Re: THEORY: tense and aspect nomenclature (was Re: Verb tenses question)

Tom Wier wrote:
>
> Clinton Moreland-Stringham wrote:
>
> > > Muke Tever wrote:
> > >
> > > > I need a name for the verb tense that denotes an action that is beginning,
> > > > in the same way that the 'perfect' tense denotes an action that has finished
> > > > and the 'progressive' tense denotes one that is continuing.
> >
> >     Inchoative.
>
> Although I realize this is the more commonly used term, I am a little uneasy with
> it. I feel like, at least as far as my English grammatical usage goes, the form
> does not connote "beginning" of the action except perhaps obliquely.  To me,
> "about to go" and "going to go" aspectually describe a situation in which the
> action has not *yet* begun.
>
> Does anyone else get this feeling too?
>
        Me too, and that's how I learned it. For me, "going to" is future, with
a connotation of near future (like "aller" + inf. in French) and "about
to" is a very near future, something that will happen in the next five
minutes. "Prospective" seems rather right for "going to", but I would
try to find another word for "about to".

--
        Christophe Grandsire

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