Verbs 9: Aspect: An Important Inflection on Verbs

Materials by Liz Siler

Definition

• Aspect is another type of inflection (change) that adds some extra meaning to the verb phrase.

More on Aspect

• English has four aspects: – simple, – progressive, – perfect, and – perfect progressive.

• We will now examine how each works.

1: The simple

• The simple aspect is unmarked.

• That means that no primary auxiliaries are needed to express this aspect.

Look for

• The simple aspect is expressed in verb phrases that include:– Only a base/simple form: I smoke weed.– Only an –s form: She smokes weed.– Only a past tense form: She smoked

weed.– Only a modal auxiliary and a base/simple

form: In Washington, a person can smoke weed legally.

Present tense simple aspect:

• My family eats a lot of lentils. • We support the legalization of marijuana.• The birds in my backyard are grateful for

extra food in the winter season. • Labradors can make excellent search and

rescue dogs.

Past tense simple aspect:• My Labrador retriever chased a rabbit

yesterday. • I signed a petition in support of the

legalization of marijuana.• The birds in my backyard were particularly

noisy this morning.• Fishermen in Newfoundland would breed

Labradors as assistants for cold-water fishing vessels.

2. The progressive/continuous

• The progressive is formed with a form of the verb TO BE used as an auxiliary and the lexical verb in the form of the -ing participle

Look for

• The progressive aspect is expressed in verb phrases that include:– A present tense form of “be” and an –ing

lexical verb: She is smoking weed.– A past tense form of “be” and an –ing

lexical verb: He was smoking weed.– A modal followed by a simple form of “be”

and an –ing lexical verb: They will be smoking weed.

Present tense progressive aspect:

• My family is eating some lentils. • Legislators are debating a possible

legalization of marijuana in other states.• Those birds are chirping loudly! • My Labrador must be splashing water

everywhere.

Past tense progressive aspect:

• My Labrador retriever was chasing a rabbit yesterday.

• He was smoking weed at the time of the bust.

• The birds were scattering seed everywhere.• The dog could be barking at something in the

back yard.

3: The perfect

• The perfect is formed with a form of the verb “have” used as an auxiliary and the use of the past participle for the lexical verb.

Look for• The perfect aspect is expressed in verb phrases that

include: • A present tense form of “have” and a lexical verb in

the past participle form: He has smoked weed for two years.

• A past tense form of “have” and a lexical verb in the past participle form: He had smoked weed for years at the time of his imprisonment.

• A modal followed by “have” followed by a lexical verb in the past participle form. She may have smoked some weed.

Present tense perfect aspect:• My family has eaten a lot of lentils in the last

few years.• My husband and I have signed a lot of pro-

marijuana petitions.• The birds may have flown south for the

winter.• The Labrador has flunked out of puppy

school.

Past tense perfect aspect:

• My Labrador retriever had chased a rabbit down a hole.

• The police had arrived before his arrest.• The birds might have gone south for the

winter.• The dog had gone to puppy school with

several other dogs.

4: The perfect progressive

• The perfect progressive is formed with a form of the verb “have” used as an auxiliary, followed by the past participle of “be” -- been -- (that’s the perfect part), followed by the lexical verb in the -ing participle form (that’s the progressive part).

Look for

• The perfect progressive aspect is expressed in verb phrases that include:

• A present tense form of “have” followed by the past participle of “be” (been) followed by a lexical verb in the –ing form: She has been smoking weed.

• A past tense form of “have” (had) followed by the past participle of “be” (been) followed by a lexical verb in the –ing form: She had been smoking weed.

• A modal followed by the simple form of “have” (have) followed by the past participle of “be” (been) followed by a lexical verb in the –ing form: She should have been smoking weed.

Present tense perfect progressive aspect

• My family has been eating lentils for the last several nights.

• I have been thinking about what to say for ten minutes.

• The birds may have been picking at the corn cob.

• The dog has been sniffing suspiciously at the front door.

Past tense perfect progressive aspect

• My Labrador retriever had been chasing a rabbit for two hours.

• She had been trying to quit the stuff.• The birds might have been playing in the

water.• The dog had been learning a new command.

Some Cautionary Notes• Remember there are only two tenses in

English. • Often, however, you will hear English

teachers say (for example), “Present Perfect Progressive Tense.”

• This is wrong. • The tense is the present, but the aspect is the

perfect progressive. • Get in the habit of saying, “Present Tense

Perfect Progressive Aspect.”