Present and past systems

There are three binary systems underlying present and past realis:

. perfective aspect (pe)/imperfective aspect (im)

. actual aspect (ac)/previous aspect (pr)

. present tense/past tense

The combinations of these generate eight possibilities, (with realizations for 3rd person masculine, feminine or neuter singular subject):

These three parameters will be discussed one at a time. Then the difference in meaning between previous perfective present (has -en) and actual perfective past (-ed) will be explained and illustrated.