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I will argue that the perfective aspect in English is expressed by perfect
(and not by simple past, which is a tense). When I say, "Elsie has walked in
the garden," what I make visible is the the end of the action. We know that
the action had a beginning, and we know that it progressed over some time, but
only the end is made visible. This is the perfective aspect.
The English aspectual system is very simple. The opposition is uncompleted/completed, and when the imperfective aspect is used (present participle) we know that the action was not concluded at reference time (at the small area of event time that we make visible for the audience). And when the perfective aspect is used (perfect) we know that the action was completed at reference time.
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