Tense & aspect system by mehwish ali khan

 Tense :It refers to the absolute location of an
event or action.It is marked by an inflection
of verb.
 Aspect: It refers to how an event or action is
to be viewed with respect to time rather
than to its actual location in time.

 Simple present tense
 How do we make the Simple Present
Tense?
 subject + auxiliary verb + main
verb do base There are three important
exceptions:
 For positive sentences, we do not normally
use the auxiliary.

 For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we
add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
 For the verb to be, we do not use an
auxiliary, even for questions and negatives

auxiliary main
subject
verb verb

I, you, we
like coffee.
+ , they
He, she, it likes coffee.
I, you,
do not like coffee.
- we, they
He, she, it does not like coffee.
I, you,
Do like coffee?
? we, they
Does he, she, it like coffee?

 Lookat these examples with the main verb
be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

subject main verb
I am French.
You, we, th
+ are French.
ey
He, she, it is French.
I am not old.
You, we, th
- are not old.
ey
He, she, it is not old.
Am I late?
you, we,
? Are late?
they
Is he, she, it late?

 We use the simple present tense when:
 the action is general
 the action happens all the time, or
habitually, in the past, present and future
 the action is not only happening now
 the statement is always true

 How do we make the Present Continuous
Tense?
 The structure of the present continuous
tense is:
verb be base + ing

auxiliary
subject main verb
verb
+ I am speaking to you.
+ You are reading this.
- She is not staying in London.
- We are not playing football.
? Is he watching TV?
? Are they waiting for John?

 We use the present continuous tense to talk
about:
 action happening now
 action in the future
 a) for action happening exactly now
 I am eating my lunch
 The Iaction is happening now
M eating my lunch

 We can also use the present continuous tense
to talk about the future - if we add a future
word!! We must add (or understand from the
context) a future word. "Future words"
include, for example, tomorrow, next
year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use
the present continuous tense to talk about
the future when we have planned to do
something before we speak. We have already
made a decision and a plan before speaking

 We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've
already booked the table..
 They can play tennis with you tomorrow.
They're not working.
 When are you starting your new job

 How do we make the Present Perfect
Tense?
 The structure of the present perfect tense is:
verb have past participle

auxiliary
subject main verb
verb
+ I have seen ET.
+ You have eaten mine.
- She has not been to Rome.
- We have not played football.
? Have you finished?
? Have they done it?

 How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?
 This tense is called the present perfect
tense. There is always a connection with the
past and with the present. There are
basically three uses for the present perfect
tense:
 experience
 change
 continuing situation

 1. Present perfect tense for experience
 We often use the present perfect tense to
talk about experience from the past. We are
not interested in when you did something.
We only want to know if you did it:

 1. Present perfect tense for experience
 We often use the present perfect tense to talk
about experience from the past. We are not
interested in when you did something. We only
want to know if you did it:
 I have seen ET.
He has lived in Bangkok.
Have you been there?
We have never eaten caviar. past present future
!!! The action or state was in the past. In my
head, I have a memory now. Connection with
past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I
have a memory of the event; I know something
about the event; I have experience of it

 2. Present perfect tense for change
 We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a
change or new information:
 I have bought a car. past present future - + Last
week I didn't have a car. Now I have a car. John has
broken his leg. past present future + - Yesterday
John had a good leg. Now he has a bad leg. Has the
price gone up? past present future + - Was the
price $1.50 yesterday? Is the price $1.70 today? The
police have arrested the killer. past present future -
+ Yesterday the killer was free. Now he is in
prison. Connection with past: the past is the
opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the
opposite of the past

 3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation
 We often use the present perfect tense to talk about
a continuing situation. This is a state that started in
the past and continues in the present (and will
probably continue into the future). This is a state
(not an action). We usually use for or since with this
structure.
 I have worked here since June.
He has been ill for 2 days.
How long have you known Tara? past present
future The situation started in the past. It
continues up to now. (It will probably continue into
the future.)Connection with past: the situation
started in the past.
Connection with present: the situation continues in
the present

 How do we make the Present Perfect
Continuous Tense?
 The structure of the present perfect
continuous tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb +
main verb have
has been base + ing

auxiliar auxiliar main
subject
y verb y verb verb
for one
+ I have been waiting
hour.
too
+ You have been talking
much.
- It has not been raining.
- We have not been playing football.
? Have you been seeing her?
their
? Have they been doing homewo
rk?

 How do we use the Present Perfect
Continuous Tense?
 This tense is called the present perfect
continuous tense. There is usually a
connection with the present or now. There
are basically two uses for the present perfect
continuous tense:

 We use the present perfect continuous tense
to talk about an action that started in the
past and stopped recently. There is usually a
result now.

I'm tired [now] because I've been running.
 Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been
raining?
 You don't understand [now] because you
haven't been listening

 We use the present perfect continuous tense to
talk about an action that started in the past and
is continuing now. This is often used with for or
since.

 I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still
reading now.]
 We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still
studying now.]
 How long have you been learning English? [You
are still learning now.]
 We have not been smoking. [And we are not
smoking now.]

 How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
 To make the simple past tense, we use:
 past form only
or

 auxiliary did + base form

V3
V1 V2
past
base past
participle
The past
work worked worked form for all
regular verb explode exploded exploded regular
like liked liked verbs ends
in -ed.
The past
form for
irregular
go went gone
irregular verbs is
see saw seen
verb variable. You
sing sang sung
need to
learn it by
heart.

 How do we use the Simple Past Tense?
 We use the simple past tense to talk about
an action or a situation - an event - in the
past. The event can be short or long.

 Thecar exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

 I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million
years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

 The structure of the past continuous tense
is:subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
conjugated in simple past tense present
participle was
were base +

 How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?
 The past continuous tense expresses action
at a particular moment in the past. The
action started before that moment but has
not finished at that moment. For example,
yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film
started at 7pm and finished at 9pm. At 8pm
yesterday, I was watching TV

 Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense
 We often use the past continuous tense with the
simple past tense. We use the past continuous
tense to express a long action. And we use the
simple past tense to express a short action that
happens in the middle of the long action. We
can join the two ideas with when or while.
 In the following example, we have two actions:
 long action (watching TV), expressed with past
continuous tense
 short action (telephoned), expressed with simple
past tense

 How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?
 The structure of the past perfect tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb
conjugated in simple past tense past
participle had

 How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?
 The past perfect tense expresses action in
the past before another action in the past.
This is the past in the past. For example:
 The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am.
When we arrived, the train had left.

 How do we make the Past Perfect
Continuous Tense?
 The structure of the past perfect continuous
tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + auxiliary verb
BE + main verb conjugated in simple past
tense past participle present participle had
been base +

 How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous
Tense?
 The past perfect continuous tense is like the
past perfect tense, but it expresses longer
actions in the past before another action in
the past. For example:
 Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at
11am. When I arrived, Ram had been
waiting for two hours

 Here are some more examples:
 John was very tired. He had been running.
 I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been
smoking.
 Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not
surprised. It had not been running well for a
long time.
 Had the pilot been drinking before the
crash?

 Simple Future Tense
 I will sing The simple future tense is often
called will, because we make the simple
future tense with the modal auxiliary will

 How do we make the Simple Future Tense?
 The structure of the simple future tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb
invariable base will V1

 No Plan
 We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or
decision to do something before we speak. We make the
decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at
these examples:
 Hold on. I'll get a pen.
 We will see what we can do to help you.
 Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.
 In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking.
The decision is made at the time of speaking.
 We often use the simple future tense with the verb to
think before it:
 I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
 I think I will have a holiday next year.
 I don't think I'll buy that car

 Prediction
 We often use the simple future tense to
make a prediction about the future. Again,
there is no firm plan. We are saying what we
think will happen. Here are some examples:
 It will rain tomorrow.
 People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd
century.
 Who do you think will get the job?

 Be
 When the main verb is be, we can use the
simple future tense even if we have a firm
plan or decision before speaking. Examples:
 I'll be in London tomorrow.
 I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
 Will you be at work tomorrow?

 How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?
 The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular
moment in the future. The action will start before that moment
but it will not have finished at that moment. For
example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at
6pm:
 At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past present future
4pm At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working. When we use
the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or
understands what time we are talking about. Look at these
examples:
 I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
 They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
 What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
 What will you be doing when I arrive?
 She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
 We'll be having dinner when the film starts.
 Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return

 Future Perfect Tense
 I will have sung The future perfect tense is
quite an easy tense to understand and use.
The future perfect tense talks about the past
in the future.
 How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?
 The structure of the future perfect tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb
HAVE + main verb invariable invariable past
participle will have v3

 Lookat these example sentences in the
future perfect tense:
 subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main
verb + I will have finished by 10am. + You
will have forgotten me by then. - She will
not have gone to school. - We will not have
left. ? Will you have arrived? ? Will
they have received it?

 We sometimes use shall instead of will,
especially for I and we.
 How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?
 The future perfect tense expresses action in
the future before another action in the
future. This is the past in the future. For
example:
 The train will leave the station at 9am. You
will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When
you arrive, the train will have left

 Future Perfect Continuous Tense
 I will have been singing How do we make
the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
 The structure of the future perfect
continuous tense is:
 subject + auxiliary verb WILL + auxiliary verb
HAVE + auxiliary verb BE + main verb
invariable invariable past participle present
participle will have been base + ing

 How do we use the Future Perfect
Continuous Tense?
 We use the future perfect continuous tense
to talk about a long action before some point
in the future. Look at these examples:
 I will have been working here for ten years
next week.
 He will be tired when he arrives. He will
have been travelling for 24 hours

Tense & aspect system by mehwish ali khan

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Tense & aspect system by mehwish ali khan