Introduction

to

tense and aspect (1)

Tense
Tense is a grammatical category to do with
inections (endings) attached to verbs.

There are only two tenses in English:

Present tense
do/does have/has

Past tense

did
had

 There is no future tense in English. Future

time can be expressed in a variety of ways:

Im seeing him tomorrow.
Im going to take the dog for a walk when it stops

raining
Im about to go out, can I do it later?
The train leaves at 6pm tonight

Time and Tense

Time and tense should not be confused:
The present tense can refer to past, present and
future time e.g.
Yesterday a man comes up to me and says, Hey..
I work in Hudderseld
On the 3rd March 2016, Glynn leaves for China

The past tense can also refer to past, present and

future time e.g.

I worked in Germany in 1999

I wondered if I could ask you to move your car
He said he would go later.

Aspect
Aspect refers to the way in which the action

described by a verb should be regarded e.g. as

extended, complete, temporary etc.
English has 2 aspects: the perfective and the
progressive.

FORM:
Progressive
Perfective

be + [verb]ING
have + past participle

 Both progressive and perfective aspects can be

freely combined with tenses to produce

constructions which are often labelled tenses
in pedagogic grammar
2 aspects can be combined in a single verb
phrase:
Present perfect
Past perfect

Present progressive
Past progressive

he has spoken
he had spoken
he is working
he was working

Present perfect progressive he has been singing

Past perfect progressive
he had been singing

Task
He is shing
He was shopping
She had been travelling for hours
Hes lived here for 25 years
I am thinking of you
We had eaten dinner before she arrived.
They have been waiting for you for ages

Perfective aspect: meaning

The perfective can be used for actions

continuing from the past into the present

Ive worked here for two years (and I still do)
Hes been a student since 2013 (and still is)

It also expresses anterior time (the time

before)

I have already seen it

By 2016 they will have nished their course
When I got there the concert had started

Progressive Aspect: meaning

Used to indicate an action in progress at a

given time.
It has 3 components of meaning which do not
all need to be present at the same time:
Duration
Limited duration
Incompleteness
e.g.

It rains a lot
It is raining a lot

Discovery Activity
Work individually
Look at the worksheet provided.
Read the speech bubbles and nd mistakes in

grammatical form or use of the present

simple and continuous. SOME SENTENCES
ARE CORRECT
Compare your answers with a partner
Write a summary of uses for the present
simple and continuous

Present Simple Tense:

Meaning
State present: there is no limit on the extension

of the state from the past into the present into

the future
The earth moves around the sun

Habitual present: expresses an unrestricted

time span around the present. A series of

events
He (often) walks to work

 Instantaneous present:
Used with dynamic verbs to indicate a single action

completed at the time of speaking

I pronounce you man and wife (performatives)

Beckham kicks the ball into mideld

To refer to timetabled future events

The train leaves at 6.30pm

To refer to the past (the historic past)

A man comes into the pub and says..

Present Progressive
Present progressive can refer to:
Activity in progress at the moment of speaking
Wheres Jack? Hes playing tennis.

Long term changes, processes or developments

The earth is warming up

Temporary habits in the current period but not

necessarily at the moment of speaking

Were eating in the kitchen this winter

 Our neighbours are very kind

Our neighbours are being very kind
I feel its time you went home.
I am not feeling well

Charles looks like the Queen
Charles is looking more and more like the

Queen

Anticipating Problems
What problems might students have with the

present simple and present progressive?

Consider:
Form
Meaning/Use
Phonology

Common problems
Form:
omission of auxiliary in progressive forms (I going)
Omission of 3rd person s in present simple (He play)
inclusion of third person s in question form (Does he goes?)

Omission of auxiliary do/does in present simple (You understand?)

Spelling (studys / hopeing)

Many languages do not have a progressive form e.g. Arabic,

German, Greek which leads to errors such as:

Wheres Jason? He plays football
Look! It rains.

Dierent concepts expressed through one form

Over-use of present simple

Stative and dynamic verbs

Most verbs are dynamic and describe actions we can

take but a minority indicate stative situations which

are:
Qualities e.g.
Phil is Scottish. Jenny is kind.

States (of mind, ownership, sensation etc) e.g.

I know the truth

I feel sick
Stance (lie, stand, sit, live etc) e.g.
Liverpool lies on the River Mersey.

Stative verbs are not normally found in the

progressive form unless indicating a special meaning.

Carlas being stupid.
Charles is looking more and more like the Queen

Durative and punctual verbs

Durative verbs refer to situations which can be

extended in time (have duration).

Punctual verbs refer to situations which do not have
duration i.e. last a second or two e.g. kick, sneeze,
tap
Progressive aspect is not normally used with these

verbs. When it is used, it it usually refers to a

repeated series of events e.g.
He was sneezing
He was tapping his pen on the table

A teachers guide:

PREPARING TO TEACH A
GRAMMAR POINT

Preparing to present a language

point
Lesson should typically include:
Form (rules of form)
Meaning (rules of use)
Phonology

Teachers also need to consider:

General assumptions:
what have they done before which is relevant?
Is there anything they need to have studied before?

Anticipated problems

Task
Complete the worksheet provided in

preparation for a lesson used to e.g.

I used to live in France when I was a child

Compare your answers with mine!

ANY QUESTIONS?