LIETUVIŲ KALBOS GRAMATIKOS TYRINĖJIMAI

LIETUVOS TSR MOKSLŲ AKADEMIJA

MEANINGS AND USE OF COMPOUND PERFECT TENSES OF THE VERB

N. SLIŽIENĖ

Compound perfect forms of the verb have a specific meaning that differs from that of simple forms. Admittedly, simple past forms are persistently encroaching on the domains of use of some compound perfect forms, for example, the present and the simple past, but compound forms are nevertheless still fairly numerous and widely used.

The aim of this article is to shed light on the use of compound perfect forms of the verb. Since the meanings and use of the perfect forms of the subjunctive mood have already been discussed¹, and forms of the imperative and optative moods are quite rare, this discussion will be confined to perfect forms in the tenses of the indicative mood.

Since past participles are often used with the same meaning as compound perfect forms, examples of them will also be provided in certain cases².

§ 1. Compound perfect forms of the verb denote a resultant state achieved through an earlier action and continuing at a particular moment in the present, past, or future.

Compound perfect forms differ from simple verb forms in their relative-resultative meaning. Actions expressed by perfect forms are associated with two time planes: the process of the action belongs to the earlier time plane, while the resultant state achieved through that action belongs to the later one. Actions expressed by simple forms generally belong to only one time plane. Simple forms express an action that is taking place, took place or has taken place, or will take place or will have taken place; perfect forms express an action that has already taken place or occurred earlier but is no longer ongoing; at the moment of speaking, or at another moment selected by the speaker, only the resultant state achieved through that action remains. This difference in meaning between simple and compound perfect forms may be regarded as aspectual, with aspect understood

¹ See N. Sližienė, “Meanings and Use of Compound Perfect Forms of the Subjunctive Mood,” “Kalbos kultūra,” 11, Vilnius, 1966, pp. 40—45.

² On past participles used with the meaning of compound perfect forms, see N. Sližienė, “The Structure of Compound Verb Forms in the Lithuanian Literary Language,” in: The Grammatical Structure of the Lithuanian Language, Vilnius, 1967, pp. 78—79.

2 Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos tyrinėjimai

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in the broad sense³. This distinction has nothing to do with the Lithuanian verb’s imperfective and perfective aspects; consequently, both imperfective and perfective verbs have perfect forms, just as they have simple forms.

When simple and compound perfect forms are used alongside one another, the latter denote an action earlier than the former. Perfect forms indicate not only that an action has been completed and is no longer in progress (i.e., that it has a certain aspectual meaning in the broad sense), but also express temporal relations between actions. They are very often used to express the temporal relations between the actions of a main clause and a subordinate clause. In such cases, their relative temporal meaning becomes apparent.

§ 2. Compound perfect forms of the indicative denote a directly experienced resultant state that is present, past, or future. In mood meaning, they do not differ from simple forms of the indicative.

Compound perfect forms of the indicative, like simple forms, have four tenses: present, past frequentative, past single, and future. Of these, present and past single perfect forms are used most frequently.

Present tense

§ 3. Compound perfect forms of the present tense denote a resultant state achieved through an earlier action and continuing at the moment of speaking.

Present perfect forms of perfective verbs most often denote a specific resultant state continuing at the moment of speaking, achieved through an earlier action perceived as a specific, simple act.

Where the barns stood, there are now ruins; a smell wafts from those ruins: many living creatures have burned here. SimonR I 151. That lad has ridden across the level little field. JD 101. A certain opinion has even taken hold: wherever Muštokas comes, misfortune strikes. SimonVK II 25–26. – And what word have you given them? – another priest asked him. BalčHP₁ 25. They have already spent four hundred thousand pounds on that war, and still, they say, no profit is in sight. SimonVK I 75. Could it be that they have quarreled over something? MairRR II 96. I am so exhausted, Maryn; our grey cow calved tonight. SimonVK I 305. – So you have made up your mind for good? Kukienė asked her husband after their son had left the cottage. KrėvRg 124.

That tale has been written for those people who, having invented false reasons for themselves, kill innocent people. DaukRR 293. I have been sent by our commander, the Grand Master, to the lord of this castle. KrėvP 216. You are under arrest! VienR V 328. Look how many rolls of cloth have been stuffed into the attic… ŽemR I 377.

A meaning of a specific resultant state is not characteristic of forms of imperfective verbs.

³ In discussing aspect in Bulgarian, J. Maslov noted that the differences in meaning between the aorist and imperfect, as well as between the perfect and imperfective, are also aspectual if aspect is understood in the broad sense; see Ю. С. Маслов, Глагольный вид в современном болгарском литературном языке, in: Вопросы грамматики болгарского литературного языка, Москва, 1959, p. 157–158, 162, 164–165. In languages that do not have imperfective and perfective aspect forms, compound verb forms such as the perfect and pluperfect are regarded by some linguists as simply aspectual; cf. И. П. Иванова, Вид и время в современном английском языке, Изд-во ЛГУ, 1961, p. 106–143.

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Someone has spent the night in the clover here—the place where they lay down is still there. Plt (LKŽ III 714). There is a great deal of courage in your words, more than I would have expected from someone like you; therefore I was not offended, and I shall answer you. KrėvP 202.

Present perfect forms usually denote an action that precedes the present-time reference point, that is, other actions taking place in the present. However, time adverbials in the sentence may also indicate its exact or at least approximate time.

Gugis wants to remember what bad thing he has done over the years, but cannot remember anything except that he was drunk. KrėvRg 234–235. The Žuvėdai have marks on their rocks that show that over 1,000 years the Žemaičių Sea has receded by several cubits. DaukRR 156. The threads have wound into knots while being spun. Lk LKŽ III 752). Perhaps once [Gugis] knew them (the prayers), but long ago he has forgotten everything. KrėvRg 231.

§ 4. Present perfect forms of imperfective verbs most often express a generalized resultant state, attained through an action in the indefinite past. That past action is usually generalized; it may have occurred many times or not even once.

Both Šimonis’s father and his father’s father have passed this on to their children, generation after generation.

SimonR I 32. Long ago the valley between the Kistynas mountains had also seen happy times—and very happy ones at that. VienR I 12. — “And your grandfather, I have heard, says something quite different: if it weren’t for the Germans, we would have no highways, railways, churches, or schools today,” Anskis reminds Martynas Vilkas. SimonVK I 90. — “Could it be that you, daisia, have seen a lynx?” Geišė asked, now genuinely surprised. VaižgDD 34. Mother has told me: ‘Be careful, child!’ ŽemR I 109.

I have had that one dance with me several times. Krš (DAK).

Negative present perfect forms are very often used with this meaning.

Whether we perish or triumph, our glory will be greatest, and the most beautiful songs about us will be composed by bards—songs our fathers have never yet heard, songs our ancestors have never yet listened to. KrėvP 210. It seems no one has ever yet seen a cowardly Lithuanian—well, then, let us be oaks. SimonVK I 338. [Joniukas] would like to ask Antanas, but does not dare: after all, he has never ridden before. BilR I 161.

Present perfect forms of perfective verbs are also used to express a generalized resultant state, but much less often.

“It’s all the same to me, let’s say,” said the fearsome Mikas. “I’ve helped more than one person like that out of trouble, and I’ll help you too.” BalčHP, 265. Oh! She has said such things to her mother that probably no mother could forgive. SimonVK II 229. Has any mishap (misfortune) ever happened to you? Pln (LKŽ I 143).

It has been observed that when two bodies are rubbed against each other, one becomes charged with one kind of electricity and the other with another. BaršF 5. I, too, have been robbed, living out in an isolated homestead. Šts (LKŽ V 368).

In all these cases, present perfect forms clearly denote an action in the indefinite past and only weakly express the resultant state achieved through it. In many cases, the meaning of state is so faint that one can say that present perfect forms denote an action in the indefinite past that is relevant to the moment of speaking. This, apparently, is why J. Jablonskis, when discussing this meaning in his 1901 grammar, made no mention at all of a resultant state. He wrote: “The transitive perfect tense, formed—

2*

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that of the past-tense verb and the linking word esu, esmi, further indicates that an action has happened at some time, perhaps several times; when a person recounts such events, they are not speaking of one particular, known event, but showing that there may have been several such events in their life, or that there may never have been any⁴.

Context sometimes shows that an action expressed in a generalized way by present-perfect forms took place in the recent past.

He has already forgotten what has happened today, what he has done, what he has carried, where and from where, who has helped, dropped by, or given orders; several times the tūūnas has shouted at him: “Mykoliuk, run!” VaižgDD 9.

Active-voice present-perfect forms are used most often to express a generalized resultant state. Passive forms (mostly impersonal ones) occur rarely.

§ 5. Past participles used with the meaning of present-tense compound perfect forms most often denote a specific resultant state.

Severja began looking for an opportunity to justify herself to him, only she did not know why, or how, she had sinned. VaižgDD 53. Can you hear how concerned the good people are about us? LzPR I 399. Otherwise, turn the book over: you have not taken it the right way. Grž (LKŽ I 135).

They asked, dear mother: “Where are the little shirts sewn?” JD 481. Here every stake of ours has been driven in, every section of fence put up, every house hewn by our own hands from new timber… VaižgDD 83.

Such participles rarely express a generalized resultant state reached through an action in an indefinite past.

You will find, too, that our lord was once a lackey of that sort at the king’s court abroad. LzPR II 90.

Years passed, centuries slipped by; many wounds have been healed! Even the people of the greatest culprit no longer remember the wrongs. MairRR I 171.

Past-tense passive participles in the neuter are used somewhat more often to express a generalized resultant state, especially those that do not have a passive-voice meaning.

But that is not interesting; what is interesting is that this place has been walked by that man, who now belongs to another woman, and Ilžė came to help that other one. SimonVK II 122. The beloved fields keep appearing in dreams, where we grazed, where we plowed. GirR II 287.

In some cases, past participles with perfect meaning are used more often than present-tense compound perfect forms. For example, in creating an artistic picture of the present, only past participles are most often used.

Jonas is stretched out face down by the stove on a bench; there is little room for him, so he has raised his legs up along the wall to his knees; at the other end, his head extends beyond the bench. ŽemR I 86. Here the paliepiai mushrooms are spread across the forest floor, here puffballs bulge like hummocky meadows, here brown mushrooms sprout in clusters beneath the spruces, here green milkcaps grow from the frost in the pine forest, here rosy, bluish, gray russulas sit huddled together, cheerful, growing beautifully, with nothing to worry about. BaranAŠ 5. Houses without windows or doors; the roofs of others torn down, walls pierced by cannon fire, timber frames ripped apart, not a trace of the fences left. VienR I 293.

⁴ Žr. J. Jablonskis, Rinktiniai raštai, t. I, Vilnius, 1957, p. 102.

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In these cases, past participles very clearly denote a resultant state.

§ 6. Present perfect forms formed with the present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb būti ‘be’—esti, būna, būva—usually denote a resultant state achieved through the same action on more than one occasion or recurring regularly.

The flocks that have flown in are already paired off, and these pairs soon disperse. IvanLP II 75. The women, to tell the truth, are very gačnios here: in church they are usually dressed in strupkės, with kvaldotomis around them, and in brightly dyed skirts, very high. ValPJ 26. An ash tree usually grows in dense thickets. Grk (LKŽ III 575).

In acute trachoma, the entire surface of the cornea is sometimes covered with tiny opacities, as if sown with them. AvižATD 19. Old authors state that if the nest is built in a tall tree, the female carries the young down to the ground, holding them in her beak. IvanLP II 71.

In the context of the generalized present tense, this meaning is also possible when the auxiliary verb forms esu, esi, yra… are used.

But when you need to, when you are in trouble, you have forgotten everything, and you can wander about safely until cockcrow… And when the rooster crows and you come to your senses, you are usually already near your home; it turns out you have been wandering outside the gates all night. Sometimes you are even led as far as the cemetery. SimonR I 93. As long as current flows through the rod connecting the conductors of an electrical machine, with one conductor positively charged and the other negatively charged. BaršF 29.

§ 7. Having a relative-resultative meaning, present perfect compound forms usually stand in relation to simple present forms (as well as passive compound forms denoting an action in the present): the perfect forms denote an action that precedes all the actions continuing at the time in question, while the resultant state achieved through that action is simultaneous with them.

The whole Aužbikai area is still asleep or has not yet gone out to the fields. VaizgDD 59.

I cannot help; I get nothing from home myself, I have been expelled from school and will now hardly be able to make a living; and on top of that, there are debts, and I have no acquaintances. BilR I 90.

Like perfect forms in other tenses, present perfect forms are quite often used to express temporal relations between the actions of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

“Uncle Tautrimas said…” “But Anskis either no longer knows, or does not want to explain what Uncle Tautrimas has said.” SimonVK I 89. The hen clucks as though she has laid an egg. Rg (LKŽ V 42). So take the tools that have been made for that purpose, and quickly shovel out the pleasantly fragrant manure. DonR 49.

Apparently he is quite drunk, since he is staggering along. Vyr (LKŽ V 448).

In certain cases, present perfect forms are used in subordinate clauses even when the main clause contains simple forms in the past or future tense rather than the present.

However, when I began to unpack in the new place, I saw that the buttons had already been here. BaltPV₁ I 36. Soon Mykolas received word that his mother had not been left alone to her fate, that there was someone to care for her, and this reassured him completely. VienR V 197. She would always tell him a great deal about his late mother and about how much good she had done for her. BalčHP₁ 230. How many wounded have you gathered, your homeland will ask you. SNėrP₁ 309.

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In such cases, the predicate of the main clause is a verb denoting speech, thought, mental states, or physical sensations (said, thought, knew, was worried, felt, saw, and so on), or a word group serving as its equivalent (there was talk, received word, came to mind, and so on). The semantics of these words allow the narrator to define the time of the action not in relation to their own, but to the character’s moment of speaking. Here, the moment of speaking is shifted into the past or the future; thus, present perfect forms are used figuratively. Simple present-tense verb forms are used in a similar way (e.g.: I thought that he was asleep)⁵.

Sometimes present perfect forms occur both in the main clause and in a subordinate clause attached to it. In such cases, the perfect forms themselves do not indicate the temporal relationship between the actions; this becomes clear only from the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Grėtė is silent; she does not explain that if she had been here, she would have given both money and horses to take [someone] to the hospital; no, she is not boasting, for in her life she has never boasted even about what she really has done well. SimonVK II 395. Have I ever told you that I found a huge mushroom? Lnkv (DAK).

§ 8. Present perfect forms are most often used objectively, i.e. they generally denote a resultant state that in fact continues at the moment of speaking (see all the examples given above). Sometimes, however, the resultant state expressed by present perfect forms does not in fact continue at the moment of speaking. This is the subjective use of present perfect forms.

In certain cases, most often as a warning about possible future troubles, present perfect forms denote a resultant state that does not yet exist at the moment of speaking but is anticipated in the future. To emphasize their conviction that the anticipated resultant state is certain, speakers present it as a fact of the present and therefore use present perfect forms. In such cases, past participles without an auxiliary verb, carrying the meaning of present compound perfect forms, are most often used.

Just be careful, I tell you, be careful! For if even one little spark lands on the roof, we’re done for! SimonR I 157. You’ll fall into their clutches—you’re done for. Jrb (LKŽ II 386). God forbid you get an irritable girl—you’re done for! Užv (LKŽ I 263). You can meet a person every day, but a gentleman’s favor lasts only up to the gates… before you know it, you’re out… the gentleman will drive you out in his great kindness… ŽemR II 69. Whatever her tongue catches, that is already lost, that is already doomed. She lashes about with bloody tongues and swords: “Whoever’s in the way is lost!” She coils herself into rings. “Make a little fire,” one advises her, “throw a bundle of flax into it—and the trouble is over!” SNėrP₁ 452.

Here, present perfect forms retain their usual morphological meaning; the speaker simply imagines for a moment that the future situation is already present.

Usually, an action expressed by present perfect forms has ended before the moment of speaking and has left only its consequence—the resultant state. Sometimes, however, the context shows that it is still continuing at the moment of speaking.

“But when the second one comes along, everyone starts cursing everyone!” Lėnė wants to justify herself. “The townsman curses the peasant, and the peasant curses the townsman. I suppose it’s been that way since time immemorial.” SimonVK

⁵ Plg. Z. M. Думаюте, Значение и употребление простого настоящего времени глагола в современном литовском литературном языке, автореферат кандидатской диссертации, Вильнюс, 1961, р. 5–6.

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1167. You, Šaltaičiai, have always been intelligent people; even the government itself knows about your intelligence and wisdom. And it knows that no one can turn your heads so quickly. Simon VK I 70. Although the people gather year after year, each in the same little patch of land, the world nevertheless remains just as full as it has been since ancient times. ŽemR I 149.

The speaker regards the fact that the action is continuing at the moment of speaking as something already known to the listener; the speaker merely wants to emphasize that the action has always occurred before as well, so that the listener can conclude that, if things have been this way until now, they must be this way now too. Thus, here too, what is foregrounded above all is the earlier action, whose consequences are relevant at the moment of speaking.

Negative present perfect forms are often used to emphasize the exceptional nature of the present action and the situation as a whole.

How happy her face is! The Queen has never seen Gretė’s face like that before. SimonVK II 175. Oh, young man, what words of yours! I have never heard any like those before. KrėvP 120. But Joniukas is cheerful and happy; he rides around all day long, singing his song at full voice all day long, although the plough constantly jolts his body and shakes his lungs in his chest, although his throat hurts and he is hoarse. But he sings so they will take him for another ride, because he has never ridden before. BiiR I 162. [Jasius] (hands it over) Here’s a letter for you. [Petras] A letter? For me? [Jasius] You see… [Petras] (having taken the envelope, holds it and looks at it) I’ve never received a letter before… BinkRn 342.

By using negative perfect forms, the speaker says that the action has never taken place before; consequently, its taking place now is unusual and exceptional. Here too, the emphasis is on the absence (non-occurrence) of the action in the past, which is relevant at the moment of speaking.

Like the simple present forms, the compound present perfect forms are used when vividly recounting past events. A resultant state that lasted in the past is depicted as if it continued at the very moment of speaking. In these cases, past participles are used predominantly without an auxiliary verb.

Petras swung his scythe as if it were a feather and walked far out in front of everyone… And the farmer came bounding along behind. Petras had already cut a swath and was standing at the end of the field, while the farmer had only just begun to swing into the rhythm… BaltPV I 103–104. The organ murmured softly, and a hymn rang out from many lips. Gretė had lowered her eyes again, as if a great weight were pressing down on her. SimonVK I 258. The Queen started; someone had touched her shoulder. But no, no one. Not one of the children had moved from their places yet. Only Vilius, turned around, was looking at her with wide eyes, then at the sick man. Marikė had already quietly sat down by the foot of the bed. Martynas was still kneeling… There was a creak, and the room door opened gently. SimonVK I 154. The child was no longer crying, but only moaning like a grown person suffering great internal pain. Everything had already been tried; every kind of medicine, possible and impossible, had been given, and nothing, nothing helped. SimonVK II 101.

§ 9. In meaning, compound present perfect forms are somewhat close to simple past forms, since both express a past action. The main difference between them is that an action expressed by simple past forms usually belongs solely to the past and is not connected with the present, whereas compound present perfect forms express a past action connected with the present, whose resultant state is part of the present-time frame. Simple forms are used to recount past events that occurred one after another in sequence or simultaneously; together they constitute a past situation and do not—

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extends beyond its bounds. Narrative function is not characteristic of compound perfect forms. They denote a past action, as if forcibly torn from the plane of past time, isolated from other past events and connected with the present. Cf.:

After dinner Anskis did not rush outside to run, like Vilius and Marčiukas. He went into the large room to finish his schoolwork. Sitting down, he plugged his ears, closed his eyes, and several times, occasionally glancing at the book, read something in German. “I know it already,” he finally exclaimed, pleased. He put the books back into the bag, hung the bag on the bed leg, and, standing up, stretched. SimonVK I 83.

Look, the weeds are still green even in autumn. Is it out of laziness? Oh! Left to themselves, “neglected” by an unintelligent or inefficient person—or rather, left undisturbed—they have long since raised two offspring apiece and have now begun on a third. That is quite another matter! They are not at all sad that they will no longer reproduce: they have more than fulfilled their task, and have provided for the future of their species so well that it will not die out. VaižgDD 60.

Simple forms of the past frequentative tense are generally used in a past-tense context, while compound perfect forms of the present tense are used in a present-tense context.

§ 10. Used in a particular speech situation or context, simple forms of the past frequentative tense can also denote a past action connected with the present. The connection with the present is most pronounced when some consequences of that action remain; therefore, simple forms of resultative verbs most often have this meaning.

Where did you learn to speak like that, brother, and gain so much courage? When you were alive, it seemed you were not worth three kopecks, but now you speak as if you were chewing a turnip. KrėvRg 273. But just imagine what your Anė is like! Tell me, what has she become? She is no longer a daughter of the Šalteikiai at all. SimonVK I 30. So he’ll just take an axe to them?! Why? We haven’t done anything bad to him... we don’t even know anything... BaltPV₁ I 67.

With other verbs, the connection with the present of a past action expressed by a simple form is harder to grasp.

Don’t urge him, lad; your father won’t drink from the little glass the witches drank from. KrėvRg 78. — Tomorrow it will be clear, and it will stay clear for a long time. — How can you know? Have you spoken with God? Pikči lingis laughed. KrėvRg 110. Don’t forget Lakštingala, in case anything happens. Since yesterday the poor thing hasn’t been... CvR III 218.

Although in such cases the meaning of simple forms of the past frequentative tense is very close to that of compound perfect forms of the present tense, they nonetheless always differ in a certain nuance: compared with compound forms, simple forms convey the connection of a past action with the present much less strongly. When simple past frequentative forms are alternated with present perfect forms, some past actions may be connected with the present less strongly, and others more strongly.

“An egg doesn’t teach a hen, and don’t you teach me,” the man retorted sharply. “When I made up my mind, I did so only after thinking it through with God’s help.” KrėvRg 120. — “We have already made an agreement with Kuogis’s Kazys,” the son insisted. “Once I’ve said it, you have to obey your father without arguing,” Kukis shouted. “I don’t care who you made an agreement with without asking me.” KrėvRg 123–124.

Nevertheless, the connection with the present of past actions expressed by simple forms of the past frequentative tense is often so pronounced that they could, if desired, be replaced with compound perfect forms of the present tense. Cf. the simple forms of the past frequentative tense and the compound perfect forms of the present tense in the following examples:

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— From what I can see, today you’ve either borrowed a dog’s jaws, or perhaps smeared yourself with henbane! — the man waved his hand and went to the barns. KrėvRg 67.

Friends, what are you saying, really?! Have I deserved such an honor, poor me… CvR IV 295. I have enough courage to confront your rulers, and enough to punish you two properly for insulting me with an unkind word, as you have deserved. KrėvP 222.

— So he’s had a good time, — a woman’s voice rang out in the crowd. — A real old man!.. KrėvRg 217. He is so drunk he can barely walk. Krtn (LKŽ VI 271).

Only when it is necessary to emphasize especially the surviving consequences of a past action are compound perfect forms in the present tense used. Usually, in such cases, they express a permanent resultant state and are most often used to state scientific laws and eternal truths.

Electrons can easily be separated from the atom; from this it is naturally inferred that they are concentrated in the outer part of the atom. BarsF 171. Milk, in which globules of fat are suspended, can serve as an example of an emulsion. MatKCh 9. Adsorption phenomena are extremely widespread in nature and technology. MatKCh 172. I will mention some figures to you, and I am convinced that they will not seem dry and boring to you (tsp).

A recurring, habitual resultant state achieved through an earlier action is also expressed only by compound perfect forms in the present tense.

By the beginning of winter, the couples have already formed. IvanLP II 70. It grows cooler, and Rapolienė brings the argument to a close almost with a prayer, if Rapolas has gone out by then. VaizgRR I 133. When I am frightened, I see fire even in my sleep. Bsg (LKŽ I 462). Her baked cakes are always risen and nicely puffed up; they are a pleasure to look at. Vvr (LKŽ VI 361).

§ 11. Just as compound perfect forms in the present tense, so too simple forms of the past simple tense can, in a particular context, express not only a specific but also a generalized resultant state. The difference in meaning between the simple and compound forms mentioned above also applies in these cases. Compare both forms in the same context:

Wait, godmother, don’t complain yet! The old butcher is a good man; he has never done anyone any harm. At least, I haven’t heard of it. KrėvRg 67. — You, I know, say: “The old butcher is a wizard”—but what kind of wizard am I? I’ve heard many old-time accounts, made use of them, and often guessed the truth—that’s all there is to my being a wizard! — So you’ve also heard from people of old that a person cannot guess his own fortune and therefore suffers? — No, why should I lie? Maybe I’ve heard that, maybe I haven’t. I haven’t thought about it. KrėvRg 110. Hasn’t the district official admonished us like a father and forbidden us to shoot guns on the manor lands? And how many times have the priests scolded us while saying Mass. DonR 100–101.

Compound perfect forms in the present tense have a more pronounced generalized meaning than simple forms of the past simple tense. When several actions from an indefinite past are mentioned, some more generalized, others less so or occurring only once, the former are generally expressed with compound forms, and the latter with simple forms. Compare:

Now you can’t go anywhere anymore, neither into the yard nor into the garden: “Wipe your feet!” she shouts. And you run off in fright… Did I treat my know-it-alls that way? Have I ever done an injustice to anyone at all? SimonR I 379. — Tell me, brother, what good have you done for the Lord Jesus while living on earth, that you now wish to enter heaven? — What good have I done, you ask, holy apostle? I tended the little animals well, loved all people, the birds, the groves, the sun, and the green meadows, and in loving them I worshipped God, for it is so beautiful and good to live in his world. KrėvRg 274.

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You won’t frighten me, old wolf that I am... I’ve seen less than all sorts of things during the last war. I’ve seen blood in my lifetime. VenciR III 356. It goes without saying that I’ll tell you what I myself have heard. And what I want to tell you really did happen once. BalčHP₁, 245. More than once, while I was still at home, people here have drowned their little horses. And once I nearly drowned here myself. SimonR I 311. — Why, you yourself drank at some wedding or other while living on earth. Or have you forgotten? — Drinking is all very well, but I did no harm to anyone by it; I merely gave pleasure to the hosts and the newlyweds. — And have I ever harmed anyone by drinking, tell me, Saint Peter? KrėvRg 266. Now someone is whispering in my ear that once you struck a certain Arius in public, in front of everyone, across the face, simply because he said things that you bishops very much disliked. But I have never beaten anyone. KrėvRg 271.

In addition, there are cases in which simple forms of the past frequentative tense are used alongside compound perfect forms of the present tense, in order to emphasize particularly that an action in the indefinite past really did take place.

— That’s what people say, but who knows whether anyone has actually seen the little devil, the guest argued. — How can it be that no one has seen him? she herself retorted... — Not only has someone seen him, but, you see, he even spoke up. ŽemR II 430. You think, my child, that I’ve never been young, never liked girls, never loved? Oh, how I did love them! KrėvRg 97. — Tell me, brother, surely you’ve never harmed anyone? Kukis asked again, as if replying to his own thoughts. — How could I not have⁶? I may have harmed many people, but I neither thought about it then nor do I think about it now. KrėvRg 259.

Thus, to express a past action connected with the present, speakers use not only compound perfect forms of the present tense, but also simple forms of the past frequentative tense. Although their meanings in these cases are very similar, they nevertheless differ in a certain nuance: compound perfect forms have a more pronounced meaning of resultant state, whereas simple forms of the past frequentative tense have a more pronounced meaning of past action. Since the connection between a past action expressed by simple forms and the present becomes clear only from the context or speech situation, it is sometimes more evident and sometimes less so. Consequently, the meaning of these forms in some cases comes closer to that of compound perfect forms, and in others less so.

Speakers often deliberately use one form or another, wishing to emphasize to a greater or lesser degree the connection between a past action and the present. Sometimes, however, simple forms are used instead of compound forms without any clear motivation.

Past Frequentative Tense

§ 12. Compound perfect forms of the past frequentative tense denote a resultant state attained through an earlier action and lasting before the moment of speaking. The resultant state they express is usually concrete.

Juras bent down to better support Monika’s head and shuddered: the cold had already risen through her joints. CvR VIII 235. With his sinewy hands, Tamošius had gripped the German’s neck like a pair of pincers and had almost completely twisted it off his shoulders. LzPR II 117. Having dropped the fireman’s lantern, Norbert stretched. For some reason

⁶The auxiliary verb būti ‘to be’ is used here elliptically—without a participle.

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had stabbed him in the back a couple of times, but the thick padded coat provided little impediment. Gud-Guz KIT 241.

In the cart sat the master’s little son Jonukas, who had somehow been squeezed in; without properly cracking the whip, he prodded the horses with the whip handle and even leaned forward, shouting at them: “Come on, come on, come on!” VienR I 284. Look at the barns where our treasures had been stored—now they stand empty, and all the food is gone. DonR 37.

The pluperfect forms of the past simple tense express generalized resultant states less often than the present-tense forms do; moreover, the clear meaning of an action in the indefinite past is also less characteristic of them.

Although Prakapas had heard about the sea pigs, he had never seen them before then. CvR III 57. The parish priest had read about such freaks of nature in scientific books. VenclR III 42. They had spoken like that long ago. CvR VIII 222. And there was, you know, an old professor of ours—very gray-haired, small, but he had shown us a lot of heart. VenclR III 285. For almost his entire life, Rapolas had scarcely done any work. VaižgDD 83.

They knew that not one of them would return from the battlefield, and perhaps for that reason they recalled once more what had been discussed and discussed again hundreds of times. VienlR III 324.

§ 13. Pluperfect forms stand in relation to the simple past forms (as well as to compound passive forms expressing a past action). The pluperfect forms denote an action that precedes the past actions marked by the simple past forms, while the resultant state achieved through that action is simultaneous with them.

But Madlikė had not heard what the young mistress said; she had certainly stopped sweeping and completely forgotten Grėtė, because Martynas was standing by the window in the room with little Einiukas in his arms. SimonVK II 11. The senior monk looked back as he rose and was astonished: far away to the south, great fires could be seen in several places, and a broad red glow had filled the entire horizon. VienR I 32.

Pluperfect forms are very often used to express the temporal relations between the actions of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

Lowering his voice, Ignotas began asking questions, and Kirs­tukienė whispered to him everything that had happened at the goods station. Gud-GuzKIT 180. The womenfolk offered to escort the village lads, since the herald had invited them too to the feast. DonR 66. Only the installation of the brewery continued, because all the machines had already been delivered. VienR V 403.

When I turned around, he had already run away, and I could see only his shadow racing along the walls. BalčHP 1 47. It was already beautifully dark when we returned. Nmn (LKŽ III 547). Maldutis had already grasped the thought he was searching for when suddenly someone coughed again behind him. VienR I 248.

§ 14. When used in a present-tense context or in direct speech, pluperfect forms often acquire a distinctive shade of meaning: they denote a resultant state achieved by an earlier action, which lasted for some time in the past and was then brought to an end.

Right, I had forgotten: look, he told you to hand over this silver. VaičRn 176. It turns out that that convict rebel, Mykolas Jonaitis, had turned up here at our estate again… VienR V 344. The woman rushed out to meet her and boasted: “The rye harvest had come, so I had already given her all the bacon and skilandis.” Žž (DT). Had you

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dozing off? SruogR III 414. When everyone had sat down, Ignotas began asking one thing and another about Petriukas: where he grazed and whether he had come home, about the health of the household, about life, about bread. Gud-GuzKIT 53. You understand yourself that we live on a volcano. It has already erupted more than once and caused us all considerable fear. VienR V 496.

The meaning of the perfect forms here is the same as in the preceding examples: they denote a resultant state achieved by an earlier action and lasting at a certain point in the past. At the moment of speaking, however, the resultant state no longer exists; it has been terminated. For this reason, in these cases an action that terminated the resultant state is implied: had come—that is, left, since it is no longer there now. Sometimes this action is also stated explicitly.

It had begun to get cold, and then it thawed again. Gs (LKŽ II 469). I had hired a shepherd, but he left. Vb (LKŽ II 783). The mushrooms had started to sprout, but then stopped again. Ėr (LKŽ II 796).

The shorter the resultant state achieved in the past lasted, the more pronounced the meaning of the action that created it. Often we scarcely sense the resultant state any longer, and the perfect form simply states the action after which an implicitly understood opposite action took place. This is especially characteristic of the perfect forms of the so-called verbs of motion.

Perfect forms of the simple past sometimes acquire the meaning of a terminated resultant state in a past-tense context as well.

Along the very banks, on both sides of the river, blackened, as if traced in ink, the alder bushes and willows in the floodplain showed how far the water had flooded in spring. ŽemR I 133. Juras clattered along in large wooden clogs, which he had left in the teacher’s entryway. CvR VIII 162. None of the farmhands’ gatherings could do without them. That is why they had been driven out of the manor more than once. Gud-GuzKIT 109.

In these cases, the perfect forms denote a resultant state achieved by an earlier action that lasted before the past actions marked by the simple forms; by the time of narration, the state no longer existed.

The meaning of a terminated resultant state is a particular shade of the relative-resultative meaning of the simple past, conditioned by the speech situation or context. It is characteristic only of perfect forms of verbs of the eventive aspect, mostly active forms.

J. Jablonskis also noted this shade of meaning in the perfect forms of the simple past. In his 1901 grammar he wrote: “This tense is also used to express… a past action of such a kind that it subsequently turned out otherwise, not as had been expected”⁷. In later grammars, J. Jablonskis further refined this definition of the meaning of the simple past perfect: “By it we also mark that past consequence of an action (that past completed or finished action) which no longer exists now, at the time of speaking, or which occurred before another past action”⁸.

⁷. J. Jablonskis, min. veik., p. 103.

⁸ Ibid., p. 426. A similar shade of meaning is characteristic of the corresponding verb forms in some other languages as well, for example, the pluperfects of Bulgarian and fifteenth–sixteenth-century Belarusian; cf. Ю. С. Маслов, Глагольный вид в современном болгарском языке, кн.: Вопросы грамматики болгарского литературного языка, Москва, 1959, p. 280—281; У. В. Аніченка, Формы плюсквамперфекта ў беларускай міленачнай XV—XVI ст. ст., „Учёные записки Мозырского педагогического института“, вып. I, Минск, 1957 (выслейе 1958), p. 174.

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§ 15. Used in similar contextual conditions, perfect forms of past simple tense verbs of imperfective aspect denote a past action that continued for some time but was subsequently interrupted.

I had thought of not going to the May fest, but since that is how things are, I will certainly go. BinkRn 335. Some people, for example Jaunius around 1902, had even tried to call Zarasai Ežeriūnai. BūgKS 2. But how they were shocked into completely giving up cutting trees, and so he did not do that. ŽemR II 109. He had heard Grįžtuvėlis beautifully the first time. But now he no longer hears it at all. VaižgDD 22—23. Only then, beyond the gate, did he remember that he had been to see the master, and began to wonder: go or not go again? LzPR II 27.

Since perfect forms of imperfective verbs have a comparatively indistinct meaning of resultant state, in these cases this meaning is no longer felt at all, and the perfect forms merely describe a past action that lasted for some time. Thus, under the same contextual conditions, perfect forms of the past simple tense of imperfective verbs acquire a somewhat different shade of meaning from forms of perfective verbs.

§ 16. Perfect forms of the past simple tense that denote an interrupted resultant state or an interrupted past action may be used alongside simple past forms when narrating past events in sequence.

Forms of perfective verbs:

Balys, having failed to hear clearly, stood up and had already extended his hand to meet the new German scholar, but the policeman roughly seized him by the elbow and dragged him out through the door. VienR I 301. The Taručiai had time to glance questioningly at one another, had not wiped their mouths, Monika rushed to hide the plates, had begun to say: “Good Lord, what am I to say?”—and the guest appeared in the doorway. CvR VIII 96. Jonas frowned and grimaced, had waved his hand, but then went over to his brother, embraced him, kissed him, and kept whispering. VienR V 372. Several more days passed; Veronika had gone to the cross once again, but felt no relief at all, while the trouble in her heart kept growing deeper and more painful. VienR I 177. I searched the forest from end to end; I had even wandered as far as the Daujotčiai clearing—all the while looking for Jonas’s grave. But it was nowhere to be found. BaltPV₁ I 88.

In these cases, perfect forms of the past simple tense of perfective verbs approach simple past forms in meaning. The difference between them is that simple forms merely state an action that occurred in the past or the result achieved by it (the general morphological meaning of the past simple tense is meant here), whereas perfect forms also denote the duration of the resultant state achieved by that action. This duration depends on how quickly the action that interrupted the resultant state took place. The shorter the resultant state lasted, the smaller the difference in meaning between compound and simple forms.

Forms of imperfective verbs:

He had already wanted to ask to be admitted to the prison hospital, but after consulting me and the other neighbors, he decided to wait a little—perhaps he would yet recover. VienR I 100. The witch ran up and scratched at the hill; she had tried to climb it, but did not get up, and did not even try to go around. BsP₁ III 20. He had tried once more to begin the unfinished hymn, but, seeing Jadvyga in front of him, her eyes full of tears, fell silent, as if caught in the act of theft. MairRR II 34. After sleeping for several hours, I woke and heard that near my head someone

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is running about. I said at once that you would be there; but up on the hill there were barely two people running about, and I heard their shouts and cries. BalčHP 34.

In this case, compound perfect forms differ from simple forms of the past frequentative tense only in that they emphasize that the action described lasted for only a certain period of time, cf.:

He wanted to stop and ask about his native village, about the town, about acquaintances, but… the inn had already been left behind. VienR I 142.

§ 17. Perfect forms of the past frequentative tense, when used in a continuous narrative of past events, are in many cases close in meaning to the basic forms of the past frequentative tense. Cf.:

That sly fellow had wanted to trick me, but failed. Grž (LKŽ I 217). So that there would be no uproar at the gymnasium, Mr. Tįjūnas had initially intended to say nothing at all about the missing money…, but after consulting with me, he changed his mind. BinkRn 326. – “And down there below,” the guard nodded toward the tower, “there are such cellars that no one who goes in comes out alive,” he had begun to whisper, but, hearing footsteps in the corridor, fell silent. VienR I 108.

Gaubys shuddered again, and he was just about to shout something. But Vilius, who had seen nothing and laughed as if at his own jokes, struck the horses and rode home at a brisk trot. SimonVK II 363. My heart began to beat rapidly, and I was about to sit down, embrace her and, taking her by the hand, tell her everything openly, from the heart; but at that moment she herself raised my head and, placing it on her lap, began to speak. VienR I 216. – “I won’t let them smash up the house! Poor Pelkišiukas, may he rest in peace, said it…,” the old woman had begun. But Kazimieras did not let her finish. “We’ll see!” he said firmly. BaltPV₁ I 348–349.

Nevertheless, the meanings of inceptive and perfect forms differ somewhat. Inceptive forms denote an action interrupted suddenly and unexpectedly, which may have lasted for some time or may have been interrupted before it had even properly begun. Perfect forms describe an action that had definitely lasted for some time and was not interrupted so suddenly.

§ 18. The past frequentative perfect tense is often used in place of the past habitual perfect tense. It most often acquires the latter’s meaning when it occurs alongside forms of the past habitual tense.

And [Rozalija] would hold out to the deceased man’s widow dried cheese, which she herself had received in exchange for miraculous cures. BaltPV₁ I 51. He would drive people from the district who had committed offenses to a neighboring estate with a note specifying the number of strokes. CvR III 187. Although menus—slips of paper listing the dishes—had been placed on the tables in the dining hall, that was only for show, to appease the common people: the priests and other “insiders” were served whatever was chosen for them, without being given a choice, and no one ever protested. VienR V 227.

§ 19. Every now and then, the speaker uses past frequentative perfect forms at their own discretion in place of the expected present perfect forms.

It seems to me we had dried too much [flax]; we’ll have to take down a little, otherwise it won’t dry out. Šv(LKŽ II 729). Jonas comes to the master and says: “I want my wages now; remember, sir, how we had agreed…” BsP₁ III 110. Jonas buys Onė sweets and lemonade, as he had promised the previous evening. VenclR III 37. He brings home a desire to share with his compatriots everything he himself had experienced. Jabl(LKŽ II 168).

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J. Endzelīns has noted similar cases, in which the pluperfect is used instead of the expected perfect, in Latvian folk songs⁹.

§ 20. Negative compound forms of the simple past (like those of the present tense; see § 8) are often used to emphasize the exceptional nature of an action that took place in the past and the situation that resulted from it.

The young horseman was astonished when he heard the raven’s cry: he had hunted for so many years, spent so many days in the woods, yet had never heard a raven speak or guess a person’s thoughts. KrėvP 74. As he was passing through the door, Aničokas glanced at her and was taken aback: never before had he seen Veronika so graceful, so sad and downcast. VienR I 192. Šmitas had never appeared like this anywhere or at any time before. Simon VK II 26.

§ 21. The meaning of compound perfect forms in the simple past differs from that of simple forms in the simple past. Perfect forms denote a resultative state that persisted in the past and was attained through an earlier action; their meaning is related to two temporal planes, whereas simple forms refer to an action that took place in the past, and their meaning is related to only one temporal plane. However, when used in a particular context, simple forms can be very close in meaning to compound perfect forms. The difference between them is the same as that between compound perfect forms in the present tense and simple past forms used with what is called a perfect meaning: simple forms have a more pronounced meaning of an earlier action and express less clearly its connection with the main, in this case past, temporal plane. Cf.:

I asked them to hear me out and, without fear, clearly recounted everything I had done and everything I knew. BalčHP₁ 53–54. People repaid Columbus in kind for the good he had done them. BilR I 99.

The moon had already risen above the slopes of Freda; long since, the accordion by the riverside had fallen silent; only now and then locomotives whistled, and trains rumbled over the Green Bridge. VienR V 316. [Mykoliukas] played the fiddle calmly, manfully, firmly; all the strings hummed loudly, the whole forest echoed, even the grasshoppers had fallen silent. VaižgDD 28.

Sometimes the context makes it clear that the result of an action expressed by simple past forms lasted only for a while in the past and then ceased. In such cases, simple forms are close in meaning to compound perfect forms denoting a resultative state that lasted for a while and then ended (cf. § 14). They differ in that simple forms have a more pronounced meaning of an earlier action, whereas compound forms more clearly convey the meaning of a discontinued resultative state. Cf.:

I brought the priest back yesterday; the girls are still calling for me to bring the doctor back. ŽemR I 16. For my mother-in-law had even brought back a man who examined Einiukas, and she, Gretė, allowed him to do it. SimonVK II 104.

And she was not mistaken: everyone already knew not only of her misfortune, but also that the priest had refused absolution, that he had scolded her, stamped his feet, and pulled her by the braids; everyone understood the kind of faint Veronika had suffered at Pentecost. VienR I 191. The horse had fallen ill right during the harrowing. Ldk (LKŽ I 43).

Simple forms in the simple past can also denote an action in an indefinite past, linked to the main past temporal plane, but this link is not as

⁹ J. Endzelīns, Latviešu valodas gramatika, Rīga, 1951, p. 971.

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clear, as when compound perfect forms are used. The generalization of the action is much less pronounced. Cf.:

The old priest had traveled through many lands, traversed many regions, stayed with hundreds of rulers, witnessed famous campaigns and brave deeds, and had heard of even more… KrėvP 150. My father, too, had traveled a lot when he was young and agreed to let me go. BalčHP₁43.

§ 22. There are also cases in which compound perfect forms of the past simple are used with the meaning of simple forms.

When I returned, they did not recognize me—I had had such an appearance. Kalt (DAK). — “Were you a fisherman?” — “I had been.” Vnt. Thus language (its vocabulary) shows that the Aists had been plowing, harrowing, and sowing since time immemorial. There had not yet been Lithuanians, Latvians, or Prussians as distinct peoples with separate languages, yet they had already learned all these things. BūgRR II 8.

Such cases are very rare and sporadic.

Past frequent tense

§ 23. Compound perfect forms of the past frequent tense denote a resultant state achieved by an earlier action that continued in the past an indefinite number of times.

Sabaliūnas loved little children no less than bees; therefore, during honey-gathering time, he would be surrounded not only by bees but also by children. BūR I 184. Perhaps, because of the long journey, the [little bug’s] wings would have become awkwardly twisted by a flower stem or a blade of grass. SimonVK I 202. The dogs would be tied up during the day, and one would be let loose at night. Vlkv(DT). For nine whole months the monks would be cut off from the entire world. VienR I 26.

In meaning, compound perfect forms of the past frequent tense relate to simple forms of the past frequent tense (or to passive compound forms of the past frequent tense denoting a recurrent past action), and sometimes also to simple forms of the past simple denoting a recurrent past action. They may be used to express the temporal relationships between the actions of the main and subordinate clauses.

Mother always used to undress Barbikė too when she was soaked, and put her to bed. SimonVK II 87. Like a tiny volunteer, Monika would immediately be seated on someone’s lap and given a sweet or some trinket; and if she had lain down, she would be pulled out of bed. CvR VIII 214. When the shepherd had run away, it was not easy for the farmer to hire another, because all the farmhands had already found employment. GlKS 176.

§ 24. The perfect forms of the past frequent tense also express a resultant state achieved by an earlier action that persisted continuously in the past, but was relevant to the speaker only at particular moments in the past.

Whatever had happened to him—he used always to be all spruced up, whereas now he was a complete scruff. Kp (LKŽ I 218). He disliked Palmutė also because she was always beautifully dressed, always spotless and clean, and with her you could neither play properly nor run about, nor run off to the farmhands’ children. VienR V 190. There was a room in Mrs. Akauzė’s house; it was always kept shut, and Muku never got to see what was inside. BalčHP₁ 86—87. Usually the pastures were far away—if the village was large, as much as three kilometers away. They would be overgrown with shrubs. GlKS 203. Old-fashioned tales

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were always woven with poorer thread. Rdm (LKŽ I 412). Granaries, like dwelling houses, were always turned with one end toward the street. GIKS 88.

§ 25. Compound perfect forms of the frequentative past are used quite rarely. In their place, perfect forms of the simple past are often used (cf. § 18), and sometimes, especially in subordinate clauses, they are replaced by simple forms of the frequentative past. The latter differ from perfect forms in having a weaker meaning of resultant state.

That is why, in midsummer, when the snow on the lower mountains would melt and the glacier streams would subside, many people would visit the monastery and bring plenty of money and food. VienR I 26.

Future tense

§ 26. Compound perfect forms of the future tense denote a resultant state achieved by a prior action, envisaged or imagined in the future.

Like other perfect forms, future-tense forms most often denote a specific resultant state, and more rarely a generalized one.

“Of course, we won’t return anything,” Martynas says, pretending to agree with Vilius. “After all, we’ll already have used everything up nicely...” SimonVK II 310. In this kind of heat, he’ll be ill within a couple of days. Vvr (LKŽ II 734). Strike, and you’ll have killed your mother, not a stranger. SimonVK II 345–346. You’ll have no neck at all; your head will have grown right onto your shoulders! BalčHP₁ 142. But, God forbid you laugh, or we’ll be lost forever! BalčHP₁ 17. I won’t let you carry that little jug (such a small pitcher) out to the meadows; you’ll have broken it too. Ms(LKŽ I 1005). What are you saying, Jonas? I’ll refuse; someone else will already have been invited in your place—what will people say: brothers, we live under one roof, and then here you are—neither one nor the other! VienR V 83.

Only those who have themselves been in such trouble will understand. Grž (LKŽ „k“ s.v. katras).

Unlike present- and past-tense forms, which describe real present or past actions, future-tense forms denote actions that are only anticipated or imagined in the future. Therefore, both simple and compound perfect future forms most often acquire various additional modal and emotional nuances. As the examples show, perfect future forms present the resultant state achieved by a prior action as possible, necessary, inevitable, and sometimes as a threat or warning, and so on.

Compound perfect forms of the future tense are used in future-tense contexts only relatively infrequently. Most often they denote a single resultant state anticipated in the future.

Let’s not go to them, or anything; they’ll have left anyway. Vilky (DAK). Jonas had a widow (the last windrow) left to cut this year; by next year he’ll already be married. Brt (LKŽ I 783–784). And wretched is the man who has not washed his face with tears: heaven will be closed to him! MairRR I 107.

When used in a future-tense context, compound perfect forms of the future tense are semantically related to simple future forms: they denote a resultant state simultaneous with the actions expressed by the simple forms, but achieved through an earlier action.

They will have been born beneath the star of truth, under the sign of an undying day—they will not hear the deafening blast, the dreadful song of bombers. SNėrP₁ 284. We’ll go to the bathhouse after the men—

3. Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos tyrinėjimai

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all the sorrow will have vanished. Ktk (LKŽ III 30). When the son-in-law returns, the farm will have been squandered... SimonVK II 67.

Like other perfect forms, future-tense forms are often used to express the temporal relations between the actions of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

Well, first I’ll sing to you, and when you have rested, you’ll go and cook dinner, all right? SimonVK II 88. In our meadows, the scythes will ring again from morning on; everyone who has risen to work will work merrily, work after eating. GirR II 257. If, in such cases, you try to find out how long the illness will have lasted, you will usually get a very vague answer. AvižATD 5. But where will I see anything now if I’m buried, as you say? BaltPV₁ I 188.

By the time summer crops are ready, we will already have brought in the rye. Knv (LKŽ II 793). When you arrive, the whole pot will already have been filled with her tears. JablRR I 310.

§ 27. Future perfect compound forms are used to express conjectures related to the present. Most often, they denote a conjectured specific resultant state continuing at the moment of speaking.

The shepherd picked up the whip to crack it, and by now he will have cracked it somewhere. Grš(LKŽ II 65). Among people, however, a rumor is widespread that he must have sold his soul straight to the devil on that terrible night, when, deceived by suspicion, he drowned his beloved. MairRR I 167. Let me run about for the first time, Father—could your earthy wisdom perhaps have shrouded with shadows the sun that both shines and gives life to people? SruogR III 499. I can see who’s to blame here; that wicked aunt must have slandered us! BalčHP₁ 5. And Dovydas began to groan, wondering who could have stolen their “humaška.” VaižgDD 123. Even at the altar, Gailiūnikė didn’t say “yes.” But that must be made up. SimonVK I 324.

Less frequently, future perfect forms express a conjectured generalized resultant state.

You must have worked there, it seems. Grž (LKŽ I 994). Surely you’ve heard that Gaidys bought her (his wife)? SimonVK I 315. In ancient times, the Latvians’ bridles must have consisted of two crooked tree trunks, that is, two shafts. BūgKS 19. You must certainly have seen her. Prm (DAK).

The conjectural meaning is determined by the specificity of the future tense. Since future-tense forms denote not what is certainly happening or has happened, but what may happen and is much less certain, they are also suitable for expressing things that are not known with complete certainty and are conjectured¹⁰.

§ 28. From time to time, future perfect forms denote a habitual resultant state that recurs occasionally in the present (a) or past (b).

a) Look, it’s raining cats and dogs or freezing till things crack—Jokūbas is always full of life. Although he must have had a good drink the night before, he’ll still come (trš). Birches are neither frightening nor treacherous, just sly tricksters. Swish, swish, swish with their little leaves; you’d think nothing was happening, and then look—you’ll find yourself somewhere in another land. VaižgDD 79. Our men won’t have escaped trouble—something or other will have sprung a leak for one or another of them. Vž (LKŽ II 8).

b) There was not enough food for the children, and Martynienė, who had nothing to eat, had to sell the large pillow. She bought food with the money. In the morning, when she went to her aunt’s, she would leave something cooking by Barbora’s fire and ask her to give it to the children when they got up... Sometimes Barbora would have gone out somewhere, and sometimes, even when at home, she would forget the children. ŽemR II 406—407.

¹⁰ Corresponding future perfect compound forms are also used to express conjecture in some other languages, for example Latvian, German, English, French, and Bulgarian.

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In these cases, future perfect forms are used stylistically in place of present or simple past and past habitual perfect forms¹¹.

§ 29. Sometimes compound future perfect forms express a resultative state achieved through an earlier action, which in fact already continues at the moment under discussion, but which the speaker attributes to the future.

“By now I will have seen a wolf too,” said Jonas as he was leaving the zoo. JabRR I 317. Now he (Mykoliukas) will have found a new space, to which he will again smile, in which he will live, for which he will see neither the day’s toil nor its hardships. VaižgDD 29. Though by old age I will have been in Kaunas. Kvr(DAK). By now I too will have been scolded. JabRR I 318.

The relationship between the meanings of compound perfect tenses and verbal aspect

§ 30. Verbs of both imperfective and perfective aspect have compound perfect tense forms, but perfective forms are used predominantly. This can be explained by the fact that the past participles used to form compound perfect forms are themselves derived mainly from perfective verbs.

Perfect forms of imperfective verbs have a considerably weaker resultative-state meaning than forms of perfective verbs, since the action they denote has not been completed and has not brought about qualitative changes in the agent’s activity or state.

The resultative-state meaning characteristic of compound perfect forms sometimes affects the aspectual meaning of verbs. For example, perfect forms of verbs whose simple past forms can have either an imperfective or a perfective meaning (baigė, lėmė, skyrė, grįžo, virto, pirko, kvietė, etc.) are most often used with a perfective meaning.

After a couple of years we have already finished—we need only a little more land... TilvU 58. And everyone came to love Meilūžė for her cheerful nature and kind heart, especially her elderly father-in-law Kirklys, to whom the gods had not granted a true daughter... KrėvP 33. And since she had recently returned from the hospital, they took her condition into account. SimonVK II 392. The earth lay frozen beneath the snow. And the bread had turned to stone. TilvU 135. Tick-tock, until the judge of this world appears to you and, having summoned lords just as he has summoned us, assigns each his wages according to what he has earned. DonR 104. I bought such a garment so cheaply, and what a lovely little skirt it turned out to be! Grk (LKŽ I 319). All the brave commanders had fallen, and with them the homeland’s freedom entered the grave. DaukRR 129. If things turned out that way, then apparently it was meant to be... BinkRn 130. The wooden church in Ylakiai has been pierced twice—from the front and from the back. Šts (LKŽ II 648). Classes at the gymnasium were still proceeding as usual, but the term had already ended. VienR V 149.

In addition, perfect forms of verbs that are generally imperfective are most often used with a perfective meaning when their simple past forms can have a perfective meaning (e.g.: Did you sow much flax this year?).

I had not sown much, but since the crop was good, there’ll be enough for bread. Šmk (LKŽ I 685). And just that day they had slaughtered a sheep, so they fed him well. VIkv (DT). He had-

¹¹Simple future forms are also used to describe customary present and past actions; see J. Pikčilingis, “The Use of Verb Tenses,” “Tarybinė mokykla,” 1958, No. 8, p. 29.

3°

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he thought it was a robber, an escaped madman, or finally Count Dracula, about whom he had read a book not long before. CvR III 84. Brakšt snatched two skirts and two kerchiefs from right under her nose... But what kind? Silk ones, for which three roubles apiece had been paid! ŽemR II 292. That basket was woven from pliant willows. Slnt (LKŽ VI 559). The queen, not entirely trusting the clarity and sincerity of that letter, since it had been written in German, added a few words in Lithuanian herself, in her own hand. SimonVK I 110.

And sometimes all the other finite forms of the verb have an imperfective meaning, while only the perfect forms have a perfective meaning.

It has frozen—it will be slushy to travel. Ggr (LKŽ III 409). The press was forbidden. Alv (DAK).

All passive perfect forms most often have a perfective meaning. This is partly due to the past participles from which they are formed. Passive past participles, although formed from imperfective verbs, quite often have a perfective meaning, for example: dried bread, baked apples, boiled potatoes, spun thread, a knitted hat, patched fur coats, and so on.

Use of compound perfect tenses in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writings

§ 31. The use of compound perfect tenses in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writings is essentially no different from their use today. Most often, these tenses describe a specific resultant state attained through an earlier action and continuing at a particular point in the present, past, or future.

Then we want to be free from that pledge which we swore to you. BrB Joz 2,20. Christ rose from the dead | Look where he lay. Mž 278. The rich man, who had worn purple and very fine white linen, lies buried in hell. SP 55.

I passed by the yard of a lazy man and by the vineyard of a foolish man; behold, it was all overgrown with nettles, and its surface was covered with thorns, and its stone fence had fallen into ruin. SP 321. And when the sun had set, he ordered them to take him down from the tree, and they cast him into the cave where he had hidden. BrB Joz 10, 27.

And when you have taken the city, then set it on fire. BrB Joz 8,8. And the people who will be created will worship the Lord. Mž 474.

Less often, perfect forms denote a general resultant state attained through an action in an indefinite past.

There you will see how he is speaking in tongues. BrP II 4. Those who were formerly called by one name, Christians, are now called some Lutherans, others Zwinglians, and others Calvinists. DP 246. Then they... often strayed from the path along which their fathers had walked. BrB Teis 11,39.

§ 32. Under the influence of other languages, compound perfect-tense forms in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writings are sometimes used differently from how they are today.

Past events wholly unrelated to the present are recounted using compound perfect forms of the present tense, much as they are with simple forms of the simple past.

O God, when you came before the people | and passed through the desolate wilderness, the earth trembled and the heavens poured rain | because of the presence of God on Sinai. Mž 288. [Job] had seven sons | And besides them three very beautiful daughters | Whom God greatly loved

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health, blessing is born anew. Mž 431. And He decided or became so, that while sitting with them He took bread, and blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them. DP 192. Behold, He spoke, and thus it all came to be; He spoke, and all things were created: with His word He made everything out of nothing. DP 133. Christ came to our misery, hungered, grew weary, slept, performed wondrous deeds, suffered evil: scourged, crowned with thorns, spat upon, struck with palms, hung on a tree: pierced with a spear, laid in a tomb, but on the third day rose from the dead. DP 200. And as He spoke, He was seen by all, lifted up from the earth on high. Mž 303.

Most of these present-tense perfect forms have been noted in the writings (hymns) of M. Mažvydas; a few occur in M. Daukša’s Postil, while passive forms are also found in the writings of other authors. Since the originals of most of M. Mažvydas’s hymns were unavailable to us, it is difficult to say which verb forms correspond to our present-tense perfect forms in those texts. Only one hymn translated from Polish, containing perfect forms used in this way, can be compared with its original.

From Mary, the pure virgin | a mighty, true man was born (Pol. narodzil się) | And from his loving kindness | he redeemed us sinners | He died (Pol. jest ci umarl) on the cross | And gave his body | He rose from the dead (Pol. jest wstal). Mž 367—368¹².

As we can see, the verb forms used in the two texts coincide only in part.

In M. Daukša’s Postil, the active present-tense perfect forms used in this way correspond throughout to the Polish original’s simple past forms; however, it seems that in translating, M. Daukša also used a Latin text (cf.: and He decided or became so DP 192, ssâlo sie WjP 407, factum est Luke 24, 30). It is possible that Latin also influenced M. Mažvydas’s hymn translations. German may also have affected them, since in many cases the meaning of the perfect forms is quite difficult to distinguish from that of the preterite¹³.

The meaning of the present-tense perfect forms themselves may also have provided some impetus for using perfect forms to describe events in the distant past: in expressing a generalized resultant state, present-tense perfect forms have a very pronounced meaning of an action in the indefinite past.

The passive present-tense perfect forms used in recounting past events in M. Daukša’s Postil arose through literal translation: in every case, the corresponding passages in the Polish text use passive forms composed of past passive participles, with or without present-tense forms of the auxiliary verb ‘to be’. These, in turn, are literal translations from Latin, where compound passive perfect forms of the same structure are used in these cases (cf.: And so, when Lord Jesus had said this, after taking it, he was taken up into heaven. DP 225; wžiety jest WjP 379; assumptus est. Mark 16, 19)¹⁴.

¹² The Polish forms are cited according to Chr. Stang, Die Sprache des litauischen Katechismus von Mažvydas, Oslo, 1929, p. 39.

¹³ Cf. W. Wilmanns, Deutsche Grammatik, Abt. III, Hälfte 1, Strassburg, 1906, p. 189—191.

¹⁴ Discussing passive forms of the same structure used in the same way in written monuments of the Russian language of the 16th–17th centuries, P. Kuznetsov likewise considers them to have arisen under the influence of Latin; see П. С. Кузнецов, К вопросу о сказуемостном употреблении страдательных причастий в русском литературном языке XVIII и начала XIX века, „Труды института русского языка АН СССР“, т. II, 1950, p. 164—166.

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§ 33. In literal translations, present passive perfect forms are sometimes also used to denote a resultative state anticipated in the future.

Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive... are forgiven (= są odpuszczone WjP 429; remittuntur Jon 20, 23), and whose sins you retain... are retained (= są zátrzymane WjP 429; retenta sunt Jon 20, 23). DP 203. Receive the Holy Spirit; the sins you forgive, they shall be forgiven, and the sins you retain, they shall be retained. BnP II 42.

§ 34. The past simple active perfect forms of the verbs galėti, turėti, reikėti, used with the meaning of a past action, are literal translations from Polish.

For that one too could have (= byl mog WjP 274) made them heed, just as our own unbelievers are not persuaded by exhortations. DP 126. And so that the greatness of his heart might make ours tremble, at the last supper, when he came with the lamb to the feast with his disciples, he had to (= mial byl WjP 554) go to the Father of that world and institute this sacrament. DP 268. It was necessary (= potrzeba bylo WjP 404), that W. Christus should suffer, and thus enter into his glory. DP 191.

Conclusions

1. The primary meaning of compound perfect verb forms is relative-resultative: perfect forms denote a resultative state attained through an earlier action and continuing at a particular moment in the present, past, or future. Perfect forms in all tenses have two nuances of this meaning: a specific resultative state and a generalized resultative state. A specific resultative state is most often denoted by forms of telic verbs, while a generalized one is denoted by atelic verbs.

2. On the one hand, compound perfect forms relate to the corresponding simple forms of the same tense as distinct forms of aspect in the broad sense; on the other hand, they relate as forms with relative and absolute temporal meanings.

3. Past simple perfect forms may have a particular context-dependent nuance of meaning: forms of telic verbs denote a terminated resultative state, whereas forms of atelic verbs denote an interrupted past action.

4. Because of the specific nature of the future tense, future perfect forms are very often used modally, with an inferential meaning. In these cases, in terms of their temporal meaning, they are equivalent to present perfect forms.

5. The relative-resultative meaning of compound perfect forms sometimes affects verbal aspect; as a result, the perfect forms of some atelic verbs are used with a telic meaning.

6. In place of compound perfect forms in the present and past simple tenses, past simple forms are quite often used, but they generally differ in a certain nuance: compared with compound forms, simple forms more clearly express the preceding action and more weakly express its connection with a later temporal frame. Consequently, the use of the two sets of forms differs somewhat.

7. In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century texts, compound perfect forms are used in much the same way as today. The differences observed in comparison with present-day usage arose under the influence of other languages.

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MEANINGS AND USE OF COMPOUND PERFECT TENSE FORMS

Н. СЛИЖЕНЕ

Abstract

The article discusses the meanings and use of compound perfect forms of the indicative mood, primarily in contemporary Lithuanian literary language, but also draws on materials from sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Lithuanian texts for comparison.

The primary meaning of Lithuanian compound perfect tense forms is relative-resultative: perfect forms denote a resultative state achieved by a prior action and continuing at a particular point in the present, past, or future. Depending on context, all perfect forms may denote either a specific resultative state achieved by a specific prior action, e.g.: Kur tvartai buvo, dabar riogso mūrai; iš tų mūrų atkvepia kvapas: daug gyvų daiktų yra čia sudegę. — Where the barns stood, stone walls now jut up; a smell wafts from those walls: many living creatures have burned here (literally: are burned) (I. Simonaitė), or a generalized resultative state achieved by a generalized action in an indefinite past, e.g.: Juk Vilius yra laikęs Ilzę savo glėby, gal jis ją karščiau mylėjo, negu ją — Grėte. — Vilius has held Ilzė in his arms, after all; perhaps he loved her more passionately than he loved Grėtė (I. Simonaitė). The first shade of meaning is more often acquired by perfect forms of perfective verbs, and the second by forms of imperfective verbs, especially present-tense forms.

The meaning of compound perfect forms is correlated with that of the simple forms of the corresponding tense, since the action expressed by perfect forms is understood as preceding not only the resultative state achieved, but also all actions and states simultaneous with it and expressed by the corresponding simple tense forms. Therefore, compound perfect forms are often used to express temporal relations between the actions of a main clause and a subordinate clause. Thus, compound perfect forms correlate with simple tense forms, on the one hand, as forms with relative temporal meaning, and on the other, as forms with resultative meaning, that is, in terms of aspect, if aspect is understood in a broad sense.

Compound perfect forms of the past single-action tense, when used in the appropriate context, acquire a shade of meaning conditioned by that context. Perfective verb forms denote an interrupted resultative state achieved by a prior action, e.g.: Tu negirdėjai, šiąnakt vėl kažin kas buvo atėjęs avižų vogti. — You didn’t hear; that night someone had come again to steal oats (literally: had been come) (A. Vienuolis). Imperfective verb forms denote an interrupted prior action, e.g.: Jau buvo norėjęs prašytis į

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the prison hospital, but, after consulting with me and the other neighbors, he decided to wait a little—perhaps he would still recover. — He had already been about to ask to be admitted to the prison hospital, but, after consulting with me and the other neighbors, decided to wait—perhaps he would still recover (A. Vienuolis). In these cases, the meaning of compound perfect forms is sometimes close to that of compound inceptive forms of the past single-action tense; compare: Uožvienė buvo benorinti į turgų važiuoti, bet suleido kelionę. — The mother-in-law was just about to go to the market, but she called off the trip (I. Simonaitė).

Compound perfect forms of the future tense, besides their basic relative-resultative meaning, are very often used with the modal meaning of supposition, e.g.: Juk būsi girdėjusi, kad Gaidys ją (žmoną) nusipirko? — Surely you must have heard that Gaidys bought her (his wife)? (Literally: will be having heard) (I. Simonaitė). In such cases, their temporal meaning coincides with that of present-tense perfect forms.

The relative-resultative meaning of perfect forms sometimes affects verbal aspect. Therefore, compound perfect forms of some imperfective verbs are often used with perfective meaning.

In the appropriate context, simple forms of the past single-action tense quite often acquire a meaning very close to that of compound perfect forms of the present or past single-action tense. Nevertheless, in such cases the meaning of simple tense forms is not equivalent to that of compound perfect forms: simple forms more strongly convey the prior action and express its connection with the subsequent time frame less clearly. Depending on the context, this difference is manifested to a greater or lesser degree.

In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Lithuanian texts, compound perfect forms generally do not differ in their use from the corresponding forms of contemporary Lithuanian. Some differences arose under the influence of other languages (for example, Polish and Latin).

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