We have discussed a number of different uses of the perfect in various languages. What all of these various uses have in common is the fact that (all or part of) the Situation Time precedes Topic Time. As mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, this is the component of meaning which Klein (1992) identifies as the defining feature of perfect aspect.
Homework exercises
Based on the examples provided below, describe the Tok Pisin TenseAspect system and suggest an appropriate label for each of the five italicized grammatical markers (e.g. subjunctive mood, iterative aspect, etc.). These markers are glossed simply as ‘aux’. Some of these forms can also be used as independent verbs, but you should consider those meanings (shown in the section headings) to be distinct senses. Base your description on the ‘aux’ functions only. You can ignore the somewhat mysterious “predicate marker” i.a
A. bin
1. Bung i bin stat long Mande na bai pinis long Fraide.
meeting pred aux start at Monday and aux end at Friday
‘The meeting began on Monday and will finish on Friday, April 22.’
2. Asde/#Tumora mi bin lukim tumbuna bilong mi.
yesterday/#tomorrow 1sg aux see grandparent poss 1sg
‘Yesterday/#tomorrow I saw my grandparent.’
3. Wanem taim sik i bin kamap nupela?
what time illness pred aux appear new
‘When did the illness first appear?’
4. Ol tumbuna i no bin wari long dispela.
pl ancestor pred not aux worry about this
‘The ancestors did not worry about this.’
5. Ol i bin slip long haus bilong mi.
3pl pred aux sleep at house poss 1sg
‘They were sleeping in(side) my house.’
B. bai
6. Long wanem taim bai yu go?
at what time aux 2sg go
‘At what time will you go?’
7. Tumora/#Asde bai mi askim em.
tomorrow/#yesterday aux 1sg ask 3sg
‘Tomorrow/#yesterday I will ask him/her.’
8. Ating apinun bai mi traim pilai ping-pong namba.wan taim.
maybe afternoon aux 1sg try play ping-pong first time.
‘Maybe this afternoon I will try to play ping-pong for the first time.’
9. Sapos yu kaikai planti pinat bai yu kamap strong olsem phantom.
if 2sg eat much peanut aux 2sg become strong like phantom
‘If you eat many peanuts, you will become strong like the Phantom.’
C. save (short form: sa) [main verb sense: ‘know’]
10. Mipela i no save kaikai bulmakau.
1pl.excl pred neg aux eat cow
‘We don’t (customarily) eat beef.’
11. Mi save wokabaut go wok.
1sg aux walk go work
‘I always walk to work.’
12. Long nait mi slip na ol natnat i save kam long haus bilong mi.
at night 1sg sleep, and pl mosquitoes pred aux come to house poss 1sg
‘At night I sleep, and then the mosquitoes come into my house.’
13. Mipla stap lo(ng) skul, ol ami ol sa pait wantem ol man ia.
1pl.excl be in school, pl soldier 3pl aux flight with pl man here.
‘When we were in school, the soldiers used to fight with the men (rebels).’ [East New Britain dialect]
D. stap [main verb sense: ‘be, stay, remain’]
14. Ol i kaikai i stap.
3pl pred eat pred aux
‘They are/were eating.’
15. Ol lapun meri i subim ka i go i stap.
pl old woman pred push car pred go pred aux
‘The old women are/were pushing a car.’
16. Dua i op nating i stap.
door pred open just pred aux
‘The door was just open like that…’
17. Em i tisa i stap yet.
3sg pred teacher pred aux still
‘He is still a teacher.’
18. Hamas de pikinini i sik i stap?
how.many day child pred sick pred aux
‘How many days has the child been sick?’
19. Taim em i kam i lukim Dogare i sindaun tanim smok i stap.
time 3sg pred come pred see (name) pred sit roll smoke pred aux
‘When he came he saw Dogare sitting down rolling a cigarette.’
20. Bai sampela ol i toktok i stap na ol i no harim gut tok bilong yu.
aux some 3pl pred talk pred aux and 3pl pred not listen well talk poss 2sg
‘Some of them will be talking and not listen well to your speech.’
E. pinis [main verb sense: ‘finish, stop, complete’]
21. Mipela i wokim sampela haus pinis.
1pl.excl pred build some house aux
‘We [excl.] have built some houses.’
22. Gavman i putim pinis planti didiman.
government pred place aux many agricultural.officer
‘The government has appointed many agricultural officers.’
23. Dok i dai pinis.
dog pred die aux
‘The dog has died/is dead.’
24. Mi lapun pinis.
1sg old.person aux
‘I am already old.’ Or: ‘I have grown old.’
25. a. Ol i bikpela pinis.
3pl pred big aux
‘They have become big/are grown-ups (now).’
b. *Ol i liklik pinis.
3pl pred small aux
(intended: ‘They are already small’ or ‘they were small once.’)
26. Pen i stap longpela taim pinis, o, nau tasol em i kamap?
pain pred exist long time aux or now only 3sg pred become
‘Has the pain been there for a long time, or has it just started?'
27. Em i kamap meija pinis taim mipela i harim dispela stori hia.
3sg pred become major aux time 1pl.excl pred hear this story here
‘He had become a major by the time we [excl.] heard this story.’
28. a. Esra i sanap long dispela ples.
Esra pred stand at this place
‘Ezra stood on this platform (while reading the Law).’ [Neh. 8:4]
b. Man i sanap pinis.
man pred stand aux
‘The man has stood up (and is standing now).’
29. a. Wanpela diwai i sanap namel tru.
one tree pred stand middle very
‘One tree stood right in the middle (of the Garden).’ [Gen. 3:3]
b. #Diwai i sanap pinis.
tree stand pred aux
‘The tree has stood up (and is standing now).’
a Most of the examples in this exercise come from Verhaar (1985). Other data sources include: Dutton (1973); Wohlgemuth (1999); Holm (2000); Sebba (1997); G. Smith (2002); Joyce Wood and Liisa Berghäll (p.c.).
