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Aspect Property ( Concept )
http://purl.org/linguistics/gold/AspectProperty

Thing
      |_ Abstract
            |_ Linguistic Property
                  |_ Morphosemantic Property
                        |_ Aspect Property

Direct SubConcepts:

CompletiveAspect  ContinuousAspect  DistributiveAspect  DurativeAspect  FrequentiveAspect  HabitualAspect  ImperfectiveAspect  InceptiveAspect  IterativeAspect  NonProgressiveAspect  PerfectiveAspect  PhasalAspect  ProgressiveAspect  QuantificationalAspect  SemelfactiveAspect  SimultaneousAspect  TerminativeAspect  

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Definition:

The term 'aspect'; designates the perspective taken on the internal temporal organisation of the event, and different values of the Aspect Feature distinguish different ways of viewing the internal temporal constituency of the same event [Comrie 1976, 3ff], after [Holt 1943, 6; Bybee 2003, 157]. The 'event is understood here as a general term covering any situation type (a state, activity, accomplishment, achievement, etc.) as expressed by the verb phrase of the construction. Unlike Tense Feature, which expresses event-external time and is deictic, Aspect Feature is event-internal and non-deictic, as it is not concerned with relating the time of the event to any other time point.

Aspect Property is assigned to clauses on the basis of semantics: an aspect value is selected for the clause from the range of aspect values available in the given language. Aspect Property is typically realised on the verb, but it may be found expressed multiply on different elements in the same clause. It may be found on more than one element of the verbal complex, or on verbs as well as certain adverbs in the same clause.

In the given language, the values of the Aspect Property are assigned to the designated elements as a consequence of semantic choice, and all the available options of particular aspect values expressing particular aspect meanings can be described with an Aspect Assignment System for that language. Since no languages have been found for which aspect values are assigned by an Aspect Distribution System (i.e. contextually, through agreement or government), Aspect Feature is not a Morphosyntactic Property. Instead, it is a Morphosemantic Property only.

NOTE: Although the semantic basis for the Aspect Property are the distinctions identified in the internal temporal constituency of an event, aspect meanings frequently combine with tense, modal or other meanings expressing actionality distinctions. Hence, markers expressing aspect values are frequently portmanteaux realising combined TAM values.

See Also:
Surrey Morphology Group - Aspect

Properties	Values	Definition
abbreviation	Thing	The abbreviated form representing a scientific term, e.g., ACC, 2, CL.
argument	Clause	The syntactic entity about which something is predicated.
feature	Linguistic Property	The relation between a linguistic unit and a linguistic feature. A feature inheres in its host. NOTE: this relation is distinct from the hasFeature which pertains to data structures.
has Example	Thing
has Page Information	Thing
predicate	Clause	The predicate is the relation between the Clause and a portion of a clause, excluding the subject, that expresses something about the subject [Crystal 1980, 280; Hartmann and Stork 1972, 182; Pei and Gaynor 1954, 173; Pike and Pike 1982, 40; Crystal 1985, 241-242].