What do “simple,” “continuous,” and “perfect” mean in English verb tenses?

In English verb tenses, the words “simple,” “continuous,” and “perfect” describe the aspect of a verb. Every English verb has a tense and an aspect:

• The tense tells you if it happened before now (past), during now (present), or after now (future).

• The aspect tells you other information, like how it happened, how long it happened for, or when it happened compared to something else.

The aspect determines which auxiliary verb (be, do, have ) you use while the tense determines which form (past, present, future) you use. For example:

In this post, we’ll look at how to form verbs by combining tense and aspect and how verb aspects help us describe events. Now, let’s get into the words “simple,” “continuous,” and “perfect”!

To identify the aspect of an English verb, all you need to do is look at the auxiliary verb:

Remember that most English verbs are expressed in two parts: an auxiliary verb (or “helping verb”) and a main verb (which describes the action or situation). For example:

• Jim has forgotten his keys.
• Did you clean your room?
• She is reading a book.

In English, the aspect affects the meaning of a verb by adding time detail to the basic English verb tenses.

• The tense gives us three categories

  1. past (before now)

  2. present (during now)

  3. future (after now)

• The aspect of a verb allows you to answer question like:

  • For how long did it happen?

  • When did it happen compared to something else?

  • Did it finish?

  • Is it a habit?

  • Did it repeat?

  • …and more!

In each tense, the aspect gives you more information about when and how something happened. The chart below can give you a quick idea of how this works in all three tenses (past, present, future). The links in the chart will bring you to more complete explanations of how to use each form.

As you can see, each aspect is a little different in each tense, but do you notice any patterns across the tenses? Here are some general observations about the sorts of time details each aspect gives you in all English tenses:

• The simple aspect is usually used for situations that are settled (true, decided, or finished).

  • I always have coffee at breakfast.

    This is true.
  • I saw a good movie yesterday.

    This is finished.

• The continuous aspect is always used when actions or situations continue for a period of time. Generally the period of time will overlap with another important moment in the same tense.

  • Jimmy is playing in the yard.

    this action continues during the present moment
  • Lawrence was hugging the cat all night (last night).

    this action continued during a past moment

• The perfect aspect is usually used to talk about an action or situation that sets things up for a later situation. The tense of a verb in the perfect aspect depends on when the later situation is/was.

  • Mark has taught English for three years.

    he began teaching in the past and is important for the present moment because he still teaches
  • I had met John before the party started.

    I met John before the party started, and so that was important for how I acted or felt when I saw him at the party

In this article, we have learned some of the key traits of verb aspects in English:

• A verb’s aspect is important for forming English verbs and for understanding exactly when, for how long, and how an event took place.

• When you build an English verb:

  • Each aspect is associated with an auxiliary verb and a main verb form.

  • The tense tells you which form of the auxiliary verb to use.

• There are three main verb aspects in English:

  • Simple aspect

    • Auxiliary do

    • Usually for situations that are settled, finished, true, or planned

  • Continuous aspect

    • Auxiliary be

    • Mostly for actions or events that happen over a period of time

  • Perfect aspect

    • Auxiliary have

    • Mostly for things that happen before another time in the same tense and that are important at that second time

As you begin to understand and use verb aspects with verb tenses, your English will become more detailed. When you combine these correctly, you will be able to tell your listener both when and how long an action took place.

Want to put your new understanding of verb aspects to work? Check out the verb activities we’ve prepared for you! Or, review what you’ve learned with the printable versions of our verb aspect charts.