Aspect

Revision as of 14:03, 13 July 2010

Aspect is a category used to indicate the temporal internal structure of an event.

Natural language

In the UNLarium, aspect may assume the following values:

Perfect and perfective are different aspectual values

perfective = seen as completed (He ate the apple)

perfect = seen as relevant to the present (He has eaten the apple)

Aspect values may be combined through "&"

I am eating = PGS

I have been eating = PGS&PSS

Examples

• perfective (PFV): He ate an apple
• progressive (PGS): He is eating an apple
• habitual (HAB): He eats apples.
• iterative (ITE): He has been eating apples for years
• experiential perfect aspect (EXP): He has never eaten an apple
• perfect of persistent situation (PSS): He has been eating that apple since yesterday
• perfect of recent past (PRP): He has just eaten the apple
• perfect of result (RES): He has eaten the apple
• prospective (PPT): He is about to eat the applet
• inceptive (ICP): He starts to eat the apple
• terminative (TER): He finishes to eat the apple

UNL

In UNL, aspect is to be represented by attributes indicating the temporal internal structure of the event.

Aspect values may be combined.

I start to eat = eat.@inceptive

I'm starting to eat = eat.@inceptive.@progressive

Examples

• @continuative: I'm still eating the apple.
• @experiential: I have already eaten an apple
• @habitual: I eat apples.
• @imperfective: I was eating the apple (when she came).
• @inceptive: I start eating the apple.
• @iterative: I ate and ate the apple.
• @perfective: I ate the apple.
• @progressive: I'm eating the apple.
• @prospective: I'm about to eat the apple.
• @terminative: I finished eating the apple.

List of verb forms:

• English verb forms
• French verb forms