User:Robbiemuffin/EnglishTAM
| Tense | Aspect | Modal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect | Progressive | ||
| LEMMA (nonpast) LEMMA-ed (past) |
<span="float:left">have LEMMA-en (perfect) <span="float:right;">be LEMMA-ing (progressive) | will LEMMA (future) | |
The difference between tense, modal, and aspect is that: tense changes the time in the phrase by inflection on the verb, modal adds an auxiliary to the verb to change the phrase (mnemonic: the presence of the auxiliary “changes the mode”), and the aspect uses both inflection and an auxiliary.
The way it breaks down is like this:
To DO
- Simple Tenses
- I did (I /do +ed/) - past tense
- I do - nonpast tense
- Other principle Tenses
- I will do - future
- I have done (I have /do +en/) - perfect
- I am doing (I /be/ doing) - continuous
And from those you can construct any frame of reference in english. For example: <span="float:left">will have been LEMMA-ing (future perfect progressive) - is made from the modal + both aspects. (And of course the modal itself is really made from the nonpast so in a sense it is nonpast tense + modal + both aspects).