Ongoingtense

Ongoingtense is a proposed grammatical category that marks events as in progress relative to a reference time. While closely related to the progressive aspect, ongoingtense is described by some linguists as a distinct tense-like encoding that can apply across present, past, and future. The category signals an ongoing activity whose boundaries have not yet reached completion at the reference point.

Realization of ongoingtense varies by language. Some systems use periphrastic constructions with an auxiliary plus a non-finite form, while others employ verb affixes. In theory, ongoingtense can be marked with different tenses and moods, though the inventory differs across languages. It may co-occur with negation and other aspect markers, shaping how an event's duration is interpreted.

Typologically, ongoingtense is argued to be cross-linguistically attested in diverse languages, though not universal. In languages with a strong progressive, ongoingtense often aligns with present continuous or imperfective subtypes and is distinct from habitual or perfective forms. Some languages have a single ongoingtense marker across tenses, while others distribute it by tense.

Usage and semantics: ongoingtense foregrounds durative process and immediacy to the reference time. It emphasizes the activity as ongoing rather than its endpoints and can influence discourse by highlighting actions in progress. Interactions with temporal adverbials and narrative sequencing are common when events are described as happening at a moment.

History and debate: The concept arose in discussions about separating tense from aspect in typology. Proponents argue ongoingtense captures cross-linguistic durative reference, while critics view it as potentially redundant with existing progressive or imperfective systems. As a theoretical construct, ongoingtense remains a topic of scholarly discussion.