Taf x鈥檔af? A closer look at stative verbs in Maltese

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it classifies Maltese stative verbs into four distinct groups based on their morphological characteristics, especially their ability to form the perfect. Second, it demonstrates that, despite their formal differences, these verbs share particular morphological and syntactic traits. Notably, they have an actual present time reference in the imperfect, frequently rely on auxiliary verbs to express tense and modality, and are generally incongruent with progressive constructions, setting them apart from dynamic verb