The Tense and Aspect System 2

The Tense and Aspect System
Jessica M. Biscocho
Discussant
PAST TENSE PRESENT
perfect aspect, perfect aspect,
progressive aspect progressive aspect
Future
modals, phrasal modals,

adverbials of time
For each tense/aspect combination,
we must consider:
Form
Accuracy Meaning
Meaningfulness Use
Appropriateness
The Formal Characteristics of the Tense-
Aspect System
Simple Perfect Progressive Perfect Progressive
Ø have + -en be + -ing have + -en be + -ing
Present write/writes has/have written am/is/are writing has/have been writing
walk/walks has/have walked am/is are walking has/have been walking
Past wrote had written was/were writing had been writing
walked had walked was/were walking had been walking
Future will write will have written will be writing will have been writing
will walk will have walked will be walking will have been walking
Meaning in the English Tense-Aspect
System
Simple aspect refers to events
that are conceptualized as
complet wholes.These events
are not presented as allowing for
further developments (HIrtle
(1967).
Susan and Carl live in Newark
vs.
Susan and Carl are living in Newark
Simple Present It conveys immediate
Tense factuality (Lewis 1986).
• I skim the New York Times at breakfast.
• The earth rotates around the sun.
• My mother loves daisies.
• It is a beautiful day.
How the core meanings of the simple present, its
complete or unchanging nature, and its immediate
factuality apply?
a. Habitual actions in the present:
• He walks to school every day.

factuality apply?
b. General timeless truths, such as physical

laws or customs:
• Water freezes at 0 degrees centigrade.
• Spaniards eat dinner late.
factuality apply?
c. With be and other native verbs to indicate

states:
• There is a large house on the corner.
• I know Mr. Jackson
• The car belongs to bill.
factuality apply?
d. In the subordinate clauses of time or condition
when the main clause contains a future-time verb.
• After he finishes work, he'll do the errands.

• If Cindy passes the bar exam, she'll be able to practice law.
factuality apply?
e. Expresses future (when a scheduled event is

involved, usually with a future-time adverbial):
• I have a meeting next Wednesday at that time

factuality apply?
f. Present event/action (usually is sporting events
or demonstrations/procedures of some sort):
• Here comes the pitch; Vaughn swings and misses.

• Now, I add three eggs to the mixture.
factuality apply?
g. Present speech acts (where the action is
accomplished in the speaking of it):
• I resign from the commission.

factuality apply?
h. Conversational historical present (used to refer
to certain past events in narration):
• “So he stands up in the boat and waves his arms to

catch our attention”
This also states facts. Its
Simple core meaning adds
Past Tense sense of remoteness
(Knowles, 1979)
• The Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992.
• I finised my term paper!
• If I walked home from school, it would take all afternoon.
• I am calling because I wanted to ask you a favor.
How the notions of completeness and
remoteness apply in using the past
tense?
a. A definite single completed event/action in the
past:
• I attended a meeting of that committee last week.

tense?
b. Habitual or repeated action/event in the past:
• It snowed almost every weekend last winter.

tense?
c. An event with duration that applied the past with
the implication that it no longer applies in the
present:
• Professor Nelson taught at Yale for 30 years.
tense?
d. With states in the past:
• He appeared to be a creative genius.

tense?
e. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause
(refering to present time)
• If he took better care of himself, he wouldn't be
absent so often.
tense?
f. Social distancing:
• Did you want to sit down and stay a while?

Simple Future
Tense with will
(or Contracted 'll)
How its core meaning of strong
predicability applies?
a. An action to take place at some definite future
time:
• Joel will take the bar exam next month.
b. A future habitual action or state:
• After October, Judy will take the 7:30 train to

Chicago every day.
c. A situation that may obtain in the present and will
obtain in the future but with some future termination
in sight:
• Nora will live in Caracas until she improves her Spanish.
d. In the main (result) clause of future conditionals:
• If you go, you'll be sorry.

Simple aspect allows us to talk about
events as not open to development or
change and to make factual statements
or strong predictions about them.
System
The core meaning of the
Perfect perfect is “prior,” and it is in
relation to some other
Aspect point in time.
Perfect Aspect
Present perfect is used retrospectively to

refer to a time prior to now:
• Have you done your homework?

Perfect Aspect
The past perfect offers a retrospective point

of view on some past time:
• He had left before I arrived.

Perfect Aspect
The future perfect offers a retrospective

point of view on some future time:
• Mark will have finished all his chores

by the time we get there.
Perfect Aspect: Present Perfect
a. A situation that began at a prior point in

time and continues into the present:
• I have been a teacher since 1967.

b. An action occuring or not occuring at an

unspecified prior time that has current
relevance:
• I have already seen that movie.

c. A very recently completed action (often

with just):
• Joey has just finished his homework.

d. An action that occured over a prior time

period and that is completed at the moment
of speaking:
• The value of the Johnson's house has

doubled in the last four years.
e. With verbs in subordinate clauses of time

or condition:
• She won't be satisfied until she has

finished another chapter.
• If you have done your homework, you
can watch TV.
Perfect Aspect: Past Perfect
a. An action completed in the past prior to

some other past event or time:
• He has already left before I could offer

him a ride.
• She had worked at the post office before
1962.
Perfect Aspect: Past Perfect
b. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate

clause (referring to past time):
• If Sally had studied harder, she would

have passed the exam.
Perfect Aspect: Future Perfect
a. A future action that will be completed prior

to a specific time:
• I will have finished all this word

processing by 5 P.M.
Perfect Aspect: Future Perfect
b. A state or accomplishment that will be

completed in the future prior to some other
future time or event:
• At the end of the summer the Blakes will

have been married for 10 years.
You can see that when it interacts
with each of the three tenses,
perfect aspect allows us a
retrospective point of view from a
particular point in time: present,
past and future.
System
It portrays an event in
PROGRESSIVE a way that allows for it
ASPECT to be incomplete, or
somehow limited.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: Present Progressive
(sometimes calles Present Continuous)
a. Activity in progress:
• He is attending a meeting now.

b. Extended present (action will end and

therefore lacks the permanence of the simple
present tense):
• I am studying geology at the University

of Colorado.
c. A temporary situation:
• Philip is living with her parents.

d. Repetition or iteration in a series of similar

ongoing actions:
• Henry is kicking the soccer ball around

the backyard.
e. Expresses future (when event is planned;

usually with a future-time adverbial):
• She is coming tomorrow.

f. Emotional comment on present habit (usually

co-occuring with frequency adverbs always or
forever):
• He is always delivering in a clutch situation.

(approving)
• He is forever acting up at these affairs.
(disappointing)
g. A change in progress:
• She is becoming more and more like her

mother.
PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: Past Progressive
a. An action in progress at a specific point of time

in the past:
• He was walking to school at 8:30 this

morning.
b. Past action simultaneous with some other event

that is usually stated in the simple past:
• Karen was washing her hair when the phone

rang.
• While Alex was travelling in Europe, he ran
into an old friend.
c. Repetition or iteration of some ongoing past

action:
• Jake was coughing all night long.

d. Social distancing (which comes from the past

tense and the tentativeness of the progressive
aspect):
• I was hoping you could lend me Php 500.

PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: Future Progressive
a. An action that will be in progress at a specific

time in the future:
• He will be taking a test at 8 A.M. tomorrow.

PROGRESSIVE ASPECT: Future Progressive
b. Duration of some specific future action:
• Mavis will be working on her thesis for the

next three years.
System
This aspect combines the
PERFECT sense of “prior” of the
PROGRESSIVE perfect with the meaning of
ASPECT “incompleteness” inherent
in the progressive aspect.
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE ASPECT:
Present Perfect Progressive Aspect
a. A situation or habit that began in the past

(recent or distant) and that continues up to the
present (and possibly into the future):
• Burt has been going out with Alice.

b. An action in progress that is not yet

completed:
• I have been reading that book.

c. A state that changes over time:
• The students have been getting better

and better.
d. An evaluative comment on something

observed over time triggered by current
evidence:
• You have been drinking again!

Past Perfect Progressive Aspect
a. An action or habit taking place over a period of
time in the past prior to some other past event or time:
• Carol had been working hard, so her doctor told her

to take a vacation.
• She had been trying to finish her degree that year.
b. A past action in progress that was iterrupted by a
more recent past action:
• We had been planning to vacation in Manila, but

changed our minds after receiving the brochure on
Subic.
c. An ongoing ppast action or state that becomes
satisfied by some other event:
• I had been waiting to see that play, so I was

pleased when I won the tickets.
Future Perfect Progressive Aspect
Durative or habitual action that is taking place in
the present and that will continue into the future up
until or through a specific future time:
• On Christmas Eve we will have been living in the

same house for 20 years.
• He will have been keeping a journal for 10 years
next month.
THE LEXICAL ASPECT OF VERBS
ACTIVITY ACCOMPLISHMENT ACHIEVEMENT STATE
run paint (a picture) recognize have
wallk make (a chair) realize contain
swim build (a house) lose seem
live write (a novel) find want
study grow up win like
durative;
has a well- do not involve
describe an durative;
defined end change;
ongoing action; has a well-
point but has no assumed to last
undefined defined end
duration; more or less
beginning and point
punctual indefinitely
end point.
Subcategories of Stative Verbs
Sensory Perception : smell, see, hear, taste, feel
Mental Perception : know, believe, think, understand, mean,
doubt
Possession : possess, have, own, belong
Emotions, : like, love, hate, dislike, want, desire,
Attitudes, and need, prefer, appreciate, doubt, feel, wish
Opinions
Measurement : equal, measure, weigh, cost
Relationships : contain, entail, consist of
Descriptions : be, resemble, sound, appear, seem, look
ADVERBS OF TENSE AND TIME
Certain adverbs of indefinite time often

co-occur with particular combinations and
add meanings associated with the verb
tense-aspect system
ADVERBS OF TENSE AND TIME
Has Chris finished her M.A. thesis?
1. Yes, she has just finished it. 4. No, but she'll finish it soon.
2. Yes, she has already filed it. 5. No, she's still working on it.
3. No, she hasn't finished it yet. 6. No, she's not working on it anymore.
THE USE OF THE TENSE-ASPECT SYSTEM
Understanding Difficult Contrasts in Tense-Aspect Combinations
a. Action happening at the moment od speaking versus a habit:
SIMPLE PRESENT PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
• Why are you • Why do you wear

wearing glasses? glasses?
b. Temporary event versus permanent situation:
• Linda is living • Linda lives with

with her parents. her parents.
c. Specific event versus general situation:
• What are you • What do you do

doing for for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving?
d. Activity versus state:
• I am thinking • I think it is 44.

about the answer.
a. Specific and possibly still ongoing activity versus prior event:
PRESENT PERFECT
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
• I have been • I have visited my

visiting my great- great-
grandmother. grandmother.
b. Strong implication of continuation versus continuation being only a possibility:
PRESENT PERFECT
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
• I have been • I have taught for

teaching for 25 25 years.
years.
c. Single accomplishment, incomplete, versus a completeed one:

PRESENT PERFECT
PRESENT PERFECT
PROGRESSIVE
• Gail has been • Gail has

remodeling her remodeled her
home. home.
c. Single accomplishment, incomplete, versus a completeed one:
SIMPLE PAST PRESENT PERFECT
• Gail has been • Gail has

remodeling her remodeled her
home. home.

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The Tense and Aspect System

modals, phrasal modals,

a. Habitual actions in the present:

• He walks to school every day.

b. General timeless truths, such as physical

c. With be and other native verbs to indicate

• After he finishes work, he'll do the errands.

e. Expresses future (when a scheduled event is

• I have a meeting next Wednesday at that time

• Here comes the pitch; Vaughn swings and misses.

• I resign from the commission.

• “So he stands up in the boat and waves his arms to

• I attended a meeting of that committee last week.

• It snowed almost every weekend last winter.

• He appeared to be a creative genius.

• Did you want to sit down and stay a while?

• After October, Judy will take the 7:30 train to

• If you go, you'll be sorry.

Present perfect is used retrospectively to

• Have you done your homework?

The past perfect offers a retrospective point

• He had left before I arrived.

The future perfect offers a retrospective

• Mark will have finished all his chores

a. A situation that began at a prior point in

• I have been a teacher since 1967.

b. An action occuring or not occuring at an

• I have already seen that movie.

c. A very recently completed action (often

• Joey has just finished his homework.

d. An action that occured over a prior time

• The value of the Johnson's house has

e. With verbs in subordinate clauses of time

• She won't be satisfied until she has

a. An action completed in the past prior to

• He has already left before I could offer

b. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate

• If Sally had studied harder, she would

a. A future action that will be completed prior

• I will have finished all this word

b. A state or accomplishment that will be

• At the end of the summer the Blakes will

• He is attending a meeting now.

b. Extended present (action will end and

• I am studying geology at the University

• Philip is living with her parents.

d. Repetition or iteration in a series of similar

• Henry is kicking the soccer ball around

e. Expresses future (when event is planned;

• She is coming tomorrow.

f. Emotional comment on present habit (usually

• He is always delivering in a clutch situation.

• She is becoming more and more like her

a. An action in progress at a specific point of time

• He was walking to school at 8:30 this

b. Past action simultaneous with some other event

• Karen was washing her hair when the phone

c. Repetition or iteration of some ongoing past

• Jake was coughing all night long.