What is Aspect in English grammar?

Aspect is a construction in
English grammar (not every language has aspect) that (1) relates to the passage of time
and (2) identifies whether actions (occurrences, events, states of being, etc) that take
place in time are completed or incomplete and continuing: If they are incomplete, they
are said to be continuing. There are four aspects in English. The first is
Indefinite Aspect, also called Zero or Simple
Aspect. In Indefinite Aspect, the action of the verb has no relation to the
passage of time; the verb is in its simple form (hence, Simple Aspect) and shows that an
action, etc. did or did not happen: I ate. She walks. He will not come. They do not
go.

The second aspect is Perfect
Aspect. It is important to know how to form Perfect Aspect and what
passage, or flow, of time this aspect indicates. First, it is formed with the auxiliary
verb have (have, has, had) plus the
-ed or
-t past participle of an infinitive
verb (regular or irregular, e.g.,
gone, arisen):
e.g., climbed, combed, went, spent. It may indicate the flow of time as past (had
climbed), present (have combed), or future (will have gone or will have
spent).

Perfect Aspect indicates a passage or flow of time
in which something occurred in the past and is completed, yet that past occurrence was
before another point in time: I had combed the cat before the Cat Show last week. I have
climbed Mt. Fuji before today. I will have spent more by next month than I spent last
year. This indicates a past occurrence in reference to a fixed point in time: e.g., last
week, today, last year.

The third aspect is
Progressive Aspect. It is formed with the auxiliary verb
be (be, is, was, am, are) plus the
-ing present participle of an
infinitive verb: e.g.; climbing, combing, going, spending. It too may indicate the flow
of time as past (was climbing), present (am combing), or future (will be
going).

Progressive Aspect indicates a passage or flow of
time in which something is in the process of occurring, so the event, etc. is not
completed. It indicates a condition of continuance: I was climbing the ladder when you
phoned. I am combing the cat for the show this afternoon. I will be going to the cinema
on Saturday.

The fourth aspect is Perfect
Progressive and is a complicated one because it combines both Perfect
Aspect and Progressive Aspect. It is formed by combining the auxiliary verbs
have and
be plus the
-ing present participle of an
infinitive verb. An example of Perfect Progressive associated with past tense is “had
been climbing”; associated with present tense, “have been combing”; associated with
future construction, “will have been going”.

Perfect
Progressive indicates that a continuing occurrence progresses to a certain past,
present, or future time. The action is incomplete and continuing until that certain
time: I had been climbing all morning when the storm broke (past: continuing until the
storm interrupted). I have been combing the wool all morning and still the basket seems
full (present: continuing indefinitely). I will have been going to Arthur Murray dance
classes ten years come May (future: continuing to a specified future date of completion,
May in this case).

Tenses in English are named for their
combination with aspects. Tenses locate events on a timeline from past to future, while
aspect says whether the event is ongoing or finished and states the event’s relationship
to other times and events in time: e.g., the cat show, the storm, the upcoming May,
today, last week, etc.