Unit One / The Tense System (Aspects of the Verb) )‫فئات الفعل (أوجه (جوانب الفعل‬

What Is the Aspect of a Verb? (with Examples) ‫ما هي فئات الفعل مع األمثلة‬

In English grammar, the aspect of a verb is the category (‫ )فئة‬of the verb that indicates
time-related characteristics, such as the completion, duration, or repetition of an action. The
aspect of a verb is determined by whether the action is ongoing or completed. There are four
aspects of a verb.

‫ مثل‬، )‫ جانب الفعل هو فئة الفعل الذي يشير إلى الخصائص المتعلقة بالوقت (الزمن‬، ‫في قواعد اللغة اإلنجليزية‬
‫مستمرا أم‬
ً ‫ يتم تحديد جانب الفعل من خالل ما إذا كان اإلجراء‬.‫إكتمال (تام) أو مدته ( االستمرار) أو تكراره‬
ً
.‫ هناك أربعة جوانب للفعل‬. ‫مكتمال‬

The Four Aspects Are:

•Simple Aspect: also known as the indefinite aspect. ‫ يُعرف أيضًا بالجانب غير المحدد‬:‫الجانب البسيط‬
•Progressive Aspect: also known as the continuing aspect. :‫الجانب المستمر‬
•Perfect Aspect: also known as the complete aspect. ‫ يُعرف أيضًا بالجانب المكتمل‬:‫• الجانب التام‬
Perfect Progressive Aspect. ‫الجانب التام المستمر‬

The Simple Aspect

There are three verb tense in this aspect:
Verb tenses show when an action takes place.

The Simple Aspect (Indefinite Aspect) Example of the verb

1. The Simple Present Tense I / We / They / You go

She / he / It goes

2. The Simple Past Tense I went

3. The Simple Future Tense I will go

Tenses Grammatical Structure of the verb

1. The Present Simple Tense (shows that something is happening in the present but does not show when it
will end). [(verb) or (verb + s/es in third person]

2. The Past Simple Tense (shows that something happened in the past).
[verb + ed (except for irregular verbs].

3. The future Simple Tense (shows that something will happen in the future).
[will + Base form of the verb] or [am /is/are + going to + verb (base)]

This lecture is modified by Dr Abduljabbar I. R. Rushdi_2024

 The Progressive Aspect

1. The Present Continuous Tense (shows something that is happening in the present that will have a definite
end). [am/is/are + present participle (the base verb + ing).
Homework: what is the difference between simple present and present continuous?

2. The Past Continuous Tense (shows that sth. was continuing for a certain time in the past).
[was/were + present participle (the base v. + ing)]

3.The Future Continuous Tense (is used to talk about future events that will be in progress at a specific
time in the future.
[will + be + present participle] OR [be (am / is / are) + going to be + present P (the base v. + ing)].
Note: We often use this structure to make a contrast between a present event and a future event).
Contrast
Present Future
Example: This time tomorrow I will be celebrating my birthday.
Time expressions: By + this year/month/week.

The Perfect Aspect

1. The Present Perfect Tense (the tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time
in the past or began in the past and continued to the present time), (have/has + past participle)

2. The Past perfect Tense (shows something that happened in the past before another something else.
Usually, the past perfect and the past tense are used in the same sentence). (had + past participle)

Note – The words after / before / because are used with this tense

e.g. Sami went home because he had had a terrible headache.

e.g. After the exams had finished, they had a party.

3. The Future Perfect Tense (this tense is used to describe an action that will have been completed at a
certain point of time in the future). (will + have + past participle)
Why “have” is used in this tens? Homework

Examples: By 10 o'clock, I will have finished my homework.

By the time you read this letter I will have left.
He will not have done it by this evening. (negative) ‫نفي‬
Will he have done it by this evening? (Interrogative) ‫استفهام‬

Note 1: that present participle means continuous, the action has been completed in the present.
Note 2: that past participle means (Perfect//certain time), the action has been completed in the past.

Note 3: “Will” takes “have” only (It does not take has or had) why? Homework

This lecture is modified by Dr Abduljabbar I. R. Rushdi_2024

 The Perfect Continuous Aspect
The Present Perfect Continuous (also known as the present perfect progressive tense) shows that something
started in the past and is continuing at the present time. It is used to refer to an unspecified time between ‘before now’
and ‘now’. [(has or have) + been (Past participle + the present participle]

e. g.: I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.
I haven’t been feeling well lately. (And I am still sick now.) (negative) ‫نفي‬
Has Mona been competing in flute competitions recently? (And she will continue to do so.) ‫استفهام‬

The simple present is used for general statements, while the present continuous focuses on
actions in progress. The present perfect is used to discuss past actions with present relevance,
while the present perfect continuous emphasizes ongoing activities that started in the past and
continue to the present.

/ Not all verbs are used with continuous tenses, such as

1)- Non- continuous verbs
2)- Certain verbs that are not compatible with continuous action, such as – verbs to
be, to arrive, …
‫ ليست كل األفعال متوافقة مع الفعل المستمر‬/ ‫مالحظة‬

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These
“stative” verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or
progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

، ‫ هذه األفعال "الجامدة" تدور حول الحالة‬.‫األفعال غير المستمرة هي أفعال ال نستخدمها عادة مع األزمنة المستمرة‬
:‫عا‬
ً ‫ فيما يلي بعض األفعال غير المستمرة األكثر شيو‬.‫ وال يمكنها التعبير عن الجانب المستمر‬، ‫وليس الفعل‬

List of all Non-Continuous Verbs

feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish, desire, …...
senses: hear, see, smell, taste, feel, seem, sound, appear, …...
communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise, …...
thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand,
think*, …...
ownership: belong, have, own, possess, …...
other states: be, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, …

This lecture is modified by Dr Abduljabbar I. R. Rushdi_2024

 The Past Perfect Continuous (it is called also past perfect progressive) It is used to describe an ongoing
action that started in past and continued for some time in past. [had + been (past p.) + the present participle]

e. g. We had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
e.g. We had not been waiting there for more than two hours. ‫نفي‬
e.g. Had you been waiting there for more than two hours? ‫استفهام‬
e.g. How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?

/ Certain verbs can’t be used in the past continuous tense. One common
example is the verb to arrive.

e.g. At noon, he was arriving.

e.g. At noon, he arrived.

The Future Perfect Continuous (also sometimes called the future perfect progressive) actions that will
continue up until a point in the future. It is a verb tense that describes The Future Perfect Continuous tense
is like the Future Perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions or states extending up to some specific event
or time in the future [will + have + been (Past p) + present participle]
.

e.g. In November, I will have been working at my company for three years.
e.g. At five o’clock, I will have been waiting for thirty minutes.
e.g. You will not have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives. ‫نفي‬
e.g. You are not going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives.

e.g. Will you have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives? ‫استفهام‬
e.g. Are you going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally arrives?

Q. / Put the verbs between Brackets in the correct tense:

1. They speak German. (speak)

2. I was playing football yesterday. (play)

3. She will go to school tomorrow. (go)

4. The students are studying right now. (study)

5. They will have travelled to France by the time you arrive. (travel)

6. I visit my uncle every Friday. (visit)

This lecture is modified by Dr Abduljabbar I. R. Rushdi_2024

7. Cats hate mice. (hate)

8. The sun rises in the morning. (rise)

9. The plane takes off at 10 o’clock tonight. (take off)

10. I am working on my computer at this moment. (work)

11. She has been living in this town for 12 years. (live)

12. The grass is wet because it has been raining all day long. (rain)

13. I have been watching TV for 2 hours since you left. (watch)

14. She was reading a book when the light went out. (read)

Q. 2 / State whether the following sentences True or False

1. I have been owning my Toyota since 2007. T

2. I am wanting a coffee. F

3. I don’t believe you are right. T

4. I can’t hear you very well. T

This lecture is modified by Dr Abduljabbar I. R. Rushdi_2024