Discourse and time-span contrasts
See how aspect organises narrative, background, duration, and time-to-completion.
Perfectives often advance a narrative through bounded events. Imperfectives commonly provide background, habit, process, or duration.
- два часа делал = worked for two hours; completion is not asserted.
- за два часа сделал = completed it within two hours.
- The same real-world event can be construed differently.
Mini-check
Which phrase profiles completion within a time limit?
Why this matters
Aspect can change discourse structure even when two sentences refer to broadly similar events.