Difference between revisions of "Aspect"
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| − | Chinese does not use the concept of formal tenses. Instead, it employs what is called "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspect grammatical aspect]." Because Chinese does not have tenses, the question, "''how do you form the past tense in Chinese?''" is non-sensical. The real question is, "''how do you refer to events in the past in Chinese?''" You do this through ''aspect'', not tense<ref>See Sinosplice.com: "[http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2009/11/19/aspect-not-tense Aspect, Not Tense]"</ref>. | + | Chinese does not use the concept of formal tenses. Instead, it employs what is called "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspect grammatical aspect]." Because Chinese does not have tenses, the question, "''how do you form the past tense in Chinese?''" is non-sensical. The real question is, "''how do you refer to events in the past in Chinese?''" You do this through ''aspect'' in Chinese, not tense<ref>See Sinosplice.com: "[http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2009/11/19/aspect-not-tense Aspect, Not Tense]"</ref>. |
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| + | == Aspectual Particles == | ||
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| + | Aspect is expressed in Chinese through several key particles (click through for more information on each): | ||
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| + | # 了: | ||
| + | # 过: | ||
| + | # 着: | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 09:04, 28 February 2011
Chinese does not use the concept of formal tenses. Instead, it employs what is called "grammatical aspect." Because Chinese does not have tenses, the question, "how do you form the past tense in Chinese?" is non-sensical. The real question is, "how do you refer to events in the past in Chinese?" You do this through aspect in Chinese, not tense[1].
Aspectual Particles
Aspect is expressed in Chinese through several key particles (click through for more information on each):
- 了:
- 过:
- 着:
References
- ↑ See Sinosplice.com: "Aspect, Not Tense"
