Unlike many other widely-spoken Indo-European languages such as Spanish and French, the English verb system is largely periphrastic. Periphrasis, in contrast to inflection, is "a phrase of two or more words used to express a grammatical relationship that could otherwise be expressed by the inflection of a single word." All English verb forms except for the simple present and simple past are periphrastic.
Although some grammars identify anywhere between twelve and sixteen English tenses, the nineteen finite, or conjugated, verb forms in English express more than just tense. To be more precise, English has:
- Two tenses: present and past
- Four aspects: simple, progressive, perfect, perfect-progressive
- Three moods: indicative, subjunctive, imperative
- Two voices: active and passive
The following sections discuss the tenses, aspects, moods, and voices of the English verb system.
Tense is the expression of location in time of an action or state. Grammatical tense only roughly relates to time. English has only two verb tenses: present and past. The general formula for forming the simple present tense in English is:
The general formula for forming the simple past tense in English is:
The base form of a verb in English is the infinitive without the preposition to functioning as an infinitive marker.
Despite popular belief, English does not have a future tense. Futurity is, instead, expressed through modal verbs, specifically will and shall. For more information on the English modal system, please read the article English Modal Verbs.
Aspect is the expression of the temporal structure of an action or state. Aspect in English expresses ongoing actions or states with or without distinct end points. English has four aspects: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect-progressive.
Although not always identified, the simple aspect is the default aspect of the simple present and simple past tenses. The simple aspect expresses single actions, habits, and routines. For the formation of the simple present and simple past verbs, please refer to the charts in the "Tense" section.
The progressive aspect expresses incomplete or ongoing actions or states at a specific time. For example, the use of the progressive aspect in I am floating the book indicates that I started floating the book in the past and am still floating the book in the present and presumably the future. The formula for forming the present progressive is [simple present "to be" + present participle]. The formula for forming the past progressive is [simple past "to be" + present participle].
The perfect aspect expresses the consequences resulting from a previous action or state. For example, the use of the perfect aspect in I have floated the book focuses on the end result of my floating the book (my having floated the book) as opposed to the process of floating the book. The formula for forming the present perfect is [simple present "to have" + past participle]. The formula for forming the past perfect is [simple past "to have" + past participle].
The perfect-progressive aspect expresses incomplete or ongoing actions or states that began in the past and continue to a specific time. For example, the use of the perfect-progressive aspect in I had been floating the book indicates that I started floating the book in the past and continued to floated the book until a specific point in time at which I stopped floating the book. The formula for forming the present perfect-progressive is [simple present "to have" + past participle "to be" + present participle]. The formula for forming the past perfect-progressive is [simple past "to have" + past participle "to be" + present participle].
Present participles, or -ing forms, are formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form of a verb. For example, the present participles of eat and read are eating and reading. Past participles, or -en forms, are formed 1.) identically to the -ed past tense, 2.) by adding the suffix -en to the base form, or 3.) with a stem change. For example, the past participles of study, take, and begin are studied, taken, and begun.