ABSTRACT
We experience events and situations from various points of view and these points of view are often incorporated into our description of the events and situations. We look back on events we have experienced and we look forward to events that may happen in the future. Some things that are true seem to be always so, others true just temporarily. We see some events just beginning and some situation just coming into existence and other events and situations coming to an end. Some events are viewed as over and done with at a particular time, others still continuing and the continuity may be a matter of constant status or constant change. The expression of all these viewpoints is called aspect. Aspect is both grammatical and lexical; it is expressed in verb inflections and collocations of verbs: cf. It's beginning to break, It's breaking, It broke, It's broken. Expression of aspect may also appear in certain adverbs and in the choice of referring expressions. He is not here yet and He is no longer here communicate the same fact but the two utterances incorporate different viewpoints. Diana arrived tells of a single event; People arrived may relate one event or a number of events.
