Grammar as a phenomenon – a subsystem of language as a linguistic discipline

Summing up:


1)Temporal relations in ME are expressed by 3 categories:
TENSE – present- past –absolutely - only with finite forms -> a predicative category (proper to finite verbs)
PROSPECT – non-future – future (after-actions) – absolutely or relatively
ORDER – non—perfect – perfect (prior actions) – relatively

2) The character of action in ME is expressed by 2 categories:

- aspect – non- cont. – cont
- order – non-perf. – perf.
In Russian temporal relations are expressed by 1 category (that of tense which denoted time both absolutely and relatively)


13. The category of aspect


Aspect is a verbal grammatical category showing the way in which the action develops. It is concerned with the internal character of the event
Inflectional binary opposition:
Ask⁻ – is asking⁺

Members of the opposition are not opposed as tenses (tense is the same)/ They show different character of an action, the manner or way in which the action is experienced or regarded : as a mere fact or as taken in progress.

It is the opposition
Non-continuous – continuous
Common- continuous


Tense and aspect

Are closely connected but they are different categories revealed through different oppositions

The infinitive has the category of aspect:
To ask – to be asking But it has no category of tense => one more proof they are different.
Aspect is a language specific grammatical category.
Aspect. In English – a special morphological category revealed through the opposition of 2 gram. forms of one lex. Unit. In Rus. – the opposition of pairs of different lex. Units делать-сделать which are mainly formed by means of word-building suffixes.
The category of aspect is closely related to the lexical meaning ( Quirk, Downing, Ilyish)

Peculiarities: aspect and lexical meaning of the verb

1. 
   Dynamic ( cont. forms) VS stative (relations, perception, cognition, affectivity)
   

Dynamic: durative(walk read, write) (or unlimitive) vs limitive (close, break)
Dynamic verbs:

• 
  Activity verbs (write, do)
  
• 
  Process (grow, change, widen)
  
• 
  Bodily sensation (feel, hurt, ache)
  
• 
  Transitional event ( arrive, die, come)
  
• 
  Momentary ( hit, nod, jump)
  

With each of the subgroups the meaning of cont. forms changes and may become different from the categorical meaning of the form.
E.G. activity and process verbs in Cont. denote incomplete action;
Momentary verbs – repetition
He kicked the ball – He was kicking the ball.