Mammoth Memory

The four forms or aspects of tenses

Each tense – past, present and future – can have one of four different forms. These forms are often referred to as aspects.

The three forms or aspects are:

  • Simple
  • Continuous
  • Perfect
  • Perfect continuous

 

NOTE: The form or aspect known as "continuous" can also be referred to as "progressive". In English, there is absolutely no difference between "continuous" and "progressive" aspects – they are the same thing.

 

The following picture and story should help you remember that the four aspects of each tense are simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous:

Four aspects of English language tenses, simple, perfect, continuous, perfect continuous

Simple Simon met a pieman going to the fair. The pieman told Simon his pies had been subject to a continuous improvement programme, so were perfect. But Simple Simon was perfectly, continuously (perfect continuous) broke due a gambling habit, so couldn’t buy a pie.

 

OR use the following to aid your memory of the four aspects:

Four aspects of English language tenses, simple, perfect, continuous, perfect continuous

If a simple, continuous, perpetual motion system could be perfected, a perfect continuous source of energy could be harnessed.

 

So we have:

  • Past simple
  • Past continuous
  • Past perfect
  • Past perfect continuous

 

  • Present simple
  • Present continuous
  • Present perfect
  • Present perfect continuous

 

  • Future simple
  • Future continuous
  • Future perfect
  • Future perfect continuous

 

Altogether, that makes twelve tenses! But how do you recognise them?

To show you how they work, we've provided examples on the following three pages.

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