Satu Kitan - Tense and Aspect

Tense and Aspect

Concepts of Tense and Aspect

Tense and aspect are both concepts that specify the time mentioned by a word. Tense is used to indicate a reference point on the timeline, while aspect describes how an action occurs around that reference point.

Examples of Tense and Aspect in English
Aspect / Tense	Past Tense	Present Tense
Perfective Aspect	I ate a mandarin.	I eat a mandarin.
Progressive Aspect	I was eating a mandarin.	I am eating a mandarin.

In the past tense and perfective aspect, "ate" mentions an action that occurred in the past (past tense) and covers the entire event of "eating" (perfective aspect). This is easier to understand with a diagram.

This diagram shows examples of tense and aspect for each word. For example, when you say "I start work at six." the context might mean "I usually start work at six." or "Today, I start work at six."
In Satu Kitan, tense and aspect are strictly defined and do not change meaning based on context. However, nuances not strictly defined may change depending on context.

How to Express Tense and Aspect

Tense

Satu Kitan has three tenses: past tense, present tense, and future tense, distinguished by suffixes. When both tense and aspect suffixes are attached, the tense suffix usually comes last.

Suffix	Tense	Intuitive Meaning
none	Present tense	do
ta (ta)	Past tense	did
ka (ka)	Future tense	will do

gistas: gistas; wan learned (past)

gis: gis; be learned (present)

giskas: giskas; will be learned (future)

Note that the above translations do not correspond exactly to English words.

Aspect

Satu Kitan has six aspects: perfective aspect, perfect aspect, continuous aspect, progressive aspect, completive aspect, and inchoative aspect. The rules for aspect are more complex than for tense. If a word has an aspect suffix, the aspect is determined by the suffix; otherwise, it is determined by the meaning type. Some function words define the aspect themselves, but other function words, name words, and complement words do not affect aspect.

Suffix	Process words	Result words	State words	Intuitive meaning
none	Perfective	Perfect	Continuous	do, always be
so (so)	Progressive	Progressive	Progressive	is doing
ti (ti)	Completive	Completive	Completive	finish doing
ki (ki)	Inchoative	Inchoative	Inchoative	begin doing

Some words, when used as suffixes, change the meaning type of the word, which also affects the aspect. For example, the state word "ni (ni) / always do" as a suffix makes the compound word a state word, regardless of the original meaning type.

gissos: gissos; being learned (progressive)

giskis: giskis; begin to be learned (inchoative)

gisnis: gisnis; be learned (habitual)

Note that the above translations do not correspond exactly to English words.

The Meaning of Tense and Aspect

In Satu Kitan, tense and aspect strictly determine the temporal range mentioned by a word. Process words, result words, and state words in Satu Kitan usually mention actions or states with a temporal range. This section explains the strict definitions of tense and aspect using the following symbols.

Current time in context $S$
The temporal range in which the event described by the word occurs $E = [E_{start}, E_{end}]$
The temporal range mentioned by the word $M = [M_{start}, M_{end}]$

Tense

Tense indicates where the mentioned range of a word is located on the timeline.

Past Tense (suffix ta)

M_{end} < S

The entire temporal range mentioned by the word is in the past.
Example: Yesterday, I ate a mandarin.

Present Tense (no suffix)

M_{start} ≦ S ≦ M_{end}

The temporal range mentioned by the word spans the present, extending into the past and future. This is usually used for events that end in the present or near future, or for states or properties that continue indefinitely.
Example: I am learning mathematics.

Future Tense (suffix ka)

S < M_{start}

The entire temporal range mentioned by the word is in the future.
Example: Tomorrow, I will go to Kyoto.

Aspect

Aspect expresses the relationship between the mentioned range and the entire event described by the word.

Perfective Aspect (process word, no suffix)

M = E

The word mentions the entire completed event.
Example: I walked from home to school (mentions the whole event from start to finish).

Perfect Aspect (result word, no suffix)

M = E = [E_{start}, + ∞]

The word mentions an event that starts at a certain moment and (unless otherwise specified) continues indefinitely into the future. Result words usually have a paired process word, so they can mention the state after an event has ended.
Example: The window has broken (mentions the state continuing after the breaking event).

Continuous Aspect (state word, no suffix)

M = E = [- ∞, + ∞]

The word mentions a universal event that continues from the past into the future (unless otherwise specified).
Example: Apples are red in general (mentions a timeless universal property).

Progressive Aspect (suffix so)

E_{start} < M_{start}, M_{end} < E_{end}

The word mentions a short segment cut out from the entire event. It does not specify the full temporal range of the event.
Example: He is running now (refers only to the present moment).

Completive Aspect (suffix ti)

E_{start} < M_{start}, M_{end} = E_{end}

The word mentions a short segment at the very end of the entire event. It does not specify the full temporal range of the event.
Example: He finish making a dish.

Inchoative Aspect (suffix ki)

E_{start} = M_{start}, M_{end} < E_{end}

The word mentions a short segment just after the beginning of the entire event. It does not specify the full temporal range of the event.
Example: It has just started raining.

Combining Tense and Aspect

The perfect aspect and the continuous aspect, unless otherwise specified, mention events that continue indefinitely into the future. On the other hand, the past tense indicates that the entire mentioned range is in the past, and implicitly mentions the end of the event. Therefore, when these two are combined, it means "something continued up to a certain point, but is no longer so now."

Suffixes Related to Aspect

ni (ni) / always doing

In Satu Kitan, the habit is distinguished by adding the suffix ni.
Habit may be incorporated as a "habitual aspect," but in Satu Kitan, it is treated as a continuous aspect meaning "always doing" as a property.

Other examples of suffixes that change a word to a state word include:

ge (ge) / can do
pi (pi) / should do
pipi (pipi) / must do
poni (poni) / please do

Complement Words Mentioning to Time

By using complement words and complementary objects, you can clarify the mentioned range $M$ of a word. These complementary objects take precedence over the "indefinitely continuing" property that aspect usually expresses, so you can express events with an end, such as "This house will be red until tomorrow" even when using the continuous aspect.

nav (nan) / at the time of ~

Modify a noun representing time to create an complementary object, indicating a time position included in the mentioned range $M$ of a word.

tev (ten) / until ~

Modify a noun representing time to create an complementary object, indicating the time position where the mentioned range $M$ ends. Note that tev can also indicate a conceptual or spatial endpoint, so use nastev to clarify that it mentions time when necessary.

kev (ken) / from ~

Modify a noun representing time to create an complementary object, indicating the time position where the mentioned range $M$ begins. Note that kev can also indicate a conceptual or spatial starting point, so use naskev to clarify that it mentions time when necessary.