1. Sebastian
BICAN-­‐MICLESCU
&
Sandra-­‐Iulia
RONAI
ENG–1015:
Introduction
to
English
Word
and
Sentence
Structure
spring
semester,
2015
Study
sheet:
Tense,
Aspect
and
Voice
(and
Auxiliaries)
1.
The
back
story
and
why
we
need
this
stuff
When
talking
about
morphology,
we
noticed
the
existence
of
inflectional
suffixes:
they
create
different
“forms”
of
one
and
the
same
word.
For
nouns,
we
saw
that
the
suffix
–s
creates
the
plural
form
from
the
singular
(cat
>
cats).
For
verbs,
we
encountered
the
derivational
suffixes
–ed
and
–ing.
Like
the
nominal
plural
–s,
they
also
create
other
forms
of
the
verb.
We
need
additional
forms
because
verbs
have
grammatical
features.
In
order
to
describe
an
event
that
takes
place
in
real
life,
we
need
at
least:
1. to
be
able
to
place
that
event
in
time
2. to
be
able
to
place
the
event
with
respect
to
other
events
3. to
be
able
to
say
something
about
how
the
event
is
structured
4. to
be
able
to
say
how
the
event
relates
to
the
subject
of
the
sentence
5. to
be
able
to
say
something
about
the
persons
involved
in
the
event:
who
they
are
and
how
many
they
are.
These
things
are
expressed
with
the
help
of
grammatical
features:
1. TENSE
is
related
to
placing
events
in
time
2. the
Perfect
ASPECT
places
events
with
respect
to
each
other
3. the
Progressive
ASPECT
shows
the
“structure”
of
the
event:
that
it
is
ongoing/in
progress
4. VOICE
shows
how
the
event
relates
to
the
subject
5. Agreement
features
bring
in
information
about
the
subject:
PERSON
shows
who
it
is
(the
speaker=me,
the
hearer=you,
or
someone
else
not
taking
part
in
the
conversation=he
or
she
or
it),
while
NUMBER
shows
how
many
there
are
(one=singular,
or
more
than
one=plural).

2. In
some
languages,
all
these
features
are
expressed
by
affixes.
In
English,
we
have
specific
combinations
of
suffixes
and
auxiliary
verbs
that
do
the
job.
Remember
(or
look
in
the
handout
for
lecture
7)
that
auxiliary
verbs
are
verbs
that
take
another
VP
as
their
complement,
and,
together
with
the
lexical
verb,
form
the
verb
string.
The
lexical
verb
provides
the
conceptual,
semantic
information
(the
difference
between
swim
or
start,
live
or
die,
eat
or
feed,
kill
or
die).
The
auxiliaries
provide
the
grammatical
information
(1
–
5
above).
We
will
leave
agreement
features
(5
above)
aside
and
focus
on
three
features:
tense,
aspect
and
voice.
We
will
also
leave
aside
modal
auxiliaries
here1.
2.
Interlude
on
finiteness
It
is
important
to
note
that
only
finite
verb
strings
have
these
features.
If
a
verb
string
forms
a
predicate,
it
is
finite.
If
it
does
not,
it
is
non-­‐finite.
English
has
four
non-­‐finite
forms
(which
we
use
exactly
to
form
these
more
complex
forms),
out
of
which
two
are
very
relevant
for
us
here2:
a. the
present/-­‐ing
participle
([ING])
is
used
to
form
the
Progressive
aspect
b. the
past
participle
([PPART])
is
used
to
form
both
the
Perfect
aspect
and
the
Passive
voice.
When
functioning
by
itself,
the
lexical
verb
is
finite.
When
more
information
is
needed
(see
1
–
4
above),
English
uses
auxiliaries.
Remember
that
each
verb
string
can
only
have
one
lexical
verb,
no
more;
all
the
others
are
auxiliaries.
So
when
auxiliaries
are
present,
the
lexical
verb
is
in
a
non-­‐finite
form.
Let’s
take
some
examples:
(1)
a.
John
wrote
a
novel.
b.
The
novel
was
written
by
John.
c.
The
novel
written
by
John
is
very
interesting.
(2)
a.
John
runs
every
evening.
b.
John
is
running
in
the
park
right
now.
c.
Running
is
healthy.
In
(1a)
and
(2a),
the
verb
string
is
made
up
of
only
one
verb,
the
lexical
one.
It
forms
a
predicate,
so
it
is
finite.
1
Reminder:
English
has
nine
main
modal
auxiliaries:
can
and
could;
may
and
might;
must;
will
and
would;
shall
and
should.
And
there
are
also
a
few
secondary
modals:
need,
dare
and
ought
to,
for
example.
For
details,
see
textbook.
2
The
other
two
non-­‐finite
forms
are:
the
bare
infinitive
([BARE]),
which
combines
with
modals,
and
the
long/to
infinitive
([INF]),
which
appears
by
itself
and
is
very
“nouny”
in
nature.

3. In
(1b)
and
(2b),
the
verb
strings
are
each
made
up
of
two
verbs.
The
verb
string,
as
a
whole,
is
finite
(it
forms
the
predicate).
Inside
the
verb
string,
the
lexical
verb
is
in
a
non-­‐finite
form:
in
(1b),
the
past
participle
written
combines
with
the
auxiliary
BE
to
form
the
passive
voice;
in
(2b),
the
present/-­‐
ing
participle
running
combines
with
the
auxiliary
BE
to
form
the
progressive
aspect.
In
(1c)
and
(2c),
the
underlined
words
are
non-­‐finite
forms
of
verbs.
They
appear
by
themselves
(not
inside
a
finite
verb
strings)
and
do
not
form
predicates.
We
could
even
argue
that
they
are
not
even
verbs
anymore:
written
in
(1c)
is
very
“adjectival”,
it
heads
a
phrase
(written
by
John)
that
is
a
post-­‐modifier
of
the
noun
book.
In
(2c),
running
forms
the
subject
of
the
sentence3
and
is
very
“noun-­‐
like”
in
nature.
The
important
case
is
that
of
the
(b)
sentences.
There,
we
observe
the
interaction
between
an
auxiliary
verb
and
a
non-­‐finite
form
of
a
lexical
verb,
and
this
shows
us
what
grammatical
features
that
verb
string
has.
If
we
know
where
to
look
(and
I
explain
this
below),
we
can
immediately
identify
the
verbal
grammatical
features.
There
is
no
guesswork
and
it
is
nothing
esoteric.
J
3.
The
grammatical
features
of
English
What
is
very
important
to
realize
is
that
each
and
every
finite
verb
string
simultaneously
possesses
all
the
grammatical
features:
one
type
of
present,
one
type
of
aspect,
and
one
type
of
voice.
You
can
think
of
tense,
aspect
and
voice
as
three
variables
that
combine
to
give
you
the
properties
(i.e.,
grammatical
features)
of
a
verb.
Here’s
a
helpful
comparison:
objects
in
the
real
world
have
properties
like
color,
shape
or
weight.
So
you
can
have
a
ball
that
is
red
(color),
heavy
(weight)
and
round
(shape),
and
a
box
that
is
blue
(color),
light
(weight)
and
square
(shape).
But
you
can
also
have
a
blue
heavy
round
ball,
or
a
blue
heavy
square
box,
or
a
red
light
square
box,
and
so
on
(all
the
combinations
possible).
For
the
verbs
of
English,
we
will
consider
three
variables:
tense
(which
has
two
values),
aspect
(which
has
four
values),
and
voice
(which
has
two
values).
We
will
take
one
basic
sentence
(The
cat
chases
the
mouse)
and
show
all
the
possible
combinations.
Hopefully,
seeing
them
all
together
will
help
you
remember
better,
and
also
help
you
realize
how
they
combine.
3
To
check
whether
it
is
indeed
the
subject,
we
can
use
both
a
semantic
test
and
a
syntactic
test:
semantically,
it
answers
the
question
“What
is
this
sentence
about?”
or
“What
is
difficult?”;
syntactically,
we
can
use
Subject-­‐Operator
inversion:
Is
running
difficult?
For
details,
again,
see
the
textbook!

4. 3.1.
TENSE
Tense
is
used
for
placing
events
in
time.
Still,
there
is
no
one-­‐on-­‐one
relationship
between
tense
and
time,
as
“tense”
is
a
concept
of
grammar,
while
“time”
is
something
related
to
real
life
(for
details,
see
the
textbook
and
the
handout
notes
for
lecture
8!).
Here
are
the
key
facts
that
help
you
identify
tense:
How
many
values
does
the
feature
TENSE
have?
Ø English
has
two
tenses:
PRESENT
and
PAST4.
Where
is
tense
expressed?
Ø Tense
is
always
expressed
on
the
first
verb
in
a
verb
string.
How
is
tense
expressed?
Ø On
finite
lexical
verbs:
o Present:
we
have
the
suffix
–s
(but
only
for
third
person
singular:
he,
she
or
it!)
o Past:
for
regular
verbs,
we
have
the
suffix
–ed;
for
irregular
verbs,
we
have
specific
forms5
that
we
had
to
learn
(ate,
wrote,
cut…)
Ø On
auxiliaries:
o Present:
§ the
progressive
auxiliary
BE
will
have
the
forms
am/are/is,
and
not
was/were
§ the
perfect
auxiliary
HAVE
will
have
the
forms
have/has,
and
not
had
§ the
passive
auxiliary
BE
will
have
the
forms
am/are/is,
and
not
was/were
o Past:
§ the
progressive
auxiliary
BE
will
have
the
forms
was/were,
and
not
am/are/is
§ the
perfect
auxiliary
HAVE
will
have
the
forms
had,
and
not
have/has
§ the
passive
auxiliary
BE
will
have
the
forms
was/were,
and
not
am/are/is.
4
Future
is
not
a
tense;
in
English,
future
time
reference
is
expressed
in
various
ways,
including
the
use
of
future
adverbs
in
combination
with
the
present
tense
(I
am
leaving
tomorrow)
or
the
use
of
the
modal
verbs
will
and
shall.
For
arguments,
see
the
textbook!
5
This
process
is
called
suppletion.

5. This
may
seem
like
a
lot
of
information,
but
it
looks
much
simpler
once
we
see
an
actual
example.
Here
is
our
model
sentence
in
all
the
possible
combinations.
The
relevant
variable
(feature)
here
is
tense,
and
we’ll
have
two
separate
tables,
one
for
present
and
one
for
past.
So
in
each
table,
the
tense
is
the
same.
What
changes
is
the
combination
with
the
other
two
variables:
Tense:
PRESENT
ASPECT
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Simple
aspect
The
cat
chases
the
mouse.
The
mouse
is
chased
(by
the
cat).
Progressive
aspect
The
cat
is
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
is
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
aspect
The
cat
has
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
has
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
(and)
progressive
aspect
The
cat
has
been
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
has
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Tense:
PAST
ASPECT
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Simple
aspect
The
cat
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
was
chased
(by
the
cat).
Progressive
aspect
The
cat
was
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
was
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
aspect
The
cat
had
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
had
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
(and)
progressive
aspect
The
cat
had
been
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
had
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
3.2.
ASPECT
As
mentioned
already,
aspect
also
relates
to
events:
the
Perfect
ASPECT
places
events
with
respect
to
each
other,
while
the
Progressive
ASPECT
shows
the
“structure”
of
the
event:
that
it
is
ongoing/in
progress
(for
details,
see,
again,
the
textbook
and
the
handout
notes
for
lecture
8!).
It
is
also
important
to
remember
that
there
are
four
combinations
possible
in
English
(based
on
the
morphological
marking
that
we
see
on
the
verb
string):

6.
1. no
perfect
+
no
progressive
=>
Simple
aspect
2. perfect
+
no
progressive
=>
Perfect
aspect
3. no
perfect
+
progressive
=>
Progressive
aspect
4. perfect
+
progressive
=>
Perfect
(and)
Progressive
aspect
Here
are
the
key
facts
that
help
you
identify
aspect:
How
many
values
does
the
feature
ASPECT
have?
Ø English
has
four
combinations
of
aspect:
(1)
SIMPLE,
(2)
PERFECT,
(3)
PROGRESSIVE
and
(4)
PERFECT
(and)
PROGRESSIVE.
Where
and
how
is
aspect
expressed?
Ø Simple
aspect:
o Does
not
have
any
specific
morphology.
o The
verb
string
can
be
composed
of
the
lexical
verb
by
itself,
or
of
the
lexical
verb
plus
the
passive
auxiliary.
Ø Perfect
aspect
is
formed
by
combining
the
auxiliary
HAVE
with
the
[PPART]
form!
o (In
the
absence
of
modals),
HAVE
is
always
the
first
auxiliary
in
a
verb
string;
o Whatever
verb
comes
right
after
HAVE
will
take
the
[PPART]
form;
o HAVE
will
show
the
tense
of
the
verb
string:
have/has
for
Present,
and
had
for
Past
(remember:
tense
is
always
expressed
on
the
first
auxiliary,
and
HAVE,
when
it
appears,
is
always
the
first,
if
there
are
no
modals);
o The
verb
string
can
be
composed
of
the
lexical
verb
and
just
HAVE,
or
of
the
lexical
verb
+
HAVE
+
the
passive
auxiliary
BE;
if
it
exists,
the
passive
auxiliary
will
be
in
the
[PPART]
form:
have/had/had
been…
Ø Progressive
aspect
is
formed
by
combining
the
auxiliary
BE
with
the
[ING]
form!
o (In
the
absence
of
modals),
progressive
BE
is
the
first
auxiliary
in
a
verb
string
(but
see
below
for
when
both
Perfect
and
Progressive
aspect
are
present);
o Whatever
verb
comes
right
after
BE
will
take
the
[ING]
form;

7. o BE
will
show
the
tense
of
the
verb
string:
am/are/is
for
Present,
and
was/were
for
Past;
o The
verb
string
can
be
composed
of
the
lexical
verb
and
just
Progressive
BE,
or
of
the
lexical
verb
+
Progressive
BE
+
the
passive
auxiliary
BE;
if
it
exists,
the
passive
auxiliary
will
be
in
the
[ING]
form:
am/are/is/was/were
being…
Ø Perfect
(and)
Progressive
aspect
is
formed
by
combining:
the
Perfect
auxiliary
HAVE
with
the
Progressive
auxiliary
BE
in
the
[PPART]
form
and
with
the
[ING]
form
of
the
following
verb
(the
lexical
or
the
passive
BE):
o The
order
of
the
two
auxiliaries
is
always
fixed:
HAVE
precedes
BE;
o HAVE
has
a
variable
form
depending
on
tense
(have/has
for
present
or
had
for
past);
BE
is
always
in
the
[PPART]
form:
been;
o Whatever
verb
comes
right
after
BE
will
take
the
[ING]
form;
o The
verb
string
can
be
composed
of
the
lexical
verb
and
the
two
aspect
auxiliaries,
or
of
the
lexical
verb
+
Perfect
HAVE
+
Progressive
BE
+
the
passive
auxiliary
BE;
if
it
exists,
the
passive
auxiliary
will
be
in
the
[ING]
form:
have/has/had
been
being…
Here
are
all
the
possible
combinations
that
exemplify
the
information
in
the
text
box
above.
We
are
using
the
same
example
sentence,
and
the
forms
are
exactly
the
same
as
in
the
previous
two
tables
for
tense—only
this
time
we
re-­‐organized
them
and
made
four
little
tables,
one
for
each
of
the
possible
values
of
the
feature
Aspect.
Notice
how
aspect
combines
with
tense
and
voice,
and
how
the
morphology
of
the
verb
following
the
two
aspect
auxiliaries
changes
accordingly:
we
always
have
the
[PPART]
form
right
after
the
Perfect
aspect
auxiliary
HAVE,
and
always
the
[ING]
form
right
after
the
Progressive
aspect
auxiliary
BE.
Aspect:
SIMPLE
TENSE
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Present
tense
The
cat
chases
the
mouse.
The
mouse
is
chased
(by
the
cat).
Past
tense
The
cat
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
was
chased
(by
the
cat).

8. Aspect:
PROGRESSIVE
TENSE
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Present
tense
The
cat
is
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
is
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Past
tense
The
cat
was
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
was
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Aspect:
PERFECT
TENSE
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Present
tense
The
cat
has
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
has
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
Past
tense
The
cat
had
chased
the
mouse.
The
mouse
had
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
Aspect:
PERFECT
(and)
PROGRESSIVE
TENSE
VOICE
Active
voice
Passive
voice
Present
tense
The
cat
has
been
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
has
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Past
tense
The
cat
had
been
chasing
the
mouse.
The
mouse
had
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
3.3.
VOICE
Voice
refers
to
the
relation
between
the
subject
and
the
event:
is
the
subject
the
“doer”6
of
the
event?
or
is
someone
else
the
doer
of
the
event,
and
the
subject
suffers
it?
In
the
first
case,
we
say
that
the
verb
string
is
ACTIVE;
in
the
second
case,
we
say
that
it
is
PASSIVE.
Just
like
before,
remember
that
Voice
combines
with
the
other
relevant
verbal
features,
and
that
the
morphology
of
the
verb
string
will
be
a
combination
of
auxiliaries
and
affixes
that
indicates
all
these
features.
Here’s
the
gist
about
Voice:
6
In
more
advanced
classes
you
might
learn
about
semantic/thematic
roles
and
something
called
“Theta-­‐theory”.
Keep
an
eye
for
that,
it’s
cool
stuff.
J

9. How
many
values
does
the
feature
VOICE
have?
Ø English
has
two
voices:
ACTIVE
and
PASSIVE.
Where
and
how
is
voice
expressed?
Ø Active
voice:
o Does
not
have
any
specific
morphology.
o The
verb
string
can
be
composed
of
the
lexical
verb
by
itself,
or
of
the
lexical
verb
plus
one
or
both
of
the
aspect
auxiliaries.
Ø Passive
voice
is
formed
by
combining
the
auxiliary
BE
with
the
[PPART]
form!
o Passive
BE
is
always
the
last
auxiliary
in
a
verb
string;
it
sits
closest
to
the
lexical
verb;
o In
the
Passive
voice,
the
lexical
verb
will
always
take
the
[PPART]
form;
o Passive
BE
shows
the
tense
of
the
verb
string
only
if
there
is
no
aspectual
auxiliary
present
in
the
verb
string:
am/are/is
for
Present,
and
was/were
for
Past;
o If
there
is
another
auxiliary
preceding
it,
Passive
BE
will
take
the
appropriate
form
to
combine
with
it:
if
it
is
immediately
preceded
by
Perfect
HAVE,
it
will
be
in
the
[PPART]
form:
been;
if
it
is
immediately
preceded
by
Progressive
BE,
it
will
appear
in
the
[ING]
form:
being;
o The
verb
string
may
consist
of:
just
the
lexical
verb
+
Passive
BE
or
a
combination
of
aspectual
auxiliaries
+
Passive
BE
+
lexical
verb.
Here
are
the
tables
that
illustrate
all
possible
combinations.
Once
again,
we
have
made
separate
tables
for
the
two
voice
features,
and
included
the
other
two
grammatical
verbal
features
(aspect
and
tense)
as
variables.
Notice
that
nothing
is
in
bold
in
the
first
table
below:
because
ACTIVE
voice
has
no
specific
morphology.
In
the
PASSIVE
table,
notice
how
Passive
BE
always
takes
a
different
form,
in
order
to
comply
with
the
selection
requirements
of
the
other
auxiliaries
preceding
it!
Also:
pay
attention
not
to
confuse
Progressive
BE
(which
is
an
aspect
auxiliary)
with
Passive
BE
(which
is
a
voice
auxiliary).
In
order
to
recognize
them,
read
again
the
information
in
the
red
textboxes
and
remember
where
they
are
placed
and
what
non-­‐finite
form
they
combine
with!

10. Voice:
ACTIVE
ASPECT
TENSE
Present
tense
Past
tense
Simple
aspect
The
cat
chases
the
mouse.
The
cat
chased
the
mouse.
Progressive
aspect
The
cat
is
chasing
the
mouse.
The
cat
was
chasing
the
mouse.
Perfect
aspect
The
cat
has
chased
the
mouse
The
cat
had
chased
the
mouse.
Perfect
(and)
progressive
aspect
The
cat
has
been
chasing
the
mouse.
The
cat
had
been
chasing
the
mouse.
Voice:
PASSIVE
ASPECT
TENSE
Present
tense
Past
tense
Simple
aspect
The
mouse
is
chased
(by
the
cat).
The
mouse
was
chased
(by
the
cat).
Progressive
aspect
The
mouse
is
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
The
mouse
was
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
aspect
The
mouse
has
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
The
mouse
had
been
chased
(by
the
cat).
Perfect
(and)
progressive
aspect
The
mouse
has
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
The
mouse
had
been
being
chased
(by
the
cat).
4.
Final
remarks
There
is
a
lot
of
text
in
this
study
sheet—and
if
you’ve
read
it
carefully
and
got
this
far,
you
probably
saw
that
it
is
basically
the
same
information,
repeated
over
and
over
again,
“attacked”
from
the
three
different
angles
of
Tense,
Aspect
and
Voice.
Here
is
yet
another,
extremely
schematic,
way
of
presenting
the
core
of
this
information,
which
might
hopefully
help
you
remember
everything:
AUXILIARY
VERB
NON-­‐FINITE
FORM
THAT
IT
REQUIRES
RIGHT
AFTER
IT
Perfect
HAVE
+
the
[PPART]
form
Progressive
BE
+
the
[ING]
form
Passive
BE
+
the
[PPART]
form
ORDER
OF
AUXILIARIES:
(Modals
+)
Perfect
HAVE
+
Progressive
BE
+
Passive
BE
+
lexical
verb