The Continuous Aspect Be + present participle (verb-ing) The continuous aspect is expressed with the auxiliary (pomoćni) be and the present participle – ing form of the verb. Depending on the time of the action, we use the past (was, were), present (am, is, are) or modal + infinitive (e.g. will be) form of be. The continuous aspect focuses on the duration of an eve nt. It expresses that the action was, is or will be in progress at a specific point of time or over period of time. The point o f time may be defined by a time expression (now, at 5 o’clock yesterday, this time tomorrow) or a clause (when I came home, when I come home). For the period of time, we can also use a time expression (all day yesterday) or a clause (while she was reading).
Examples of the continuous aspect: you you enjoying yourself? (now) yourself? (now) A r e At 9 o'clock, I was sitt in g on on the train. When I came home, he was sl . sl eepi eeping ng She must be waiti ng for for me. (now) me. (now) Rob was hi kin g all all day yesterday. While she was r eadin g , Bill was worki ng on on the computer. In January, I 'l' l l be living at at my brother's.
The Perfect Aspect have + past participle
The perfect aspect is expressed with the auxiliary have and have and the past participle form of the verb. Depending on the time of the action, we use the past (had (had ), ), present (have, (have, has), has), modal + infinitive (e.g. will have) have) or -ing (having (having ) form of have. have. The perfect aspect focuses on the completion of an event. It expresses ex presses that the action had, has or will have been completed by a specific point of time. This point of time may be defined by a time expression (by (by 5 o'clock ) or a clause (by (by the time you get home, when I arrived ). ). Examples of the perfect aspect: I ' ve li ved here here for ten years. (from years. (from 10 years ago until now) ved By 5 o'clock, he had fi ni shed the the letter. (at letter. (at some time before 5 o'clock) hed When I arrived, they h ad already already left . (at some time before I arrived) you seen my new bike? (at bike? (at any time up to now) Have I wil l h ave done the ironing by the time you get home. (between home. (between now and when you get home) He mi ght have misse the the train. (at train. (at some time before now) missed
the wrong turn, he ended up in a dangerous neighbourhood. (he turned before he H avin g taken found himself in a dangerous neighbourhood)
The Perfect Continuous Aspect have + been + verb-ing
The perfect continuous is not considered as an aspect in itself; it is rather the combination of the perfect and continuous aspects. It is expressed with the auxiliaries have and been (the third form of be) and the (present participle) -ing form of the verb. Depending on the time of the action, we use the past (had ), present (have, has) or modal + infinitive (e.g. will have) form of have. The perfect continuous expresses that the action had, has or will have been in progress for some time at a specific point of time. This point of time may be defined by a time expression (at 5 o'clock ) or a clause (when she gets home). Examples of the perfect continuous: I ' ve been wai ti ng for this moment all my life. (from when I was born until now) He' s been i roni ng his shirts. (from some time in the past until now) By 2005, George had been l ivi ng in Scotland for 20 years. (from 1985 to 2005) When Mary gets home, Kevin will h ave been sleepin g for hours. (Kevin’s sleep lasting from some point of time before Mary gets home until she gets home) I woul dn' t have been sitting there if I hadn't had to. (from some time in the past until a later time in the past)
