Les temps de l’indicatif ayant un aspect inaccompli en français et en italien.

Abstract

This study proposes to establish a theoretical model of the system of verb tenses of the indicative with an incomplete aspect in French and Italian. It is mainly based on Gustave Guillaume’s theoretical conception of tenses within the framework of the psychomechanics of language. In particular, it is based on Gustave Guillaume’s model for the present tense. This model, which analyses the present tense into two chronotypes (α and ω), is extended to the analysis of the imperfect and future tenses. The study shows that the proportion of the two chronotypes is reversed in the imperfect tense and the future tense in the two languages, which helps to explain the differences in the use of these tenses. The French imperfect may be more modal after a hypothetical si, the Italian imperfect remains more anchored in temporality while the Italian future tense is more modal. Conversely, the Italian future tense is very modal while the French future tense is more categorical and therefore temporal. This analysis leads to a coherent systemic model of the incomplete tenses of the indicative in which the sum of chronotypes is constant.