Chapter 14 Verbs and time
Aspect: views of an event
Tense locates an event. Aspect chooses the view a clause takes of it.
| Particle | Gloss | View | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
si | IPFV | in progress | mia si theo. I am reading. |
ki | PFV | complete at the reference time | mia ki theo. I have read. |
pa | INCH | beginning | mia pa theo. I begin to read. |
te | CESS | ending | mia te theo. I stop reading. |
ro | HAB | customary across occasions | mia ro theo. I read regularly. |
Only one aspect may appear in a clause. If an account needs two views, it needs two clauses.
si: in progress
si presents the event from within while it is underway:
shia si meliho. — They are singing.
The sustained s can continue as long as the breath does, a physical mnemonic for the progressive view. The particle says neither that the action is temporary nor that it will finish. It simply catches the present stretch.
Habit does not use si. An action occurring now and an action characteristic across many occasions are different claims.
ki: complete at the reference time
ki presents the event as a completed whole at the time established by tense:
shia ki meliho. — They have sung.
The complete closure and quick release of k give the word a clipped contour that can help memory. Completion need not mean success, natural conclusion, or praise. It means that the event is presented as complete.
Bare ki means "have done," to ki "had done," and so ki "will have done."
pa: beginning
pa places attention on entry into an action or state:
mia pa theo. — I begin to read.
The lips close and open abruptly, an embodied mnemonic for onset. pa does not say whether the beginning was deliberate, sudden, or successful.
te: ending
te presents an action or state as it ceases:
shia te meliho. — They stop singing.
Ending differs from completion. A person can stop reading halfway through a book, so te theo need not imply ki theo. The particle also leaves cause open: someone may choose to stop, be interrupted, or simply reach a point where the event ceases.
ro: habit or characteristic pattern
ro presents recurrence across separate occasions:
shia ro meliho. — They sing regularly.
The tap may recur and the trill already does, which gives the whole form a useful mnemonic for return. ro reports a pattern without turning it into identity, virtue, or permanence. A former habit takes to ro; a future recurring arrangement takes so ro.
Aspect lets two speakers describe the same activity differently without either changing the verb. One may catch the singing in progress, another its ending, and a third the custom of singing at dusk. The choice says which view the clause takes.