***Tenses and Aspects:

The difference between tenses and aspects is that the tense is used to express the relation between the happening of an action and the time at which the action happens.

• In the English language, there are three tenses: the present tense, the past tense and the future tense.

Eg: He is now in Hanoi with me. Last week, he was in Thailand. Next week, we will be in Hong Kong.

• But the aspect is used to denote different characteristics of an action. In the English language, there are three aspects: The indefinite aspect, the continuous (progressive) aspect and the perfect aspect. These aspects have different functions as follows:

1/ The indefinite aspect: it has two main functions:

a)  It denotes a habit or a repeated action:

He never gets up early. Last year, he always came to see me on Saturday evenings. Next week, he will be in Hong Kong.

b)  It denotes a permanent property of an action:

She is terribly beautiful. Years ago, he was very good to me.

2/ The progressive aspect: It has three functions.

a)  It denotes an action happening at a certain moment.

He is now drinking coffee with me. By this time last week, he was also drinking coffee with me. And if nothing goes wrong, he’ll be drinking coffee with me by this time next week.

b)  It denotes a continuity of an action:

He is playing computer games all the time. She is always looking at herself in the mirror.

c)  It denotes a future action:

He is buying a new TV set this year. She is moving to a new flat by the end of next week.

3/ The perfect aspect: It has two functions.

a)  It denotes an action completed before a certain moment.

When I come home, my mother has gone to work. She had had breakfast when I phoned her.

b)  It denotes the duration of an action counting from the starting point up to a certain moment.

We have learnt English for 3 years. By this time last year, we had learnt English for 2 years.

Finally, it should be forgotten that in the whole area of tense, mood and aspect, there is seldom a simple relation between form and meaning.

TENSES:

1. Simple Present:

1/ Habitual actions in the present:

He walks to school everyday.

2/ General timeless truths, e.g., physical laws or customs:

Water freezes at 0⁰C. The earth is round.

3/ With BE and other stative verbs in the present tense:

-  Sensory perception (see, hear, taste,…): I see a large house on the corner.

-  Mental perception and emotions (know, doubt, love, hate,…): I know Jack is a teacher. She loves him.

-  Relationships (have, own, owe, belong to,…): That car belongs to me.

4/ In the subordinate clause with verbs in future time:

After he finishes work, he’ll do the errands.

5/ In the subordinate clause of future conditional sentences:

If she passes the exam, she’ll call me.

6/ Expresses future (when a schedule event is involved); usually with future time adverbial:

I have a meeting next Monday at that time.

7/ Present event/action or speech act:

Here comes the pitch; Jackson swings and misses; I resign from the commission.

8/ Conversational historical present (used to prefer past event in narration):

“So he stands up in the boat and waves his arms to catch our attention.”

2. Present Progressive:

1/ Event/action in progress:

He is attending the meeting now. She is walking to school now.

2/ Temporary activity (action will end and therefore lacks the permanence of the simple present tense):

I’m studying Geology at the University of Sidney. Mary is living with her parents.

3/ Repetition or iteration in a series of similar ongoing action:

Henry is kicking the ball around the backyard.

4/ Expresses future (when event is planned; usually with future time adverbial):

She is coming tomorrow.

5/ Emotional comment on present habit (usually co-occurring with always and forever):

He’s always talking for hours if you ask him about history.

3. Simple Past:

1/ A definite single completed event/action in the past:

I attended the meeting yesterday.

2/ Habitual or repeated action/event in the past (suggests that some change in this habit/event has taken place):

It snowed almost every weekend last winter. Sam walked with his dog everyday last year.

3/ An event with duration that applied in the past with the implication it no longer applies in the present:

She taught at this school for 10 years.

4/ With stative verbs in the past time:

He appeared to be a genius. I saw a large house on the corner. He knew that John was a teacher.

5/ Past Conditional or imaginative events in the subordinate clause:

If he took better care of himself, he wouldn’t be absent so often.

4. Past Progressive:

1/ An action in progress at a specific point of time in the past:

He was walking to school at 6:00 this morning.

2/ Past action (simultaneous with some other event):

She was washing her hair when the phone rang.

5. Simple Future: (here just with WILL)

1/ An action to take place at some definite future time:

He will walk to school tomorrow.

2/ A future habitual action or future state:

I will take the bus to work next year. I’m sure everything will be fine.

3/ A situation that may occur in the present and will occur in the future but with some future termination in sight:

She will live in Canada until she finishes school.

4/ Future conditional (main clause):

If you don’t go right now, you will be late.

6. Future Progressive:

1/ An action will be in progress at a specific time in the near future:

He will be walking to school at 8:00 tomorrow.

2/ Duration of some specific future action:

He will be working on his thesis for the next ten years.

7. Present Perfect: often expresses how the speaker views himself relative to the event(s) he is talking about.

1/ The situation that began in the past and continues into the present:

I have been a teacher since 2006.

2/ A past experience with current relevance (result):

I have already seen that movie.

3/ A very recently completed action:

Mike has just finished his homework.

4/ An action that went on over time in the past and that is completed with the moment of speech:

The oil price has doubled in the last 2 years.

5/ 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.

8. Present Perfect Progressive:

1/ A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or distant) and that continues up to the present (duration):

I have been living in this city for 20 years.

He has been walking to school for several years.

Bush has been going out with Alice.

2/ Incompleteness of an action in progress:

I have been reading that book.

9. Past Perfect:

1/ An action completed in the past prior to some other past event:

He had already walked to school before I could offer him a ride.

2/ In subordinate clause of past conditional or imaginative event:

If she had studied harder, she would have passed the exam.

10. Past Perfect Progressive:

1/ An action or habit taking place over a period of time in the past prior to some other past event:

He had been walking to school before his father bought him a bicycle.

Carol had been working so hard, so her doctor told her to take a vacation.

2/ A past action that is in progress gets interrupted by another past action:

We had been planning to vacation but changed our mind when the weather became so bad.

11. Future Perfect:

1/ A future action that will be completed prior to a specific future time:

I will have finished all this typing by 5 p.m.

2/ A state or action that will be completed in the future prior to some other future time or event (near or distant):

He will have walked to school before you finished your breakfast.

At the end of the year, we will have been married for 3 years.

12. Future Perfect Progressive:

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:

He will have been riding his bike to school for 2 years by the time he graduates in June.

Next Monday, we will have been living here for 20 years.