Aspect

Many verbal stems have inherent aspect, which denotes how the verbal action extends through time. This Grammaric is related to tense, but it is not quite the same. Compare for example:

• Peter goes to the city (simple present).
• Peter is going to the city (present continuative).
• Peter has gone to the city (perfective).

In all three cases, the verb itself is in the present tense (goes, is has), but the three examples convey a different perspective on how the action extends through time, relative to the present. According to Nielsen [8], many verbal bases inherently belong to one of the following aspectual categories:

• Static aspect denotes a state of being; e.g. mikivoq, 'he is small'. Static stems have static aspect.
• Imperfective aspect denotes an action, event or process that extends over a period of time or is on-going; e.g. oqaluppoq, 'he speaks/spoke'. Some dynamic stems have this aspect (events, and the atelic ones) have this aspect.
• Perfective aspect denotes a completed action or event with the Subject as Agent for the action; e.g. tikippoq, 'he is come/he has arrived'; ilikkarpaa, 'he has learnt it'. Some dynamic stems have this aspect (punctual, and also some transitional, when the focus is on the state after the action).
• Resultative aspect denotes a (telic/directed) completed action with the Subject as Patient for the action; e.g. peerpoq, 'it is/was removed'. Resultative stems have resultative aspect.

Several affixes can also modify the aspect, cf. the Verbal modifiers (Vb-mod) category. Nielsen [8] cites a classification of these aspectual affixes into 9 different sub-categories:

• Perfective aspect denotes that the action or event is completed. This can be marked with V{-riiq}V and V{sima}V, if this is not inherent in the verbal stem.
• Static aspect denotes a state of being. This can be marked with V{ŋqa}V, and (non-productively) also with V{-ŋa}V and V{-(u)ma}V, if this is not inherent in the verbal stem.
• Terminative aspect denotes the termination of an action. This can for example be indicated with V{yuknaiq}V and V{ssaiq}V.
• Ingressive aspect denotes the beginning or onset of an action. This is especially indicated with V{-liq}V.
• Semelfactive aspect denotes an action, process or state that happens once, in a single instant. This can for example be indicated with V{-riaq}V and V{-(j)allak}V.
• Progressive aspect denotes an on-going changing process. This can for example be indicated with V{(gi)jaqtuq}V in the 'more and more' sense.
• Continuative aspect denotes a continuous, on-going action or situation. This can also be a continuously recurring/repeating action. It can be expressed with V{juaq}V.
• Iterative/habitual aspect denotes a habitually repeated/recurring action; i.e. it is not continuously repeating, but it happens more than once. This is especially marked with V{ðaq}V, and also with the less productive variant V{ðarə}V.
• Repetitive aspect, like the iterative/habitual aspect, denotes a repeated/recurring action, but which is continuously repeating, like a sequence of (uninterrupted) repeating events. This can be indicated with V{-qattaaq}V.