(This is a work in progress)
If we look at “time” as a universal concept, we notice that most languages divide “time” into three major categories: past, present and future. In grammatical terms, “tense” refers to the interaction of actual “time” with the form of a verb.
Aspect describes whether an action is completed or in progress (incomplete).
Verbs and the progressive
The progressive can only be used with “action” (dynamic) verbs. Stative verbs cannot be used in the progressive. For a list of stative verbs see a good grammar book.
Present
The present is a strange place because, when we think about it, the question where the present is becomes kind of problematic. The “now” is always over as soon as we talk about it. So we could debate whether a “present” actually exists. The present is more or less stuck in limbo between the past and the future. But nonetheless, it is an important tense because it also separates the past from the future.
Three basic types of Present can be distinguished:
- “unbound” time, stative, factual statements, habitual action: Simple Present
Examples:
- I always write with a pen because my handwriting looks horrible otherwise.
- The moon goes around the earth.
- The bus stops at Leonard’s Corner. - action in progress, i.e. limited to a certain time: Present Progressive
Examples:
- I’m writing with a biro because I can’t find my beloved pen! (Damn you, pen, where are you?)
- He’s having a party, that’s why it’s so loud. (That damn sound is coming from upstairs)
- The bus is stopping. (it’s stopping really slow)
The Present Progressive is also used when something is happening a bit _too_ often (it’s annoying):
- I’m always misplacing my pen. - an action “bound” to a particular time, but too fast to be described as “in progress”: Simple Present
Examples:
- Smith passes to Jackson, Jackson passes to Smith, Johnson… (football commentary)
- Take 100 gram of sugar, mix it with the butter… (giving directions)
Past
An action in the past can be
1. at a particular point in time: Simple Past
I wrote with a pen yesterday. (Yay!)
2. over a period of time:
— going up the the present: Present Perfect
I have written with pens since 1980.
— is related to the past:
— is complete: Simple Past
I wrote with a biro on occasion between 1981 and 1983.
— is in progress at/around a certain time in the past: Past Progressive
I was writing with a pen when you called.
The past can also be expressed with the so-called “historic present”.
For habitual activity, “used to” seems to be the better choice: He always wrote with a pen. / He used to write with a pen.
Past vs. Perfect
Let’s have a look at the following sentence again:
I have written with pens since 1980.
The Present Perfect used here indicates that I still write with pens. The Perfect has a close link to the “now” (that is why it is called PRESENT Perfect, and that is why I use the time indicator “since”).
Compare:
a. Alec Guinness starred in many movies.
b. Harrison Ford has starred in many movies.
c. Harrison Ford starred in many movies in the 1980s.
Sentence a is written in the Simple Past; Alec Guinness is dead. He had the main part in many movies, but not any more (clearly). So there cannot be any connection with the “now” unless… well. It’s impossible. Sentence b, however, is in the Present Perfect because Harrison Ford is alive and well, and he will probably make more movies in the future (this is the usual interpretation, it could also refer to an unspecified date in the past, but we just pretend that this is impossible). Sentence c – Harrison Ford is nonetheless alive – gives a particular time frame in the past, so a Past tense has to be used.
Since the Perfect has a connection with the present, it is used in conjunction with certain time adverbs that refer to a period of time beginning in the past and going up to the present: since, for, lately, already, this year/month, yet, never, etc..
The Present Perfect is also used to introduce a new topic (because its time frame can be indefinite). After the introduction, though, a “definite” story continues in a clear Past tense:
Germany has won the world championship! They played against England yesterday…
Past Perfect
Let’s have a look at the following “time map”:
What we said before regarding the Present Perfect (that it stretches up to the present), applies also to the Past Perfect — apart from the fact that the Present Perfect extends up to the present (big arrow), whereas the Past Perfect stretches up to a point of relevance in the past (small arrow):
When I met Peter the other night, I had known him for 5 years.
The Past and the Progressive
The progressive is used when the action is “in progress” (i.e., “incomplete”). So it does not matter whether this “in progress” refers to now, the future or the past: If you understood the use of the progressive aspect for one tense, you know it for all tenses:
a. When I was walking home the other night, I met Peter. = incomplete action in the past
b. I have been painting the room since 7. = incomplete action with a link to the present (since 7), so I’m still on it (or I may have finished just now)
c. I had been painting the room since 7 when you called last night. = incomplete action in the past which started before a reference point in the past (you called) and may continue beyond this point.
The progressive is very convenient to indicate that something is not finished or is going on around some time in the past (the present, the future). Other languages, such as German, have to paraphrase something that is unfinished or in progress.
He wrote a letter last night. = he finished it. German: Er schrieb gestern Abend einen Brief.
He was writing a letter last night. = he started a letter, but did not finish it. German: Er fing gestern Abend an, einen Brief zu schreiben.
to be continued…