ABSTRACT
In addition to the past-tense verb which, we have seen, is used to describe completed past action, and the imperfect tense, which has a variety of present and future uses, Arabic has another tense which is roughly analogous with the English perfect tense. This kind of meaning is expressed in Arabic by what is grammatically a kind of adjective called the present participle. As with the English perfect tense in sentences like 'I've broken my leg', the use of the present participle in Arabic often implies that an event which took place in the past (my breaking my leg) is still having consequences at the time of speaking (I can't play football this afternoon).
