2. The Difference between the Present and the Perfect and other existential aspects of English Verbs thomas o’hare World Word Web

3. When you have finished with this presentation, you should be able to: describe the five parts of the verb distinguish the present perfect from the passé composé understand the meaning of the progressive, perfect, and passive World Word Web

4. The Five Parts of the Verb Structure  The verb, of course, is necessary.  A modal and one, two, or three aspects may be added in any combination.  The meaning of the aspects is the same in the past, present, and future.  The overall meaning equals the sum of the parts. World Word Web

5. Three Focal Points: you can use any combination: any one, two, or all three, a total of 8 combinations World Word Web

6. Three Focal Points: you can use any combination of these three aspects World Word Web

7. The aspects function independently of time. That is, they express the same meaning whether in the past, the present, or the future. For example, the past perfect and the present perfect both include the same sense of the perfect, which does not change according to the past, present, or future. Likewise, the passive expresses the same meaning in the past, present, and future. World Word Web

8. If the verb occurs without any aspect added, it is called “simple”. Later, we will consider some uses of the simple past, present, and future, but first... World Word Web

9. ... we will consider the meaning of each aspect: passive, progressive, and perfect. The meaning of the eight possible combinations should then be clear as well. World Word Web

10. The Passive the action happens to the subject subject verbobject We ate the pizza.(active) The pizza was eaten.(passive) Shewill sing a song.(active) A songwill be sung.(passive) World Word Web

11. The Passive the action happens to the subject Note that the passive (like the perfect and the progressive) is separate from the time of the action. The passive may be in the past, the present, or the future. A star was seen yesterday. The same star is seen today. It will be seen tomorrow also. World Word Web

12. The Passive the action happens to the subject A star was seen yesterday. The same star is seen today. It will be seen tomorrow also. Why use the passive? to focus on the recipient of the action the agent is unimportant (in the sentence) the agent (the “doer”) is unknown World Word Web

13. The Passive the action happens to the subject Exercise One: Using five verbs from your list, write five sentences in the passive. World Word Web

14. The Progressive The progressive primarily indicates something actually happening at the moment. The sun is shining. I will be sleeping when you arrive, so knock loudly. We are waiting for you. She has been reading that book since last month. They are staying in a hotel until their house is repaired. He was crossing the street when a car drove into the bank. Here you have six examples of the progressive. Can you define the common meaning? World Word Web

15. The Progressive The progressive primarily indicates something actually happening at the moment. Water boils at 100 ° C. a general truth The water is boiling. right now I was leaving when the phone rang. I left when the phone rang. Note the difference between the simple and the progressive in the following pairs: Which of these sentences says that the phone rang first? The second one. In the first sentence, I had already started to go when the phone rang. World Word Web

16. The Progressive The progressive primarily indicates something actually happening at the moment. But there is more to it than that. If an action can be presented as “in progress,” then logically it has a beginning and an ending. In other words, the action has a duration. Thus, when we use the progressive, we imply that the action is of limited duration. World Word Web

17. The Progressive A comparison of some pairs of sentences should help clarify this idea of “duration”: The use of the progressive here implies that our stay at the hotel is not permanent, even though we do not express the duration of the stay. We are staying at a hotel because our house is under repair. We stay at a hotel when we go to Acapulco. This sentence implies that we always stay at a hotel when in Acapulco. World Word Web

18. The Progressive A comparison of some pairs of sentences should help clarify this idea of “duration”: We are staying at a hotel when we go to Acapulco. We stay at a hotel when we go to Acapulco. Which of these sentences refers to an up-coming trip? The first one. The progressive (referring to the future here) implies a duration, whose limits are set by the adverbial clause, when we go to Acapulco. The second sentence expresses the action as a general truth. Although in the “simple present” tense, it refers generally to any trip--past, present, and future-- whenever “we go to Acapulco”. World Word Web

19. The Progressive A comparison of some pairs of sentences should help clarify this idea of “duration”: The use of the progressive implies that the situation is not permanent, even though the duration is not known. (And maybe it could work into a something permanent.) I am playing drums in a funk band. I play drums in a funk band. Here, no sense of duration is implied; thus, the situation seems permanent. Generally speaking, that is what I do: play drums in a funk band. Which sentence implies a permanent situation? World Word Web

20. The Progressive We can also use the progressive to refer to the future: She is starting her doctorate in September. I am having a new tooth put in this week. They are going to Tahiti this summer. We were leaving the next day. (referring to the future of that time) We will deal with that, and other ways of talking about the future, in the future. World Word Web

21. The Progressive Exercise Two Write five sentences with the progressive, using five verbs from your list and these five words (one in each sentence): While When During Although At (add some specific time, for example: at noon tomorrow) World Word Web

22. The Perfect: Some examples We had been there for two hours. I have read half of this book. They will have walked three miles by the time we start walking. We have lived here since 1958. We had seen the Canyon before. two hours complete half complete, but not finished reading three miles will be complete since means from time X up till the moment ; thus, that much time is complete a fait accompli From these examples, can you identify the common meaning of the perfect? World Word Web

23. Perfect does not mean past. It does not equal the French passé composé. I have eaten this morning. I ate this morning. the perfect means up till the time; the time is morning and it is present ate indicates the past; thus, the morning is past; it must be afternoon We have seen this movie. We saw this last month. have is present, so you cannot say “last month” “last month” is past, so you must use the past, saw World Word Web

24. The Perfect perfect originally meant “completely done” Latin per- + fectus the modern sense of perfect as flawless or impeccable extends the original meaning in grammar, perfect still means complete more specifically, complete as of the moment complete as of the moment does not mean finished World Word Web

25. pro·gres·sive pro·gres·sive (prəgrĕ ʹ ĭ) adjective 1.Moving forward; advancing. 2.Proceeding in steps; continuing steadily by increments: progressive change. 3.Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods: a progressive politician; progressive business leadership. 4.Progressive Of or relating to a Progressive Party: the Progressive platform of 1924. 5.Of or relating to progressive education: a progressive school. 6.Increasing in rate as the taxable amount increases: a progressive income tax. 7.Pathology. Tending to become more severe or wider in scope: progressive paralysis. 8.Grammar. Designating a verb form that expresses an action or condition in progress. noun 1.A person who actively favors or strives for progress toward better conditions, as in society or government. 2.Progressive A member or supporter of a Progressive Party. 3.Grammar. A progressive verb form. — pro·gres ʹ ive·ly adverb — pro·gres ʹ ive·ness noun Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. World Word Web

26. per·fect (pûr ʹ ĭt) adjective Abbr. perf. 1.Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind. 2.Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen. 3.Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient. 4.Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part. 5.a. Completely corresponding to a description, standard, or type: a perfect circle; a perfect gentleman. b. Accurately reproducing an original: a perfect copy of the painting. 6.Complete; thorough; utter: a perfect fool. 7.Pure; undiluted; unmixed: perfect red. 8.Excellent and delightful in all respects: a perfect day. 9.Botany. Having both stamens and pistils in the same flower; monoclinous. 10.Grammar. Of, relating to, or constituting a verb form expressing action completed prior to a fixed point of reference in time. World Word Web

27. per·fect Synonyms: perfect, consummate, faultless, flawless, impeccable. The central meaning shared by these adjectives is “being wholly without flaw”: a perfect diamond; a consummate performer; faultless logic; a flawless instrumental technique; speaks impeccable French. Antonyms: imperfect. Usage Note: Perfect has often been described as an absolute term like chief and prime, hence not allowing modification by more, quite, relatively, and other qualifiers of degree. But the qualification of perfect has numerous reputable precedents (most notably in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution in the phrase “in order to form a more perfect Union”). What is more, the stricture is philosophically dubious. There can be no mathematically perfect forms in nature; therefore to say that any actual circle is “perfect” can mean only that it approximates the geometric ideal of circularity, a quality that it can obviously have to a greater or lesser degree. By the same token, perfect freely allows comparison in examples such as There could be no more perfect spot for the picnic, where it is used to mean “ideal for the purposes.” Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V., further reproduction and distribution restricted in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. World Word Web

28. The Eight Possible Combinations of the Perfect, Progressive, and Passive Simple ( just the verb ) Passive Progressive Perfect Perfect Progressive Progressive Passive Perfect Passive Perfect Progressive Passive watch are watch ed are watch ing have watch ed have be en watch ing are be ing watch ed have be en watch ed have be en be ing watch ed World Word Web

29. The Five Parts of the Verb Structure World Word Web

30. The Five Parts of the Verb Structure World Word Web

31. Comparing the Simple, Progressive, and Perfect He runs, but not with that ball and chain. He is running. Look at him go! He has run his fastest mile ever and he has won the race. World Word Web