How many tenses are there in English?

There are only two tenses in English: present and past.

Why isn't future considered a tense in English?

Future is not a tense because the verb form is not conjugated; the verb remains unchanged unlike in present and past tenses.

What is a tense in terms of verb conjugation?

A tense refers to a change in the form of the verb due to conjugation.

What are the two aspects in English language?

The two aspects are the continuous (or progressive) aspect and the perfect aspect.

What does the perfect aspect relate to in terms of verb forms?

The perfect aspect relates to the past participle form of the verb.

How can the present tense be used to refer to different times?

The present tense can refer to habitual actions, current actions, future actions, or even past actions.

How are past participles used in terms of aspect?

Past participles are used for the perfect aspect.

Can past tenses refer to present and future actions?

Yes, past tenses can refer to present and future actions, besides past actions.

Are English tenses strictly aligned with time references?

No, English tenses are not strictly aligned with time references. Present tenses can denote past or future actions, and past tenses can denote present or future actions.

What defines the progressive aspect?

The progressive aspect is defined by the use of the present participle (verb + -ing).

Time Tense and Aspect

00:15:01

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEkYAwYeff4

Summary

TLDRIn this episode of "Sela Insider," the host addresses the often-misunderstood concepts of time, tense, and aspect in the English language. There's a common misconception about the number of tenses in English, with answers ranging from 3 to 24, but in truth, there are only two: present and past. The future is not a tense because it does not involve a change in verb form; rather, it uses auxiliary verbs like 'will' or 'going to.' When discussing aspects, the host explains that there are two: continuous (or progressive) and perfect. The continuous aspect relates to ongoing actions and uses the present participle form of the verb (-ing), while the perfect aspect denotes completed actions and uses the past participle (the third form of the verb). The host highlights that English learners often confuse tense with time reference, leading to misunderstandings about how tenses operate. Present tenses can express habitual actions, present actions, future actions, or even past events. Similarly, past tenses can reflect past, present, or future actions - showcasing the flexibility and complexity of English grammar. The episode concludes by analyzing several example sentences to demonstrate these points, underlining the distinct characteristics and functions of English tenses and aspects.

Takeaways

🌟 Only two tenses in English: present and past.
❌ Future is not considered a tense because the verb form doesn't change.
📚 'Tense' refers to verb form change due to conjugation.
🔄 Two aspects: continuous (progressive) and perfect.
🕒 Present tense can refer to habitual, current, future, or past actions.
📜 Past tense can refer to past, present, or future actions.
🖋 Perfect aspect uses past participles for completion actions.
🔍 Continuous aspect involves present participles for ongoing actions.
🌀 English tenses are flexible and not strictly tied to time references.
🔑 Misunderstanding tenses and time references can confuse learners.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:05:00
The speaker introduces the episode's topic about time, tense, and aspect in English grammar. They challenge common perceptions by stating that there are only two tenses in English: present and past. The speaker explains that the tense refers to the change in verb form or conjugation, highlighting that the future tense does not involve a change in verb form, unlike present and past. This lack of change is why future is not considered a separate tense.
00:05:00 - 00:10:00
The discussion moves to aspects, with only two in English: continuous and perfect. Aspects are defined by how the verb is observed, either as progressing or completed. These aspects relate to participles; the present participle is linked to the continuous aspect, while the past participle relates to the perfect aspect. The speaker provides examples to clarify how tenses and aspects are recognized and how they function in sentences, emphasizing that each tense and aspect affects the interpretation of time in a sentence.
00:10:00 - 00:15:01
The speaker examines how time references in English are complicated and not strictly tied to the tense used. They provide examples showing how the present tense can refer to past, present, future, or habitual actions. Similarly, the past tense can denote actions in the past, present, future, or reflect habitual states. This complexity in time references across tenses demonstrates the flexibility and sometimes confusion present in English grammar. The episode concludes with a summary of the two tenses and aspects discussed, along with the inconsistency of time references.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

How many tenses are there in English?
There are only two tenses in English: present and past.
Why isn't future considered a tense in English?
Future is not a tense because the verb form is not conjugated; the verb remains unchanged unlike in present and past tenses.
What is a tense in terms of verb conjugation?
A tense refers to a change in the form of the verb due to conjugation.
What are the two aspects in English language?
The two aspects are the continuous (or progressive) aspect and the perfect aspect.
What does the perfect aspect relate to in terms of verb forms?
The perfect aspect relates to the past participle form of the verb.
How can the present tense be used to refer to different times?
The present tense can refer to habitual actions, current actions, future actions, or even past actions.
How are past participles used in terms of aspect?
Past participles are used for the perfect aspect.
Can past tenses refer to present and future actions?
Yes, past tenses can refer to present and future actions, besides past actions.
Are English tenses strictly aligned with time references?
No, English tenses are not strictly aligned with time references. Present tenses can denote past or future actions, and past tenses can denote present or future actions.
What defines the progressive aspect?
The progressive aspect is defined by the use of the present participle (verb + -ing).

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00:00:07
[Music]
00:00:08
[Applause]
00:00:10
welcome my friends to a new episode of
00:00:13
Sela Insider and in this episode we're
00:00:17
going to talk about time tense and
00:00:21
aspect so let me start with um this
00:00:26
question how many tenses do we have in
00:00:29
English language and I asked this
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question to so many um English language
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teachers and um some people um said 12
00:00:39
some people said um 18 some people said
00:00:43
24 and some people said three but hardly
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Did anyone say two which is surprise
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surprise the correct answer because in
00:00:53
English language we have only two
00:00:56
tenses now someone might say shedy and
00:00:59
what are they I would say um present and
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past and here comes the natural question
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why future is not a
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tense now in order to answer this
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question we need first to talk about
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what we mean by the word tense and what
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the word tense refers to now the word
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tense my friends
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refers to the change in the verb
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form to the conjugation that happens to
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the verb
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form so if the verb form is conjugated
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then we can call that a
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tense so think about uh the
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present uh when we say uh he is good now
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the verb form
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is but um if we want to make it past it
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will be he was good so these are two
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different verb
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forms think about go as a verb in the
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present you can say she goes so the verb
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is
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conjugated to go with
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she and in the past is she
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went so again the verb is conjugated one
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more time uh for the
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past now that's why we say there is a
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present tense and a past tense but this
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process doesn't happen with the future
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think about it um in the future you say
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what you say he will
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go or he is going to go or he is about
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to go or he may go or he shall go
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nothing happens to the verb the verb is
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not conjugated in the future and this is
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why
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future is not a tense so only two tenses
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in English
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language present and
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past why because the word tense refers
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to the change in the verb
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form which is something that doesn't
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happen with the future
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now let's talk about
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aspects we have two aspects in English
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language and first let's define what an
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aspect
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is an aspect refers to how you see the
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verb do you see it as uh
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Progressive continuing evolving
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developing or you see it as finished or
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complete and and we have only two
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aspects in English language and they are
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connected to the two participles that we
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have in English language so we have two
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participles present participle the verb
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plus I in
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G and past participle which is the third
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form of the
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verb okay so the perfect aspect in
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English language is related to the third
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form of the verb and the continuous or
00:04:34
Progressive aspect in English language
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is related to present
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participle for
00:04:42
example when I say he goes to
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school now the tense is
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present do we have an aspect no we don't
00:04:54
have an aspect how do you know we don't
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have any participle in a sense
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sentence but when you say he is going to
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school the tense is present because of
00:05:09
is as
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present and going as present participle
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so that's the continuous aspect the
00:05:18
progressive aspect which means that when
00:05:20
we say he is going to school we see the
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verb as continuous developing
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progressing Evol evolving unfolding when
00:05:32
you say he's gone to
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school now the tense is present why has
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that's
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present and gone that's the third form
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of the verb that's past participle
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that's the perfect
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aspect which means that we see this
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action as complete
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finished so two tenses in English
00:05:57
language present
00:06:00
and
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past because as we said that the word
00:06:04
tense refers to the form of the verb
00:06:08
whether it's conjugated or
00:06:11
not and two aspects in English language
00:06:15
continuous and Progressive and these two
00:06:19
aspects are related the two participles
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in English language the present
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participle is related to The Continuous
00:06:26
aspect or the progressive aspect and the
00:06:29
past participle is related to the
00:06:31
perfect
00:06:34
aspect now let's come to time because we
00:06:39
said time tends an
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aspect and again this is what makes the
00:06:46
system of English language tenses um
00:06:49
really confusing for many
00:06:52
Learners um it's because of the time
00:06:56
reference uh usually as teachers we
00:06:58
simplify things to our uh students in at
00:07:02
schools and we tell them that okay hey
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uh present is for actions in the present
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and past verbs are for actions in the
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past but this is just pedagogical
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grammar we're trying to make things
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easier for
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learners but that's not completely true
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um in in English Kama look at this let
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me give you an
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example think about this
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sentence
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H I travel a
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lot I travel a lot so what is the tense
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present why travel that's a present form
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do we have an aspect no no aspect I
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travel a lot no aspect no present
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participle no past participle no aspect
00:08:00
okay but what is the time reference for
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I travel a
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lot like we can say that's
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habitual um it's something that is
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repeated so that's that's a very good
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answer here I travel a lot it's kind of
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a a habit maybe right okay cool now
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think about this I'm traveling to London
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tomorrow
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oh what is the tense present why am I am
00:08:33
so am is present what is the aspect oh
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traveling that's present participle so
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that's the continuous
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aspect but what is the time reference
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I'm traveling to London
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tomorrow that's
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future so the time reference is future
00:08:54
here okay now listen to this
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one I still remember remember what
00:09:00
happened last year I mean um picture
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this so I'm traveling to London and
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packing my bags and um getting ready and
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then I received this um weird phone call
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from a
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stranger now wait a minute
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everything I
00:09:21
said was about past actions but I was
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using
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what present continuous and
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present simple I said I can't forget
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what happened last year picture this I'm
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traveling to London I'm packing my bags
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when I received this weird phone call
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from a
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stranger so
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now this is present used to refer to the
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past so how crazy can that
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be so the present tense can refer to
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what habitual actions it can refer to
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current actions it can refer to Future
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actions and it can refer to past
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actions so this is how crazy okay tenses
00:10:15
are in English
00:10:17
language okay now think about um past uh
00:10:22
verbs or past
00:10:24
tenses let me give you an example I had
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a cup of coffee
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think about it the tense has passed cuz
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we've got
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had right do we have an aspect no no
00:10:39
aspect so what about H the time
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reference it is passed cuz it's I had a
00:10:45
cup of coffee look at this
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one I wish I had a cup of
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coffee I wish I had a cup of coffee
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think about had what is the tense past
00:11:00
do we have an aspect no aspect but what
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is the time
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reference
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present I wish I had a cup of coffee
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now so wait a minute so one time had
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refers to a past action and one time had
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also refers to a present action now
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listen to this one if I had the right
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amount of money
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tomorrow I would
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travel if I had the right amount of
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money tomorrow I would travel
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oh if I had now let's analyze
00:11:40
had tense past aspect no aspect time
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reference future if I had the right
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amount of money tomorrow so how crazy
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can that be so present tenses in English
00:11:56
language can refer to present actions
00:12:00
past actions future actions habitual
00:12:03
actions and even
00:12:06
also um past tenses can refer to
00:12:10
habitual actions in the past they can
00:12:12
refer also to present and they can refer
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to past and they can refer to
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Future it's crazy right English is crazy
00:12:22
so think about this let's let's analyze
00:12:25
some sentences together I have arrived
00:12:30
tense present because of have aspect
00:12:35
perfect past
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participle and then time reference
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past now think about this one my plane
00:12:45
leaves to Egypt tomorrow let's analyze
00:12:50
it so leaves present what about the
00:12:53
aspect no aspect time reference
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future okay
00:12:59
okay think about this one she has been
00:13:04
studying hard she has been studying
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hard tense present because of
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has aspect two aspects been
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perfect studying continuous so present
00:13:21
perfect continuous time
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reference from past to
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present okay okay think about this one
00:13:31
she was watching
00:13:33
TV tense passed because of Wars aspect
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continuous because of watching present
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participle okay so past continuous time
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reference past wonderful think about
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this one he's always watching TV tense
00:13:53
present because of
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is aspect Progressive because of the
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prison
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uh participle time reference habitual
00:14:03
because we're talking about a habit that
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we're not very happy with so my
00:14:08
friends two tenses in English language
00:14:11
past and present future is not a
00:14:15
tense two aspects in English language
00:14:19
the progressive aspect and the perfect
00:14:23
aspect and both of them are related to
00:14:25
the two participles present participle
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and past
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participle time references are
00:14:34
crazy because present does not
00:14:36
necessarily refer to present action and
00:14:40
past tenses do not necessarily refer to
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past
00:14:44
actions thank you so much I hope you
00:14:47
enjoyed um this episode of selta and
00:14:50
Sider
00:14:57
bye-bye
00:15:00
he