Tense
and Aspect of Verb
Nidhu Bhusan Das
Verb is a word that
says something (Predicate) in a sentence about something (Subject).What is said
is the Predicate or predication made by the verb and about what or who it is
said is the subject of the verb.
Predication is what the verb says in the sentence. Example: We play
cricket. Here “We” is the subject and
“play cricket” is the predicate or predication.
Now Predication has reference to time Frame and state of action of a verb. The Time Frames
(past, present, future) denotes Tense. Tense roughly means
reference to the time at which events take place, or at which processes or
states hold. The state of
action refers to Aspect of the relevant verb. Thus verb tense
shows the combination of Time Frames and Aspects. It can be expressed as Time
Frames + Aspects = Complete Verb Tenses.
So, we have three
Tenses – Past, Present and Future and
Four Aspects of the verb - Simple, progressive (Continuous),
Perfect and Perfect Progressive
Simple
tenses
refer to actions of a specific time either in the present, past or future. They
do not tell us if the action is finished. The simple tenses are Present
(simple), past (simple) and future (simple).
Progressive
(continuous) tenses indicate an action in progress, and not completed.
We have present
progressive, past progressive and future progressive.
Perfect
tenses show a completed action. We have present perfect, past perfect and
future perfect tenses.
Perfect
progressive (continuous) tenses show an action in progress and eventually completed.
We have present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive, future perfect
progressive.
Present simple tense shows the
present state or condition of something, a habitual action or universal truth.
Example: I like to play cricket. (Habit), He is happy. (State), The sun rises
in the east. (Universal Truth).
Present Progressive tense describes
an action in progress at present. Example: I am reading Shakespeare.
Present Perfect tense shows an action already
completed in the past but has an impact felt by the speaker at the time of
speaking. Example: I have lost my purse.
The
present perfect progressive tense
describes an action that began in the past, continues into the present and is
likely to continue into the future. Example: My brother has been doing his
homework since morning.
Past
Simple tense
shows an event or action which occurred in the past. Example: I was busy
yesterday.
Past
Progressive tense
shows an event or action that was going on in the past. I was reading when she
knocked on the door.
Past
Perfect tense
shows an event or action completed at a point of time in the past. Example: I
had completed my homework by the time you came.
Past
Perfect Progressive tense shows
an action that began in the past, continued and ended in the past. Example: I
had been reading till it was time for dinner.
Future
Simple tense
shows as action or event to occur in future. Example: I shall go to Kolkata tomorrow.
Future
Progressive tense
shows an event or action in progress in future. Example: I shall be reading Shakespeare
by this time tomorrow.
Future
Perfect tense
shows an event or action that is to be completed by a specific time in the future.
Example: I shall have completed my homework before you come.
Future
Perfect Progressive tense
shows an action that begins in the present and will continue into the future. Example: I shall have been reading Shakespeare for
four hours when it is time for dinner.