How Do You Get Tenses?

You get tenses by combining the three fundamental time periods (past, present, and future) with four grammatical aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous). This combination results in twelve distinct verb tenses.

To understand how this works, let's break it down:

The Foundation: Time Periods

• Past: Refers to actions or states that occurred before the present moment.
• Present: Refers to actions or states occurring now.
• Future: Refers to actions or states that will occur after the present moment.

Building Blocks: Grammatical Aspects

These aspects describe how the action unfolds in time, rather than when it happens.

• Simple: Expresses a completed, habitual, or factual action.
  • Example: I walk (present simple), I walked (past simple), I will walk (future simple).
• Continuous (Progressive): Expresses an ongoing action.
  • Example: I am walking (present continuous), I was walking (past continuous), I will be walking (future continuous).
• Perfect: Expresses an action that is completed before another point in time.
  • Example: I have walked (present perfect), I had walked (past perfect), I will have walked (future perfect).
• Perfect Continuous (Perfect Progressive): Expresses an action that started in the past, continues into the present, or will continue into the future, emphasizing its duration.
  • Example: I have been walking (present perfect continuous), I had been walking (past perfect continuous), I will have been walking (future perfect continuous).

The Result: Twelve Tenses

By combining each of the three time periods with each of the four aspects, we arrive at the twelve tenses:

Therefore, tenses are formed by strategically combining time references with aspects of action, resulting in a detailed system for expressing when and how events occur.