1. Verbs 9: Aspect: An
Important Inflection on Verbs
Materials by Liz Siler

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

3. More on Aspect
• English has four aspects:
– simple,
– progressive,
– perfect, and
– perfect progressive.
• We will now examine how each works.

4. 1: The simple
• The simple aspect is unmarked.
• That means that no primary auxiliaries
are needed to express this aspect.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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 promarijuana petitions.
• The birds may have flown south for the
winter.
• The Labrador has flunked out of puppy
school.

15. 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.

16. 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).

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.”