Aspect

Abstract

The distinction between tense and aspect can be subtle and confusing for English-speaking learners of Chinese, who tend to express concepts related to English tense by using, often incorrectly, aspectual markers in Chinese. We devote this chapter to clarifying the three main aspectual markers, namely, le (了), zhe (着), and guo (过), by first distinguishing the different characteristics of Chinese and English regarding tense and aspect. We then go over the situations when aspectual markers are used, from clear-cut cases to more complicated situations. Since le (了) is also used as a sentential particle, with distinct semantic functions and syntactic properties from the verbal/adjectival suffix le (了), we discuss the necessity and pedagogical advantage of treating them as two separate words, noting the few cases where analytical ambiguity arises. Ample examples are carefully chosen with appropriate context to make the learners appreciate each usage of the three aspectual markers. Sometimes native speakers seem to employ aspectual markers inconsistently; some even omit the markers contrary to the general rules. We discuss many of such occasions in different sections and explain how the speaker’s choice of emphasis and perspective can be understood by the presence or absence of these markers. We hope our readers, with the correct understanding, can master the aspectual markers with confidence.