frequentative

Frequentative is a grammatical category used to convey that an action is performed repeatedly or with high frequency. It is most commonly associated with verbs, but the idea can also appear in constructions involving other predicates in some languages. The sense of a frequentative can cover iterative repetition within a single event, multiple occurrences over time, or habitual repetition.

Realization of a frequentative varies across languages. It is typically expressed through morphological means such as affixes, reduplication, or internal vowel changes, but it can also be encoded by periphrastic constructions that use auxiliary elements or adverbs. In some systems the frequentative forms create a distinct stem or alter the aspectual character of the verb, and they may interact with tense, mood, or other grammatical categories.

Semantically, frequentatives are distinguished from related notions like iterative and habitual aspects. Iterative meaning emphasizes repeating a sequence of steps within an event, while habitual meaning indicates regular or customary actions. The frequentative foregrounds the repetition itself and can imply a higher degree of repetition or emphasis on the action’s recurrence over time. In linguistic typology, frequentatives are documented across multiple language families, and their specific realization is language-dependent, ranging from dedicated morphemes to reduplication patterns or circumstantial expressions.

See also: iterative aspect, habitual aspect, reduplication.