Chapter Four

Aspect
4.1 Introduction
Aspect differs from tense in that it does not place an event before, simultaneous
with, or after a point of reference. Moreover, aspect is not a pointing category. It only
expresses the manner of action, whether it is continuous, complete, incomplete, or
repeated. Thus, aspect shows how the speaker views the same action as a short,
non-durative action as in Sentence 1 or as a long, durative one as in Sentence 2:
1. I went to the door and opened it.
2. As I was opening the door, I heard some music.
4.2 Aspect in English
English has two aspects expressed in its grammar by means of combination of
verb forms: the progressive and the perfective. The progressive aspect is expressed
by means of the verb 'be + -ing form'. Further, this aspect is combined with two
tenses, the past and the present resulting in the following combinations:
A. present tense, progressive aspect: I am writing, he/she is writing, you/they/we
are writing
B. past tense, progressive aspect: I/he/she was writing, you/we/they were writing
The perfective aspect is expressed by the verb 'have + p.p. The perfective aspect is
also combined with two tenses resulting in the following combinations:
A. present tense, perfective aspect: I/you/we have written, he/she has written
B. past tense, perfective aspect: I/we/you/she/he/they had written
Finally, the two aspects, the progressive and the perfective, may be combined
resulting in the perfective progressive aspect in the present or past:
I/we/you/they have been writing, he/she has been writing
I/we/you/he/she/they had been writing
In contrast with the progressive and perfective aspect, there is the 'simple aspect':
I write/wrote (simple aspect)
I am writing/was writing (progressive aspect)
I have/had written (perfective aspect)
4.3 The Progressive Aspect
In English, the progressive aspect expresses an action in progress.
3. The trees are growing fast in this place.
4. The houses were becoming old.

1
Thus, this aspect is not normally used with stative verbs such as 'know', 'see', 'be',
'seem', 'contain', etc. We cannot say the following:
5. I'm seeing you now.
6. The box was containing gold.
Uses of the progressive aspect
a. The progressive aspect combined with the present tense is used for an event
happening at the time of speaking.
7. He is eating now.
This use may be contrasted with the simple present tense which does not express an
action happening at the present moment but a repeated action or a habit.
8. He never misses a meal.
b. The progressive aspect denotes a temporary action in the past or present whereas
the simple aspect usually denotes a permanent action in the past or present. The
tense is either present or past, depending on the time of the action.
9. He was staying in a luxurious hotel. (temporary, during his visit only)
10. He lived in a luxurious house. (his permanent place of living.)
c. the progressive aspect expresses an incomplete action in the present or past
whereas the simple aspect expresses a completed action.
11. She is making a dress. (an incomplete action, the end of it is not envisaged.)
12. She made a dress. (a completed action in the past)
She makes dresses. (a habit)
Since the progressive aspect expresses an action in progress, it often provides a
frame for another short event, expressed by the simple aspect:
13. While she was cooking, the doorbell rang.
d. The progressive aspect may also express a repeated action, usually with some
unpleasant sense. The adverb 'always' or similar adverbs are normally used.
14. He was always borrowing money from his aunt.
The simple aspect, on the other hand, expresses an action in an objective manner
with an emotive, unpleasant sense.
15. He always borrows money from his aunt.
4.4 The Perfective Aspect
The perfective aspect views the event as completed. When the perfective aspect is
used with the present tense, it expresses a past action with a present relevance.
Thus, the present perfect is a mixture of past time and present relevance. By
contrast, the past tense belongs completely to the past.

2
 16. I have lost my glasses. (I cannot read.)
The perfect aspect in Sentence 16 expresses a past event which is connected with
the present time by means of its result 'I cannot read'. This event took place at an
indefinite time in the past. The definite past is expressed by the simple past.
17. I lost my glasses last night.
The present perfect may refer to a completed action connected with the present
moment, i.e. there is a link between the past and the present but this is not a
necessary implication. Here, the emphasis is on the action rather than on time link.
Sentence 19 below has two interpretations:
18. I have taught French for six years.
(a) it may mean 'I still teach French' (a link between the past and the present), or (b) I
taught French for six years at some unspecified time in the past but I no longer do so.
In (b) the emphasis is on the result of the action: I know French well. If the sense in
(a) is stressed the present perfect continuous must be used:
19. I have been teaching French for six years.
The present perfect may imply that the subject exists. The past simple, on the
other hand, indicates that the subject does not exist.
20. Mr. Hill has written an epic poem. (Mr. Hill is still alive.)
21. Milton wrote a long epic poem.
The past perfect expresses a past event that is completed before another. The
point of reference here is not the moment of speaking but a moment in the past. In
the sentences below:
22. When they arrived, everybody had left.
23. He lived in an old house which he had bought the year before.
the second action expressed by the past perfect is completed before a point in the
past denoted by the simple past.
The past perfect progressive is used to connect the event with the point of
reference in the past. It serves as a link between two points in the past.
24. He had been reading a novel when the guests arrived.
Finally, the past perfect is used to indicate a rejected condition (unlikely, unreal) in
the past.
25. If I had come to the meeting, I would have seen them.
4.5 Aspect in Arabic

3
In Arabic the same verb forms which are used to express tense are used to express
aspect. Two aspects are recognized in Arabic: the imperfect and the perfect which
are expressed by the imperfect and the perfect forms respectively, e.g. ‫ يكتب‬,‫كتب‬.
4.6 The imperfect aspect
The imperfect aspect is expressed by the imperfect form and may be connected
with the absolute present tense to indicate present time or with a relative tense
taking its time from a point in the past or the future.
Uses of the imperfect aspect:
1. The imperfect aspect basically denotes an unfinished action or state.
a. Imperfect aspect, absolute present tense
26. ‫يقرأ صديقي الرواية االن‬. (My friend is reading the novel now.)
b. Imperfect aspect, relative past tense
27. ‫زرت صديقي البارحة وهو يقرأ الرواية‬. (I visited my friend yesterday. He was reading a
novel.)
c. Imperfect aspect, present tense referring to future time:
28. ‫( سأزور صديقي غدا وهو يقرأ رواية‬I shall visit my friend tomorrow. He will be
reading a novel.)
As stated before, the imperfect aspect is used to convey the idea that an event or an
action is not completed yet. It may therefore denote a durative (progressive) event as
in 27-29 and in 30 below:
29. ‫( يعمل علي في البستان االن‬Ali is working in the orchard now.)
In the sense that something is taking place now, probably the pattern where the
subject precedes the verb is more common, as in 31:
30. ‫علي يعمل في البستان االن‬.
The imperfect aspect may also express a habit or a repeated action as in Sentence
31.
31. ‫يعمل علي في البستان كل يوم‬. Ali works in the orchard every day.
It may also express a habitual action in the past when combined with a relative tense
taking its reference from a point in the past as in Sentence 32 below:
32. ‫قال انه يسافر الى الريف مرة كل شهر‬. He said that he travelled to the countryside
once a month.
To render the past more explicit, the verb ‫ كان‬is used with the imperfect aspect:
33. ‫كانت زوجته تعمل في مخزن كبير‬. His wife was working / used to work in a large
store.

4
4.7 The perfect aspect
The perfect aspect is expressed by the perfect form, which also expresses absolute
and relative past tenses.
Uses of the perfect aspect
1. The perfect aspect with the absolute past tense may express a completed action
with present relevance (e.g. a present result):
34. ‫وصلت الطائرة االن‬. The plane has now arrived.
35. ‫انتهيت من كتابة القصيدة‬. I have finished writing the poem.
To render this sense more explicit, the particle ‫ قد‬is often used with the perfect form,
usually with the additional meaning of 'already' or 'just'.
36. ‫قد شرحت هذا‬. I have already explained this.
37. ‫لقد غادرت المكان‬. She has just left the place.
The particle ‫ قد‬is however restricted to positive statements.
38. ‫ما قد جاء‬.* He has not come.
2. When combined with a relative tense taking its reference point from the past, the
perfect aspect expresses an event completed before a point in the past. This use is
expressed in English by the past perfect.
39. ‫وصل بعد أن بدأت الحفلة‬. He arrived after the party had started.
The particle ‫ قد‬is sometimes used with the perfect aspect to express this sense.
40. ‫زرته في قريته وقد اشترى سيارة جديدة‬. I visited him in his village; he had bought a
new car.
In Sentence 40 the second verb ‫ قد اشترى‬is interpreted relatively, taking it reference
point from the first verb ‫زرته‬.
The verb ‫ كان‬is also used with the perfect to express this sense more explicitly. The
use of ‫ كان‬may or may not be accompanied by ‫قد‬. The restrictions on ‫ قد‬seem to be
connected with the verb after it, not before it. Thus, the verb after '‫ 'قد‬must be
positive; otherwise, '‫ 'قد‬cannot be used.

41. ‫عاش في بيت قديم كان قد اشتراه من عمه‬. He lived in an old house which he had
bought from his uncle.

42. ‫ُأعجب االمير بما راه النه لم يكن قد زار تلك البالد من قبل‬. The prince was impressed by
what he saw; he had not been to that country before.

43. ‫*ُأعجب االمير بما رآه النه كان قد ما رأى تلك البالد من قبل‬.

5
3. The perfect aspect may combine with a relative tense taking its reference from a
point in the future. In this case it will be interpreted as expressing an event which will
be completed before the point in the future. The particle ‫ قد‬subject to the same
restrictions and/or the imperfect ‫ يكون‬may be used.
44. ‫سأغادر هذا المكان وأكون (قد) انتهيت من عملي‬. I will leave this place when I have
finished my work.

45. 1990 ‫تكون الشركة قد أوفت بشروط جميع العقود بحلول عام‬. The company will have
fulfilled the conditions of all the contracts by the end of 1990.
4.8 Comparison of Aspect in English and Arabic
1. In English Aspect is expressed by simple verb forms (simple aspect) or by
combination of verbal elements (progressive and perfective aspects):
I go/I went/I have gone/I had gone/I am going/I was going/I have been going/I
had been going.
Arabic, on the other hand, uses one form for each of the two tenses and aspects.
Thus, the eight English combinations correspond to two simple forms in Arabic: ,‫ذهب‬
‫يذهب‬.
2. There are no restrictions on the use of aspect in Arabic. The two forms are
used with all kinds of verbs including those having a stative sense. The English
progressive aspect, on the other hand, is not used with stative verbs: *is
containing, *is knowing. It is confined to dynamic verbs: I am reading; she is
playing.
3. The progressive aspect in English and the imperfect aspect in Arabic are used
for durative actions, incomplete events, temporary actions and what is
happening (continuous actions) at a certain point.
4. The perfect aspect in English and Arabic are used for completed actions in
relation to the present moment, a moment in the past or a moment in the
future. For example:
I have come ‫ ;جئت‬he said he had come ‫قال انه جاء‬
He will have finished ‫سيكون قد انتهى‬