Table 2.

Example imperfective and perfective sentences.

Imperfective past tense version	Perfective past tense version
The folks here were holding signs.∗	The folks here held signs.
Electricity was running through my arm.∗	Electricity ran through my arm.
The middleclass was getting hammered.∗	The middleclass got hammered.
He was reading a newspaper article.∗	He read a newspaper article.
They were working really hard.∗	They worked really hard.
She was packing up a birthday package for him.∗	She packed up a birthday package for him.
I was holding that flag and they were singing those words.	I held that flag and they sang those words.∗
And the American people all across this country were responding.	And the American people all across this country responded.∗
We were coming together and were looking for ways to solve the problems.	We came together and looked for ways to solve the problems∗
At its high point, she was employing 200 people.	At its high point, she employed 200 people.∗
He was asking the question about gasoline prices.	He asked the question about gasoline prices.∗
We were trying to do that too, and it wasn’t working very well.	We tried to do that too, and it didn’t work very well.

Asterisk (^∗) indicates the sentence’s original aspect format.