English Tense and Aspect Nets, spears, and telescopes

The present The future The past Tense I had a burrito for lunch. I was full. I went to the gym. I have a brother. He is a musician. He lives in Missouri. It will be sunny tomorrow. I am going to have a BBQ. Many people will come.

Aspect Progressive (continuous) aspects are telescopes. Simple aspects are spears. Perfect aspects are nets.

English verb phrases have tense and aspect The present simple The past progressive The future perfect continuous (tense) (aspect) (tense) (aspect) (tense) (aspect) (aspect)

Past simple The past I had a burrito. I was full.

Present perfect I have been to Disneyland.

Past perfect vs. past simple The past I had lived in California for 3 years before I finally visited Hollywood.

Past progressive vs. past simple The past I was watching TV, when an earthquake happened.

Many verbs in a sentence need tense and aspect Before he went home, John stopped by the store to buy cheese, because his wife wanted to have pasta. to buy to have John stopped by the store his wife wanted Before he went home TIME

In other languages, these rules are different Before he went home, John stopped by the store to buy cheese, because his wife wanted to have pasta. before go home, stop by a store As for John, because his wife wanted to eat pasta, and bought cheese. TIME

In other languages, these rules are different Before he went home, John stopped by the store to buy cheese, because his wife wanted to have pasta. to eat pasta, before go home, stop by a store As for John, because his wife want (adverb of time or context) buy cheese TIME

If your first language has different rules for tense and aspect, learning them in English will take time. (but it’s still important to learn it)