Imperative -ta in colloquial Japanese: A descriptive analysis

要旨

The use of the past tense form (or ta-form) as an imperative in modern Japanese has been touched upon by various scholars. However, a descriptive analysis of the phenomenon has not yet been performed. In this thesis, the characteristics of this type of ta-form usage and the rules governing it are described through a contrastive analysis of the way in which the usage of imperative -ta differs from the other imperative forms of modern Japanese. The relation between aspect and grammatical mood seen in imperative -ta is then discussed, focusing on the connection between imperative -ta and perfective aspect.

主題