Abstract
Ce serait une erreur d'attribuer à l'opposition “présent: aoriste” en indo-européen l'importance qu'elle a en grec. Le hittite n'en offre pas trace (Meillet). It is possible that the Slavic presents and aorists expressed tenses from the begiining. Even then Slavic would have been possile to organize a new aspect system. A verb with a preverb which has lost its autonomy could obtain a “perfective”, meanig, and the presents of such a verb had no genuine meaning of present. Slavic, which had no s-futures, made use of these presents for future, and felt an ardent necessity to obtain imperfective presents. Slavic inherited the defineite and indefinite verbs, and could make the derivative imperfects which furnished the language with genuine presenrts, and thus the aspect system was accomplished. To seek the reason of development of the aspect system only in one of these complicated conditios is mistaken.
