE]

How is aspect marked?

●● The choice of the auxiliary verb determines the aspect:●❍ [BE] appears in progressive aspect, [HAVE] in perfect aspect.

●● The inflection on the main verb marks aspect as well: on the verb, {-ing} appears in progressive aspect, past participle {–ed/en} appears in perfect aspect:

Progressive aspect:

●● Present progressive: She is walking to work now.●● Past progressive: She was walking to work when I saw her.●● Future progressive: She will be walking to work tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Perfect aspect:

●● Present perfect: She has walked to work for five years.●● Past perfect: She had walked to work when I called her to offer a ride.●● Future perfect: She will have walked to work by 9am tomorrow.





Perfect progressive aspect:

●● Present perfect progressive: She has been walking to work since I saw her.●● Past perfect progressive: She had been walking to work until she was given a shuttle pass.●● Future perfect progressive: She will have been walking to work for ten years next week.

Table 8.2.5. Tense/Aspect System of English

TENSE

ASPECT Past Present Future

Simple V-ed

●● I walked

V(-s)

●● I walk

Will VI will walk

be + going to + VI am going to walk

Progressive[BE]Tense V+-ing

was/were V-ing

●● I was walking

am/is/are V-ing

●● I am walking

will be V-ing

●● I will be walking

Perfect[HAVE]Tense V+- ed/-en

had V-en

●● I had walked

has/have V-en

●● I have walked

will have V-en

●● I will have walked

Perfect progressive[HAVE]Tense been V+-ing

had been V-ing

●● I had been walking

has/have been V-ing

●● I have been walking

will have been V-ing

●● I will have been walking

Exercises 8.2.5. Tense & Aspect Identification

Directions: In the following sentences, underline the verb complex(es) and write the tense aspect of each verb complex above it using the code system below:

Simple present SPr Present progressive

PrPg Present perfect

PrPf Present perfect progressive

PrPfPg

Simple past SPa Past progressive PaPg Past perfect PaPf Past perfect progressive

PaPfPg

Simple future SF Future progressive

FPg Future perfect

FPf Future perfect progressive

FPfPg

PaPg

SPa

Example: My cousin was giving me a hard time for bringing my husband to the party when you called.

1. I am getting worried about his health because he has not called me this week.2. They have been protesting the GMOs in food for over twenty years now.




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3. The civil rights advocates in Chicago will have been working to defend the Bill of Rights for over fifty years next year.

4. When I called her to ask her on a date, she had already made plans for the weekend.5. Will you be joining us at the concert at the symphony this evening?6. English has borrowed many words from other languages of the world.7. Had the kids been playing video games for hours when you went home?8. Considering the impact of his new investments on the success of the company, I am not surprised

that he has become the CEO.9. They were whispering to each other when the concertmaster walked on stage.

10. Whenever she skips her daily exercise in the morning, she takes a long walk in the evening.11. Everyone who signs these documents has a right to claim a copy.12. I am going to go on a long vacation after the semester ends.13. They have brought the new bed; now we sleep more comfortably.14. The shop keeper didn’t want to help us when we asked him the directions to the opera.15. The newlyweds have been trying to make their parents happy.

Chapter 8 Cumulative Application

Directions: In the following paragraph, underline the verb complex(es) and write the tense aspect of each verb complex above it using the code system below:

Simple present SPr Present progressive

PrPg Present perfect PrPf Present perfect progressive

PrPfPg

Simple past SPa Past progressive

PaPg Past perfect PaPf Past perfect progressive

PaPfPg

Simple future SF Future progressive

FPg Future perfect FPf Future perfect progressive

FPfPg

SPrExample: The goal of this chapter is to identify the first two major inflectional properties marked on verbs: tense, and aspect.We have studied the tense and aspect system of English in this chapter. We have classified tense as past, present, and future, and aspect as progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive. We have formulated the tense-aspect combinations to understand the tense-aspect system easily. When I was studying the tense-aspect system of English for the first time, I did not see any distinction between tense and aspect. The names of the tenses are very confusing if you do not understand the difference between tense and aspect and do not learn that the names of so called “tenses” actually consist of both the tense and the aspect of a verb complex. In later years, I learned about aspect. Since then, I have been trying to find a simple way to describe the tense-aspect system of English. Finally, I came up with the formulae presented in this chapter. I believe that the formulae presented in this chapter will help students of grammar in understanding the tense-aspect system easily. I will be thinking about the topic in the coming years to find yet a better and simpler way to explain it.

Summary Points for Chapter 8:

●● Tense is a grammatical manifestation of the time of the event or state in the sentence.●● There are three tenses: present, past, future.





●● Simple present verb is bare except for the 3rd person singular when there is an –s at the end of the verb.●● Simple past verb requires an –ed at the end of the regular verbs; irregular verbs may have

different forms.●● Simple future verb has either the modal will or am/is/are going to before the verb.●● Simple present, simple past, and simple future tenses refer to a single event in the given time with reference

to the utterance time.●● Aspect refers to the action being complete or ongoing.●● There are two aspects and a combination of the two aspects in English: progressive, perfect, and perfect

progressive.●● Progressive aspect refers to ongoing events, and it is marked with the presence of the auxiliary verb [BE]

and the -ing ending on the verb.●● Perfect aspect refers to completed events, and it is marked with the presence of the auxiliary verb [HAVE]

and the verb in the past participle form –ed/-en.●● Perfect progressive aspect is formed by the presence of [HAVE] followed by been and the verb in the past

participle form –ed/-en.

Chapter 8 Review

Directions: Fill out the chart with the formula and a simple example.

Tense Past Example: Formula: subject + VERB + {-ed} + (object)Example: eg: I loved her.

Present Formula: 1st

eg:Formula:eg:

Future Formula: eg: Formula: eg:

Aspect Simple Formula: eg:

Perfect Formula: eg:

Progressive Formula: eg:

Perfect progressive

Formula: eg:




172 English Grammar

More To Do with Grammar: Chapter 8

Answer Key for Chapter 8 Review

Note: Objects may not be required depending on the type of verb.

Tense Past Example: Formula: subject + VERB + {-ed} + (object)Example: eg: I loved her.

Present Formula: 1st & 2nd person singular & plural, & 3rd person singular = subject + basic verb + (object)eg: I love them. You love me. They love us.Formula: 3rd person plural = basic verb +{- s} + (object);s/ss/x/ch or sh = subject + basic verb +{-es} + (object)eg: She loves you. It swishes.

Future Formula: subject + will + basic verb + (object)eg: I will love.Formula: subject + [BE] + going to + basic verb + (object)eg: I’m going to love.

Aspect Simple Formula: subject + basic verb + (object)eg: I paint.

Perfect Formula: subject + [HAVE]Tense V+ ed/en + (object)eg: I had painted.

Progressive Formula: subject + [BE]Tense V+ing + (object)eg: I am painting.

Perfect progressive

Formula: subject + [HAVE]Tense been V+-ing + (object)eg: I have been painting.

Linguists:

●● Tense and aspect are major inflectional/functional categories that are pivotal to the clausal architecture in languages. There are many interesting grammatical phenomena related to tense. One such phenomenon is the sequence of tense:

Educators:

●● It is crucial to distinguish tense from aspect because they refer to different grammatical categories.

●● A major mistake students make is to assume that all instances of the {–ing} on a verb refer to the present and that all instances of the past participle refer to the past tense; both assumptions are incorrect.





●❍ If an ongoing event in the past is interrupted by another act/event in the past, the former is expressed in the past progressive, and the latter in the simple past tense.

●■ I was still cooking when he came.●■ was cooking = past progressive●■ came = simple past tense

●❍ When an event in the past precedes another past event, then the former is expressed using the past perfect.

●■ I had already cooked when he came.●■ had cooked = past perfect●■ came = simple past tense

●● There are specific patterns in which the tense of an independent clause determines what the tense and aspect of the dependent clause can be. (see Chapter 12 for clauses)

●❍ I know that she saw him.●❍ I knew that she had seen him.●❍ She has grown wiser since she had the

accident.

●❍ Give the students a text – a passage from a book or magazine – that uses:

●■ both present perfect and simple past tense.

●■ Ask them to identify the tense of each sentence.

●■ sentences in the progressive aspect but in different tenses.

●■ Ask them to identify the tense of each sentence.

●❍ Ask the students to write a paragraph on their accomplishments in their lives to date using the present perfect.

●■ Have students underline their verb complexes/predicates.




tense & aspect

Documents

tense aspect8

simple past tense

tense aspectaygen

review of tense

present tensethe present

aspect types

present tenseexercises

present time t