1. English Tense and Aspect
Nets, spears, and telescopes

2. 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.

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

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

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

6. Present perfect
I have been to Disneyland.

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

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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)