1. TIME AND TENSE
Verb Phrase –

2. Time is not the same thing as tense
Time is not the same thing as tense. Time is an element of our experience of reality. Tense is purely grammatical idea.
It is easy to think of the present tense having something to do with present time, or the past tense with the past time. The examples below show that this is not true.
Time and Tense

3. a) Refers to general, not present time;
Comment
a) Refers to general, not present time;
b) Present tense – future time;
c) Past time but without the past tense.
Examples   a) I speak quite good English b) We leave at 4 o’clock tomorrow c) Have you ever been there before?

4. TENSE
English has two tenses: PRESENT TENSE and PAST TENSE. As the names imply, the present tense normally refers to the present time and the past tense to past time. There is no obvious FUTURE TENSE in English corresponding to the time/tense parallel for present and past. Instead, there are a number of possibilities of denoting future time. Futurity, modality, and aspect are closely related, and future is rendered by means of modal auxiliaries or semi-auxiliaries, or by simple present or progressive forms.

5. ASPECT
Aspect refers to the manner in which the verb action is regarded or experienced. The choice of aspect is a comment on or a particular view of the action. English has two sets of aspectual contrasts: PROGRESSIVE/NON-PROGRESSIVE AND PERFECTIVE/NON-PERFECTIVE.

6. TENSE AND ASPECT