Back on languages again.

Slav languages make a distinction in their verbs between Perfective and Imperfective ‘aspects’. Thus in Russian/Serbian/Polish there are different verb forms denoting (a) when an action has been done and is now complete, and (b) when an action is continuing or repeated.

Here is a fairly straightforward explanation of the basic point.

We too express these distinctions in English, in a different form:

  • Perfective:     Yesterday I ate my sandwiches
  • Imperfective:  Yesterday when I was eating my sandwiches, it happened…

And we also use prepositions (often ‘up’) to denote the idea of finishing an action: "Please eat up your lunch"; "chop up those onions"; "carry out a task"…

The use of these prepositions in English has a colloquial ring. Is there some element of linguistic class distinction here too?

Would an Upper Class person say "I’ll ring you up", rather than "I’ll telephone you"? Do Upper Class people where possible use a single word correctly to express an idea rather than these prepositional verb-phrases?

Thus "Finish your lunch", "chop the onions" and "complete a task". 

Or is it all just a matter of ultra-correct and/or old-fashioned usage which (probably) is dying out?