Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Continuous Aspect

Definition: 

Continuous aspect is an imperfective aspect that expresses an ongoing, but not habitual, occurrence of the state or event expressed by the verb.

Examples: 

(Quechua)

The word -sa expresses continuous aspect, as in the following example:

  • rik''usan ‘He sees it.’ (literally, ‘He is seeing it.’)