without explicitly naming time periods.

它不直接地說出動作發生的時間

By instead, modifying verbs to specify when action occurs.

反而，藉由改變動詞形式，詳明何時發生

So how many different tenses are there in a language like English?

像英文這樣的語言中，有幾種時態呢？

At first, the answer seems obvious:

似乎無須多想

there's past,

那就是，過去式、

present,

現在式、

and future.

和未來式

But thanks to something called grammatical aspect,

不過，文法中所謂的「時狀」

each of those time periods actually divides further.

可將這三種時態細分為更多種

There are four kinds of aspect.

「時狀」有四種

In the continuous or progressive aspect,

「進行式」

the actions are still happening at the time of reference.

表示動作正在發生

The perfect aspect describes actions that are finished.

「完成式」表示動作已經完成

The perfect progressive aspect is a combination,

「完成進行式」

describing a completed part of a continuous action.

表示動作進行之中，已完成的部分

And finally, there's the simple aspect,

最後，是「簡單式」

the basic form of the past, present, and future tense

它是過去、現在、未來式的基本型

where an action is not specified as continuous or discreet.

使用於動作不在進行中，或沒有詳細說明

That's all a little hard to follow, so let's see how it works in action.

這樣講有點難理解，所以我們就舉個例子來說明

Let's say your friends tell you they went on a secret naval mission

假設你的朋友告訴你，他們秘密執行了一個海洋任務

to collect evidence of a mysterious sea creature.

為了要蒐集神秘海生物的蹤跡

The tense sets the overall frame of reference in the past,

顯示整體的時間設在過去

but within that, there are many options.

但在事件中，發生了很多不同事

Your friends might say a creature attacked their boat,

你的朋友可能會說，有生物攻擊了他們的船

that's the past simple, the most general aspect,

這是「過去簡單式」，最粗略地表達大概的時間位置

which gives no further clarification.

沒有說明更詳細的時間點

They were sleeping when it happened,

如果說，是當他們睡覺時，攻擊的

a continuous process underway at that point.

用進行式，表達某事持續發生時，另一件事情發生了

They might also tell you they had departed from Nantucket

他們也可能告訴你，他們已經從南塔克特島出發了

to describe an action completed even earlier.

描述更早之前發生的事情

That's an example of the past perfect.

這是個「過去完成式」的例子

Or that they had been sailing for three weeks,

或者，他們已經航行三周了

something that was ongoing up until that point.

描述到過去某時間點為止，持續進行的事情

In the present, they tell you that they still search for the creature today,

他們告訴你，當今他仍在搜尋

their present simple activity.

用「現在簡單式」

Perhaps they are preparing for their next mission continuously as they speak.

他們這麼說時，也許他們同時也正在準備下次的任務

And they have built a special submarine for it, a completed achievement.

而且，他們已經建造了一艘特製的潛水艇

Plus, if they have been researching possible sightings of the creature,

如果說，他們已正在研究潛在的目標生物

it's something they've been doing for a while and are still doing now

說明這是已經開始，並仍在進行的事情

making it present perfect progressive.

所以要用「現在完成進行式」

So what does this next mission hold?

那下次要進行甚麼任務呢?

You know it still hasn't happened because they will depart next week,

他們下周才要出發，所以還沒開始進行

the future simple.

這是未來簡單式

Your friends will be searching for the elusive creature,

你朋友將搜尋著罕見的生物

an extended continuous undertaking.

一個持續進行的任務

They tell you the submarine will have reached uncharted depths a month from now.

他們告訴你，一個月後潛水艇將會下探至，無人未及的海深

That's a confident prediction

說話者很有信心地預測

about what will be achieved by a specific point in the future,

在未來某個時間點，他們經航行三周後

a point at which they will have been voyaging for three weeks

將會達成的事情

in the future perfect progressive.

用「未來完成進行式」

The key insight to all these different tenses

要了解這不同「時態」的關鍵是

is that each sentence takes place in a specific moment,

清楚每個描述的事件，發生在哪個時域

whether it's past, present, or future.

是過去、現在，還是未來？

The point of aspects is that they tell you as of that moment

要知道「時狀」，就要清楚動作

the status of the action.

發生時的狀態

In total, they give us twelve possibilities in English.

英文總共有 12 種表示時間的方法

What about other languages?

那其他語言呢？

Some, like French,

法文、

Swahili

斯瓦希里语、

and Russian take a similar approach to English.

和俄文，採用類似英文的方法

Others describe and divide time differently.

其他語言則用不同的方法，來表達和切割時間點

Some have fewer grammatical tenses, like Japanese,

有些的文法時態比較少，像是日語

which only distinguishes past from non-past,

它只有過去式和非過去式

Buli and Tukang Besi,

布里語和圖康伯西語

which only distinguish future from non-future,

只有未來式和非未來式

and Mandarin Chinese with no verb tenses at all, only aspect.

而中文完全沒有動詞時態，只有時狀

On the other hand, languages like Yagwa split past tense into multiple degrees,

另一方面，雅瓜語得過去式分別有多種時段

like whether something happened hours, weeks, or years ago.

像是發生在幾小時前、幾周前、或幾年前

In others, tenses are intertwined with moods that can convey urgency,

還有其他語言的時態和語氣息息相關，可傳達事件的緊急性

necessity,

必要性

or probability of events.

或可能性

This makes translation difficult but not impossible.

這不易於翻譯，但並非不可翻

Speakers of most languages without certain tenses can express the same ideas

即便使用多數不具特定時態的語言，還是可以藉由

with auxiliary words, like would or did,

助動詞，像是 would 或 did

or by specifying the time they mean.

或是詳述時間點，來表達事件發生的時間

Are the variations from language to language

這些語言之間的差異

just different ways of describing the same fundamental reality?

只是表達同一基本事實的不同方法嗎？

Or do their diverse structures reflect different ways of thinking about the world

還是，他們多樣的文法結構反映著，對世界、乃至對時間

and even time itself?

不同的思維模式呢？

And if so, what other ways of conceiving time may be out there?

如果是這樣，還可以用甚麼方式，來表達時間呢？