ICC-521-Verb Tense and Time References

What is 'aspect'?

'Aspect' adds time meanings to those expressed by tense (present or past)

When is a verb irregular in English?

When the past form and the past participle are not the same. (I.e. ate vs eaten, wrote vs written)

What are the five main forms of each verb in English?

1. Infinitive (to work) 2. Base (work) 3. Past (worked) 4. Past participle (worked) 5. Present participle (working)

What is the difference between 'used to' and 'would' when referring to past time?

1. 'Used to' is used for setting the scene and tends to be used in the first sentence in a past tense story 2. 'Would' is used to provide internal details. Generally, would is used in the sentences following 'used to'. Example: My grandfather and I used to go to the park. I would swing on the swings. He would take a lot of pictures of the lake.

What is the difference between 'will' and 'be going to' when expressing future time?

1. 'Will' is used to express a decision made at that moment (not planned) or a prediction 2. 'be going to' is used to express planned actions in the future

Explain the phonology rules for the -ed ending of simple past tense verbs.

1. If the -ed is preceded by a voiced sound, it will have a -d sound 2. If the -ed is preceded by a voiceless sound, it will have a -t sound 3. if the -ed is preceded by /d/ or /t/, it will have an -ed sound

Explain the phonology rules for the 3rd person singular form of the present tense (and plural nouns). How does one determine how to pronounce the -s?

1. If the -s is preceded by a voiceless consonant, it will be pronounced like -s 2. If the -s is preceded by a voiced consonant, it will be pronounced like -z 3. If the -s is preceded by any sibilant sounds, such as -s, -z, -sh, -ch, -ge, or -dge, it will sound like -ez

What are the five uses of the simple past tense? (went)

1. To describe a completed action (with / without time reference, with duration reference) 2. To describe an activity that took place regularly in the past 3. To create a polite question (request for info) 4. To express a hypothetical condition in an if-clause 5. To express that something that has just been done should have been done earlier ("It's about time she started studying")

What are the two uses of the past perfect progressive tense? (had been going)

1. To describe a continuing action that occurred before another event (duration emphasized - used with 'for' and 'since') 2. To describe a long action occurring recently before another past action ("I was tired because I had been working too much")

What are the two uses of the simple future tense? (will go)

1. To describe a decision made at the time of speaking (not planned in advance - like "I'll get it" when the doorbell rings) 2. To make a prediction about a future event (like weather - "Fog will cause difficulties this morning")

What are the two uses of the future perfect tense? (will have gone)

1. To describe a future action that will have been completed before another future action 2. To describe a future action that will already be completed before a specified future time

What are the two uses of the future perfect progressive tense? (will have been going)

1. To describe a long action that will be taking place in relation to another future event (emphasizes duration - "By the time the marathon runner gets to 45th street, he will have been running for over an hour") 2. A long action occurring before a specified future point in time ("By next July, I'll have been working here for ten years")

What are the two uses of the past perfect tense? (had gone)

1. To describe a past action that occurred before a specific time in the past ("by ___") 2. To describe a past action that occurred before another past action or event

What are the three uses of the present progressive tense? What type of verbs cannot be used in the present progressive tense?

1. To describe an action happening now 2. To describe an action happening this week, month, year, etc. 3. To describe a future action (with an adverb expressing future time) --> non-action verbs cannot be put in the present progressive

What are the three uses of the present perfect progressive? (I have been going)

1. To describe an action that began in the past and continues to the present (to emphasize the duration) 2. To describe an action that began in the past and recently ended ("Have you been drinking?") 3. To describe a general action (still in progress) with no specified time but recent time implied ("I've been doing my homework")

What is the use of the future progressive tense? (will be going)

1. To express a future action that will be going on before another future action (expressed with present simple tense -- "You'll be sleeping when I get off work")

What are the two uses of the past progressive tense? (was / were going)

1. To express a repeated past action over an extended period of time ("We were planning our trip of many months") 2. To describe an action that was going on in the past while another action / event happened

What are the four uses of the present perfect tense? (have gone)

1. To express a repetition of an action before now 2. To describe an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past ("I've read that book") 3. To describe a recent action that is important to the current situation ("Turn the lights off. -- I've just turned them off.") 4. To describe an action that began in the past and continues into the present

What are the five uses of the simple present tense? (go, goes)

1. To state a fact that is true or known 2. To describe a recurring event 3. To describe a past action (when telling a story - like a movie summary) 4. To express a state or condition 5. To describe a future action

How many tenses are there in English?

12 (past, present, future - each can be described in the four aspects simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive)

How is the past tense formed for verbs that end with 'e'?

Add a 'd' to the end of the verb. (Rope --> roped)

How is the past tense formed for verbs that end with a consonant + y?

Change the y to an i and add ed. (Carry --> carried)

How are verb tenses characterized? What does this mean when it comes to English tenses?

Verb tenses are characterized by the addition of an inflectional morpheme to the verb to express past, present, and future time. Technically speaking, English has only past and present tense.

When should the final consonant be doubled before adding the past tense morpheme?

When a verb ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. If there is more than one syllable, the final consonant must be doubled only when the last syllable is stressed.

What are six words that often trigger the present perfect tense?

ever (in a question), just, yet (in a question or negative), already (in question / affirmative statement), never, and always

What two prepositions tend to trigger the present perfect and the present perfect progressive?

for and since

What are three expressions that trigger the present perfect tense?

in a long time (negative only), it's the _____ time that..., over and over again

Which aspect is generally not used with non-action verbs? (know, like, etc.)

progressive

What are the four aspects in English?

simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive