Grammar: Complex Tense Form – SS1 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

Complex tenses are tenses in which English combines aspects, for example the perfect and the progressive. They are made up of a main verb, sometimes in a participle form, and an auxiliary verb. Tense shows the time of an action, and aspect shows whether it is continuing, completed or habitual.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• explain the meaning of tense and aspect;
• explain what a complex tense is;
• list the forms of the auxiliary verbs to be, to have and to do;
• name the modal auxiliary verbs;
• say how main verbs and auxiliary verbs are combined to form tenses.

What is tense?

Tense is the form of the verb used to indicate the time of the action, the continuance of the action or the completeness of the action. The time of the action may be present (I see), past (I saw) or future (I shall see).

Tenses do not just tell us whether something is in the past, present or future. They also tell us whether the action is habitual, completed or going. This is the aspect part of tense.

What are complex tenses?

Complex tenses are those in which English combines aspects. For example, the perfect and progressive are combined, but other aspects are also combined. They are represented by the main verb in some of its forms (a participle sometimes) and the auxiliary verb. They are made up of more than one verb.

Recognising and using complex tense forms in English

To recognise the complex tense form in English, students should know the examples of main verbs and auxiliary verbs we have and the formation of tenses.

Auxiliary verbs

The main auxiliary verbs are to be, to have and to do. They appear in the following forms.

1. To be: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be.
2. To have: has, have, had, will have.
3. To do: does, do, did, will do.

Modal auxiliary verbs

There is another kind of auxiliary verb called a modal auxiliary verb (or modal verb). The modal auxiliary verbs are can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will and would.

Main verbs

The main verbs are sit, stand, walk, move, forget, eat, write, build and so on.

How are tenses formed?

To form tenses, students should combine main verbs with auxiliary verbs. The choice depends on the type of verb form: whether the action expressed by the verb is continuous or still in progress (progressive), or whether it has been completed (perfective).

Evaluation

1. What is tense?
2. What is a complex tense?
3. Name the three main auxiliary verbs and give the forms of each.
4. List five modal auxiliary verbs.
5. What is the difference between the progressive and the perfective?

Assignment

1. Write out the forms of to be, to have and to do given in the lesson.
2. List all the modal auxiliary verbs from the lesson.
3. Explain tense and aspect in your own words.