perfective aspect

linguistics

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July 23, 2026

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In linguistics, the perfective aspect describes an action as complete, concluded, or having a result. This is in contrast to the imperfective aspect, which expresses an action as incomplete or ongoing.12

A related grammatical concept is the perfect tense, which refers to a completed action or state at a specific time. In some varieties of English, such as African American English and Southern American English, the form "done" can function as a "perfective done," indicating the completion of an action, often with added emotional emphasis.345

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Indo-European languages
Verbal inflection
’ The perfective aspect, traditionally called “aorist,” expressed a single, completed occurrence of an action or process—e.g., *steH₂- ‘stand up, come to a stop,’ *men- ‘think of, bring to mind.’ The stative aspect, traditionally called “perfect,” described states of the subject—e.g., *ste-stóH₂- ‘be in a standing position,’…
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’ The perfective aspect, traditionally called “aorist,” expressed a single, completed occurrence of an action or process—e.g., *steH₂- ‘stand up, come to a stop,’ *men- ‘think of, bring to mind.’ The stative aspect, traditionally called “perfect,” described states of the subject—e.g., *ste-stóH₂- ‘be in a standing position,’…
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