Losam wrote:Yes, I speak Portuguese from Brazil, my native language. Maybe do you know a common concept about aspects and how they change in tenses? If I'm not wrong, basic exist:
[*]1) An action that is completed (I walked);
[*]2) An action that is in progress (I'm walking);
[*]3) An action that isn't completed but isn't in progress, something like an infinitive mode (I walk);
I need some examples of this aspects and different kinds of tenses (past, present and future to be more specific), if you don't mind of course.
In English, the simple present most often expresses
habitual aspect. This is used for actions which are expected to occur periodically. In the past tense, habitual aspect is expressed with the
used to construction. (This phrase is often pronounced as if it were a single word, i.e. /ˈjuːstə/, and treated something like a modal verb.) Other languages (e.g. Irish) express this synthetically.
[Interestingly, Irish has both a present and a past habitual as well, but it's in the exact opposite of English in having a synthetic tense in the past (i.e.
shiúlainn "I used to walk") and a periphrastic construction in the present (i.e.
bím ag siúl "I walk"; Irish English "I do be walking").]
I think that's one thing to keep in mind when creating TAM distinctions for conlangs: It's quite common to find only certain combinations of tense, aspect, and mood. In fact, having the complete set of possible combinations ends up looking really artificial. It's also not unusual to find examples of one combination having multiple uses (e.g. English present progressive expressing future as well as present continuous action, "I'm leaving tomorrow").
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons