The
imperfective (
abbreviated or more ambiguously ) is a
grammatical aspect used to describe a situation viewed with interior composition. The imperfective is used in language to describe ongoing, habitual, repeated, or similar
semantic roles, whether that situation occurs in the past, present, or future. Although many languages have a general imperfective, others have distinct aspects for one or more of its various roles, such as
progressive,
habitual, and
iterative aspects.