Tenses And Aspects
Quick refresher on tenses
You already know that Tenses are used to specify the time of an action. Here's a reminder:
| Tense | Time of the action | Construct | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | now or regularly. | subj + V(base) | She walks. |
| Past | before. | subj + V(past) | She walked. |
| Future | later | subj + will + V(base) | She will walk. |
But what's very interesting is that a tense can be extended with an aspect !
The 4 Aspects
Tenses can be combined with any aspect to emphasize the nature of the verb's action. There are 4 aspects in total:
| Aspect | Nature of the action | Construct | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | General, habitual, or timeless actions without emphasis on internal structure. | subj + V(tense) | Ana runs every morning. |
| Progressive | Actions in progress at a specific moment; emphasizes the ongoing, temporary nature of an activity. | subj + be(tense) + V-ing | Jane can't talk to you know, she is showering. |
| Perfect | Completed actions that have relevance to another point in time, highlighting results or consequences. | subj + have (tense) + participle past | My leg will have healed in january, so we can go skiing in february. |
| Perfect Progressive | Combines both completion and continuity, showing an action that was ongoing and has some effect; stresses both duration and the eventual outcome. | subj + have (tense) + been + V-ing | Oliver was exhausted, he had been running for hours ! |
The aspect doesn't change the fundamental meaning of a sentence, it extends it to add some information. In truth, you could communicate most ideas using only the simple aspect... But mastering aspects will open a whole new world of nuances and subtleties to you !
The simple aspect is often used in informal conversations, where simplicity can justify being less precise. For now, I'd recommend always using the aspect that fits your meaning the most precisely. Mostly because it'll make you learn aspects faster, but also because simplifying is not always correct. But don't worry, you'll develop an intuition for when to do it with time and practice. Watching netflix is definitely one of the best way to pick up on spoken english subtleties !)
Exercise
Translate each of the following sentences. Take the time to think of the correct aspect to use, and explicitly justify your choice. Do not hesitate to get help from the table above !
Q: “Je lis beaucoup.”
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Q: “Il était en train de courir quand il a vu l’accident.”
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Q: “Il courrait quand il a vu l’accident.”
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Q: “Elle a déjà lu ce livre.”
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Q: “Elle a lu ce livre.”
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Q: “Ils avaient déjà fini le projet quand le client a appelé.”
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Q: “Je travaille ici depuis cinq ans.”
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Q: “Tu ne seras pas là: tu mangeras quand j'arriverai.”
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Q: “Il a peint toute la journée.”
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Q: “Il a peint hier.”
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Q: “Il peint depuis ce matin.”
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Q: “Nous lisons en ce moment.”
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Q: “Elle chantait depuis une heure quand l’orchestre a commencé.”
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Q: “Ils lisent toujours les journaux le matin.”
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Q: “J’étudie pour l’examen de demain.”
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Conclusion
I know this is a lot of information ! At this point, I don't expect you to remember when and how to use each aspect: it'll come naturally with practice.