5. Verbs I: Tense & Aspect

The purpose of this module is to introduce the basics of verb tense and aspect. Each section is linked to an interactive activity, and the module concludes with comprehensive activities as well as key points and key concepts for review purposes. Activities for this unit are in 5GA. Verbs I: Tense & Aspect Grammar Activities.

5.1 What is a verb?

A verb is word that describes an action, state, or occurrence, for example:

• The manager speaks French.
• He has been busy.
• The angry customers over there need help.

The Noun to Verb test. Sometimes nouns can be used as verbs and vice-versa. To test whether a word is being used as a verb or not, try to put the sentence in the past tense, and if you have to change the word by adding –ed, it is a verb.

• friend → friended
• smoke → smoked

This test won’t always work, however, since some are irregular, and many verbs are other forms, like auxiliaries, modals, and participles. Remember that the verb is the word ‘doing the work’.

A quick search in the COCA shows us the 12 most frequently used verbs in English are:

1. be, 2. have, 3. do, 4. say, 5. go, 6. get, 7. make, 8. know, 9. think, 10. take, 11. see, 12. come

The most frequent verbs in English tend to have irregular forms (see 5.1.2).

5.1.1 Verb morphology

Verbs are an open class, which means we can invent new ones when needed. One way is to just convert a noun and treat it like a verb.

• a cup → to cup
• a drink → to drink
• a fool → to fool
• a dress → to dress
• a host → to host
• salt → to salt
• a train → to train

Verbs can also be typified by certain suffixes. Some common ones include:

• ate (to bring about a state), e.g. generate
• en (to become [an adjective]), e.g. shorten
• ify (to make something, to become), e.g. stupify
• ize (to do something, to become), e.g. memorize

⇒ Go to Activity 5.1.1

5.1.2 Regular and Irregular Forms

There are 5 basic verb forms in English for regular verbs, each associated with a verb ending or conjugation:

1. Ø (no ending, also called the plain form)
2. –s (the 3rd person singular present form)
3. –ing (the present participle, used for progressive aspect)
4. –ed (the preterite form, used for past tense)
5. –ed (the past participle, used for perfect aspect and passive voice. It is sometimes called the ‘-en’ form to distinguish it from the preterite -ed form, because of past participles like been, gotten, or eaten.)

for example:

walk, walks, walking, walked, and walked

Regular verbs have the same preterite and past participle form, but irregular verbs have different preterite and past participle forms, for example:

speak, speaks, speaking, spoke, and spoken

If you search the web for ‘English irregular verbs’ you’ll find lists of them. There are about 200, half of which are pretty frequently used. If English is a first language for you, probably know nearly all of them, but if you’ve learned English as an additional language, you know that each irregular form has to be memorized.

The verbs DO, HAVE, and GO are highly irregular in English, because their irregularity is not just in the preterite and past participle forms

• DO: do, does, doing, did, done
• HAVE: have, has, having, had, had
• GO: go, goes, going, went, gone

The verb BE is the most irregular verb in English, because it has irregular forms for the first and second person, unlike any other verb.

• BE: be, am, are, is, being, was, were, been

⇒ Go to Activity 5.1.2

5.1.3 Single and Compound Verbs

A verb may be a single word or it may be a compound verb with two or more words acting together as a verb, although they can be separated.

• The woman is getting angry.
• I have never seen such a rude person.
• She might have been late.

In interrogative (questions) and negative clauses they are usually separated

• Is that guy going to order something?
• Have you ever been to Canada?
• I didn’t really believe him.

⇒ Go to Activity 5.1.3

5.1.4 Lexical and Auxiliary Verbs

A lexical verb is the primary or main verb–it holds the verb’s meaning regardless of tense. If there is only one single-word verb in a sentence, it has to be a lexical verb. The lexical meanings of BE, HAVE, and DO are not reflected in their auxiliary uses.

• She is happy. 
• We have time.
• He ate meat. 
• He meat. (He is meat? He was meat? He will be meat?)

In compound verbs, the first auxiliary verb agrees with the subject and so carries grammatical (e.g. tense, aspect, number) rather than lexical information. There may be additional auxiliary verbs depending on tense and aspect.

In English, the auxiliary verbs are some forms of BE, HAVE, DO, and the modals.

• BE:  be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been. BE is used as an auxiliary for progressive aspect and passive voice.
• HAVE: have, has, had, having. HAVE is used as an auxiliary for perfect aspect.
• DO: do, does, did, doing, done. DO is used as an auxiliary for simple present and past interrogative and negative.
• Modals: will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must. Modals are used to add meaning to a verb (see below).

As mentioned above, some forms of BE, HAVE, and DO can be used as lexical verbs. Modals cannot be used this way.

• What was done with the money? (‘was‘, a form of BE, is the auxiliary and ‘done‘, a form of DO, is the lexical verb. This is the past passive, the active equivalent of which would be ‘Someone did something with the money.‘)
• We don’t have any left. (‘Do’ is the auxiliary and ‘have’ is the lexical verb. This is negative, the affirmative form of which would be ‘We have some left‘.)
• I have been sick. (‘Have’ is the auxiliary and ‘been’ is the lexical verb. This is present perfect, and the simple past form would be ‘I was sick‘)

In a compound verb the lexical and auxiliary or auxiliaries might be split, especially in questions and in negative forms.

• You must finish your vegetables. (‘must’ is the auxiliary and ‘finish’ is the lexical verb)
• Does he eat dairy? (‘Does’ is the auxiliary and ‘eat’ is the lexical verb)
• He has never eaten tofu. (‘Has’ is the auxiliary and ‘eaten’ is the lexical verb)

An auxiliary verb is repeated in a tag question–this is a good way to figure out which is the finite auxiliary verb and which is the lexical verb.

• She has been vaping, hasn’t she (been)? (‘has’ and ‘been’ are the auxiliaries, and ‘vape’ is the lexical verb. Notice that using the second auxiliary is optional.)
• You wouldn’t lie, would you? (‘would’ is the auxiliary, and ‘lie’ is the lexical verb)
• They’re going, aren’t they? (‘are’ is the auxiliary, and ‘go’ is the lexical verb)

DO is the hidden finite auxiliary for simple present and past. Do support is needed for interrogative, negative, and tag questions, for example:

• I know them. Do you know them?
• We like it. We don’t like it.
• She speaks French, doesn’t she?

Remember that forms of BE, HAVE, and DO can be used as lexical verbs, too. In compound verbs, sometimes one form is an auxiliary and one form is a lexical verb.

• I am home. (‘am’ is a lexical verb)
• I am being good. (‘am’ is the auxiliary verb and ‘being’ is the lexical verb in the compound verb ‘am being’)
• I have COVID. (‘have’ is a lexical verb)
• Have you had COVID? (‘have’ is the auxiliary verb and had is the lexical verb in the compound verb ‘have had’)
• She did it. (‘did’ is a lexical verb)
• What did you do? (‘did’ is the auxiliary verb and ‘do’ is the lexical verb in the compound verb ‘did do’)

The verb that is conjugated to agree with the subject, whether an auxiliary or a lexical verb, is called the finite verb. If there is only one verb, it is finite and lexical. If there is a compound verb, the first auxiliary is finite, while any other auxiliary and the lexical verb are non-finite.

• Would you have gone to the dance, had you been invited? (in the first clause, ‘would’ is a finite auxiliary,  ‘have’ is a non-finite auxiliary, and ‘gone’ is non-finite lexical. In the second, ‘had’ is a finite auxiliary, ‘been’ is a non-finite auxiliary, and ‘invited’ is non-finite lexical.)
• I love pizza. Do you? (In the first sentence, love is finite lexical. In the second, do is a finite auxiliary, and in the unspoken ellipsed ‘love it‘, ‘love’ is non-finite lexical)

⇒ Go to Activity 5.1.4

5.2 Tense

There are three simple tenses in English–past, present, and future. Past and present involve form changes, while future uses the modal ‘will’ or ‘shall’.

5.2.1 Simple Present

Simple present tense in English for all persons and numbers uses the plain form, except for third person gendered singular, which uses -s.

I speak, you speak, he/she/it speaks, we speak, they speak

As stated above, modals do not receive a third-person singular -s.

• She can speak German. 
• She cans speak German.
• She can speaks German.

The verbs BE and HAVE with their irregular inflections (am, is, are, have, has) can be in the simple present when they are functioning lexically.

• No thanks, we are good.
• She has a cat. 

5.2.1.1 Simple present interrogative and negative

Interrogatives and negatives in the simple present take do support, except for BE and modals. For interrogatives, the auxiliary and subject are flipped so that the auxiliary comes first.

• Does he have a dog?
• What do you think of the show?
• Is that kid okay? not Do that kid be okay? 
• Can you read Chinese? not Do you can read Chinese?

For negative, the word ‘not’ comes after the auxiliary, sometimes contracted as n’t.

• They do not know the answer.
• We don’t need another hero. 
• Isn’t your mother home?

For negative interrogative, the word ‘not’ can come after the subject.

• Is your mother not home?

In archaic and British English, HAVE can behave like BE and modals in negative and interrogative.

• I haven’t any. → I don’t have any. 
• Have you siblings? → Do you have siblings?

5.2.1.2 Simple present uses

Simple present is used to express general truths, habits, stable states, and emotions.

• The sun rises in the east. (compare with the meaning of ‘The sun is rising in the east.’)
• They go to church every Sunday. (compare with  ‘They’re going to church this Sunday.‘)
• Does it get very hot in the summer there? (compare with ‘Is it getting hot yet?‘)
• He’s kind of depressed. (compare with ‘He’s being kind of depressed‘)

The simple present form is also used to express future time after conjunctions such as after, before, when, and until.

• After you finish your homework, you may play videogames.

⇒ Go to Activity 5.2.1

5.2.2 Simple Past

Simple past tense in English for all persons and numbers uses the preterite form, which may be an irregular form or regular with -ed.

I spoke, you spoke, he/she/it spoke, we spoke, they spoke

I wanted, you wanted, he/she/it wanted, we wanted, they wanted

The verbs BE and HAVE with their irregular inflections can be in the simple past when they are functioning lexically.

• He was tired.
• She had two stepsisters.

5.2.2.1 Simple past interrogative and negative

Interrogatives and negatives in the simple past use ‘did’, the past form of DO, for do support, except for BE and modals. For interrogatives, the auxiliary and subject are flipped so that the auxiliary comes first.

• Did you call your mother?
• What did you think of the show?
• Was that the right answer? not Do that kid be okay? 
• Could you read Chinese? not Do you can read Chinese?
• We didn’t know the way home. 
• Wasn’t that weird?

5.2.2.2 Simple past uses

Simple past is used to express events that happened and were completed in the past.

• The sun rose, but it was cloudy so we couldn’t see it. (compare to present perfect: ‘The sun has risen‘, which means it rose but it’s still up).
• They went to church every Sunday. (compare to ‘They have gone to church‘, which means they left home and are still in church)
• Did it get very hot in the summer in Arizona when you were a kid? (compare to ‘Has it gotten hot yet this summer?‘ or ‘Had it gotten this hot by graduation last year?‘)

Note that the preterite form is also used to express hypothetical conditions, but this is not the past tense.

• If I were you, I’d leave now.
• If I had a million dollars, I’d buy a new house.

⇒ Go to Activity 5.2.2

5.2.3 Future

The future in English can be expressed with the modal ‘will‘ or the archaic modal ‘shall‘.

• I’ll never go back to that place.
• Will you be joining us this evening?
• You shall become King!

In addition, future can be expressed with present progressive or simple present, e.g.

• I’m never returning to that place.
• Are you joining us this evening?
• We leave in the morning.

Future plans can be expressed with the semi-modal ‘to be going to‘, which is shortened to ‘gonna‘ in casual speech.

• I’m never going to see you again, am I?
• Are you gonna join us tonight?

5.3 Aspect

A verb shows not only when an action took place, but how it did. This ‘how’ quality is called its aspect. Aspect is marked with compound forms, either BE + present participle for progressive, or HAVE + past participle for perfect.

5.3.1 Progressive

The progressive aspect is primarily used to show that a verb is in an ongoing continuous state. It uses an auxiliary BE verb plus a present participle (the -ING form)

• The President is speaking now. 
• They were doing the best they could. 
• Are we having burgers for dinner?
• I wasn’t feeling it.

The verb BE itself can be in the progressive. Take note of which is the auxiliary and which is the lexical verb.

• Are you really being fair?

The progressive can be in the present or past, indicated by the tense of the auxiliary BE

• She is running away.
• She was running away.

In compound forms of progressive with a modal, BE is in its plain form.

• You might be thinking what I’m thinking.
• Could she be sleeping right now?
• We can’t be acting as if nothing happened.

5.3.1.1 Progressive interrogative and negative

Progressive form word order is similar to simple tenses for interrogatives and negatives, but with BE acting as the auxiliary. For yes/no interrogatives, the auxiliary and subject are flipped so that the auxiliary comes first.

• You aren’t drinking enough water.
• Was the light bothering you? 

5.3.1.2 Progressive uses

Progressive is used to show or emphasize that the verb is in an ongoing, continuous state.

• You’re driving too fast. Slow down!
• I’m thinking we need to get out of here.
• Were you laughing at me?

Present progressive may imply that the action is happening now, as opposed to simple present, which expresses a habitual state.

• You usually drive too fast, so I’m happy to see you are taking it easy today.

As mentioned in 5.3.3, present progressive can also be used to express the future. Often this use refers to pre-made plans.

• We’re eating in thirty minutes.
• As a reminder, we‘re having a quiz next week.
• I’m going to Europe this summer.

Past progressive may imply that another action interrupted the ongoing state. The interruption is expressed in the simple past, although the other action might be implied.

• We were playing ball in the park when the rain started.
• I was taking a shower. (when you called)

⇒ Go to Activity 5.3.1

5.3.2 Perfect

The perfect aspect is used to relate two times–the time of the verb happened and another time, either the time of speaking or a time in the past. Perfect uses the auxiliary HAVE verb plus a past participle. 

• The King has spoken. 
• The kids have finished their homework.
• Have you been there before?
• I haven’t heard that song in forever.

The verb HAVE itself can be in perfect aspect. Take note of which is the auxiliary and which is the lexical verb.

• Haven’t you had enough of all the lies?

The perfect can be in the present or past, indicated by the tense of the auxiliary HAVE:

• She has run away.
• She had run away.

In compound forms of perfect with a modal, HAVE is in its plain form:

• I might have expected this kind of thing from you.
• Could she have been asleep when you called?
• We can’t have known the murderer.

Using the past participle of BE, the perfect and progressive can combine into the present perfect progressive and the past perfect progressive.

• We have been wondering when you would show up.
• If you had been cooking when we arrived, why wasn’t the kitchen dirty?
• He should have been working all day, but instead he was playing video games.

5.3.2.1 Perfect interrogative and negative

Perfect form word order is similar to simple tenses for interrogatives and negatives, but with HAVE acting as the auxiliary. For yes/no interrogatives, the auxiliary and subject are flipped so that the auxiliary comes first.

• Hasn’t she left yet?
• I hadn’t visited Paris before that trip.
• You haven’t been smoking again, have you? 
• Has the cat been bothering you?

5.3.2.2 Perfect uses

Perfect aspect is used to relate two times. Present perfect relates a time in the past with the time of use, while past perfect relates two times in the past.

• I have never been to Wyoming. (meaning at no time in the past between my birth and the present)
• I had never seen such a display of wealth until I visited the Royal Palace. (meaning at no point in the past up until the visit when I saw it)

Present perfect can be used to refer to something that happened in the recent past and is relevant to the point of speaking, or it is continuing at this time.

• I have finished my homework. Can I have some ice cream?
• How long have you been working on this car? (note this is technically the present perfect progressive)

Present perfect can also be used when the exact time the past event began is unknown, inexact, or irrelevant.

• We haven’t seen each other for ages.
• I have enjoyed this moment. 

Compare this to the simple past, which refers to a completed event.

• I have been to London. I visited in 2013. (not ‘I have visited in 2013‘)

Present perfect cannot refer logically to something that is no longer possible.

• Have you been to Yugoslavia? (only possible in a story set before the end of Yugoslavia in 1992)
• Have you seen Michael Jackson in concert? (only possible if referring to a videorecording)

Present perfect is found around adverbs that relate times like ‘yet’, ‘still’, ‘ever’, and ‘already’

• He hasn’t finished yet.
• Have you ever eaten snake?
• Have you already seen the movie?
• I still haven’t won the lottery.

Past perfect behaves like present perfect, but it used to relate two times in the past, when recounting a past event or in a narrative. It can therefore be found around conjunctions like ‘after’, ‘when’, ‘before’, or ‘while’. Notice that the simple past is used with the past perfect to show completion.

• Scientists had been working on the question for years when the grad student discovered the answer.
• I had tasted some weird fruit before, but durian was really funky.

⇒ Go to Activity 5.3.2

5.4 Verbs in sentences

A verb phrase includes a verb (single or compound) and optionally a subject complement or an object complement, depending on whether the verb is used as a transitive, intransitive, or linking verb. It can also include an adverbial–a single adverb or a phrase–that describes the verb, answering how, when, or where.

• The first day went quickly. (the adverb ‘quickly‘ modifies ‘went‘)
• We walked back and forth along the beach. (the adverbial ‘back and forth along the beach‘ modifies ‘walked’)
• The dog ate her dinner ravenously. (the adverb ‘ravenously‘ modifies ‘ate‘; ‘her dinner‘ is the object complement. Both are part of the predicate/verb phrase.)

The predicate of a clause is always headed by a finite verb, which means it shows agreement with the subject. Its auxiliary is part of the predicate. If there are two auxiliaries, only the first is conjugated

• She was wandering through the garden. (‘was‘ is the finite verb, but ‘wandering‘ is also part of the verb. ‘Through the garden‘ is a prepositional phrase serving as an adverbial, answering the question where.)
• The bookstore closes in ten minutes.
• Have you been smoking again?

If a verb is used transitively it has an object complement that can be part of the predicate.

• Did you take the last cookie? (‘the last cookie’ is the object of ‘did take’)
• We had two cappuccinos each. (‘two cappuccinos’ is the object of ‘have’)
• What was the last thing that you remember? (‘that’ is a relative pronoun and is the object of ‘remember’)

If a verb is a linking verb with a subject complement, the verb and complement serve as the predicate.

• That is hilarious. (‘is’ is the verb, and ‘hilarious’ is the subject complement, a predicate adjective)
• He‘s become a monster. (‘has become’ is the verb, and ‘a monster’ is the subject complement)

5.5 Verb tense and aspect in language power techniques

As the heart of language, verbs are used in every text and in every language register–without verbs, language would not work as a means of communication. But verbs can also be used strategically in various language power techniques, for example, in storytelling. Stories are a fundamental means of how we humans make sense of the world–we tell stories to inform, to entertain, to socialize, and to relate to each other. Different narrative techniques and strategic use of verb tenses and aspect can make a story engaging, boring, unbelievable, or convincing. Tense and aspect relays when and how the events of a story took place in relationship to each other and to the time the story is told, heard, or read. For example, someone telling a story that took place in the past can tell it in the narrative present, giving the listener the feeling that they are in the midst of the action. Compare:

A. The girl woke up and found herself in a magical land where plants talked and colors sang.

B. The girl wakes up and finds herself in a magical land where plants talk and colors sing. 

Sentence A, in the past tense, is more informative and factual, describing something that already occurred, while B, in the narrative present, is more engaging and exciting, as if the magical land might still exist and the girl might still be there, even though it’s part of a narrative that presumably has an ending.  Any of the present tenses can be used for the narrative present, creating a sense of immediacy, especially when combined with a first person perspective. For example, compare:

A. I have never been to Africa, but I want to visit badly. I’m thinking about visiting Egypt and Uganda. But then, a twist of fate hits–I win a free trip.

B. I had never been to Africa, but I wanted to visit badly. I had been thinking about visiting Egypt and Uganda. But then, a twist of fate hit–I won a free trip.

Even though either could be the first sentence of a story about a trip to Africa that presumably has already happened, sentence A, in the narrative present, has the feeling of being more immediate.

Module author: Jonathon Reinhardt

Last updated: 4 April 2023

This module is part of Modern English Grammar and the Power of Language, an open educational resource offered by the Clarify Initiative, a privately funded project with the goal of raising critical language awareness and media literacy among students of language and throughout society.