Auxiliaries & Tenses
Auxiliary Verbs have important roles that the play within tenses. While these small and very common words are often overlooked, forming most tenses would not be possible without them. Understanding the two crucial roles that auxiliaries hold can improve our understanding of tenses.
There are two big facets of a tense: its time frame, and its aspect.
- The time-frame is fairly straight-forward. This is the established context expressed as Past, Present, or Future.
- The aspect is when the verb occurs in relation to the referenced time (eg. not just ‘past’, but ‘last Tuesday night’). Did the verb happen within that time (simple)? Did it happen across the duration of that time and beyond (continuous)? Did it happen or start before, but had a relevant effect during that time (perfect)?
It turns out that 1) the time frame is reflected in the very first verb of the verb string, which is usually an auxiliary verb; and 2) the aspect is expressed largely through one of the auxiliary verbs. In other words, auxiliary verbs play an essential part in both facets of tenses.
Time Frame
The very first auxiliary of a verb string reflects whether the verb is Past, Present, or Future.
Aspect
The Perfect aspect, Continuous aspect, or both are conveyed through 1) certain auxiliary verbs and 2) the form of the following verb.