Point of View & a Joke

In language, Aspect reflects the speaker's point of view. In my ??book - pun intended - Future and Passive are also Aspects, just like Continuous, Simple and Perfect. Intrigued how that works? Let's start with a joke...

You've probably heard this joke before: Past, Present and Future walked into a bar. It was tense. Maybe you smiled or laughed, or thought it was a bit silly. Explaining jokes is never a good idea, but how about an analysis? It's all about Aspects, about point of view.

Past, Present and Future walked into a bar. It was tense.

No wonder it was a tense situation. The way I see it, Future had no business walking into that bar in the first place. Future ís a bar, as are Simple, Perfect and Continuous. Past and Present subject forms are their thirsty customers.

Just think about it

Future, Perfect and Continuous are adjoining establishments with interconnecting doors, allowing them to join forces and cater for various occasions, a.k.a. compound tenses. Simple, however, is a stand-alone waterhole. And all may get a Passive makeover once in a while.

Why is Simple a stand-alone tense? Just think about it: how come you'll find (forms of) the helping verbs be, have and will in compound tenses that combine two or three Aspects, but never a form of do? Apparently, other Aspects cancel out Simple.

Keep it clear

Simple stands alone. Other Aspects may combine to form more complex constructs, like the (Present) Perfect Continuous. All compounds may show the Continuous Aspect. No compound includes the helping verb to do.

Why should that matter? It clearly points at Simple being the opposite of complex/compound – not of Continuous – which makes a grammatical term like *present perfect simple rather dubious. So it matters for clarity and avoiding confusion. Food for thought, especially when naming and explaining tenses. Keep it clear.

SHARE, like, and comment if this resonates with you

???? Hi, I'm Leon, and I help English language teachers discover how a ONE RULE approach to grammar ?EMPOWERS them & their students, ?SAVES TIME better spent on serious fun with the language, and ?BOOSTS motivation & results. ONE RULE, to rule them all...