as though happening. Imperfective aspect views an action “up close,” from within it, and is often used to present an action as unfolding or in progress—this was happening, that happens—without reference to the whole action. A standard illustration used for describing verbal aspect involves a reporter who is to report on a street parade.4 If the reporter views the street parade from a helicopter, he sees the whole parade from a distance. He can describe the parade in a general way because he sees