A gnomic form (the initial g- is silent in English) is not a particular tense or aspect. Gnomic forms represent a generic fact, a general truth, or a habitual action, and may be found with a variety of different tenses and aspects, in proverbs such as A stitch in time saves nine, Boys will be boys, or Curiosity killed the cat. A major problem for translators is that different languages not only have different verbal syst…