Introduction to tense and aspect (1)

Tense

Tense is a grammatical category to do with

inflections (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 Huddersfield

On the 3rd March 2015, 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 be + [verb]ING

Perfective 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 he has spoken

Past perfect he had spoken

Present progressive he is working

Past progressive he was working

Present perfect progressive he has been singing

Past perfect progressive he had been singing

Task

He is fishing

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 finished 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 find 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 midfield

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

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

Anticipating Problems

What problems might students have with the present simple and present progressive?

Consider:

Form

Meaning/Use

Common problems

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!

Different concepts expressed through one form

Over-use of present simple Form:

omission of auxiliary in progressive forms

Omission of 3rd person s in present simple

inclusion of third person s in question form Omission of auxiliary do/does in present simple

Spelling

ANY QUESTIONS?