Aspectuality in Fiction

Aspectuality in Fiction
Authors: Lara Bizjak and Anina Selak

Subject: English-Slovene Contrastive Grammar
Mentor: doc. dr. Silvana Orel Kos
Academic year: 2022/2023
Lara Bizjak and Anina Selak Aspectuality in Fiction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Contrastive introduction of the topic
1.1 Aspectuality in English
1.2 Aspectuality in Slovene
1.3 Comparison of Slovene and English aspectuality
2. Introduction of the material
2.1 Nineteen Eighty-Four
2.2 Things Fall Apart
3. English and Slovene examples of aspectual usage
4. Statistical analysis
5. Discussion
5.3 Comparison of the two novels
6. Conclusion
7. References
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Introduction
This seminar paper analyzes the usage of English and Slovene aspectual forms in the novels
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and their
translations, with an emphasis on English aspectual forms. The paper consists of five main
sections: Contrastive introduction of the topic, Introduction of the material, English and
Slovene examples of aspectual usage, Statistical Analysis, and Discussion. Most of the
sections are divided into subsections; the divisions are based either on language or on
individual analyses of the two novels. The section English and Slovene examples of aspectual
usage contains several excerpts from the two novels and their translations, divided into
relevant categories, which are then individually analyzed in terms of aspectual use. The
intention of this paper is to analyze the use of English aspectual forms in fiction, especially in
comparison with the use of Slovene aspectual forms.
Key words: aspect, aspectuality, simple form, progressive form, glagolski vid, dovršnik,
nedovršnik, perfective, imperfective.
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1. Contrastive introduction of the topic

Aspect is a grammatical category that gives information about how much of the verb action is
presented. (Orel Kos 1995) This chapter discusses the aspectual forms in English and Slovene
and compares the aspectual situation in the two languages.
1.1 Aspectuality in English

Several linguistic stances regarding aspectuality exist in English. The one used in this seminar
paper recognizes two aspectual forms: the simple form and the progressive form. (Orel Kos
1995) The simple form is used for verb actions whose duration is unknown and for verb
actions that are considered neutral or passive. Meanwhile, the use of the progressive form
signifies either that a verb action is incomplete or simultaneous to another verb action, or
emotional coloring. It is important to note that using the progressive form brings a strong
emphasis to the verb action, which is why the progressive aspect is fairly rare in English,
especially in fiction. (Orel Kos 2022)
A common misconception, one made especially by Slovene speakers of English, is that the
difference between two aspectual forms is in the duration of the verb action they express. In
fact, the usage of an aspectual form depends on the type of verb action, the circumstances in
which the verb action is used, and the communicator’s emotional attitude. (Orel Kos 1995)
Four types of verb actions can be defined in relation to aspect: event, state, activity, and
process. (Orel Kos 2022)
1) An event is a temporarily limited verb action presented with the simple form (Orel
Kos 2022):
I watched a movie from 8 pm till 10 pm. Then I went to bed.
1) A state is a habit or a repeated action and also requires the use of the simple form
(Orel Kos 2022):
I work in a hospital.
2) An activity is a monotonous activity whose end is not mentioned and is expressed with
the progressive form (Orel Kos 2022):
I was eating dinner when she came home.
3) A process is an action that is reaching its end; it also requires the use of the
progressive form (Orel Kos 2022):
The event was ending when we arrived.
The circumstances in which a verb phrase is used refer to the type of background in a scene
setting. This factor is especially significant in fiction. The two types of background in fiction
are the immediate background and the general background. (Orel Kos 1995)
1) The term ‘immediate background’ refers to the circumstances relating to the main
string of events. Verb actions set in the immediate background are what the
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protagonist is focused on and are expressed with the progressive form. (Orel Kos
1995)
2) The term ‘general background’ refers to the setting of the scene, which is not
perceived as the focus of the protagonist and functions as independent from the main
string of events. Verb actions set in the general background are therefore presented
with the simple form. (Orel Kos 1995)
A communicator’s understanding of a verb action as a part of either the immediate
background or the general background is affected by their emotional attitude. The latter
depends on the animacy of the verb action’s subject and the degree to which the subject
captures the communicator’s attention or affects their emotions. The communicator is more
likely to perceive an animate or interesting subject as close to them and consequently use the
progressive form. Likewise, an inanimate subject will likely be perceived with some distance
and presented with the simple form. Moreover, animate subjects will form the immediate
background and inanimate subjects the general background. (Orel Kos 1995)
Two more important terms should be mentioned when discussing English aspectuality in
fiction: eye-openers and narrative grounding styles. An eye-opener is a point in a text that
enables a reader to enter the immediate background and gain insight into the thoughts or
perception of the protagonist. (Orel Kos, 2022) A narrative grounding style means the
distance between the reader and the character established by the author with the use of the two
aspectual forms. There are three narrative grounding styles: the flexible narrative grounding
style, the detached narrative grounding style, and the erratic narrative grounding style. (Orel
Kos, 2022)
1) The flexible narrative grounding style means the author uses aspectual forms based on
the circumstances of the verb action and follows the rules listed above. (Orel Kos,
2022)
2) The detached narrative grounding style means the author uses as little progressive
forms as possible in order to distance the reader from the subject and to accelerate the
pace of events. (Orel Kos, 2022)
3) The erratic narrative grounding style means the use of aspectual forms cannot be
justified with rules but is rather the spontaneous reaction of the author. (Orel Kos,
2022)
1.2 Aspectuality in Slovene
In Slovene, aspect (Sln. glagolski vid) is an inherent category of the verb and qualifies a
verbal action, process or state with regards to its completion, which is the perfective aspect
(Sln. dovršna oblika), or non-completion, which is the imperfective aspect (Sln. nedovršna
oblika). We can change the aspectual form of the verb by adding a suffix or prefix, ex.: čistiti
(Imp.) vs. počistiti (Perf.) or pomivati (Imp.) vs. pomiti (Perf.). The fundamental distinction
between the aspects is that the use of the perfective form of the verb indicates the completed
action of the verb or its expected completion, whereas the use of the imperfective form of the
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verb focuses on the process, duration, frequency or repetition of a state or action. (Orel Kos,
2022)
In Slovene, the verbs can be separated into 3 categories:
1. Dovršni glagoli (Eng. perfective verbs) that usually have a prefix, however that is not
always the case. Ex.: pojesti, prinesti, narediti, plačati, dvigniti, skočiti etc.
2. Nedovršni glagoli (Eng. imperfective verbs) that expess an action that is not yet
completed or is still happening. Ex.: jesti, nesti, misliti, hoditi, biti etc.
3. Dvovidski glagoli or verbs that can be classified as perfective or imperfective. Ex.:
telefonirati, predlagati, čestitati, kaznovati etc. Such verbs can be categorized as
perfective or imperfective forms only based on the context, in which the verb is used.
In Slovene, the basic difference between the perfective and the imperfective aspect is that of a
(definite, quantified) unit versus an (indefinite) mass, which, to some extent, can be compared
with countable and non-countable nouns, or with the use of articles in English. (Orel Kos,
2017)
Example of mass vs. unit in Slovene aspect:
- Vsak dan jem samo jabolka ter pijem vodo.

- Vsak dan pojem samo 3 jabolka in popijem 2 litra vode.
When it comes to series of events or background information in Slovene texts both perfective
and imperfective verbs are used. However, when describing background actions, the imperfective
forms are more common i.e. Sonce je sijalo, ptički so peli, rožiceso cvetele ...). Animacy also plays
little or no part in choosing the correct Slovene aspect. Both animate and inanimate things may be
described with both perfective and imperfective verbs. (Orel Kos, 2022)
1.3 Comparison of Slovene and English aspectuality
A contrastively relevant topic is also the comparison of Slovene and English aspectuality,
especially when looking at what forms of verbs (perfective and imperfective) are used in
specific situations. The students are usually taught in high school that the Slovene perfective
verbs generally correspond to the English simple form, while the imperfective verbs
correspond to the progressive form. This is, however, not always the case. The use of
verbs/verb forms depends highly on the context, ex.: in English the progressive forms are
more frequent in conversation than in scientific discourse. (Orel Kos, 2022)
Here are some examples that show the differences in use of prefective and imperfective verb
forms in Slovene and English:
● When talking about a string of verb actions in Slovene both perfective and
imperfective verbs can be used. In English, strings of actions contain only the simple
form!
Example 1: Oblekel se je, nekaj časa hodil naokrog in se ustavil v parku.
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(Perfective) (Imperfective) (Perfective)

He got dressed, walked around for a while, and stopped in the park.
(Simple) (Simple) (Simple)
● A similar case occurs for states and general truths. In English only the simple form is
used and in Slovene both perfective or imperfective verbs can be used.
Example 2: Water boils at 100℃. (Simple) vs. Voda izpari pri 100℃. (Perfective)
Earth rotates around the Sun. (Simple) vs. Zemlja se vrti okoli Sonca. (Imperfective)
● In English there is also a difference when talking about the general and immediate
background in fiction. A general background is the background that is described
without an introduction of a reference point which would trigger the use of the
progressive form and is therefore described using simple verb forms. An example of
the general background are descriptions of nature, towns, cities etc.
While the general background is not necessarily connected with the story, the
immediate background is connected with the main string of events and is therefore
described with progressive verb forms.
In Slovene, the use of verbs is generally mixed. But generally background actions are
described using imperfective verbs.
● Animacy plays little or no part in choosing the correct Slovene aspect. Both animate
and inanimate things may be described with both perfective and imperfective verbs. In
English, however, more animate things (people or main characters) are more likely to
be described with progressive forms and less animate things (animals or objects) with
simple forms. (Orel Kos, 2022)
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2. Introduction of the material

Nineteen Eighty-Four, also referred to as 1984, is a dystopian novel by the English author
George Orwell published in 1949. It was the final novel Orwell completed in his lifetime and
remains, alongside Animal Farm, among his most famous works. His other works include
Homage to Catalonia, Down and Out in Paris and London and Burmese Days. His writing
mostly deals with topics such as totalitarianism, socialism, imperialism and their
consequences, and is also inspired by his own experience in the Burmese police and living in
poverty. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.)
Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place in a fictional future in which only three totalitarian
countries exist. The citizens are under constant surveillance and all attempts of individuality
are deterred. The protagonist, a lower ministry employee named Winston Smith, finds himself
doubting the totalitarian regime in his home country, Oceania. After entering a forbidden love
affair with his colleague Julia, he becomes an opponent of the system, but the affair, along
with their other offenses, is soon discovered by the authorities. Winston is brutally reeducated
and becomes an upstanding member of the totalitarian society. (Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, n.d.)
The novel deals with the consequences of totalitarianism and mass surveillance, as well as the
role truth plays in politics and ways in which it can be manipulated. Nineteen Eighty-Four
achieved instant success and has since become a literary classic, which is also proven by the
fact that expressions from the novel, such as ‘Big Brother’, have entered common usage.
(Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.)
The Slovene translation of 1984 was published in 1967 under the same title. Translated by
Alenka Puhar, it was one of the first official translations of the novel in then-socialist
countries. (Wikipedija, n.d.) Puhar is a Slovene translator, publicist, journalist and activist;
however, at the time of translating Nineteen Eighty-Four, she was studying English and
Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. 1984 was her first published
literary translation. (Beletrina, n.d.) She continued to translate works by authors such as Gore
Vidal, Frederick Forsyth, and Wole Soyinka. (Wikipedija, n.d.)

Things Fall Apart is the debut novel of the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe and was first
published in 1958. It is separated into three parts and portrays the clash between Nigeria’s
white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people in the late
19th century. In the 1950s, Achebe was one of the founders of a Nigerian literary movement
that drew upon the traditional oral culture of its indigenous peoples. (Sparknotes, n.d.) He
wrote novels, short stories, essays, poetry and children’s books. Among his most famous
works is the so-called "African Trilogy" which includes Things Fall Apart (1958), No Longer
at Ease (1960) and Arrow of God (1964) and other novels such as A Man of the People (1966)
and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). (Wikipedia, n.d.) Achebe has become renowned
8
throughout the world as a father of modern African literature and was a professor of English
literature at Bard College in New York.
The novel occupies a pivotal place in African literature and remains the most widely studied,
translated, and read African novel. Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s and portrays the clash
between Nigeria’s white missionaries and the indigenous Igbo people. Achebe’s novel
shatters the stereotypical European portraits of native Africans. He is careful to portray the
complex, advanced social institutions and artistic traditions of Igbo culture prior to its contact
with Europeans. (Sparknotes, n.d.)
The main character of the story is Okonkwo, a wealthy and respected warrior of the Umuofia
clan, a lower Nigerian tribe that is part of nine connected villages. Since his father was
cowardly and died owing many debts to different villagers, Okonkwo decides to be the exact
opposite of his father and starts working hard at a very young age. He soon becomes one of
the wealthiest and respected villagers in Umuofia with three wives and ten children.
(Sparknotes, n.d.) The story follows his life throughout the novel that has many ups and
downs, but ultimately ends tragically, after the missionaries spread their religion and gain
many followers. After Okonkwo realizes that the villager’s no longer want to fight against the
missionaries, he decides to end his own life.
The novel was translated into Slovene by Branko Avsenak in 1964 with the title Okonkwo,
however the book was reprinted in 2007 with the title Razpad. Branko Avsenak was a
journalist and translator. He studied Comparative Literature and Literary Theory at the
Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, but never completed his studies. He was a journalist for the
newspaper Večer. He translated works by authors such as Erich Maria Remarque, Konstantin
Simonov, Ernest Hemingway and others. (Slovenska biografija, n.d.)
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3. English and Slovene examples of aspectual usage

The following chapter contains examples taken from the novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and
Things Fall Apart and their Slovene translations. It analyzes authors’ usage of the simple and
progressive aspects, with an emphasis on the progressive aspect. The simple forms are marked
in bold and the progressive forms in bold and italics. An interpretation of the author’s
decision to use a particular aspectual form follows.
Likewise, usage of the perfective and imperfective aspectual forms is analyzed in the Slovene
translation. The perfective forms are marked in bold and the imperfective forms in bold and
italics.
Habitual activity
1) Description of Winston doing his job at the Ministry
ENGLISH
Winston dialled ‘back numbers’ on the telescreen and called for the appropriate issues
of ‘The Times’, which slid out of the pneumatic tube after only a few minutes’ delay.
The messages he had received referred to articles or news items which for one
reason or another it was thought necessary to alter, or, as the official phrase had it, to
rectify. (Orwell, 1947, 34)
Analysis: Aside from the fact that a string of events is described in this paragraph (which
calls for the use of the simple form itself), Winston’s actions are also passive and routine,
which increases the likelihood of the simple form being used. In fact, the paragraph contains
no situations where the progressive form could be necessary.
SLOVENE
Winston je na telekranu zavrtel številko časopisnega arhiva in zahteval ustrezne
izvode Časnika, ki so zdrsnili iz pnevmatične cevi že čez nekaj minut. Sporočila, ki
jih je prejel, so se nanašala na članke ali na novice, ki jih je bilo iz takega ali
drugačnega razloga vsekakor treba spremeniti, ali – kot se je to reklo z uradno frazo –
»prečistiti«. (Orwell, 1967, 45)
Surprising activity
2) Julia passes Winston a message
ENGLISH
A solitary figure was coming towards him from the other end of the long, brightly-lit
corridor. It was the girl with dark hair. Four days had gone past since the evening
when he had run into her outside the junk-shop. As she came nearer he saw that her
10
right arm was in a sling, not noticeable at a distance because it was of the same colour
as her overalls. Probably she had crushed her hand while swinging round one of the
big kaleidoscopes on which the plots of novels were ‘roughed in’. It was a common
accident in the Fiction Department.
They were perhaps four metres apart when the girl stumbled and fell almost flat on
her face. A sharp cry of pain was wrung out of her. She must have fallen right on the
injured arm. Winston stopped short. The girl had risen to her knees. Her face had
turned a milky yellow colour against which her mouth stood out redder than ever.
Her eyes were fixed on his, with an appealing expression that looked more like fear
than pain.
Analysis: Even though the paragraph describes activity that Winston perceives as surprising,
the progressive form is used in only one instance. This can be explained if we interpret the
progressive form in the first sentence as an eye-opener with which the reader enters the
immediate background. As it is the immediate background the reader is entering, the
progressive form is required.
The use of the simple form in the rest of the text can be understood as typical characteristics
of the detached narrative grounding style. The seldom use of progressive forms serves to
distance the reader from the subject. Moreover, the few progressive forms that are used give
the action much more emphasis. This is true for the whole novel.
Another way of understanding the paragraph would be to consider that the reader is following
Winston’s thought process rather than concrete events. As seen in this example, as well as in
the examples below, Winston is a very analytical character, which also results in the author’s
frequent use of the past perfect tense. Consequently, the reader is often delivered Winston’s
assumptions about what happened a few moments ago, rather than his instant observations.
A curious emotion stirred in Winston’s heart. In front of him was an enemy who was
trying to kill him: in front of him, also, was a human creature, in pain and perhaps
with a broken bone. Already he had instinctively started forward to help her. In the
moment when he had seen her fall on the bandaged arm, it had been as though he felt
the pain in his own body.
Analysis: The thought of someone trying to kill you is very intense and results in a reaction
emotional enough to justify the use of a progressive form. The rest of the paragraph uses
simple forms for reasons already listed above.
‘You’re hurt?’ he said.

‘It’s nothing. My arm. It’ll be all right in a second.’
She spoke as though her heart were fluttering. She had certainly turned very pale.
‘You haven’t broken anything?’
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‘No, I’m all right. It hurt for a moment, that’s all.’ (Orwell, 1947, 89)
Analysis: The aspectual forms in dialogue are nothing out of the ordinary (on a side note, the
use of contracted forms is interesting and points to an informal conversation). The progressive
form in the third paragraph is used to emphasize that her heart was fluttering the entire time
she spoke. In the following paragraph is yet another example of Winston analyzing his
surroundings.
SLOVENE
Samotna postava mu je prihajala naproti z drugega konca dolgega, močno
razsvetljenega hodnika. Bilo je dekle s temnimi lasmi. Štirje dnevi so minili od tistega
večera, ko je pred starinarno naletel nanjo. Ko je prišla bliže, je videl, da ji desna
roka visi v zanki, ki je na daljavo ni bilo opaziti, ker je bila iste barve kot njen
kombinezon. Verjetno si je poškodovala roko, ko se je vrtela okrog enega tistih
velikih kalejdoskopov, v katerih so »ustvarjali« grobe osnutke za romane. To je bila
na Oddelku za fikcijo vsakdanja nezgoda.
Bila sta morda štiri metre narazen, ko se je dekle spotaknilo in padlo skoraj
naravnost na obraz. Izvil se ji je oster krik bolečine. Gotovo je padla naravnost na
ranjeno roko. Winston je obstal. Dekle se je vzdignilo na kolena. Njen obraz je tako
prebledel, da je bil mlečno bele barve, in ustnice so bile v njem videti bolj rdeče kot
kdaj prej? Njene oči so se zastrmele v njegove s tako rotečim izrazom, da je bil bolj
podoben strahu kot bolečini.
Čuden občutek se mu je zganil v srcu. Pred njim je bil sovražnik, ki mu je stregel po

življenju, pred njim pa je bilo tudi trpeče človeško bitje, morda z zlomljeno kostjo. Že
je nagonsko stopil k njej, da bi ji pomagal. V trenutku, ko jo je videl pasti na
obvezano roko, mu je bilo, kot bi bil začutil bolečino v lastnem telesu.
»Ste se ranili?« je vprašal.

»Nič ni. Samo roka. Takoj bo dobro.«
Govorila je tako, kot bi ji srce razbijalo. Vsekakor pa je močno prebledela.
»Si niste nič zlomili?«
»Ne, mi je že dobro. Za trenutek me je zabolelo, to je vse.« (Orwell, 1967, 116)
3) Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought Police
ENGLISH
It was starting, it was starting at last! They could do nothing except stand gazing into
one another’s eyes. To run for life, to get out of the house before it was too late—no
such thought occurred to them. Unthinkable to disobey the iron voice from the wall.
There was a snap as though a catch had been turned back, and a crash of breaking
glass. The picture had fallen to the floor uncovering the telescreen behind it.
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‘Now they can see us,’ said Julia.
‘Now we can see you,’ said the voice. ‘Stand out in the middle of the room. Stand
back to back. Clasp your hands behind your heads. Do not touch one another.’
Analysis: The use of the progressive form in the first sentence communicates that the starting
of the procedure is all Winston and Julia can think about. This is further emphasized with the
following sentences describing their passivity with simple forms. The verb actions in the
dialogue in the rest of the excerpt are not aspectually relevant.
They were not touching, but it seemed to him that he could feel Julia’s body shaking.
Or perhaps it was merely the shaking of his own. He could just stop his teeth from
chattering, but his knees were beyond his control. There was a sound of trampling
boots below, inside the house and outside. The yard seemed to be full of men.
Something was being dragged across the stones. The woman’s singing had stopped
abruptly. There was a long, rolling clang, as though the washtub had been flung
across the yard, and then a confusion of angry shouts which ended in a yell of pain.
‘The house is surrounded,’ said Winston.
‘The house is surrounded,’ said the voice. He heard Julia snap her teeth together. ‘I
suppose we may as well say good-bye,’ she said.
‘You may as well say good-bye,’ said the voice. And then another quite different
voice, a thin, cultivated voice which Winston had the impression of having heard
before, struck in; ‘And by the way, while we are on the subject, ‘Here comes a
candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head’!’
Something crashed on to the bed behind Winston’s back. The head of a ladder had
been thrust through the window and had burst in the frame. Someone was climbing
through the window. There was a stampede of boots up the stairs. The room was full
of solid men in black uniforms, with ironshod boots on their feet and truncheons in
their hands.
Analysis: Throughout the whole excerpt, progressive forms are only used to describe facts
that Winston is sure of, followed or preceded by his speculations, which are given to the
reader with simple forms. It is clear that Winston is lost and disoriented in his current
situation, and the moment he perceives something to focus on, he gives it all his attention -
and, due to the use of progressive forms, so does the reader.
The progressive form in the first sentence could also be understood as another eye-opener
bringing the reader’s attention to a new situation.
Winston was not trembling any longer. Even his eyes he barely moved. One thing
alone mattered; to keep still, to keep still and not give them an excuse to hit you! A
man with a smooth prize-fighter’s jowl in which the mouth was only a slit paused
opposite him balancing his truncheon meditatively between thumb and forefinger.
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Winston met his eyes. The feeling of nakedness, with one’s hands behind one’s head
and one’s face and body all exposed, was almost unbearable. The man protruded the
tip of a white tongue, licked the place where his lips should have been, and then
passed on. There was another crash. Someone had picked up the glass paperweight
from the table and smashed it to pieces on the hearth-stone. The fragment of coral, a
tiny crinkle of pink like a sugar rosebud from a cake, rolled across the mat. How
small, thought Winston, how small it always was! There was a gasp and a thump
behind him, and he received a violent kick on the ankle which nearly flung him off
his balance. One of the men had smashed his fist into Julia’s solar plexus, doubling
her up like a pocket ruler. She was thrashing about on the floor, fighting for breath.
Winston dared not turn his head even by a millimetre, but sometimes her livid,
gasping face came within the angle of his vision. Even in his terror it was as though
he could feel the pain in his own body, the deadly pain which nevertheless was less
urgent than the struggle to get back her breath. He knew what it was like; the terrible,
agonizing pain which was there all the while but could not be suffered yet, because
before all else it was necessary to be able to breathe. Then two of the men hoisted her
up by knees and shoulders, and carried her out of the room like a sack. Winston had
a glimpse of her face, upside down, yellow and contorted, with the eyes shut, and still
with a smear of rouge on either cheek; and that was the last he saw of her.
Analysis: Once again, the progressive forms are used for the activities or perceptions that
Winston is focusing on the most. In the first sentence, his main focus is on not not making any
movement or attracting attention in any way. The second progressive form again expresses
what takes up most of his perception.
On the other hand, both of the progressive forms in this paragraph can be understood as eye-
openers as well, directing the reader’s attention to a new topic.
He stood dead still. No one had hit him yet. Thoughts which came of their own
accord but seemed totally uninteresting began to flit through his mind. He wondered
whether they had got Mr Charrington. He wondered what they had done to the
woman in the yard. He noticed that he badly wanted to urinate, and felt a faint
surprise, because he had done so only two or three hours ago. He noticed that the
clock on the mantelpiece said nine, meaning twentyone. But the light seemed too
strong. Would not the light be fading at twenty-one hours on an August evening? He
wondered whether after all he and Julia had mistaken the time—had slept the clock
round and thought it was twenty-thirty when really it was nought eight-thirty on the
following morning. But he did not pursue the thought further. It was not interesting.
Analysis: The paragraph above describes Winston’s train of thought. His thoughts are passive
and fleeting due to the situation, which calls for the use of simple forms. The single
progressive form is used for the thought that finally piques his interest in order to bring more
attention to it.
There was another, lighter step in the passage. Mr Charrington came into the room.
The demeanour of the black-uniformed men suddenly became more subdued.
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Something had also changed in Mr Charrington’s appearance. His eye fell on the
fragments of the glass paperweight.
‘Pick up those pieces,’ he said sharply.
A man stooped to obey. The cockney accent had disappeared; Winston suddenly
realized whose voice it was that he had heard a few moments ago on the telescreen.
Mr Charrington was still wearing his old velvet jacket, but his hair, which had been
almost white, had turned black. Also he was not wearing his spectacles. He gave
Winston a single sharp glance, as though verifying his identity, and then paid no more
attention to him. He was still recognizable, but he was not the same person any longer.
His body had straightened, and seemed to have grown bigger. His face had
undergone only tiny changes that had nevertheless worked a complete
transformation. The black eyebrows were less bushy, the wrinkles were gone, the
whole lines of the face seemed to have altered; even the nose seemed shorter. It was
the alert, cold face of a man of about five-and-thirty. It occurred to Winston that for
the first time in his life he was looking, with knowledge, at a member of the Thought
Police. (Orwell, 1947, 189—191)
Analysis: In the last paragraph, Winston is watching Mr Charrington intently and taking
notice of the ways his appearance has changed. Progressive forms are used for the verb
actions set in the present (expressed with the narrative past tense), as Winston is, in a way,
taking ‘mental notes’ of the changes in Mr Charrington. The verb actions presented with the
past perfect are once again an expression of Winston’s analytical way of observing his
surroundings.
SLOVENE
Začelo se je, slednjič se je začelo! Storiti nista mogla nič drugega kot stati in strmeti
drug drugemu v oči. Boriti se za življenje, priti iz hiše, preden bo prepozno – nič
takega jima ni prišlo na misel. Nepojmljivo je bilo, da bi se ne pokorila železnemu
glasu za steno. Tlesknilo je, kot bi se zavrtela ključavnica, in zažvenketalo je razbito
steklo. Slika je padla na tla in odkrila za seboj telekran.
»Zdaj naju lahko vidijo,« je rekla Julija.
»Zdaj vaju lahko vidimo,« je rekel glas. »Stopita na sredo sobe. Stojta s hrbtom ob
hrbtu. Sklenita roke nad glavo. Ne dotikajta se drug drugega.«
Nista se dotikala, a zdelo se mu je, da čuti drhtenje Julijinega telesa. Ali pa je bilo to
samo njegovo drhtenje. Lahko je ustavil šklepetanje zob, a nad koleni ni imel oblasti.
Slišati je bilo topot škornjev spodaj, znotraj in zunaj hiše. Videti je bilo, da je dvorišče
polno ljudi. Nekaj so vlekli po kamnu. Ženino petje je kot odrezano utihnilo. Dolg,
kotaleč ropot, kot bi vrgli škaf čez dvorišče, in nato zmešnjava jeznih glasov, ki se je
končala s krikom bolečine.
»Hiša je obkoljena,« je rekel Winston.
15
»Hiša je obkoljena,« je rekel glas.
Slišal je, da je Julija stisnila zobe. »Mislim, da se vseeno lahko posloviva,« je rekla.
»Vseeno se lahko poslovita,« je rekel glas. In nato se je vmešal čisto drug glas,
tenak, kultiviran glas, ki je Winstonu vzbudil vtis, da ga je že slišal: »In mimogrede,
ko smo že pri stvari. Tukaj je sveča, da ti posveti spat, tu je sekira, da ti preseka
vrat!«
Nekaj je počilo na postelji za Winstonovim hrbtom. Vrh lestve so potisnili skozi

okno, da je zadel ob okvir. Nekdo je splezal skozi okno. Divje tekanje škornjev po
stopnišču. Soba je bila polna tršatih mož v črnih uniformah, z železom podkovanimi
škornji na nogah in s pendreki v rokah. Winston ni več trepetal. Celo oči je komaj
premikal. Ena sama stvar je bila važna: ostati pri miru in ne dati jim opravičila, da te
udarijo! Neki moški z gladkim obrazom poklicnega boksarja, v katerem so bila usta
le reža, se je ustavil nasproti njega, zamišljeno tehtajoč pendrek med palcem in
kazalcem. Winston se je srečal z njegovimi očmi. Občutek golote, ker je imel roke
sklenjene za glavo, telo in obraz pa nezavarovana, je bil skoraj neznosen. Moški je
pokazal vrh jezika, oslinil mesto, kjer bi morale biti ustnice, in odšel dalje. Drug
tresk. Nekdo je z mize dvignil obtežilnik za papir in ga na ognjišču zdrobil na koščke.
Košček korale, drobna rožnata kroglica, podobna sladkornemu rožnemu popku s torte,
se je zakotalila čez rogoznico. Kako majhna, je pomislil Winston, kako majhna je
zmeraj bila. Nekdo je zasopel in zatopotal za njim in dobil je divjo brco v gleženj, ki
ga je skoraj vrgla iz ravnotežja. Eden od mož je s pestjo udaril Julijo v pleksus, da se
je zvila kot zložljiv meter. Boreč se za sapo se je zvijala na tleh. Winston si ni upal
niti za milimeter obrniti glave, toda včasih je njen mrtvaško bledi, sapo loveči obraz
prišel v njegov zorni kot. Celo v njegovi grozi se mu je zdelo, da čuti bolečino v
lastnem telesu, smrtno bolečino, ki pa je bila kljub temu manj huda kot napor, da bi
ulovil sapo. Vedel je, kako je to: strahotna, smrtna bolečina, ki je ves čas tam, a se ji
še ne moreš prepustiti, kajti najprej je treba dihati. Nato sta jo dva moža dvignila pri
kolenih in ramenih in jo kot vrečo odnesla iz sobe. Winston je bežno uzrl njen obraz,
obrnjen navzdol, rumen in spačen, z zaprtimi očmi in še vedno z madeži rdečila na
licih; in to je bilo poslednje, kar je videl od nje.
Stal je mrtvaško mirno. Nihče ga še ni udaril. Misli, ki so prihajale same od sebe, a

so se mu zdele popolnoma nezanimive, so mu začele begati po glavi. Spraševal se je,
ali so dobili gospoda Charringtona. Spraševal se je, kaj so storili z žensko na
dvorišču. Opazil je, da nujno želi urinirati, in to ga je navdajalo z lahnim
presenečenjem, kajti to je opravil šele pred dvema ali tremi urami. Opazil je, da ura
na napušču kaže devet, se pravi enaindvajset. Toda svetloba je bila videti premočna.
Mar ne bi morala svetloba pojemati ob enaindvajsetih na avgustov večer? Spraševal
se je, ali se nista z Julijo navsezadnje zmotila v času – prespala dvanajst ur in
mislila, da je dvajset trideset, ko je bilo v resnici osem trideset naslednjega jutra. Toda
te misli ni nadaljeval. Ni bila zanimiva.
16
Slišati je bilo neki drug, lažji korak na hodniku. Gospod Charrington je stopil v sobo.
Vedenje črno uniformiranih mož je nenadoma postalo bolj krotko. Nekaj se je tudi
spremenilo v Charringtonovi zunanjosti. Njegov pogled je padel na koščke
steklenega obtežilnika.
»Poberite te črepinje,« je ostro dejal.
Neki moški se je ubogljivo sklonil. Cockneyjski naglas je izginil. Winston je

nenadoma dojel, čigav glas je slišal pred nekaj trenutki na telekranu. Charrington je še
vedno nosil svoj stari žametni suknjič, a lasje, ki so bili skoraj beli, so postali črni.
Tudi očal ni nosil. Winstonu je naklonil en sam oster pogled, kot bi hotel ugotoviti,
ali je to on, in mu nato ni več posvečal pozornosti. Še ga je bilo mogoče prepoznati,
vendar ni bil več isti človek. Njegovo telo se je zravnalo in zdelo se je, da je postalo
večje. Obraz se je le malo spremenil, vendar je to delovalo kot popolna pre obrazba.
Črne obrvi so bile manj košate, gube so izginile, vse poteze na obrazu so bile videti
spremenjene; celo nos je bil videti krajši. Bil je to buden, hladen obraz moškega pri
petintridesetih. Winstonu je prišlo na misel, da prvič v svojem življenju vede gleda
pripadnika Miselne policije. (Orwell, 1967, 243—246)
Descriptions of nature
4) Winston and Julia meet up in the countryside
ENGLISH
They were standing in the shade of hazel bushes. The sunlight, filtering through
innumerable leaves, was still hot on their faces. Winston looked out into the field
beyond, and underwent a curious, slow shock of recognition. He knew it by sight. An
old, closebitten pasture, with a footpath wandering across it and a molehill here and
there. In the ragged hedge on the opposite side the boughs of the elm trees swayed just
perceptibly in the breeze, and their leaves stirred faintly in dense masses like
women’s hair. Surely somewhere nearby, but out of sight, there must be a stream with
green pools where dace were swimming? (Orwell, 1947, 104)
Analysis: The progressive form in the first sentence functions as an eye-opener that transports
the reader to the immediate background of the scene. The rest of the verb actions are
expressed with simple forms, some because the subjects of their clauses are inanimate, some
due to the detached narrative grounding style. The last sentence contains a progressive form
which serves to emphasize Winston’s intense surprise when he recognizes the field.
SLOVENE
Stala sta v senci. Sončna svetloba, ki je pronicala skozi neštevilne liste, je bila na
njunih obrazih še vedno vroča. Winston je pogledal polje na oni strani in doživel
čuden, počasen pretres prepoznanja. Poznal ga je na videz. Star, čisto popasen pašnik,
s stezo, ki teče po njem, in krtino tu pa tam. Ob pretrgani živi meji na nasprotni strani
so se v vetru komaj opazno majale veje brestov in njihovi listi so lahno trepetali kot
17
prameni ženskih las. Gotovo mora biti nekje blizu, a nedosegljiv očem, potok z
zelenimi tolmuni, v katerih plavajo race. (Orwell, 1967, 135)
The protagonist in an inside setting

5) Winston dealing with a photograph of ‘public enemies’
ENGLISH
He had gone straight on working. As soon as he saw what the photograph was, and
what it meant, he had covered it up with another sheet of paper. Luckily, when he
unrolled it, it had been upside-down from the point of view of the telescreen.
He took his scribbling pad on his knee and pushed back his chair so as to get as far
away from the telescreen as possible. To keep your face expressionless was not
difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled, with an effort: but you could
not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to
pick it up. He let what he judged to be ten minutes go by, tormented all the while by
the fear that some accident—a sudden draught blowing across his desk, for instance—
would betray him. Then, without uncovering it again, he dropped the photograph
into the memory hole, along with some other waste papers. Within another minute,
perhaps, it would have crumbled into ashes. (Orwell, 1947, 67)
Analysis: All the verb actions in this excerpt are provided in the simple form, which might be
surprising because the protagonist is dealing with a fairly intense situation. However, the use
of simple forms makes sense after some consideration. Even though Winston’s actions excite
him, he is not allowed to show it because he is being watched. Consequently, his actions seem
passive to an outside observer, and are presented to the reader as such as well – with simple
forms. Beside that, the text seems more fast-paced because of the simple forms.
SLOVENE
Pri priči se je lotil dela. Kakor hitro je opazil, kaj je na fotografiji in kaj pomeni, jo je
pokril z listom papirja. Na srečo je bila za telekran narobe obrnjena, ko jo je razvil.
Položil si je pisalni blok na kolena in odrinil stol, da bi se kolikor mogoče oddaljil od

telekrana. Ni bilo težko obdržati obraz brezizrazen in če si se potrudil, si lahko
nadzoroval celo dihanje, toda bitja srca ni bilo moč nadzorovati in telekran je bil
dovolj občutljiv, da ga je zaznal. Pustil je, da je minilo po njegovi presoji deset
minut, medtem pa ga je neprestano mučil strah, da ga bo kakšen slučaj – nenaden piš
vetra čez pisalno mizo, na primer – izdal. Potem je fotografijo, ne da bi jo bil znova
razkril, hkrati z drugimi odvečnimi papirji spustil v spominsko režo. Že naslednjo
minuto se je morda spremenila v pepel. (Orwell, 1967, 89)
The protagonist in an outside setting
6) Winston meets Julia in town
18
ENGLISH
Winston was in Victory Square before the appointed time. He wandered round the
base of the enormous fluted column, at the top of which Big Brother’s statue gazed
southward towards the skies where he had vanquished the Eurasian aeroplanes (the
Eastasian aeroplanes, it had been, a few years ago) in the Battle of Airstrip One. In
the street in front of it there was a statue of a man on horseback which was supposed
to represent Oliver Cromwell. At five minutes past the hour the girl had still not
appeared. Again the terrible fear seized upon Winston. She was not coming, she had
changed her mind! He walked slowly up to the north side of the square and got a sort
of pale-coloured pleasure from identifying St Martin’s Church, whose bells, when it
had bells, had chimed ‘You owe me three farthings.’ Then he saw the girl standing at
the base of the monument, reading or pretending to read a poster which ran spirally up
the column. It was not safe to go near her until some more people had accumulated.
There were telescreens all round the pediment. But at this moment there was a din of
shouting and a zoom of heavy vehicles from somewhere to the left. Suddenly
everyone seemed to be running across the square. The girl nipped nimbly round the
lions at the base of the monument and joined in the rush. Winston followed. As he
ran, he gathered from some shouted remarks that a convoy of Eurasian prisoners was
passing.
Analysis: The first part of the paragraph mostly consists of descriptions of the town square;
the passive, inanimate subjects require the use of simple forms. The thought that fills Winston
with fear, of Julia not coming, is provided in the progressive form because he perceives it so
intensely. The next progressive form introduces a new dynamic action. The final progressive
form expressed simultaneity with the verb action in the simple form.
Already a dense mass of people was blocking the south side of the square. Winston, at
normal times the kind of person who gravitates to the outer edge of any kind of
scrimmage, shoved, butted, squirmed his way forward into the heart of the crowd.
Soon he was within arm’s length of the girl, but the way was blocked by an enormous
prole and an almost equally enormous woman, presumably his wife, who seemed to
form an impenetrable wall of flesh. Winston wriggled himself sideways, and with a
violent lunge managed to drive his shoulder between them. For a moment it felt as
though his entrails were being ground to pulp between the two muscular hips, then he
had broken through, sweating a little. He was next to the girl. They were shoulder to
shoulder, both staring fixedly in front of them.
Analysis: The first sentence contains a progressive form that functions as an eye-opener into
a new situation. The following simple forms describe dynamic action, until the moment when
Winston is stuck between the two large people. Expressing this verb action with the
progressive form gives the moment more intensity, as well as the illusion of dragging on
forever, just like it seems to Winston.
A long line of trucks, with wooden-faced guards armed with sub-machine guns
standing upright in each corner, was passing slowly down the street. In the trucks little
19
yellow men in shabby greenish uniforms were squatting, jammed close together.
Their sad, Mongolian faces gazed out over the sides of the trucks utterly incurious.
Occasionally when a truck jolted there was a clank-clank of metal: all the prisoners
were wearing leg-irons. Truck-load after truck-load of the sad faces passed. Winston
knew they were there but he saw them only intermittently. The girl’s shoulder, and
her arm right down to the elbow, were pressed against his. Her cheek was almost near
enough for him to feel its warmth. She had immediately taken charge of the
situation, just as she had done in the canteen. She began speaking in the same
expressionless voice as before, with lips barely moving, a mere murmur easily
drowned by the din of voices and the rumbling of the trucks. (Orwell, 1947, 96—97)
Analysis: The Mongolian war prisoners are, even though they are not a point of focus for
Winston, animate subjects and therefore described with progressive forms, with the exception
of their faces, which are explicitly described as passive and therefore require a simple form.
The simple forms in the following sentences describe dynamic actions with simple forms.
SLOVENE
Winston je bil na Trgu zmage pred domenjeno uro. Postaval je okrog vznožja
ogromnega, izbrazdanega stebra, vrhu katerega je kip Velikega brata strmel na jug
proti nebu, na katerem je premagal evrazijska letala (še pred nekaj leti so bila ta letala
eastazijska) v boju za Airstrip Ena. Na cesti pred njim je bil kip moža na konju, ki je
menda predstavljal Oliverja Cromwella. Pet minut čez določeno uro se dekle še ni
pojavilo. Winstona je spet zagrabil neznanski strah. Ne bo prišla, premislila si je!
Počasi je odšel proti severnemu koncu trga in se bledo razveselil, ko je prepoznal
cerkev sv. Martina, katerega zvonovi, ko je še imel zvonove, so peli »Dolžan si mi tri
novce«. Potem je zagledal dekle, ki je stalo ob vznožju spomenika in bralo ali se
pretvarjalo, da bere plakat, ki se je v spirali ovijal okoli stebra. Ni se ji bilo varno
približati vse dotlej, dokler se ne bi zbralo še kaj ljudi. Okrog in okrog vznožja so bili
telekrani. A v tem trenutku sta se od nekod z leve razlegla kričanje in ropot težkih
vozil. Nenadoma je bilo videti, da vsi bežijo čez trg. Dekle je hitro steklo okrog levov
ob vznožju spomenika in se pridružila množici. Winston ji je sledil. Med tekom je po
neki zakričani opazki ugotovil, da gre mimo sprevod evrazijskih ujetnikov.
Velika množica ljudi je že zaprla južno stran trga. Winston, ki je bil v običajnih
okoliščinah tiste vrste človek, ki teži vedno k zunanjemu robu kakršnegakoli vrveža,
se je prerival, suval in si utiral pot naravnost v srce množice. Kmalu je bil le za
dolžino roke oddaljen od dekleta, a pot mu je zapiral velikanski moški in skoraj enako
velikanska ženska, verjetno njegova žena; skupaj sta sestavljala skoraj nepremagljiv
zid iz mesa. Winston se je obrnil postrani in s silovitim sunkom mu je uspelo, da je
zrinil ramena mednju. Za trenutek je čutil, ko da se mu drobovje med dvema
mišičastima bokoma melje v kašo, potem pa se je, lahno prepoten, prebil skozi. Bil je
poleg dekleta. Stala sta z ramo ob rami in oba nepremično strmela predse.
Dolg sprevod kamionov, na vsakem od njih je v kotih vzravnano stal vojak z

olesenelim obrazom, se je počasi pomikal po ulici. Na kamionih so čepeli, tesno
20
stisnjeni drug k drugemu, majhni rumeni možje v razcapanih zelenkastih uniformah.

Njihovi otožni mongolski obrazi so grozljivo ravnodušno strmeli čez stranice
kamionov. Včasih, kadar se je kamion stresel, je zažvenketalo železo: vsi ujetniki so
imeli okove na nogah. Tovor za tovorom žalostnih obrazov se je pomikal mimo.
Winston je vedel, da so tu, vendar jih je videl le v presledkih. Dekletova rama in njena
desna roka je bila vse do komolca stisnjena k njemu. Njeno lice je bilo skoraj dovolj
blizu, da je lahko čutil njegovo toploto. Takoj je prevzela pobudo, kakor je to storila
v menzi. Spregovorila je z enako brezizraznim glasom kot prej, komaj premikajoč
ustnice, s slabotnim šepetom, ki ga je zlahka preglasil hrup glasov in ropotanje
kamionov. (Orwell, 1967, 125—126)
7) Winston meets Julia in the countryside
ENGLISH
The lane widened, and in a minute he came to the footpath she had told him of, a
mere cattle-track which plunged between the bushes. He had no watch, but it could
not be fifteen yet. The bluebells were so thick underfoot that it was impossible not to
tread on them. He knelt down and began picking some partly to pass the time away,
but also from a vague idea that he would like to have a bunch of flowers to offer to
the girl when they met. He had got together a big bunch and was smelling their faint
sickly scent when a sound at his back froze him, the unmistakable crackle of a foot on
twigs. He went on picking bluebells. It was the best thing to do. It might be the girl,
or he might have been followed after all. To look round was to show guilt. He picked
another and another. A hand fell lightly on his shoulder. (Orwell, 1947, 100)
Analysis: The first part of the paragraph contains inanimate subjects, which require simple
forms. Even though Winston is the subject of the rest of the sentences, his actions are also
fairly passive; combined with the detached narrative grounding style, the simple form is also
fitting. The only progressive form is provided to express simultaneity with the verb action
expressed with the simple form.
SLOVENE
Pot se je razširila in v minuti je prišel do steze, o kateri mu je pravila, pravzaprav le

steze za živino, ki se je vila med grmovjem. Ure ni imel, ampak ni še moglo biti
petnajst. Pod nogami je bilo tako na gosto zvončnic, da je bilo nemogoče ne stopati
nanje. Pokleknil je in jih začel nabirati, deloma zato, da bi mu minil čas, pa tudi
zato, ker je nejasno čutil, da bi dekletu rad podaril šopek rož, ko se snideta. Nabral
je velik šop in ravno vohal njihov nežni, slabotni vonj, ko je zledenel od nekega
zvoka za hrbtom, nedvomnega pokanja vejic pod nogami. Trgal je dalje zvončnice. To
je bilo še najbolje. Lahko, da je bilo dekle, navsezadnje pa so ga morda zasledovali.
Ozreti se bi pomenilo priznati krivdo. Odtrgal je eno in še eno. Neka roka se mu je
lahno spustila na rame. (Orwell, 1967, 130)
21
Habitual activity
1) Description of Okonkwo’s daily life
ENGLISH
During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cockcrow until the
chickens went to roost. He was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. But his wives and
young children were not as strong, and so they suffered. But they dared not complain
openly. Okonkwo's first son, Nwoye, who was then 12 years old but was already causing his
father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father,
and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was
developing into a sad-faced youth.
Analysis: This excerpt expresses a string of events or daily actions of the main character and
so the simple form is used. The two progressive forms are used, not because it the situation is
more intense or as an eye-opener, but because it wants to express the duration of the action.
Nwoye is still causing trouble and has not yet fully developed into a sad-faced youth. In this
novel the author uses the progressive a lot of times to express the duration of the action that
happened in the past.
SLOVENE
Med setvijo je Okonkvo delal na polju vsak dan do takrat, ko so se oglasili petelini, pa do
takrat, so šle kure spat. Bil je hudo močan in ni poznal utrujenosti. Njegove žene in otroci
niso bili tako močni in zato so trpeli med delom. A si niso upali pritoževati se. Nvoje,
Okonkvov prvorojenec, je bil takrat star komaj dvanajst let in oče je bil zelo zaskrbljen spričo
prvih znamenj lenobnosti. Očetu se je pač zdel len in tako ga je poskušal spremeniti z
nenehnim oštevanjem in udarci. Nvoje se je tako razvijal v mladeniča z žalostnim obrazom.
Suprising activity
2) Okonkwo accidentally kills the dead man’s son
ENGLISH
The drums and the dancing began again and reached fever-heat. Darkness was around the
corner, and the burial was near. Guns fired the last salute and the cannon rent the sky. And
then from the centre of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror. It was as
if a spell had been cast. All was silent. In the centre of the crowd a boy lay in a pool of
blood. It was the dead man's sixteen-year-old son, who with his brothers and half-brothers
had been dancing the traditional farewell to their father. Okonkwo's gun had exploded and a
piece of iron had pierced the boy's heart. The confusion that followed was without parallel in
the tradition of Umuofia. Violent deaths were frequent, but nothing like this had ever
happened.
22
Analysis: Even though the situation is quite intense and surprising all the verbs are in the
simple form, except for one verb (here it is once again used to express that they were dancing
for a long time). This can be explained by the fact that it is a more detached narrative
grounding style. It was used to distance the reader from the action and not make it very
intense.
SLOVENE
Bobnanje in ples sta se spet razvnela in narasla do vročičnosti. Tema je ležala za vogalom,
bližal se je čas pogreba. Puške so poslednjič zapokale, zadnjič so sprožili možnar. Tedaj se je
iz srede besnila razlegel strahoten krik in zaslišali so se obupni klici. Bilo je, kakor da jih je
nekdo uročil. Vse je onemelo. Sredi množice je v krvi obležal deček. Bil je šestnajstletni
pokojnikov sin, ki je skupaj z brati in polbrati plesal častitljivi poslovilni ples za očetom.
Okonkvovo puško je razneslo in železni drobec je zadel dečka v srce.
3) A swarm of locusts suddenly appears in Umuofia
Okonkwo and the boys worked in complete silence, which was only broken when a new
palm frond was lifted on to the wall or when a busy hen moved dry leaves about in her
ceaseless search for food. And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world, and the sun
seemed hidden behind a thick cloud. Okonkwo looked up from his work and wondered if it
was going to rain at such an unlikely time of the year. But almost immediately a shout of joy
broke out in all directions, and Umuofia, which had dozed in the noonday haze, broke into
life and activity.
'Locusts are descending,' was joyfully chanted everywhere, and men, women and children
left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. The locusts had
not come for many, many years, and only the old people had seen them before.
At first, a fairly small swarm came. They were the harbingers sent to survey the land. And
then appeared on the horizon a slowly moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud
drifting towards Umuofia. Soon it covered half the sky, and the solid mass was now broken
by tiny eyes of light like shining star-dust. It was a tremendous sight, full of power and
beauty.
Analysis: The first paragraph is just listing mundane and everyday events so the narrative is
very passive and therefore it is expected that the text contains simple verb forms. The first
sentence in the second paragraph can be understood as an eye-opener to take the reader into
the surprising part of the narrative and then it continues with simple verb forms all the way to
the end of the third paragraph. The progressive form drifting is once again used as a verb to
express the duration meaning that not all of them have arrived yet.
SLOVENE
Okonkvo in oba dečka so delali molče. Slišati je bilo le prasketanje palmovih vej in šelestenje
suhih listov, po katerih je marljiva kokoš iskala hrane. In tedaj je zemljo nenadoma prekrila
senca, sonce pa se je skrilo za gostim oblakom. Okonkvo je dvignil pogled od dela in se
vprašal, ali je mogoče, da bo v tem letnem času deževalo. V istem trenutku je z vseh strani
23
zadonelo veselo kričanje in Umuofia, ki je sanjala v opoldanski vročini, se je zdrznila in

prebudila iz spanja.
»Kobilice prihajajo!« so ljudje povsod radostno vzklikali. Možje, ženske in otroci so pustili
delo in igro in stekli pod milo nebo, da bi videli nevsakdanji prizor. Kobilic ni bilo že dolga
dolga leta in le starci so jih že nekoč videli.
Sprva je priplaval manjši roj: izvidniki, ki so si ogledovali deželo. Zatem se je na obzorju

prikazala velikanska črna oblačna stena, ki se je počasi približevala Umuofii. Kmalu je
zakrila polovico neba kakor črna krpa s tisočerimi luknjicami, podobnimi razsejanemu,
lesketajočemu se zvezdnemu prahu. Neverjeten prizor, poln moči in lepote.
4) Men discover Okonkwo’s dead body

ENGLISH
It was to this bush that Obierika led the Commissioner and his men. They skirted around the
compound, keeping close to the wall. The only sound they made was with their feet as they
crushed dry leaves. Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo's body was dangling,
and they stopped dead. ...
Obierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend's dangling body, turned suddenly to the
District Commissioner and said ferociously: 'That man was one of the greatest men in
Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog ...' He could
not say any more. His voice trembled and choked his words.
Analysis: The first few lines talk about how side characters are walking towards the main
characters house. The use of simple forms is expected because it is just describing a string of
events. Keeping is however used in the progressive form which is a little strange but it can be
once again understood as the long duration of the action. Then we arrive at the center of the
action as the characters see the dead body of the main character. The verb is used in the
progressive form, making it more intense and surprising for the reader. The first verb form in
the second paragraph is written in progressive form with the same intention. And then the
narrator once again takes a more passive approach to the whole action and writes everything
in simple forms which distances the reader from the intense situation.
SLOVENE
V to goščavo je Obierika peljal komisarja in njegove može. Šli so okoli domačije in se tesno
držali zidu. Slišati je bilo le šuštenje suhega listja pod njihovimi koraki. Tako so prišli do
drevesa, na katerem je viselo Okonkvovo truplo. …
Obierika, ki je ves čas strmel v zibajoče se truplo prijatelja, se je nenadoma obrnil k
okrajnemu komisarju in divje rekel: »Bil je eden največjih mož v Umuofii. Pognali ste ga v
smrt in zdaj ga bodo zagrebli kakor psa …« Tu je utihnil. Glas mu je vzdrhtel in besede so
obstale v grlu.
Descriptions of nature
4) The rainy season finally comes
24
ENGLISH
At last, the rain came. It was sudden and tremendous. For two or three moons the sun had
been gathering strength till it seemed to breathe a breath of fire on the earth. All the grass
had long been scorched brown, and the sand felt like live coals to the feet. Evergreen trees
wore a dusty coat of brown. The birds were silenced in the forests, and the world lay panting
under the live, vibrating heat. And then came the clap of thunder. It was an angry, metallic
and thirsty clap, unlike the deep and liquid rumbling of the rainy season. A mighty wind
arose and filled the air with dust. Palm trees swayed as the wind combed their leaves into
flying crests like strange and fantastic coiffure.
Analysis: Descriptions of nature and other inanimate objects are usually written in simple
verb forms but here is an interesting paragraph where the weather is described in some lines
with the progressive form. A reason for this could be that the changing weather is the centre
of the narration and the second reason could be that the narrator wanted to stress the intensity
of the changing weather. It could also be understood as an expression of the duration of the
action (the sun had been gathering strength for some time).
SLOVENE
Deževje je prišlo nenadoma in s strahotno močjo. Sonce je pripekalo dva ali tri lune, dokler
se ni zdelo, da diha na zemljo ognjeno sapo. Trava je bila že zdavnaj osmojena in peščena tla
pod nogami so žarela kakor tleče oglje. Vednozelena drevesa je prekril rjav peščen plašč. V
gozdovih so utihnile ptice in dežela je hropela v cvrčeči vročini. In tedaj je prvič zagrmelo.
Grom je bil jezen, kovinski in žejen, in nič podoben vlažnemu grmenju v deževni dobi. Zavel
je silovit veter in napolnil zrak s prahom. Palme so se upogibale, ko je veter česal njihove
liste v leteče perjanice, podobne čudnim in fantastičnim pričeskam.
The protagonist in an inside setting

5) Okonkwo and other men come into the court-house
ENGLISH
And so the six men went to see the District Commissioner, armed with their matchets. They
did not carry guns, for that would be unseemly. They were led into the court-house where
the District Commissioner sat. He received them politely. They unslung their goatskin bags
and their sheathed matchets, put them on the floor, and sat down.
'I have asked you to come,' began the Commissioner,' because of what happened during my
absence. I have been told a few things but I cannot believe them until I have heard your
own side. Let us talk about it like friends and find a way of ensuring that it does not happen
again.'
Analysis: Even though the excerpt is talking about a fairly intense situation or at least one
that can be very stressful everything is written with simple verb form. The reason for this is
that once again the narrator uses the detached grounding style making the reader distance
himself/herself from the situation.
25
SLOVENE
In tako se je šesterica, oborožena z mačetami, odpravila k okrajnemu komisarju. Pušk niso
vzeli, to se ne bi spodobilo. Pripeljali so jih v sodno poslopje, kjer je sedel okrajni komisar.
Sprejel jih je vljudno. Odložili so bisage iz kozje kože, spravili mačete v nožnice, jih
položili na tla in posedli.
»Povabil sem vas k sebi,« je rekel okrajni komisar, »da bi se pogovoril z vami o tem, kar se
je zgodilo v času moje odsotnosti. Pripovedovali so mi o dogodkih, katerim ne morem
verjeti, dokler ne bom slišal še vašega poročila. Pogovarjali se bomo kot prijatelji in poiskali
pot, da bi se podobne reči v prihodnje ne ponovile.«
6) Okonkwo’s thoughts in his bed after he is set free from prison
ENGLISH
As he lay on his bamboo bed he thought about the treatment he had received in the white
man's court and, he swore vengeance. If Umuofia decided on war, all would be well. But if
they chose to be cowards he would go out and avenge himself. He thought about wars in the
past. The noblest, he thought, was the war against Isike. In those days Okudo was still alive.
Okudo sang a war song in a way that no other man could. He was not a fighter, but his voice
turned every man into a lion.
'Worthy men are no more,' Okonkwo sighed as he remembered those days. 'Isike will never
forget how we slaughtered them in that war. We killed twelve of their men and they killed
only two of ours. Before the end of the fourth market week they were suing for peace. Those
were days when men were men.'
Analysis: The excerpt shows Okonkwo’s inner thoughts while he is laying in bed. Almost
everything is written in simple verb forms because thoughts can be categorized as an abstract
notion and are therefore written in simple forms. The only verb in progressive form is were
suing which I think can be explained in different ways. One could be that the action of suing
had not yet ended or it can be an example of loose narrative grounding where the author
chooses the form spontaneously.
SLOVENE
Ležeč na bambusovi postelji je razmišljal o ravnanju, ki ga je bil deležen na sodišču belega
moža, in prisegel maščevanje. Če se bo Umuofia odločila za vojno, bo vse prav. Če pa se bo
strahopetno umaknila, bo sam poskrbel za maščevanje. Pomislil je na vojne, ki jih je
doživel. Najplemenitejša je bila vojna proti Isiku. Tedaj je živel še Okudo – mož, ki je znal
peti bojne pesmi kakor nihče drug. Sam sicer ni bil bojevnik, toda njegov glas je spreminjal
može v leve.
»Takih mož ni več,« je zastokal Okonkvo v mislih na tiste čase. »Isike ne bo nikoli pozabil,
kako smo poklali njegove može v tisti vojni. Pobili smo dvanajst njihovih vojščakov, oni pa
le dva naša. Še preden je minil četrti tržni teden, so zaprosili za mir. To so bili dnevi, ko so
bili možje res možje.«
26
The protagonist in an outside setting

7) Okokwo is outside digging a pit
ENGLISH
Outside the obi Okagbue and Okonkwo were digging the pit to find where Ezinma had
buried her iyi-uwa. Neighbours sat around, watching. The pit was now so deep that they no
longer saw the digger. They only saw the red earth he threw up mounting higher and higher.
Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, stood near the edge of the pit because he wanted to take in all that
happened.
Okagbue had again taken over the digging from Okonkwo. He worked, as usual, in silence.
The neighbors and Okonkwo's wives were now talking. The children had lost interest and
were playing. Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard. 'It is very
near now,' he said. 'I have felt it.' There was immediate excitement and those who were
sitting jumped to their feet.
Analysis: In these two paragraphs there are quite a few instances where the progressive verb
form is used. I believe it could be used to because we are in the center of the situation and so
the reader is more engaged with the situation. However in the second paragraph there are a
couple instances where the author first uses the simple form and then the progressive form.
This could be just because of author’s spontaneous decisions or he wrote some of the verb
forms in progressive to express the duration of the action.
SLOVENE
Pred obijem sta Okagbue in Okonkvo še dalje kopala jamo, da bi odkrila, kam je Ezinma
pokopala svoj iji-uva. Sosedje so posedli okrog luknje in gledali. Luknja je bila že tako
globoka, da kopačev ni bilo več videti, le rdečo zemljo, ki je rastla na kupu. Okonkvov sin
Nvoje je stal tik zraven luknje, da bi česa ne zamudil.
Okagbue je znova zamenjal Okonkva pri kopanju in zdaj je molče delal. Okonkvove žene in
sosede so se pogovarjale. Otroci so se začeli dolgočasiti in so se raje igrali. Nenadoma je
Okagbue živahno kot leopard skočil iz luknje. »Zdaj je prav blizu,« je rekel. »Začutil sem
ga.« Novica je bila vznemirljiva in vsi so planili pokonci.
8) All the people from Umuofia come to Ezedu’s funeral
ENGLISH
Ezeudu was a great man, and so all the clan was at his funeral. The ancient drums of death
beat, guns and cannon were fired, and the men dashed about in frenzy, cutting down every
tree or animal they saw, jumping over walls and dancing on the roof. It was a warrior's
funeral, and from morning till night warriors came and went in their age-groups. They all
wore smoked raffia skirts and their bodies were painted with chalk and charcoal. Now and
again and ancestral spirit or egwugwu appeared from the underworld, speaking in a
tremulous, unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia. Some of them were very
violent, and there had been a mad rush for shelter earlier in the day when one appeared with
27
a sharp matchet and was only prevented from doing serious harm by two men who
restrained him with the help of a strong rope tied around his waist.
Analysis: Even though the excerpt talks about a situation that is obviously exciting (drums
beat, guns and cannons were fired etc.) and there is a lot going on, most of sentences are
written with simple verb forms to make the reader detached from the situation and because
this is just one of many events that happen in this clan’s village everytime somebody dies.
The instances where the progressive verb form is used can be explained with the intention to
once again express the duration of the action.
SLOVENE
Ezeudu je bil velik mož in zato je na pogreb prišel ves klan. Starodavni mrtvaški bobni so
grmeli, puške in možnarji so streljali in možje so razburjeni tekali sem ter tja, posekali vsako
drevo in ubili sleherno žival, ki so jo srečali, skakali prek zidov in plesali po strehah.
Pokopavali so bojevnika in od jutra do večera so v skupinah prihajali in odhajali vojščaki
različnih starostnih skupin. Vsi so nosili krila iz ličja rafije, črne od dima, telesa pa so si
poslikali s kredo in ogljem. Tu in tam se je iz podzemlja prikazal egvugvu, duh prednikov,
popolnoma prekrit z rafijo, in spregovoril s tresočim in nezemskim glasom. Nekateri izmed
njih so bili hudo nasilni, in ko se je dopoldne prikazal egvugvu z ostro mačeto, so vsi zbežali
in se poskušali skriti, in kdo ve, kaj bi se bilo zgodilo, če ga dva moža ne bi ukrotila z
debelo vrvjo, zavezano okrog njihovih ledij.
28
4. Statistical analysis
As shown in the graph above, the analyzed excerpts from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
contain 260 simple aspectual forms and 25 progressive aspectual forms, while the Slovene
translations of those excerpts contain 171 perfective aspectual forms and 160 imperfective
aspectual forms. Meanwhile, the analyzed excerpts from the novel Things Fall Apart contain
158 simple aspectual forms and 21 progressive aspectual forms. The Slovene translations of
those excerpts contain 90 perfective aspectual forms and 79 imperfective aspectual forms.
As evident from the graph, simple forms are much more common than progressive in both
novels; in fact, progressive forms are fairly rare. The same is, however, not true about their
partial Slovene equivalents. In both translations, the numbers of imperfective and perfective
forms are very close. The reasons for those differences are discussed in the following chapter.
29
5. Discussion
The excerpts we analyzed in this seminar paper are divided into five categories: habitual
activity, surprising activity, descriptions of nature, the protagonist in an inside setting, and the
protagonist in an outside setting. We chose these categories because we expected to encounter
many aspectually relevant differences by comparing them. The following sections feature a
comparison of aspectual forms in the listed categories, explanations of surprising or
unexpected usage of aspectual forms, as well as a comparison of the two authors’ aspectual
choices.

The use of the two aspectual forms in the analyzed excerpts from the novel Nineteen Eighty-
Four hardly deviates from the use expected according to theoretical sources. To be more
specific, the excerpt describing habitual activity contains exclusively simple forms, while
three progressive forms appear in the first excerpt describing surprising activity (Julia passes
Winston a message), and ten in the second (Winston and Julia are caught by the Thought
Police). Of course, even more progressive forms could be expected during the description of
surprising activity; however, Orwell’s choices of aspectual forms are justified by his usage of
the detached narrative grounding style, which is consistent throughout the entire novel.
The aspectual forms in the excerpts describing nature and the protagonist in an inside or
outside setting are also easily explained. Due to the detached narrative grounding style, simple
forms prevail; progressive forms remain fairly rare and can always be justified as eye-
openers, expressions of intense emotion, or dynamic activity. However, the setting of the
excerpts is unfortunately not as relevant as expected. Nature is described from the
protagonist’s point of view, and consequently, the description is emotionally colored and
interrupted by his train of thought. The protagonist’s analytical way of thinking is also the
reason why there is not much difference between his experience of inside and outside settings.
His perception of the activity around him is constantly interrupted by his thoughts, which at
times nearly evolve into a third type of setting.
The two Slovene aspectual forms were used equally in all categories, as the chosen categories
are not related to Slovene aspect. Beside that, both Slovene aspectual forms tend to be equally
common in fiction.

The use of the two aspectual forms in the analysed excerpts from the novel Things Fall Apart
is mostly in line with the theoretical expectations, however with some slight deviations. To be
more specific, the excerpt describing habitual activity contains mostly simple forms with two
progressive forms, while six progressive forms appear in the three excerpts describing
surprising activity. Some of them function as eye-openers and some seem to emphasize the
duration of the action or draw readers attention to the center of the action.
While the aspectual forms in the excerpt describing nature were expected to be all in simple
verb forms, that was not the case. A couple progressive verb forms were used to intensify the
situation and because it could be interpreted as part of the main story and not just a
30
description of the general background. The protagonist in an inside or outside setting did not
have much influence on the type of verb forms used, it was simply dependent on the situation,
whether it was something intense and unexpected or something mundane and passive. Due to
the detached narrative grounding style, simple forms prevail; progressive forms remain fairly
rare and can always be justified as eye-openers, expressions of intense emotion, or dynamic
activity. However, the setting in excerpts was unfortunately not as relevant as expected. The
use of simple forms still prevailed, but there were instances where the author decided to use
the progressive forms based on the intensity of the situation and whether the action was the
center of the story or in the background. Both Slovene aspectual forms were used equally in
all categories because Slovene doesn’t put that much emphasis on the effect that the aspectual
forms will have on the narrative and on the reader.
5.3 Comparison of the two novels

We have noticed similar patterns in the use of English aspectual forms in both novels, which
were to a large degree in accordance with our theoretical sources. A similarity in both novels
could be noticed in the scarce influence of the inside or outside setting on the use of aspectual
forms, as well as in the prevalence of simple forms due to the detached narrative grounding
style, which both Orwell and Achebe use in their works. Another similarity is in the use of
Slovene aspectual forms, which are used fairly equally; however, it is interesting that
perfective forms are more common in both novels.
The most prominent difference in the use of aspectual forms is the amount of progressive
forms used when describing habitual or surprising activity. In both categories, progressive
forms are more common in Things Fall Apart. This could be considered surprising, especially
since both authors use the detached narrative grounding style. However, an explanation for
this deviation can be found in the characterization of the protagonists. Winston, the
protagonist of Nineteen Eighty-Four, was brought up in a rational, cold and calculating
modern society and is himself an analytical and seldom emotional character. Meanwhile,
Okonkwo, the protagonist of Things Fall Apart, is a member of an African tribe that still lives
according to traditions, traditions which he is very passionate about. Beside that, Okonkwo is
hot-tempered and not as concerned with rational thinking. This could explain why he tends to
experience some events more vividly and emotionally than Winston, resulting in the more
frequent usage of progressive forms in Things Fall Apart.
31
6. Conclusion
In this paper we covered the theoretical points of aspectuality in Slovene and English, and
also pointed out the contrastive differences regarding aspectuality between English and
Slovene. The main part of the paper was the comparison of the number of different verb forms
used in two novels: 1984 by George Orwell that is set in postmodern dystopian world, and
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe that is set in 1890s in an African village called Umuofia.
We took several excerpts from the novels based on different categories and counted the
number of simple and progressive verb forms in English and compared them to perfective and
imperfective verb forms found in the Slovene translation of the novels. We concluded that the
amount of simple verb forms was greater than the progressive verb forms in both novels. In
Slovene, however, the number of perfective and imperfective verb forms was about the same,
but still with a higher number of perfective forms in both novels.
32
7. References
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1958.
Achebe, Chinua. Razpad, trans. Branko Avsenak. Ljubljana: Založba /*cf, 2007.
Beletrina, n. d. Alenka Puhar. Accessed April 16th, 2023. https://beletrina.si/avtor/alenka-
puhar
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. n.d. George Orwell (1903—1950). Accessed April 13th,
2023. https://iep.utm.edu/george-orwell/
Orel Kos, Silvana. »Aspectuality in English and Slovene.« Lecture, English contrastive
grammar, Ljubljana, December 2022.
Orel Kos, Silvana. »Aspectuality in English discourse.« Lecture, English contrastive

grammar, Ljubljana, December 2022.
Orel Kos, Silvana. “Insufficient Grammatical Competence in Literary Translation.”

Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice 3, 1 (1995), pp. 67-82
https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.1995.9961249
Orel, Silvana. "Izbira angleške aspektualne oblike pri prikazovanju glagolskih dejanj v ozadju
pripovedi." Vestnik. DTJK 28, 1-2 (1994), pp. 64-79.
Orel Kos, Silvana. Subjektivnost v izbiri vidskih oblik v angleščini in slovenščini.
Prevodoslovno usmerjene kontrastivne študije. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske
fakultete, 2017.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd, 1949.
Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four, trans. Alenka Puhar. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga
Založba, d. d., 1967.
Quirk, Randolph, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech, and Jan Svartvik. A Comprehensive
Grammar of the English Language. New York: Longman Inc., 1985.
Slovenska biografija. n.d. Avsenak, Branko (1930—1994). Accessed April 28th, 2023.
https://www.slovenska-biografija.si/oseba/sbi1001140/
Sparknotes. n.d. Chinua Achebe and Things Fall Apart Background. Accessed April 28th,
2023. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/things/context/
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Wikipedia. n.d. Chinua Achebe. Accessed April 28th, 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinua_Achebe#
33
Wikipedija. n.d. Alenka Puhar. Accessed April 16th, 2023.

https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alenka_Puhar
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Aspectuality in Fiction

Authors: Lara Bizjak and Anina Selak

1. Contrastive introduction of the topic

1.1 Aspectuality in English

1.2 Aspectuality in Slovene

In Slovene, the verbs can be separated into 3 categories:

Example of mass vs. unit in Slovene aspect:

- Vsak dan jem samo jabolka ter pijem vodo.

1.3 Comparison of Slovene and English aspectuality

(Perfective) (Imperfective) (Perfective)

2. Introduction of the material

2.2 Things Fall Apart

3. English and Slovene examples of aspectual usage

3.1 Nineteen Eighty-Four

‘You’re hurt?’ he said.

Čuden občutek se mu je zganil v srcu. Pred njim je bil sovražnik, ki mu je stregel po

»Ste se ranili?« je vprašal.

‘Now they can see us,’ said Julia.

‘The house is surrounded,’ said Winston.

‘Pick up those pieces,’ he said sharply.

»Zdaj naju lahko vidijo,« je rekla Julija.

»Hiša je obkoljena,« je rekel Winston.

»Hiša je obkoljena,« je rekel glas.

Nekaj je počilo na postelji za Winstonovim hrbtom. Vrh lestve so potisnili skozi

Stal je mrtvaško mirno. Nihče ga še ni udaril. Misli, ki so prihajale same od sebe, a

»Poberite te črepinje,« je ostro dejal.

Neki moški se je ubogljivo sklonil. Cockneyjski naglas je izginil. Winston je

4) Winston and Julia meet up in the countryside

The protagonist in an inside setting

Položil si je pisalni blok na kolena in odrinil stol, da bi se kolikor mogoče oddaljil od

The protagonist in an outside setting

6) Winston meets Julia in town

Dolg sprevod kamionov, na vsakem od njih je v kotih vzravnano stal vojak z

stisnjeni drug k drugemu, majhni rumeni možje v razcapanih zelenkastih uniformah.

7) Winston meets Julia in the countryside

Pot se je razširila in v minuti je prišel do steze, o kateri mu je pravila, pravzaprav le

3.2 Things Fall Apart

1) Description of Okonkwo’s daily life

zadonelo veselo kričanje in Umuofia, ki je sanjala v opoldanski vročini, se je zdrznila in

Sprva je priplaval manjši roj: izvidniki, ki so si ogledovali deželo. Zatem se je na obzorju

4) Men discover Okonkwo’s dead body

The protagonist in an inside setting

The protagonist in an outside setting

5.1 Nineteen Eighty-Four

5.2 Things Fall Apart

5.3 Comparison of the two novels

Orel Kos, Silvana. »Aspectuality in English discourse.« Lecture, English contrastive

Orel Kos, Silvana. “Insufficient Grammatical Competence in Literary Translation.”

Wikipedija. n.d. Alenka Puhar. Accessed April 16th, 2023.

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