Monday, October 10, 2022

Inchoative and Durative Aspect in French

The phrase in five minutes is ambiguous. If the meaning is that the activity will last five minutes, it has durative aspect. However, if the meaning is that the activity will start in five minutes, it has inchoative aspect. The same phrase is not ambiguous in French.

In French the phrase in five minutes can be expressed in two ways. If the meaning refers to duration, the phrase is en cinq minutes. However, if the phrase refers to the moment the activity will start, the phrase is dans cinq minutes.

The sentence I will eat my lunch in five minutes is not ambiguous in French. If the sentence expresses that one will finish in a period of five minutes, the sentence is Je mangerai mon déjeuner en cinq minutes. However, if the meaning is that one will start to eat lunch in five minutes, the sentence is Je mangerai mon déjeuner dans cinq minutes.

In French phrases such as in five minutes can be expressed with two different prepositions. The preposition dans is used for inchoative aspect, and en is used for durative aspect. This is different from English, which uses the same preposition for both.

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