Because aspect and tense combine to produce different forms and meanings, particular combinations such as the present simple (i.e. present tense, simple aspect) are sometimes referred to informally as ‘tenses’ as in ‘the present simple tense’.
2. Note that aspectual meanings are different across languages, and the meanings described below do not necessarily apply to other languages. Moreover, the names given to the aspects vary from grammar to grammar. For example, the past perfect (e.g. ‘they had gone’) is called the ‘pluperfect’ in some grammars.
3. Aspects:
The simple aspect expresses actions as a fact (‘We play squash’) or as a completed event at a specific point in the past (‘We played squash on Saturday night’).
The progressive (or ‘continuous’) aspect is formed using the auxiliary ‘be’ and the present participle. It adds a sense of duration to the action (‘We were playing squash’). When used with the present tense, progressive aspect expresses the idea that the action is taking place right now: ‘We are playing squash’.
Perfect (or ‘perfective’) aspect is formed by combining the auxiliary ‘have’ with the past participle. Perfect aspect has a range of possible meanings. (1) With the present tense, it can be used for events that have recently happened (‘We’ve just played a game of squash’). Here the adverb ‘just’ reinforces the idea of recent events. (2) Alternatively, it can be used to express that the event has taken place at some unspecified time in the past, ‘We’ve played squash before’. (3) With the past tense, perfect aspect can express an event which happened before a specified point in the past (‘We had finished the game by ten’).
4. Perfect aspect can combine with progressive aspect to add a sense of duration to the meanings given above. The verb phrase consists of two auxiliaries (have + be) plus the present participle: ‘We’d been playing for ages when she arrived’.
