How an event unfolds
Is the event in progress, finished, repeated, or connected to now?
Betekenis
The same event can be presented as in progress, complete, repeated, or connected to now. This helps show whether we are describing an action as it unfolds, a habit, or a result that matters now. Some languages use special verb forms; others have no such forms and rely on other words or context. Past, present and future places an event in time, while How an event unfolds shows how we view it.
Zo herken je het
Check whether the wording shows an event as ongoing, complete, repeated, or connected to another time, rather than simply saying when it happens.
In de taal die je leert
English uses continuous forms, built with be and the -ing form, to show an event in progress. Perfect forms, built with have and the past participle, a form such as cleaned or eaten, connect an event to a later time, often now. Simple forms can describe habits or present an event as a whole, depending on the verb and context.
Nora is cleaning the kitchen.
The cleaning is in progress now.
Nora has cleaned the kitchen.
The cleaning is complete, and the clean kitchen matters now.
Nora cleans the kitchen every Saturday.
The simple form describes a habit, not an action necessarily happening now.
Learners whose language does not mark these distinctions in verb forms may use a simple form for an action in progress. They may also use past simple, such as cleaned, where present perfect, such as has cleaned, is needed to connect an earlier event to now.