imperfective (adj./n.)

A term used in the GRAMMATICAL analysis of ASPECT, referring to those FORMS of the VERB which mark the way in which the internal time structure of a situation is viewed. Imperfective forms (or ‘imperfectives’) contrast with PERFECTIVE forms, where the situation is seen as a whole, regardless of the time contrasts it may contain. The contrast is well recognized in the grammar of Slavic languages.