Re: Aspect revisited
| From: | Gerald Koenig <jlk@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, November 16, 1998, 0:00 |
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>From: Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
>Subject: Aspect revisited
>To: Multiple recipients of list CONLANG <CONLANG@...>
>Status: RO
>
>Okay, as I understand it, inceptive refers to begining, yes? E.g., "he
>began to run". What is the opposite of this called? That is, "he
>stopped running".
hi, nick,
If it is fair to rephrase it as "he (has/had) stopped (his) running",
it would meet the condition for a perfective: the use of a form of
"have". If I diagram it in Vector Time Tense it comes out as a
perfective if the time of stopping is known or definite (constant, ke
or j); and as an imperfect if the time of stopping is unknown
(variable, zu) and was allowed to slide along the timeline to finish
at an unknown moment. "Imperfect does not connote completeness of
action at any specific time"- JBO.
It seems like an ambiguous tense.
And yet I'm still not sure if I am correct in this.
Jerry
And yet I'm still not sure if I am correct in this.
Jerry