5.2 Aspects

There are a number of varieties of aspects in natural languages that differ considerably between the various languages. To deal with such various aspects of natural languages, the UNL has adopted the following methods:

First, the UNL provides a primitive set of attributes, such as @begin, @end, etc., that are designed to focus on the beginning and end of an event, to express each part of an event, as shown in the following figure. Aspects of natural languages that correspond to this will be expressed by the attributes individually or in combination with each other.

Figure 1 Aspects map of an event

Then, if an aspect of a language cannot be expressed by any of such attributes, an UW corresponding to it can be used. This means that for any attribute it is possible to use an UW instead. For example, “began to rain” can be expressed in both ways: using the attribute @begin, as in rain.@begin.@past, or using an UW instead of @begin, as in “obj(begin.@past, rain)”.

5.2.1 Attributes for Expressing Aspects

The following attributes are used to express aspects in the UNL by being attached to the main UW of a predicate.

@begin	Expresses the beginning of an event @begin is often used in combination with other attributes of time or aspects. “It began to work again” {unl} agt(work.@entry.@begin.@past, it) man(work.@entry.@begin.@past, again) {/unl} “The train is about to leave” {unl} obj(leave.@entry.@begin.@soon, train.@def) {/unl}
@complete	Expresses the finishing or completion of a (whole) event For example, in Japanese, the auxiliary declinable words (hojo yougen) such as “~shi oeru”, or in Chinese, the complementary auxiliaries such as “le” or “wan”, express the completion of a whole event explicitly. “kono hon wo yomi owatta” (I have read through this book) {unl} agt(read.@entry.@complete, I) obj(read.@entry.@complete, book) mod(book, this) {/unl} The Japanese auxiliary verb “~ta” can express the completion of events. For instance, “nozomi ha suteta”(I have given up hope) “benkyou sitara asobi ni itte iiyo”(you can go after you finish studying)
	In English, the perfect tense of a verb can express the completion of an event. An adverb, such as “just”, “now”, “already”, “recently” or “yet” (in a negative or interrogative sentence), is often used together. “I have done it” {unl} agt(do.@entry.@complete, I) obj(do.@entry.@complete, it) {/unl} “I have already looked through [over] the script (for the play).”[Kenkyusha:aru8] {unl} agt(look over.@entry.@complete, I) obj(look over.@entry.@complete, script.@def) man(look over.@entry.@complete, already) {/unl} “John has been reading many books this summer” {unl} agt(read.@entry.@complete, I) obj(read.@entry.@complete, book.@pl) tim(read.@entry.@complete, summer) mod(summer, this) mod(book.@pl, many) {/unl}
@continue	Expresses the continuation of an event In English, the perfect (progressive) tense can express the continuation of an event. In this case, the verb is normally a State verb, and/or with an adverbial phrase that expresses duration. In Japanese, this is normally expressed by “（zutto）~shite iru”, “~shi tutsukete iru” or “~shite iku”. ;“I have written with a special pen since 1972” [R.Quirk & S.Greenbaum 3: p60] {unl} agt(write.@entry.@continue, I) ins(write.@entry.@continue, pen.@indef) aoj(special, pen.@indef) tmf(write.@entry.@continue, 1972) {/unl} “He went on talking” {unl} agt(talk.@entry.@continue.@past, he) {/unl}
@custom	Expresses a customary or repetitious event In English “would often do” and “used to do”, and in Japanese “yoku~sita mono da”, will be expressed by @custom. If the customary or repetitious event happened in the past, @past is also necessary. “I used to visit [I would often go] there when I was a boy” {unl} agt(visit.@entry.@custom.@past, I) gol(visit.@entry.@custom.@past, there) tim(visit.@entry.@custom.@past, boy.@past) aoj(boy.@past, I) {/unl}
	In Spanish, the imperfect (“imperfecto”) form can express habitual actions of the past. “De pequenyo estudiaba mucho” (When I was a child I used to study a lot)
@end	Expresses the end or termination of an event @end focuses on whether an event is in progress or is ending. @end is often used in combination with other attributes of time or aspects. “It is about to stop raining” {unl} [W] rain.@entry.@end.@soon [/W] {/unl}
@experience	Expresses an experience In English, this is normally expressed by the perfect tense, and an adverb like “ever”, “never”, “before” or “now” is often used together. In Japanese, this is normally expressed by “~shita koto ga aru”. In Chinese, the auxiliary “guo” expresses an experience, and an adverb “ceng” or “cengjing” is often used together. In Spanish, the perfect tense (preterito perfecto) can express an experience, and a word like nunca, jamas, una vez, dos veces, muchas veces or varias veces is often used together. “Have you ever visited the place?” {unl} agt(visit.@entry.@experience.@interrogation, you) plc(visit.@entry.@experience.@interrogation, place.@def ) {/unl}
@progress	Expresses an event that is in progress In English, the progressive form of an Action Verb (koi dousi), such as “eat”, “play” and “work”, or a Process Verb (katei dousi), such as “change” and “grow”, express the progression of an incomplete/unfinished event [R.Quirk & S.Greenbaum 3: p66], @progress is used for such cases. “I am working now” {unl} agt(work.@entry.@progress, I) man(work.@entry.@progress, now) {/unl} “The colour is changing now” {unl} obj(change.@entry.@progress, color) man(change.@entry.@progress, now) {/unl}
@repeat	Expresses the repetition of an event In English, the progressive form of an Instantaneous Verb (shunkan teki dousi), such as “bounce”, and “hit”, “jump”, “knock”, “nod”, “tap”, etc. [according to R.Quirk & S.Greenbaum 3: p66 of Japanese translation version], expresses the notion of repetition which is to be expressed by @repeat. “The ball is still bouncing” {unl} obj(bounce.@entry.@present.@repeat, ball.@def) man(bounce.@entry.@present.@repeat, still) {/unl} “It is so windy that the tree branches are knocking against the roof”
	The attribute @repeat is used to distinguish the following case, as in “The ball is bouncing off the wall.”, where @progress should be used. If the concepts in both cases of “bounce” are considered to be different, @progress or @continue can be used instead of @repeat. The difference between @continue and @repeat is that the former expresses the continuation of an event, whereas the latter expresses its repetition.
@state	Expresses a final state or the existence of an object on which an action has been taken. In Japanese, “~shite aru” and rentai “~shita” are to be expressed by @state. “tokonoma ni seiji no kabin ga oite aru” (A celadon vase has been placed [stands] in the tokonoma.)[Kenkyusha:aru8] {unl} obj(place.@entry.@state, vase) plc(place.@entry.@state, tokonoma) mod(vase, celadon) {/unl} “ana no aita go en dama”(the five-yen coin with a bored hole) {unl} mod(coin.@entry, yen) qua(yen, 5) obj(bore.@state, coin.@entry ) {/unl}
	For sentences like the following, both kinds of UWs, such as “break” and “die” or “broken” and “dead”, can be used respectively. When the UW “break” or “die” is used, the attribute @state is necessary, and the relation between the UW and its object will be “obj”. Such an UNL expression describes a state that is caused by taking an action. However, the UNL expression using “broken” or “dead” expresses a state only. “It is broken” {unl} obj(break.@state.@entry, it) or aoj(broken.@entry, it) {/unl} “He is dead” {unl} obj(die.@entry.@state, he) or, aoj(dead.@entry, he) {/unl}

5.2.2 Modifiers of Attributes of Aspects

These attributes are used to modify the attributes in 5.2.1, to express a variety of aspects of natural languages.

@just	Expresses an event or a state that has just begun or ended/been completed
@soon	Expresses an event or a state that is about to begin or end/be completed
@yet	Expresses an event or a state that has not yet started or ended/been completed, together with @not.

5.2.3 Various Aspects and Possible Expressions of Natural Languages

This section shows a variety of aspects and the corresponding expressions of several languages. In this version, only a few examples are shown as possible expressions of each language. They will be enriched gradually to make the cases clearly understandable.

.@begin

Expresses the beginning of an event or a state.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/kaishi/ + verb
English	Begin to + verb
Japanese	~shi hajimaru, ~shi hajimeru
Portuguese	começar a + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	Empezar / comenzar a + verb (infinitive) Echar(se) a + verb (infinitive) Ponerse a + verb (infinitive)

.@begin.@just

Expresses an event or a state that has just begun.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/gang/ + verb + /qilai/ or /shang/
English	Have/has just began to do
Japanese	~shi hajimeta tokoro da, ~shi hajimeta bakari da
Portuguese	Acabei de começar a + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	Acabar de empezar/comenzar a + verb (infinitive)

.@begin.@soon

Expresses an event or a state that is about to begin. As the result, it does not matter whether the event or the state actually happens or not.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/[zheng]yao/ or /kuai/ + verb /[+ le or shi]/
English	Verb “to be” + [just] about to do; verb “to be” + just going to do; verb “to be” + on the point of doing
Japanese	~suru tokoro da, (masani) ~ shiyou to shite iru
Portuguese	Estar prestes a + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	Ir a + verb (infinitive)?? Estar para + infinitive Estar a [en] punto de …

Example

English : “I was about to go out when you called me.”

{unl}

agt ( go out.@entry.@begin.@soon.@past, I )

tim ( go out.@entry.@begin.@soon.@past, call.@past )

obj ( call.@past, I )

agt ( call.@past, you )

{/unl}

.@complete

Expresses the completion of an event.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	Verb + /hao/ or /wan/ or /cheng/
English	Perfect tense, finish + verb (present participle)
Japanese	~shi oeru
Portuguese	Past perfect
Spanish	Acabar de verb (infinitive);

.@complete.@just

Expresses an event or a state that has just been completed.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/gang/ + verb + /wan/ or /hao/ or /cheng/
English	[Have/has] just finished + verb (present participle)
Japanese	~shi oeta tokoro da, ~shi oeta bakari da
Portuguese	Acabar de + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	Acabar de + verb (infinitive)

.@complete.@not

Expresses an event or a state that is not (yet) completed.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/haizai/ + verb
English	The imperfect tense (?)
Japanese	mada ~ shite iru
Portuguese
Spanish

.@complete.@soon

Expresses an event or a state that is about to be finished/completed. As for the result, it does not matter whether the event or the state actually finishes or not.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/kuai/ + verb + /wan/ or /hao/ or /cheng/
English	Verb “to be” + about to finish doing; verb “to be” + just going to finish doing; Be on the point of finishing doing
Japanese	~shi oeru tokoro da
Portuguese	Estar para acabar de + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	Ir a / Estar para acabar de verb (infinitive)

.@continue

Expresses the continuation of an event.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/jixu/ + verb; verb + /xiaqu/
English	Keep / continue / go on + verb (present participle); The perfect tense (+ since-phrase), when it means that the state or habit continued, leading up to the present time, as in “he’s played at Wimbledon since he was eighteen” or “That supermarket – how long has it been open?”
Japanese	~shi tudukete iru, (zutto) ~ shite iru
Portuguese	continuar + verb (present participle)
Spanish	Seguir / estar + verb (present participle)

.@custom

Expresses a customary or repetitious event. If the customary or repetitious event occurred in the past, @past is also necessary.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/chang/ + verb /chang/ is an adverb in Chinese and is not considered as an aspect. But it is an appropriate word for expressing the meaning of “@custom”.
English	Would often (infinitive verb); used to (infinitive verb)
Japanese	yoku ~ shita mono da
Portuguese	The imperfect tense
Spanish	The imperfect (“imperfecto”) tense can express habitual actions; “De pequenyo estudiaba mucho”(When I was a child I used to study a lot)

.@end

Expresses the end of an event or a state.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/bu/ + verb + /le/, noun(event) + /ting le/, as in “bu xiayu le”(it has stopped raining)
English	stop + verb (present participle), as in “stop talking”
Japanese	~ga yamu
Portuguese	acabar de + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	acabar de + verb (infinitive)

.@end.@just

Expresses an event or a state that has just ended.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	noun (event) + /gang/ + /ting/ + /le/, as in “yu gang ting le”(it has just stopped raining)
English	Have/has just [now] + stopped verb (present participle)
Japanese	~ga yamda tokoro/bakari
Portuguese	acabar de + verb (infinitive)
Spanish	acabar de + verb (infinitive)

.@experience

Expresses an experience.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	Verb + /guo/
English	The perfect tense [+ ever]
Japanese	~shita koto ga aru
Portuguese	The perfect tense
Spanish	The perfect tense (preterito perfecto: haber + verb (past participle)) [+ nunca / jamas / una vez / dos veces / muchas veces / varias veces / … ]

Example

“I have been there once”

{unl}

agt(visit.@entry.@experience, I)

gol(visit.@entry.@experience, there)

{/unl}

.@progress

Expresses an event that is in progress.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	/zheng/ and/or /zai/ + verb
English	To be doing (progressive form)
Japanese	~shite iru (tokoro da)
Portuguese	Estar + verb (present participle)
Spanish	Estar + verb (present participle)

Example 1

;“I was working”

{unl}

agt ( work.@entry.@progress.@past, I )

{/unl}

Example 2

;”This road is under construction”

{unl}

obj ( construct.@entry.@progress, road.@topic )

{/unl}

.@repeat

Expresses the repetition of an event. For example, the progressive form of an instantaneous verb (shunkan dousi) such as “hit”, “jump”, “kick”, etc., generally means the repetition of an event, which is to be expressed by @repeat.

.@state

Expresses the lasting effects or final state of the object because of some event that has occurred.

Languages	Possible expressions of each language
Chinese	Verb + /zhe/, as in “qiangshang guaizhe yi zhang huair”(a picture is hanging on the wall)
English	Verb “to be” + verb (past participle), as in “a picture is hanging on the wall”
Japanese	~shite aru, ~shi ta (rentai form of verb), as in “ana no aita go en dama”(the five-yen coin with a bored hole)
Portuguese	ter + verb (past participle)
Spanish	Estar/haber + verb (past participle)

The expression UW.@state can frequently be replaced by an adjectival UW. For instance, the sentence “It is broken” can be represented in both the following ways:

{unl}

aoj ( broken.@entry, it )

{/unl}

{unl}

obj ( break.@state.@entry, it )

{/unl}

In the first UNL expression, the UW “broken” is used, whereas the combination of “break” and “@state” is used in the second one. Both are considered to be correct for the sentence “It is broken”.

In this case, deciding which UNL expression to use will depend on the design of each language EnConversion. A point to note is that the relations used in both UNL expressions are different. “aoj” should be used for an adjectival UW concept and “obj” should be used for a verbal UW concept.