imperpektibo

Imperpektibo, or imperfective, is a grammatical aspect used in Filipino (Tagalog) and related Philippine languages to indicate that an action is not viewed as completed within the reference time. It broadly covers actions in progress, habitual actions, and states described as ongoing or durational rather than punctual. Imperfective contrasts with perfektibo (perfective), which treats events as completed or bounded in time.

In Tagalog, imperfective meaning is expressed through various markers and can appear across different tenses. Examples include present imperfective forms such as nagbabasa ako ng libro, meaning I am reading a book, and habitual forms such as palagi siyang nagbabasa tuwing gabi, meaning He always reads every night. The context, time expressions, and sentence structure help signal whether the action is ongoing, habitual, or simply repeated.

Because Tagalog verb morphology is diverse, the exact marking of imperpektibo depends on the verb class and voice. Commonly, affixes like nag- or -um- appear in imperfective constructions in many verbs, but not all verbs take the same pattern. Time adverbs (ngayon, kahapon, dati) and aspect markers work together with the verb to convey imperfective nuance.

See also: Perpektibo, Tagalog grammar, Filipino language.