Onvoltooid

Onvoltooid is a grammatical term used in Dutch linguistics to describe the imperfective aspect, the way a verb presents an action or state as ongoing, repeated, or not yet completed. It is not a tense by itself, but a way of viewing the event that can appear with different tenses.

In Dutch, the main forms discussed are onvoltooid tegenwoordige tijd (OTT) and onvoltooid verleden tijd (OVT). OTT expresses present or general, ongoing situations, as in Ik loop naar huis (I am walking home / I walk home). OVT expresses past, ongoing, or habitual past actions, as in Ik liep naar huis (I was walking home / I walked home). The onvoltooid aspect often conveys duration, repetition, or customary activity rather than a finished event.

Dutch also allows explicit progressive-like constructions to highlight ongoing action, such as aan het lezen (to be reading): Ik ben aan het lezen. This form foregrounds the activity in progress, reinforcing the imperfective reading.

The onvoltooid vs voltooid distinction parallels the contrast between imperfective and perfective aspect in many languages. The voltooid aspect emphasizes completion or boundary of an event, often expressed in Dutch with the perfect tenses (voltooid tegenwoordige tijd, voltooid verleden tijd), using have or be plus past participle (for example, Ik heb gelopen, Ik was gelopen). In summary, onvoltooid describes non-completed, ongoing, or habitual action, while voltooid marks completed or finished events.