Study Resource: Tense and aspect in English
The following resources will help you form English verbs by combining tense (past, present, future) and aspect (simple, continuous, perfect).
Forming verbs in different aspects
Auxiliary verbs and main verb forms for different aspects | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aspect | ||||
Simple | do / ∅ | Root (root) | Present form (root + -s) | Simple past (usually: root + -ed) |
Continuous | be | Present participle (root + -ing) | ||
Perfect | have | Past participle (root + -ed / irregular) | ||
How to conjugate auxiliary verbs
Subject | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
I / you / we / they | did | does | –* |
he / she / it | do |
Subject | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
I | was | am | will be |
he / she / it | is | ||
you / we / they | were | are |
Subject | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
I / you / we / they | had | have | will have |
he / she / it | has |
How does aspect impact meaning?
Verb aspect | Past | Present | Future |
|---|---|---|---|
Simple | a finished action | a habit, custom, truth, or thought | a set plan or truth in the future |
We went to school yesterday. | We go to school every day. | The sun will rise tomorrow at 7:00. | |
Continuous | a past ongoing action happening when something else occurred | something happening during the moment of speech | a future action that continues for some time |
We were walking to school when it started to rain. | He is studying a new language now. | She will be teaching in Paris next semester. | |
Perfect | past events that happened before and were important for a past moment | past events that are important for understanding the present moment | events that will be important for a later future moment |
I had read the book many times before I saw the movie. | I have read that book already. | I will have read that book twice by the time I see the movie. |
