2017-12-12 Grammar: tense/aspect overview

Greg Malivuk
greg.malivuk@gmail.com
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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phone number
email address
license number (even if it includes letters)
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English has a total of twelve verb tenses, formed of three time frames and four aspects.
Time Frame: past, present, future
	- Time frame tells us the “focus time” for the action.
Aspect: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous
	- Aspect tells us the “shape” of the action in that time.
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p. 3 exercise 1 - Identify the time frame of each paragraph.
1 past
2 present
3 future
4 past
5 present
exercise 2 - Then start identifying the aspects of each verb.
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Forming different aspects:
progressive/continuous = [be] + verb(ing)
perfect = [have] + past participle/verb(3)
perfect progressive = [have] + been + verb(ing)

(Careful that you hear, say, and spell the difference between “been” and “being”.)
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Mostly, we stay in a single time frame over several sentences, because they all center or focus on the same time.
Occasionally, we switch between time frames because we’re connecting actions from different times or we’re using the present for general truths.
	“I didn’t study yesterday and I won’t study today because I am very lazy.”
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p. 5-6 exercise 4 - First decide what time frame each paragraph should be. Then begin completing them with the correct forms of the verbs.
1 future
  a will be
  b will be
  c will have completed
2 past
  a had
  b was walking
  c saw
  d had gone
3 present
  a
  b
  c
  d
  e
4 past
  a
  b
  c
  d
5 present
  a
  b
  c
  d
  e
  f
  g
  h
  i
  j
  k
6 future (This one would also make sense in multiple time frames.)
  a will leave / is going to leave
  b will be staying / is going to be staying
  c will find / is going to find
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Homework: complete exercise 4 if you haven’t already.
	Optional: complete the verb list on p. 4 of the handout
	(You can check those answers yourself by finding a verb list online.)