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0 Introduction
Verb is a word or group of words that expresses on action, an event or a state. The
verb tense can be categorized according to time frame and aspect. To understand how
tense works in English, we first have to look at what tense and aspect are.
In some languages, verb tenses are not important or do not even exist. In
English, the concept of tense is very important. Tense is any of the forms of a verb that
may be used to show the time of the action or state expressed by the verb. (Oxford
Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2000). In other words, tense refers to time. English has
changing form for only two tenses, present and past (He jumps/He jumped. She
cooks/She cooked), but no future. The expression future tense is viewed as
inappropriate, since in English finite verb stems are not inflected to express future time.
In form, this is true, since to make a future tense, we must add a modal (will) or
periphrastic modal (be going to).
Aspect refers to the nature of the action described by the verb. Aspect is closely
related to tense but rather than indicating when something happened, it emphasizes that
the action happens once or repeatedly, is completed or still continuing. This is where the
terms progressive and perfect come in, to indicate whether an action is continuous,
habitual, repeated or completed.
In English, tense and aspect are closely connected, whereby, tenses can be used
by themselves as well as they are integrated with one or both aspects. Celce-Murcia &
Larsen-Freeman (1999) believe that the traditional 12 tenses are actually 12
combinations of tense and aspect. They are named by combining a tense with an aspect or
aspects, such as present perfect or past perfect progressive. The tense-aspect is illustrated
in the chart below.
Regular/Irregular Perfect
Progressive
Perfect
verb
Be + ing
Progressive
Have + en
Have + en
Present
Past
Future
cook/cooks
has/have
am/is/are
Be + ing
have been
eat / eats
cooked
has/have eaten
cooking
am/is/are
cooking
have been
cooked
had cooked
eating
was/were
eating
had been
ate
had eaten
cooking
was/were
cooking
had been eating
will cook
Will have
eating
will be cooking will have been
will eat
cooked
will have eaten will be eating
cooking
will have been
eating
Past Future
would cook
would eat
Past Future
Progressive
would be cooking
Progressive
would have been
would be eating
cooking
would have
been
eating
2.0 Forms of Tenses and Aspects
2.1 The Simple Tenses
The Simple Tenses express a fact or action at a given time as illustrated below:
SIMPLE
PAST
FUTURE
TENSE
(Adapted
from:
http://www.langservices.com/verb_tenses_made_visual.html)
2.1.1
in the past, present and future as well as statements that are always true. The Simple
Present remains in its base form with exception that the third person singular form, which
is made by adding s to the main verb.
Example: Sue cooks every Monday.
2.1.2
past. It began and ended in the past. The past tense is formed by adding ed to regular
verb and using its pass irregular form to irregular verb.
Example: It rained yesterday.
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2.1.3
time in the future. The modal will is used to indicate an action to take place in the
future, since there is no future tense appears as a marking on the verb in English.
Example: They will meet us tomorrow.
2.1.4
happening.
Like Simple Future, Past Future has 2 different forms in English, would and was going
to
Form:
would + verb
Example:
Form:
was going to
was/were +
Example:
going to
+ verb
The Form:
be
present participle
(am,is,are) +
_ ing
(was.were)
_ing
FUTURE
Progressive
Tense
PAST
from:
http://www.langservices.com/verb_tenses_made_visual.html)
2.2.1
time. It emphasizes the continuing nature of an action and has some connection to the
present.
Example:
2.2.2
He is sleeping now.
take place within a specific time frame and have no connection to the present. The
ongoing actions took place and were completed at some point before the time of speaking
or writing.
Example:
2.2.3
Example: Alan will be working on the computer system for the next two weeks.
2.2.4
would be +
Example:
verb
past participle
(en)
The Perfect Tense is formed with the verb have or has for third person singular and the
past participle (_en) for irregular verb but use the past tense form for regular verb.
P
E
R
F
E
C
T
PAST
S
I
M
P
L
E
FUTURE
A Perfect Tense expresses a fact or action at a time prior to that expressed by a simple
tense.
(Source:
http://www.langservices.com/verb_tenses_made_visual.html)
2.3.1
the present or has just been completed at the moment of utterance. It suggests a past
action still has an effect in the present.
Example:
2.3.2
It is used to emphasize that an action ended before another past action began.
Example:
2.3.3
The Future Perfect describes an action that will be completed sometime in the
future before another action takes place.
Example:
The surgeon will have operated on five patients before she attends a
luncheon meeting.
2.3.4
past participle
Example: I would have perfected my English by the time I came back from the U.S.
+ been
Perfect
Progressive
PAST
FUTURE
(Adapted
from:
http://www.langservices.com/verb_tenses_made_visual.html)
2.4.1
past and continues into the present. It stresses the ongoing nature of that action.
Example:
The dog has been barking for three hours; I wonder if someone will call the
owner.
2.4.2
The children had been running in the garden for ten minutes before their
mother shooed them back inside.
2.4.3
I will have been studying for two hours by the time you arrive.
2.4.4
posterior time, then look back at an anterior time and finally look at a situation of
happening progressing simultaneously with the posterior-anterior period.
Form:
+ verb
Example: I would have been waiting for 2 hours when the train finally arrived.
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3.1.1
Stative verbs.
Stative verbs are those that do not describe an action but rather conditions or
situations. They express mental activities or observations. You cannot see the verb
happening with your eyes because it describes a mental state (action of the mind),
emotional state (feelings), possession, sense perception, or other existing states. These
verbs must be in the simple tense but never in the progressive:
Wrong
Right
Wrong
Right
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The only exceptions are the sense perception verbs when they describe an action rather
than a quality of something.
DYNAMIC VERBS
A verb forming the progressive tense is always an action, or dynamic, verb. Action verbs
possess the quality of change. For example, the following sentences contain action verbs
with the quality of change. Action verbs can form the progressive tense.
Simple Tense
Progressive Tense
I fish.
I am fishing.
She walks.
She is walking.
They ride.
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Meanings of the Present stative verb can express timeless statements that is,
statements which apply to all time, including speech time. A "universal" verb is a verb
that is not related to time.
For example:
(i)
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For example:
Prime Minister resigns.
Dog bites man.
(b) Relating incidents
Telling a part of a story in the present tense makes it seem more "real". A narrative
can move from past to Present Simple quite easily, especially in spoken English.
For example:
"So I went to the pub on Thursday, and there I saw Fred Bloggs. 'Hey Fred' I said 'didn't I
see you in here last night?' Well, Fred thinks about this for a minute, and then he says
'No, I didn't come here last night.' Then he said 'weren't you out of town last night?' I
realise that he is right - I was out of town. So I told him 'You are right. It must have been
two other people here in the pub."
Future actions.
We also use the Present Simple with the future, generally for actions which are
fixed in the future. This use is usually with an indication of time (a temporal indicator).
For example:
(i) "My holiday starts next week.
(ii) Next weekend is the end of the month.
Because of this, the Present Simple expression of the future is well suited to timetables.
For example:
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Describing conditions.
The verb "to be" is a highly irregular verb. It is the only verb that never uses an
auxiliary (though it is sometimes itself an auxiliary). It is used only for identification and
description. When you find the verb "to be" in association with a noun, it is usually used
for identification.
For example:
(i) That man is a policeman.
(ii) You are my friend. He is not.
The verb "to be" is usually found in association with adjectives and adverbs.
For example:
(i) I am old.
(ii) It is usually found in association .
3.1.2
According Larsen- Freemen & Diane (1999) simple past tense states fact and events
that can be remote in time.
Meanwhile, Abdul Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Nor(2006) says that past tense
explains remoteness or distancing from the moment of speaking, whether in time,
towards the past, or with regard to potential or hypothetical events which have not yet
occurred in the present or the future.
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http://www.english-the-easy-way.com/Past_Tense/Past_Simple_Tense.htm
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:
Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and
regular verbs:
V1
base
V2
past
V3
past participle
regular
verb
work
explode
like
worked
exploded
liked
worked
exploded
liked
irregular
verb
go
see
sing
went
saw
sang
gone
seen
sung
The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:
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base
The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:
base
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he
did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the
main verbs go and work:
subject
+
?
auxiliary verb
main verb
went
to school.
You
worked
very hard.
She
did
not go
with me.
We
did
not work
yesterday.
Did
you
go
to London?
Did
they
work
at home?
Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were,
he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and
question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these
examples:
subject
main verb
I, he/she/it
was
here.
were
in London.
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I, he/she/it
was
not there.
were
not happy.
Was
I, he/she/it
right?
Were
late?
http://www.english-the-easy-way.com/Past_Tense/Past_Simple_Tense.htm
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:
Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and
regular verbs:
V1
base
V2
past
V3
past participle
regular
verb
work
explode
like
worked
exploded
liked
worked
exploded
liked
irregular
verb
go
see
sing
went
saw
sang
gone
seen
sung
The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:
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base
The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:
base
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he
did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the
main verbs go and work:
subject
+
?
auxiliary verb
main verb
went
to school.
You
worked
very hard.
She
did
not go
with me.
We
did
not work
yesterday.
Did
you
go
to London?
Did
they
work
at home?
Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were,
he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and
question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these
examples:
subject
main verb
I, he/she/it
was
here.
were
in London.
20
I, he/she/it
was
not there.
were
not happy.
Was
I, he/she/it
right?
Were
late?
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_past_s.htm
Definite events in the past
Non- progressive past tense is used to refer to a past event. Therefore, it contains
two semantic features which are to visualize the event as having occurred at some
specific time in the past and to show the event was completed in the past and a gap in
time separates its completion from the present.
Examples:
1. I went to supermarket yesterday.
2. David was born in Perak.
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Thirdly, specific time such as yesterday and in 2002 combines well with the Past
but not with Perfect because it specifically signal the past moment in time explicitly.
1. Did you see that man coming down?
2. Did Kamal remember to buy the books?
3.1.3
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In English, there are many ways of talking about events in the future.
Many students find it difficult to decide which form to use in a particular
situation. This page explains the differences between four main forms which we
use when talking about future time.
Meaning / Usage
Example
volunteering to do
something
"Will"
speaking to do something
Munir: Have you
registered for the class
talking about something
"Going to"
yet?
that is already decided
Sarah: Not yet. I'm going
to register tomorrow.
Present
Continuous
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playing soccer.
24
25
Subject
will
infinitive without to
He
will
leave...
will
go
shall
go
They
will not
see
They
won't
see
she
ask?
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
Will
Interrogative negative
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Won't
she
take?
Contractions:
I will
I'll
You will
We will
you'll
He,she, will
You will
he'll, she'll
They will
we'll
you'll
they'll
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I'll see
I won't see/
Will I see?/
*I will/shall see
I shan't see
Shall I see?
You'll see
He won't see
We'll see
We won't see/
Will we see?/
We shan't see
Shall we see?
They'll see
*NOTE: shall is slightly dated but can be used instead of will with I / we.
27
28
Will is used with all persons, but shall can be used as an alternative with I and we in pure
future reference.
Shall is usually avoided with you and I:
2. Contractions
Shall weakens to /S@l/ in speech, but does not contract to 'll in writing. Will contracts to
'll in writing and in fluent, rapid speech after vowels (I'll, we'll, you'll, etc.) but 'll can
occur after consonants. So we might find 'll used: e.g.
- after names: Tom'll be here soon.
- after common nouns: The concert'll start in a minute.
- after question-words: When'll they arrive?
3. Negatives
Will not contracts to 'll not or won't; shall not contracts to shan't:
In American English shan't is rare and shall with a future reference is unusual.
4. Future Tense
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When we use will/shall for simple prediction, they combine with verbs to form tenses in
the ordinary way:
It will rain tomorrow. Will house prices rise again next year?
This is sometimes called 'the pure future', and it should be distinguished from many
other uses of will and shall: e.g.
are 'coloured' by notions of willingness, etc. Will/shall have so many uses as modal verbs
that some grammarians insist that English does not have a pure future tense.
2. 'Will' in formal style for scheduled events
Will is used in preference to be going to when a formal style is required, particularly in
the written language:
The wedding will take place at St Andrew's on June 27th. The reception will be at
the Anchor Hotel.
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Lack of certainty, etc. can be conveyed by using will with adverbs like perhaps, possibly,
probably, surely:
a) In reported speech or thought : after a reporting verb in the Past tense, the reported
verbs in the dependent clauses are also in the Past.This phenomenon is known as
backshift.(Downing et al. 1992).Present tense forms are optional as in She said she
would/will be glad to see us, as long as the situation is still valid, and are sometimes
preferred when a resulting temporal contrast would be undesirable, as in: 1 didnt realize
that you were/are the president of the tennis club.
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b)In polite requests and enquires the Past form distances the proposed action, so
making the imposition on the hearer less direct:
Future events cannot be reffered as facts, as part and present situations, since events in
the future have not yet happened.We can predict with more or less confidence what will
happen, we can plan for events to take place, express our intentions and promises with
regard to future events.
Here was simply outline the main syntactic means of referring to future events as seen
from the standpoint of present time.
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Safe predictions
These are predictions which do not involve the Subjects volition, and include cyclical
events and general truths.Will + infinitive is used, shall by some speakers for T and we:
Proggrammed events
Future events seen as certain because they have been programmed can be expressed by
the Present + time Adjunt or by be due to + infinitive:
-
The sun sets at 20.15 hours tomorrow. C. She is due to retire in two months time.
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Intended events
Intended events can be expressed by be + going to + infinitive, or simply by the
Present Progressive + time Adjunt:
Imminient events
An event which is seens as occurring in the immediate future is expressed by be +
going to or by be about to + infinitive:
A prediction or expection oriented to past time is expressed by these same forms in the
past:
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Otherwise, the Future Perfect exspress the duration or repetition of an event in the
future.The addition of the Progressive emphasizes the stretching out of the sequence.
-
Well have been living here for ten years by next July.
Simple future
The simple future refers to a time later than now, and expresses facts or certainty. In this
case there is no 'attitude'.
The simple future is used:
a. to predict a future event: It will rain tomorrow.
b. (with I/we) to express a spontaneous decision: I'll pay for the tickets by credit card.
c. to express willingness: I'll do the washing-up. He'll carry your bag for you.
d. (in the negative form) to express unwillingness: The baby won't eat his soup. I won't
leave until I've seen the manager!
e. (with I in the interrogative form) to make an offer: Shall I open the window?
f. (with we in the interrogative form) to make a suggestion: Shall we go to the cinema
tonight?
g. (with I in the interrogative form) to ask for advice or instructions: What shall I tell the
boss about this money?
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Subject
will have
past participle
He
will have
finished
37
Affirmative
I will have left
Negative
They won't have gone
Interrogative
Will we have seen?
Interrogative negative
Won't he have arrived?
Example: to arrive, future perfect
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
38
Subject
'to be'
going to
infinitive
She
is
going to
leave
39
Examples:
40
base+ing
watching
Affirmative
I will be asking
Negative
She won't be leaving
Interrogative
Will they be retiring?
Interrogative negative
Won't we be staying?
Example: to stay, future continuous
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I will be staying
I won't be staying
Will I be staying?
41
We will be staying
We won't be staying
Will we be staying?
Affirmative
I
Negative
I
Interrogative
base+ing
living
working
working
43
Will
I have been
Interrogative negative
Won't
I have been
working?
working?
Interrogative
Will I have been
living?
Will you have been
living
He'll have been
living
living?
He won't have been living Will she have been
living
We'll have been
living?
Will we have been
living
You'll have been
living
You won't have been
living?
Will you have been
living
They'll have been
living
They won't have been
living?
Will they have been
living
living
living?
44
years.
d. Next year I will have been working here for four years.
45
46
barking every morning. A present-tense example would be I usually ride the bus home
from work.
Discontinued habit or state can also be referred to by using used to. It is
particularly useful to be able to express, without any accompanying time indication, that
the state or habit no longer takes place. For example, I used to live in Ipoh (Abdul
Halim Ibrahim & Mariam Mohamed Noor, 2006). However, habitual does not necessarily
imply that the condition is no longer true; it is perfectly reasonable to say Erik used to
be a member of the school football team, and he still is (Harrison, 2006).
The progressive aspect is signaled by the discontinuous morpheme be.ing, by
which meaning can be expressed as be in process. It is a special type of imperfectivity
which emphasizes that an action is in progress; often this is mentioned to provide a
background or frame of reference for some other situation. An example of the progressive
aspect in English is John is singing (Harrison, 2006). This aspect will be discussed
more comprehensively in a later section.
Verb Aspects
Perfective
Imperfective
Habituality
Progressiveness
47
Duration
48
The time that Ellen lived on Pine street was at six pm sharp.
The time that Jim worked hard was at 12:15.
On the other hand, instantaneous verbs cant co-occur with expressions such as
for two hours or for two years, while non-instantaneous verbs can.
Examples:
a. Instantaneous Verbs:
I.
b. Non-instantaneous Verbs:
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Durative verbs can occur with the progressive be.ing aspect marker, but stative
verbs cant, at least in simple sentences.
Examples:
a. Stative Verbs: (Wrong Structures)
I. Max was resembling Uncle Martin.
II. Next year Ill be having a Volvo.
c. Durative Verbs: (Correct Structures)
I. Max was working.
II. Uncle Martin was staying here.
Statives also do not easily serve as antecedents for do so, while duratives can.
Examples:
a. Stative Verbs: (Wrong Structures)
50
In complex sentence for instance, some stative can occur with the progressive
Example:
I. More and more , Max is resembling his uncle.
II. Wendy seems to be wanting some candy.
51
Example:
The guests arrived all evening long.
Verb Aspects
Instantaneous
Non- Instantaneous
Stative
Durative
4.4.2
unboundedness. The durative verbs walk, read, draw and smoke are inherently
unbounded because they do not require an end point of action. Unlikely though,
you can say She will walk forever. In contrast, the instantaneous verbs arrive,
explode, break and shatter involve an end point of action, one which is almost
identical with the beginning point of action, since these verbs encode
instantaneous events. Consequently, the statement She will arrive forever is
impossible. So, instantaneous verbs are inherently bounded (Kaplan, 1995).
52
The connection between the duration dimension (instantaneousdurative-stative) and the boundedness dimension is as follows: All instantaneous
verbs are bounded; durative verbs can be either bounded or unbounded. On the
contrary, all stative verbs are unbounded.
53
progressive. However, the progressive be.ing can co-occur in some stative verbs, with
the presence of some additional expression to make the situation reported in the sentence
less of a state and more of a process, such as more and more. For example, More and
more, little Bobby is resembling his father (Kaplan, 1995).
Besides that, Kaplan (1995) also posits that instantaneous verbs do not usually
occur with the progressive either. This is because the events they signify do not take long
enough for us to be able to talk about them in progress. For example, it is grammatically
incorrect to state The window was shattering as I watched. The domain of the
progressive then, is a middle range of verbs on the duration scale that is the durative
verbs.
5.0 Conclusion
The tense-aspect system is an important ingredient in the process of learning the
English Language. Thus, it is a vital for ESL learners to understand the overall concept
of the verb tenses and aspects in order to reduce the difficulty of learning the grammar of
the language. By comprehending the form and meaning of the three tenses (in their
simple form) and two aspects (perfect and progressive), ESL learners will be able to
improve their language development to greater heights and become more proficient users
of the English Language.
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