Download Tense vs. Aspect

2D
Verbs
2D: Tense vs. Aspect — Gaps in the Latin Verbal System
As we have seen (The Latin Verb — review sheet for 1A), the terminology that we employ when
talking about the “tense” of a Latin verb is ambiguous and confusing.
The Latin verbal system mingles two distinct elements: tense and aspect:
• tense indicates the time at which a specific action is imagined as occurring:
•
at the same time as that at which the sentence is being spoken or written: the present
•
at some time prior to that at which the sentence is being spoken or written: the past
•
at some future time, yet to occur, relative to that at which the sentence is being
spoken or written: the future
• aspect, on the other hand, concerns how the action is imagined as occurring:
•
progressive aspect:1 presents the action as on-going or in some way incomplete [a
moving picture: “I am talking to you!” “I am living the dream!” “I kept pulling on
the handle.”]
•
aoristic/aorist aspect: presents the action as a bare fact or as occurring in the blink of
an eye, with no concern for the time the action might have taken or its duration [a
snapshot: “I make model airplanes.” “She did it!” “He blinked.”]
•
perfect aspect: presents an action which was completed at some point in the past but
is viewed from the standpoint of the present, often with the sense of some enduring
result [“I have read the book (and can now answer your question).” “I have decided
what is to be done.” “You have stepped over the line, buster!”]
In theory, then, there should be nine distinct sets of forms for each Latin verb, accounting for
every possible combination of tense and aspect. In practice, however, there are not. Instead,
some forms are made to do double duty, as we have already seen.
The chart on the next page employs active forms of the verb dormio to indicate the way the
system works in actual practice.
1 Often referred to, rather unfortunately, as the imperfective aspect.
2D
Tense and Aspect in the Roman Verbal System
Tense
Present
Future
Past
Aspect
Progressive
Aorist
Perfect
dormio
dormiam
“I am sleeping”
“I will be sleeping”
dormiebam
“I was sleeping”
[dormio]
[dormiam]
[dormivi]
“I sleep”
“I will sleep”
“I slept”
dormivi
dormivero
“I will have slept”
dormiveram
“I had slept”
“I have slept”
Notes:
• forms in square brackets are being employed artificially to present a combination of tense +
aspect for which no distinct form exists
• forms in smaller print have yet to be introduced
When we refer to “the present tense,” “the future tense,” or “the perfect tense,” we are alluding
to forms that are each employed to present two distinct combinations of tense + aspect.
The “present tense” can be used to indicate the present tense of either the progressive or the
aorist aspect.
The “future tense” can be used to indicate the future tense of either the progressive or the aorist
aspect.
More confusing, the “perfect tense” can be used to indicate either the present tense of the perfect
aspect (the “true” perfect), or the past tense of the aorist aspect (its more common function).
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Further comments: considerations for later in the course (optional)
The more dominant element is aspect. Technically speaking, tense is limited to the indicative and
the imperative moods. With the subjunctive and the infinitive, in particular, the aspectual
element dominates; in the case of these forms, tense enters into the equation primarily to the
degree that the use of the subjunctive or infinitive implies some use of the indicative in a
reported speech.2
2 As we will see, there is in fact a future infinitive: it is a periphrastic formation, however, and, like the so-called
future subjunctive, is used in specific circumstances, primarily to report or suggest an original future indicative.
2D
Thus forms that are built on the progressive stem (amo, ama, amare, amabo, amabam, amem,
amarem, amato) will emphasize the on-going or incomplete nature of the action. (The principal
exceptions: the present and the future indicative [amo, amabo] when they are used artificially to
represent a non-existent tense of the aorist aspect.)
Forms that are built on the perfect stem (amavi, amavisse, amavero, amaveram, amaverim,
amavissem) will emphasize the perfect aspect. (The principal exceptions: the perfect indicative
[amavi] when it is used artificially to represent the past tense of the aorist aspect and the perfect
subjunctive employed to represent an aorist subjunctive.)3
3 Non-finite forms such as participles, gerunds, gerundives, and the supine, will be dealt with elsewhere.