2011iulThe Category of Aspect 2

8/16/2019 2011iulThe Category of Aspect 2

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The Functional categories of the Verb- Spring Term 2011- Ileana Baciu

The Category of Aspect

1. Introduction

0.0 Freed (1!"# defined $Aspect% as $a notion of Time& distinct from Tense& that refers to the

internal temporal structure of events and activities named b' arious linguistic forms )*.+ in

terms of such things as inception, duration, completion..% The definition suggests that Tense and ,spect& as functional categories that delimit the

leical categor' Verb& $mergeinterconnect% in more /a's than one.

The t/o categories are not onl' related morpho-s'ntacticall' (,spect lie Tense isrealied b' erb inflections and auxiliaries# but also $semanticall'%. The definition sa's that both

,spect and Tense partae of the notion $Time% but in distinct /a's. The erbal categor' of ,spect

and the erbal categor' of Tense are tightl' related as the' both pertain to the domain of Time.et us consider the follo/ing pair of sentences3

(1# a# 4ohn read a boo.

b# 4ohn /as reading a boo (/hen the phone rang at 5 o%cloc#.

Both sentences describe the situation3 $ John read a book’. The difference bet/een the

sentences in (1# is not in terms of Tense (both are in the past tense# but in terms of Aspect. The sentence in (1a# presents the situation as a whole& as completed & as closed & /hile the

sentence in (1b# presents onl' some internal phases/stages in the deelopment of the situation6

/e do not no/ /hen 4ohn began reading the boo or /hether he finished reading it 7 /e onl'no/ that his reading /as unfolding in Time /hen the phone rang/at 3 o’clock .

Intuitiel'& ,spect predicates about the sie of a situation (the /hole of it or onl' parts of

it# /hile the contribution of Tense is to locate that situation in time. Both Tense and ,spect

pertain to the domain of Time as situations& irrespectie of their sie& occur in time.The generall' accepted definition of the categor' of Tense is that Tense represents 8the

chronological order of events in time as perceived b! the speaker at the moment of speaking’.

The important characteristic of Tense (ie/ed as the grammaticied form of Time&roughl' the present tense& the past tense and the future tense& is that it locates the time of the

situation described in the sentence relatie to the moment of speaking 1. This means that /e

cannot conceie of a past or future eent unless /e hae a present moment of time in mind (e.g.& "arianne arrived last night cannot be interpreted unless the hearer has a $toda'& a present

moment of time% in mind /ith respect to /hich 9arianne%s arrial can be located#.

This is /h' Tense is characteried as being a deictic categor! (oriented to/ards the timeof the speaing ego#3 it relates different inds of situations to the Speech Time and structures

them b' the relations of simultaneit' and se:uence (see the ;ategor' of Tense#.Aspect, on the other hand, is not a deictic categor'& but rather informs us about the

contour or #ualit! of the event/state as viewed b! the speaker at a given moment in time $i.ereference point%.

1.0. Follo/ing ;omrie (1!"#& /e could state the difference bet/een Tense and ,spect as one

bet/een situation&internal time (,spect# and situation&external time (Tense#.

1 The categor' of $Tense% depends on egocentric orientation& hence it has been described as a $deictic% (i.e. pointing#

categor'

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The term $aspect % /as imported into the


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The term $ situation&t!pe aspect’ 5 (Smith& 11# /ill be emplo'ed to refer to the

classification of verbal expressions into states, activities& accomplishments, achievements

(introduced b' Vendler& 1!1"!# and semelfactives (introduced b' Smith 11#

The latter ie/ of ,spect originated in the classification of erb meanings in the philosoph' of action (cf. 'le&1=6 Jenn'&1"5&Vendler&1!1"!#.

The entities that erbal epressions categorie as states, activities, events (i.e.

accomplishments and achieements# are situations or states of affairs .These idealied situation t!pes represent the temporal classifications of actual situations/states of affair that people mae on conceptual and cognitie grounds. (Smith 11#.

The situation t'pes differ in the temporal properties of d!namism& durativit! and telicit!= (boundedness#. The classification is discussed in detail in the follo/ing subchapter.

The eamples belo/ illustrate the situation t'pes mentioned aboe as /ell as their

temporal properties (Smith 113"#3

(i# tates are static& duratie3 loe Susan& no/ the ans/er& lie in ondon&

be /idespread& enKo' life6

(ii# Activities are d'namic& duratie& atelic3 laugh& stroll/al in the par& pusha cart& drin beer& s/im& run6

(iii# Accomplishments are d'namic& duratie and telic3 build a house& /al to

school& learn French& drin a bottle of beer& smoe a cigarette6(i# Achievements are d'namic& telic& instantaneous3 /in the race& reach the top&

find a /atch& recognie a friend& discoer a treasure& arrie& leae6

(# emelfactives are d'namic& atelic& instantaneous3 tap& cough& noc& hit&flap a /ing& hiccup& slambang the door& ic the ball.

From this perspectie& Smith(11#defines $,spect% as % the semantic domain of temporal

structures of situations 3$Both viewpoint $or grammatical% aspect and situation t!pe aspect cone' information

about temporal factors such as beginning, end and duration& hence the' interact in language.%

(Smith113#.The aspectual meaning of a sentence is a composite of the information from both

components.

1.2. The $ grammatical/viewpoint aspect’ & perfectie and imperfectie& is often not clearl'distinguished from the -$inherent% lexical aspect/situation&t!pe aspect’ since both components

cone' information about temporal factors of a situation such as beginning & end and duration.

,lthough these t/o domains are related& it has been also argued that /e need to dra/ a clear line bet/een them.

Distinguishing bet/een the semantic contribution of aspectual operators (such as for

instance the $progressie% in Cnglish# and the (leical# semantic properties of erbal predicates to

/hich aspectual operators are applied is necessar' in order to account in an ade:uate /a' fortheir s'stematic interactions& as the' are manifested in /hat is no/n as the $imperfectie

parado% (Do/t'& 1!!& 1!# or $partitie pule% (Bach& 1A"#& for instance.

1.2.1 First and foremost& $ situation&t!pe aspect L on the one hand& and $viewpoint aspect’ orL grammatical aspect, on the other hand are realied differentl' in the grammar of a language&

i.e. the' differ in their linguistic expression $mithn00%3

5 ther terms used to refer to the situation t!pes are eventualit! t!pe, inherent lexical aspect or Aktionsart = The term is Gree in origin3 something that has telos is limited or bounded. Telic eents hae a natural endpoint&

/hereas atelic eents do not.

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a# ie/pointgrammatical aspect is signalled b' a grammatical morpheme6 it is therefore

distinguished as an overt categor' (i.e. it eemplifies the notion of an oert categor'#

b# situation-t'pe aspect (eentualit' t'pe# is signalled b' a constellation of lexicalmorphemes. Situationeentualit' t'pes are distinguished at the leel of the erb

constellation (i.e. the erb and its arguments (subKect and obKects## and the sentence. The

situation t'pes pla' a role in the grammar of a language& although the' lac eplicitmorphological marers (Smith& 11#. Since situation t'pes are not LgrammaticiedL b'

contrasting morphemes (i.e. hae no single grammatical marer#& situation t'pe aspect

could be taen to eemplif' the notion of a covert categor!. Situation t'pes pla' a role inthe grammar of a language& although the' lac eplicit morphological marers. (Smith&

11310#

The t/o components of the aspectual s'stem of a language interact /ith each other in all

languages& although across languages& aspectual s'stems ar' considerabl'& especiall' the

$grammaticalie/point% subs'stem. Situation t'pes can be distinguished as coert categories in

all languages (Smith& 11#.1.2.2 Since $,spect% has been assumed to be defined as the interaction of the lexical meaning of

the verb& the nature of its arguments (subKect and obKects# and grammatical inflection& aspectual

meaning holds for sentences rather than for indiidual erbs or erb phrases. (Veru'l 1!2&Do/t' 1!& Smith 11& etc#.

entences present aspectual information about situation/eventualit! t!pe and viewpoint.

,lthough the' co-occur& the t/o t'pes of information& as alread' mentioned& are independent& thereceier of the message being a/are of ho/ much of the situation is presented and to /hat

situation t'pe it belongs. ;onsider the aspectual information cone'ed to a receier of the

eamples in (2# belo/ (Smith 113#3

(2# a# 9ar' /aled to school.

b# 9ar' /as /aling to school.

c# 9ar' /aled in the par.

Cample (2a# presents a situation that is characteried as telic 3 it has a goaloutcome& a

$natural endpoint% (signalled b' the epression Lto schoolL#.This information is gien b' the non&finite component of the sentence& namel' ) "ar!

walk to school + /hich includes the verb and the participantsthe arguments 1"ar!+ and )to

school2. The situation is described as $closed %& $complete% ( perfective viewpoint #& i.e. as haing

occurred at a time preious to $no/%. This information is gien b' the finite part of the sentence&

in this particular case the $ past tense morpheme’ on the erb.

Cample (2b# presents part of the same situation but does not conve! whether the goalwas reached. The receier gets onl' a partial ie/ of the situation (imperfective viewpoint #. This

is signalled b' the L progressiveL form of the erb.

Cample (2c# presents a complete/closed situation ( perfective viewpoint # that does notinole the reaching of a goal6 the eent /as simpl' terminated .

,s can be seen& aspectual information is gien b' the linguistic forms of the sentences3

(i# situation t!pe is signalled b' the erb and its arguments (the non&finite part of the

sentence#& /hile

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(ii# viewpoint is signalled b' a grammatical morpheme& usuall' part of the erb or

erb phrase. (Smith 11#.

The perfectie ie/point gies information about endpoints $ a full ie/ of the situation asin (2a&c##& /hile the imperfectie gies information about internal or other stages or phases (a

partial ie/ of the situation as in (2b# #

.,n important point made b' Smith (11# is that the domain of ,spect offers choices/ithin a closed s!stem to the speaers of a language. There is a small& fied set of viewpoints and

situation/eventualit! t!pes6 one of each must be chosen /heneer a sentence is framed..


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The sentence describes an eent(ualit'# (Ne# namel' that of $toast-buttering b' 4ones%. This

sentence consists of the predicate $butter% /hich epresses a certain relation /ith t/o nominal

phrases& in this particular case& 84ones? and 8the toast?. The presence of the t/o nominal phrases

(OHs# are essential for the semantic (and s'ntactic# /ell-formedness of the sentence.ur knowledge of the meaning of the verb butter includes knowledge of the verb’s participant

/ argument structure%, i.e. knowledge of the number of participants/arguments inoled in the

situation described b' the predicate.S'ntacticall'& the t/o OHs function as the $subKect% and the $direct obKect%6 from a semantic

point of ie/& each nominal phrase is associated /ith a semantic participant role3 Jones is

understood as ,gent or Doer and the toast as the Hatient or Pndergoer. These t/o OHs are thearguments of the verb.

The prepositional phrases (HHs# are not related to the erb %butter% at all& i.e. the' are not part of the participant structure (meaning# of the erb. Their role is to mae precise the location

in time and space of the situation described b' the predicate.

Jno/ledge of the erb%s participant structure is made possible b' the $eent(ualit'#

structure% ( the $eentualit'situation t'pes that the respectie erb instantiates# i.e. the meaning

of the respectie erb.In current linguistic theor' the $meaning’ of erbs is represented b' certain conceptual

configurations & labeled as lexical conceptual structure (N;S# /hich ultimatel' represent the

decomposition of the erbs $meaning% into more elementar' predicates such as D& ;,PSC&BC;9C. The meaning of the erb $butter% can be represented as follo/s3

(5%# butter3 ) D+ ;,PSC )' ;9C BC /ith butterQ

The letters $& '% are called $ariables% and& /ithin the sentence in (5# aboe& the' are

Jones (for # and the toast (for '#.

n the other hand& the three prepositional phrases ( NHHs# $in the bedroom/with a knife/atmidnight $ are sentence constituents that are not obligatoril! re:uired& but are not ecluded b' the

erb $butter%.

These constituents are called $ad4uncts% or $modifiers%. These constituents characterie theentire eent(ualit'# (i.e. the erb and its arguments# offering supplementar' information

concerning the location in place and time& of the eentualit' of $toast&buttering b! John’ .

The role of the eent ariable ($e%# in the leical entr' of the erb $butter% is therefore toaccount for the semantic contribution of modif'ing aderbials (i.e. adKuncts#.

2.1.1 ,n important point that /e /ould lie to insist upon is the t'pe of entities that the

classification into situationeentualit' t'pes concerns& since there is a common confusion as to/hether it concerns particular/actual situations $i.e. actual occurrences of eventualities% or their

linguistic representations. The ans/er to this problem is gien in the follo/ing :uotation from

Filip& >. (1#3

5The assumption that eventualit! $i.e. situation% t!pes have to do with our common sense beliefs,

rather than with linguistic categories, might lead us to proposing that what we classif! into

eventualit! t!pes are particular eventualit! occurrences in the world. *owever, such a proposalis problematic in man! respects and must be re4ected. 6or example, it allows for the

misconception that there is a certain uni#ue wa! in which the world is structured which our

The aboe ;S characteries the semanticeent structure of the situationeentualit' t'pe called $accomplishment%

(Do/t'& 1!#

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language categories convenientl! pick out. n this view, the world has exactl! the structural

properties that we attribute to it when we use our linguistic representations.

*owever, this cannot be the case, because there is more than one wa! the world is ,

independentl! of our linguistic $or an! other% representations of it. The world has all the structure that we attribute to it when we use our particular conceptual scheme $e.g. natural

language, for example% and it has more structure than we are able to pick out with our linguistic

categories. This structure exists #uite independentl! of the fact whether we attribute certain structural properties to the world. There ma! be other conceptual schemes, apart from natural

language, we could use that would allow us to pick out a different sort of structure in the world.

7atural languages provide us with a wealth of categories, or particular shared5knowledge structures), which enable us to conve! information about the world. 6or example,

we ma! point to a piece of gold and felicitousl! assert $89a% using a mass noun phrase or $89b%

with a count noun phrase $see :ahl,0;n short, eventualit! descriptions, denoted b! verbal predicates and sentences,represent certain conventional wa!s in which languages tend to lexicalie the structure of various

states of affairs in the real world.) (Filip& >. (13!0#

The same point is also made b' Galton (1A=32# /ho states that the distinction bet/eenaspectual classes is not $a distinction inherent in what goes on, but rather a distinction between

the different wa!s we have of describing it’ .

Smith (113 12# maes the same statement /hen she discusses the aspectual choices thata speaer ma' hae. The speaer& /hen taling about actual situations call on $idealiations of situations’ )**.+ $ >dealied situation t!pes are classifications that people make on perceptual

and cognitive grounds. ?ike other cognitive categories the! are organied on the protot!pe model

with a cluster of defining properties. ne and the same situation $a ship moving% ma! berendered/talked about b! means of two situation t!pes. ;onsider the eample belo/ (Smith&

113 12#3

(=# a# The ship moed

b# The ship /as in motion

The first sentence presents an ,ctiit'& a d'namic situation t'pe& /hile the second presents a

State. The sentences contrast /ith each other in the e' properties the' ascribe to the situation.

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2.2. In the literature on ,spect& ,ristotle is acno/ledged as the first /ho noticed that the

meaning of some erbs in natural languages necessaril' inole an LendL or LresultL in a /a' that

other erbs do not.

,ristotle& in the "etaph!isics , distinguished bet/een kineseis (translated$moementsperformance# and energiai (actualities#& a distinction /hich roughl' corresponds to

the distinction bet/een $eents% (Etelic# e.g. lose weight & build a house& etc. and actiitiesstates

(atelic# e.g. live, think, see, swim, walk etc.,ristotle is therefore the first to notice that the meaning of a erb is epressible as a set of

components& a set of entailments that follo/ from the use of the erb as a predicate& i.e. the

meaning of certain erbs inoles $movement, motion, change’ /hereas others inole $action,energ!’ .

,ristotle%s distinctions /ere taen oer b' seeral ford philosophers such as Gilbert

'le (1=#& ,nthon' Jenn' (1"5# and Meno Vendler (1!&1"!# /ho improed upon,ristotle%s classes b' taing into consideration more grammatical and logical criteria that proed

etremel' releant for linguistic methodolog'.(Do/t'& 1!35#

2.5. Meno Vendler (1"!# /as the first to identif' four distinct categories of erbs b' their

restrictions on time aderbials& tense (the $progressie% in particular#& and logical entailments& i.ehe /as the first to offer linguistic criteria to distinguish the categories from one another.

The four categories identified b' Vendler are states, activities, accomplishments and

achievements. 9ore specificall' Vendler%s proposal seemed to incorporate the claim that thecategor' of verbs of an' particular language can be split up into these four categories (Veru'l3

1A35#. Camples illustrating Vendler%s categories are gien belo/3

(5# !tates# beliee& desire& hae& o/n& resemble& loe

Activities# s/im& /al& push a cart& breathe

Accomplishments# dra/ a circle& mae a chair& delier a sermon& recoer from illness

Achievements# realie& recognie& spot& lose& find& reach&

Vendler %s classification& ept at the lexical level & i.e. at the verbal level & is based on thefollo/ing criteria3 duration over time& change, set terminal point (i.e. telicit'# and homogeneit!.

The erb-classes identified b' Vendler are characteried b' the follo/ing time-schemata

(Veru'l& 1A3=5#3

(# ST,TC3 A loved somebod! from t to t ( means that an! instant bet/een t and

t ( , loed that person.

,;TIVITR3 A was running at time t means that time instant t is on a time

stretch throughout /hich A /as running.

,;;9HIS>9COT3 A was drawing a circle at t means that t is on the time

stretch in /hich , dre/ that circle.

,;>ICVC9COT3 A won a race between t and t ( means that the instant at

/hich A /on the race is bet/een t and t (.

,ccording to Veru'l (1A3 =5# the t/o crucial parameters inoled are3 a# the temporal

units inoled i.e. instant and stretch6 and b# the (in#definiteness of the temporal unit inoled&

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epressed as an!& a and the (italicied b' Vendler himself# and the diision should be anal'sed

as a partition in /hich the four classes are intended to be on e:ual footing.

The matri induced b' (=# is the follo/ing3

• tates and Activities share the propert' of pertaining to non-uni:ue& indefinite

temporal entities $expressed as a, an!% .

• Achievements and Accomplishments inole uni:ue& definite temporal units

(epressed as the#• tates and Achievements pertain to instants& so the' cannot be ie/ed as

processes going on in time.

• Activities and Accomplishments are conceied of as processes going on at time

stretches& ( Veru'l& 1A3==#.

ne of the things Vendler pursued /as the /a' in /hich the = categories are to be

grouped together.

>e argued that tates and Achievements should be set apart from Activities and Accomplishments on account of the fact that the first t/o categories lac the progressie form

(his $continuous tense%#3

("# a. 4ohn is s/imming (actiit'#

b. 4ohn is building a house (accomplishment#

c. 4ohn is no/ing the ans/er (state#

d. 4ohn is recogniing his long lost sister (achieement#

tates lac the progressie because& although the' last 8for a period of time ?& the' do not

denote a process oer time& the' 8cannot be :ualified as actions at all ? (Vendler& 1"!310"#.For instance& if $ John is tall $ he is tall oer his adult lifetime and irrespectie of /hether

he stands up or sits do/n.

If /e /ere to restate this in different terms /e /ould sa' (follo/ing Ta'lor and Do/t'#

that to determine the truth value of a state predication one does not need to consider more than amoment of time..

Achievements, on the other hand& encode the inception or termination of an act and 8occur

at a single moment ? (Vendler&1"!3105#. In Do/t'%s terms the' are $becomings or changes ofstate% and are conceptualied as instantaneous/punctual .

For eample& a sentence such as John found a penn! in the street & is interpreted

aspectuall' as $ John has the penn! in his pocket the instant he finds it but not before’ . Such aninstantaneous eent is a change of state& as 4ohn did not hae the respectie coin before he found

it but he had it after he found it.

Activities and accomplishments differ from tates and Achievements in so far as the' 8are processes going on in time& that is& roughl'& the' consist of successive phases follo/ing one

another in time ? (Vendler&1"!3#.So the $continuous form% criterion seems to be based on the opposition )Hrocess# as /ell

as on some $unclear notion of agentiit'% (Veru'l 1A3=#Pnlie Activities, though& Accomplishments hae an essential feature& namel' the'

8proceed to/ard a terminus (i.e. a set terminal point # /hich is logicall' necessar' to their being

/hat the' are? (Vendler&1"!3101#. 8


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Oeertheless& further studies hae sho/n that the progressive does not proide a suitable

criterion for considering tates and Achievements as belonging to one $genus%.

Do/t' (1!#& Bach (1A1#& among others& obsere that man' statie predicates can be

used& /ith special interpretations& in the progressie. (e.g. The river is smelling particularl! badthese da!s@> am hating morpholog! classes, eorge is being obnoxious%.

Do/t'(1!!&1!#& 9ourelatos (1!A1A1# and Vlach (1A1#& among others& point out

that man' achieement erbs in Vendler%s list can appear in the progressie3 *e is winning therace/ is d!ing/ is reaching the top/is falling asleep/is leaving & for eample.

The decisive semantic propert! that is shared b' Achievement and Accomplishment

predicates has to do /ith the fact that the' 8involve a product, upshot, or outcome ? i.e. the' are)Etelic+. This sets them clearl' apart from tate and Activit! predicates /ho are characteried as

atelic (i.e. 7telic#

,part from Vendler& other philosophers and linguists hae tried to mae precise theintuitions that underlie the classification of erbal predicates.

ecent approaches faor the tripartite distinction into tates, Brocesses and Cvents& /hich

is ontologicall' /ider& because it is not restricted to erbs that denote actions instigated b!

human agents (see 9ourelatos& 1!A1A16 ;arlson&1A16 Bach&1A1&1A"6 Harsons&10#. Thecategor' $event % subsumes Vendler %s Accomplishments and Achievements. "

The three main classes of erbal predicates and sentences distinguished& i.e. events

(including. accomplishments and achieements %, states and processes& are characteried b' deS/art (1A# as in the chart belo/3

>9GCOCPS OO- >9GCOCPS UP,OTIMCD

state process eent

ST,TIVC DRO,9I;

2.= !ntactic and semantic criteria for eventualit!/situation t!pe identification.

In /hat follo/s /e shall offer a presentation of tests suggested b' linguists and philosophers in their pursuit to mae precise the intuitions that underlie the classification of

erbal predicates into classes.

The most complete list of tests can be found in Do/t' (1!3 chapter 2# /ho gies thes'ntactic and semantic criteria based on 'le (1=#& Jenn' (1"5#& Vendler (1!1"!#& aoff

(1"#& oss (1!2#. The summar' of tests /e hae adopted heail' dra/s on Do/t' (1!#

and Filip (13 1 and foll.#.

I $on%stative tests

The distinction bet/een statie and non-statie goes bac to aoff (1"#.

The non-staties include Activities and Accomplishments.

" ,ccording to Filip (1# man' language phenomena clearl' indicate that not onl' Accomplishments and

Achievements form a natural class (eents#& but also tates and Brocesses& in some respects at least& ehibit

significant semantic and s'ntactic similarities in their behaior. Therefore& on the most general leel of classification&t/o main classes of erbal predicates and sentences are distinguished< Cvents (i.e. accomplishment and

achievements#& /hich are telic (i.e. presuppose an endpoint& an outcome& a result& a goal# and #uantied (non-

homogeneous# and tates and Brocesses, /hich are atelic and cumulative. (homogeneous#

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Achievement predicates are lie tatives according to some of the statitiit' tests and

non-statie in other cases& such as the habitual interpretation in the simple present& as remared

b' Do/t' (1!3"06 Smith & 11#.

The usual tests are as follo/s3 ( swim is an actiit'& build a kite is an accomplishment&know/be sick is a state& recognie is achieement#3

a# nl' non-staties occur in the progressie3

(!# i# 4ohn is s/imming

ii# 4ohn is building a iteiii# 4ohn is no/ing the ans/er

i# 9ar' is recogniing her long lost mother

b# nl' non-staties occur as complements of force and persuade

(A# i# 4ohn forcedpersuaded 9ar' to s/im

ii# 4ohn forcedpersuaded 9ar' to build a iteiii# 4ohn forcedpersuaded 9ar' to no/ the ans/er

i# 4ohn forced 9ar' to recognie her mother

c# nl' non-staties can occur as imperaties3

(# i# S/imii# Build a ite

iii# Jno/ the ans/er

i# ecognie 'our mother

d# nl' non-staties co-occur /ith the aderbs deliberatel!, carefull!<

(10# i# 4ohn s/am carefull'ii# 4ohn deliberatel' built a ite

iii# 4ohn deliberatel' ne/ the ans/er

i# 9ar' deliberatel' recognied her mother

e#nl' non-staties appear in pseudo-cleft constructions /ith the auiliar' do3

(11# i#


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i# 4ohn recognies his long lost brother

The eamples in (12iii&i# do not inole more than one occasion of knowing the

answer/recogniing . The other t/o predicates& if the' are used in normal non-specialiedcontets& are understood to inole more than one eent of swimming or building a kite&

respectiel'.

II & %for an hour, spend an hour %ing

This criterion distinguishes Achievements and Accomplishments from Activities and tates. nl' Activities and tates can occur /ith duratie temporal for%phrases and as complements of spend

%amount of time3

(15# (i# 4ohn s/am in the ocean for an hour (ii# 9a /as ill for 10 da's

(iii# W4ohn built the ite for an hour

(i# 4ohn recognied his long lost brother for an hour

III & %in an hour, ta'e an hour to% (

This criterion is meant to distinguish Activities and tates from Achievements and

Accomplishments. nl' Accomplishments and Achievements can occur /ith time span in%phrases

and as complements of ta'e %amount of time to% 3

(1=# (i# (#4ohn s/am in an hour.

(ii# (#9a /as sic in t/o 'ears(iii# 4ohn built the ite in an hour

(i# 4ohn recognied his long lost brother in a fe/ minutes

(1# (i# (#It too 4ohn an hour to s/im in the ocean(ii# (#It too 9a a 'ear to be ill

(iii# It too 4ohn an hour to build the ite

(i# It too 4ohn a fe/ minutes to recognie his brother

Oeertheless& the entailments of Achievements differ from those of Accomplishments. If

John built a kite in an hour is true& then it is true that John was building the kite during that hour.But from the truth of the eample in (15i# and (1=i# it does not follo/ that 4ohn was

recogniing his brother throughout the period of a few minutes.

,ctuall'& the meaning of the time-span epression /ith Achievements is $after a fewminutes’ .!

Schematicall' this difference in entailments can be rendered as follo/s (Do/t'& 1!3#3

(1"# If φ is an accomplishment erb& then x φed in ! time entails that x was φing during ! time@

If φ is an achieement erb& then φed in ! time does not entail x was φing during ! time.

! The same interpretation holds for Activities. The time-span expression in the sentences in (13i, 14i) is understood as ‘after an

hour’. n short, !ith Achievements and Activities the time indicated "# the time-span adver"ial is calculated from a contextuall# $ivenreference point, !hile !ith Accomplishments it is calculated from the "e$innin$ of the eventualit# itself.

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I) * %for an hour+ entails * at all times in the hour+

4ust lie the preious t/o criteria& this criterion is also mainl' intended to set tates and

Activities apart from Accomplishments (see Do/t'&1!3!#.This test is related to Vendler %shomogeneit! propert'3 If John swam for an hour & then at an' time during that hour it /as true

that John swam. If John built a kite for an hour & then it is not the case that he built a ite at an'

time during that hour . The difference in entailment might be represented as in (1"# belo/(Do/t'& 1!3!#3

(1!# If φ is an actiit' erb& then x φ &ed for ! time entails that at an' time during !, xφ &ed /as

true.

If φ is an accomplishment erb& then φ &ed for ! time does not entail that xφ &ed /as true

during an' time /ithin ! at all.

) * is %ing+ entails * has %ed+

This test goes bac to Jenn' (1"5#&/ho introduced it to differentiate Activit! erbs from

Accomplishment/Achievement erbs (his$performances%#. For actiit' erbs& the entailment from

the progressie form 8 is φ X-ing ? to the simple form 8 has φ-ed ? is alid& /hile foraccomplishmentachieement erbs it is not.(1!i# is said to entail (1!ii#. n the other hand&

sentences in (1Ai# do not entail those in (1Aii#3

(1A# (i# 4ohn is s/imming entails

(ii# 4ohn has s/um

(1# (i# 4ohn is building a ite4ohn is /inning the race.

does not entail

(ii# 4ohn has built a ite4ohn has /on the race

This difference in entailment can be represented as in (1# belo/ (Do/t' 1!3!#3

(20# If φ is an actiit' erb& then x is $now% φ &ing entails that x has φ &ed.

If φ is an accomplishment erb& then x is $now% φ &ing entails that x has not $!et% φ &ed .

. The problems related to the treatment of sentences lie $4ohn is building a ite% /hich are

often summed up under Do/t' %s (1!2&1!!&1!# label $imperfective paradox %& /ill bediscussed in the chapter dedicated to $Vie/pointGrammatical ,spect%.

)I Complement of stop

Achievements cannot occur as complements of $ stop’ but Accomplishments, Activities and tates do3

(21# (i# 4ohn stopped s/imming

(ii# 4ohn stopped building a ite

(iii# (W# 4ohn stopped being sic after he too the medication

(i# 4ohn stopped recogniing his long-lost brother

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Oeertheless /e hae different entailments for actiit' and accomplishment predicates. The

actiit' predicate in (20i# entails that $ John swam’ /hereas from (20ii# /e are not entitled to

conclude that $ John did build a kite’ & but onl' that he $was building’ a ite& /hich he ma' or ma'

not hae finished.

)II Complement of finish

It is a distinguishing characteristic of Accomplishments that the' can normall' occur ascomplements of $ finish%3

(22# (i# 4ohn finished building the ite(ii# 4ohn finished recogniing his long-lost brother

(iii# 4ohn finished being sic /hen he too the medication

(i# 4ohn finished s/imming

)III Am"iguity with *almost +

The aderb almost has different effects /ith Activities and Accomplishments (9organ& 1"#.;onsider the eamples belo/3

(25# (i# 4ohn almost s/am(ii# 4ohn almost built a ite

The eample in (22i#& an Activit! predicate&entails that 4ohn did not& in fact& swim. The eamplein (22ii#& an Accomplishment & has t/o interpretations (i.e. readings#3 a# 4ohn had the intention of

building a ite but changed his mind and did nothing at all6 b# 4ohn did begin /or on the ite

and he almost but not :uite finished it.

I- * ed in an hour+ entails * was ing during that hour+

This criterion has alread' been discussed being related to the third test. This entailment sets apart Achievements from Accomplishments. For man' achievement epressions the time-span

aderbial such as $in an hour’ is understood as $after α -amount of time’ . This is not true of

accomplishments. If $ John built a kite in an hour’ is true& then it is true that he $was building the

kite during that hour’ .


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,ccording to the tests aboe& onl' accomplishments ma' occur as complements of

$ finish’ .

;onsider also the eamples belo/ /here the contribution of an aderbial (9ourelatos&

1!A# accounts for the aspectual recategoriation of a state into an event 3

(2A# a#. 4ohn hates liars

b#. 4ohn has hated liars three times in his life (three occasions of hating N eent pred.#

b# accomplishment erbs and achievement erbs behae lie activities if an indefinite plural

direct obKect or a mass noun direct obKect is substituted for the (in#definite singular one (Do/t'1!3"2#3

(2# (i# 4ohn ate a bag of popcorn in an hour (ii# 4ohn ate popcorn (in# for an hour

(iii# 4ohn built that ite in an hour

(i# 4ohn built ites (in# for an hour

(50# (i# 4ohn discoered the buried treasure in his 'ard in (for# t/o da's

(ii# 4ohn discoered fleas on his dog (in# for 2 da's

9oreoer& if an indefinite plural occurs as subKect of an achievement & the sentence is

acceptable /ith duratie aderbials (i.e. it has the properties of a sentence /ith an activit!

predicate#3

(51# (i# 4ohn discoered that :uaint little illage for 'ears

(ii# Tourists discoered that :uaint little illage for 'ears

c# Intransitie activit! erbs can occur in transitie resultatie constructions& /hich are

aspectuall' deried accomplishments (othstein& 200=#3

(52# (i# ,t the opening of the ne/ parliament building& the cro/d cheered the huge

gates open

(ii# 9ar' dran 4ohn under the table / sick / di!

It is e:uall' true that /e come across eamples /here these categor' $shifts% are not

aailable. , nice eample is the one suggested b' Filip (1#. In the eamples belo/& both erbs

(wheee and croak # are characteried as $ sound emission verbs’ and process-denoting (ein

Yappaport->oa& 1#. Oeertheless& it is onl' one of them that can be %fitted% into thedirection-motion construction& :ualif'ing as accomplishment<

(55# (i# The eleator /heeed to the seenth floor.(ii#The frogs croaed to the pond.

The eamples aboe suggest that the classes pertain to s!ntactic units and not lexicalones.

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Veru'l (1!2& 1A3=0 among others# remars3 $* aspect is not a matter settled at the

erbal leel. I propose that aspect be 8taen a/a'? from the erb and be assigned to higher leels

of sentential structure3 first of all& to the VH because this node dominates the erb and the obKect&

and subse:uentl' to the S(entence# because the nature of the subKect appears to be a determinantof aspect as /ell. So the basic idea is that the erb needs to be specified as to its haing a specific

meaning element engaged in the composition of aspect& but this feature cannot be identified /ith

aspect itself& because aspect is to be considered a comple sentential propert'.L (Veru'l& 1!2#This remar runs along the remar made b' Smith (11320# that %*.situation t'pes are

realied b' constellations of lexical morphemes consisting of the erb and its arguments&

including its subKect. The erb is central to the situation t'pe& but it is not the onl' factor ofimportance. The alue of a constellation depends on the presence of complements& directional

and other t'pes& and on the nominals that appear*% (Smith (11##.


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Activit! erbs for instance& such as run in the park, laugh, sleep, push a cart eince the

subinterval propert!.

Informall'& if an actiit' is true at an interal of time& then it is true at eer' subinteral of

that interal

8ubinterval verb phrases have the propert! that if the! are the main verb phrase of a sentence

which is true at some interval of time >, then the sentence is true at ever! subinterval of >including ever! moment of time in >. Cxamples of subinterval verb phrases are< walk, breathe,

walk in the park, push a cart ) ((Bennett and Hartee&1!231!#.

Vendler %s homogeneit! propert' closel' corresponds to the subinterval propert'3

The subinteral propert' is intended to distinguish states and activities (/hich eince the

subinterval propert!# from accomplishments and achievements. (/hich do not eince it#.B. ;haracteriation of eentualit' t'pes in the logic of part&whole relations& i.e. the /a's

in /hich an eentualit' as a /hole stands in relation to its parts. .

The logic of part&whole relation is used in event semantics approaches to the theor' of

aspect. ,pproaches /ithin event semantics tae eents or eentualities as basic entities in thedomain of discourse& along /ith indiiduals and times (9ourelatos& 1!A& 1A1& Bach&

1A1&1A"a&1A"b6 Harsons&1A& 106 >inrichs&1A6 Jrifa&1A"&1A&126 HusteKos'&

1AAa& 1AAb& Mucchi& 15&and others#.Bach (1A1#& follo/ing 9ourelatos (1!A# proposes that at least some of the properties of

eentualit' t'pes can be understood in terms of parallels bet/een verbal and nominal epressions

that pertain to their $part % structure& that is& to the /a's in /hich an entit! as a whole stands inrelation to its parts.

This approach to the classification of nominalerbal predicates is inspired b' the theories

of mereolog!, or the logic of part& whole relations& and has gained a lot of prominence /ithin

event semantics.The relation bet/een a whole and its parts is defined b' t/o properties3

• subdivisibilit! (homogeneit'# ersus anti&subdivisibilit! and

• additivit! (or cumulativit!# ersus anti&additivit!.

tates and activities/processes pattern together in haing homogeneous& nonuantied

reference& Kust lie mass nouns and bare plurals.The' hae divisive reference (e.g. Kust lie an' part of gold is gold & so parts of being sick

:ualif' as being sick and parts of walking are walking # and cumulative reference (parts of gold

added to parts of gold amount to a larger :uantit' of gold 6 parts of walking/being sick added to parts of walking/being sick add up to being larger interals of walking and being sick #.

Cvents (i.e. accomplishments and achieements# hae non&homogeneous& #uantied

reference& Kust lie countable nouns. The' are anti&subdivisible ( smaller parts of a table - itslegs& top& etc 7 are not the table6 similarl'& no proper subpart of the eent of building a cabin can be an eent of the same ind# and anti&additive (seeral tables& if added& do not form one and the

same larger table6 similarl'& t/o eents of building each a cabin do not mae a larger eent of

building a cabin#;.The leical decomposition of predicates.

The assumption behind predicate decomposition is that at some leel of representation the

meaning of erbs has internal structure.

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Do/t' (1!21!# puts forth the h'pothesis that erb t'pes differ in their conceptual

compleit'& /hich is describable in terms of semantic components such as D& BC;9C

;9C T BC or ;,PSC.

ther linguists follo/ed suit& such as appaport and ein& (1AA# &Harsons (10#&HusteKoschi (11#& >ale and Je'ser (15#& amchand (2002# to mention a fe/.

In order to mae eplicit the aspects of meaning releant to predicate decomposition&

appaport and ein (1AA# emplo' the notion of lexical conceptual structures (;Ss#.,s alread' mentioned& these structures proide specifications of the erbZs meaning and

the arguments of the erb are indicated in the representations as ariables . ;Ss should be

ie/ed as the leical part of the erbZs meaning. An! changes in argument structure of a verb will engender semantic changes at the level of ?E.

The erb itself decomposes into more elementar' predicates lined b' arious relations.

These elementar' predicates& such as BC;9C& ;,PSC& D& BC& ma' occur oer a largenumber of erbs that are semanticall' related.

The argument places (i.e. the participants in the eent# of these predicatie constituents

are held b' ariables (i.e. letters lie & '& /hich stand for the s'ntactic OHs#. The arguments

are thus ariables occurring in substructures of ;Ss. >ere are a fe/ eamples3

(5=# a. HPT3 ) Does smth+ ;ause )' ;ome to Be at +++

( does something /hich causes ' to come to be at location # b. JI3 ) Does smth+ ;ause )' Become not alie+++

( does something /hich causes ' to become dead#

/.0 The ntology of situationsIn this subchapter /e shall tr' to offer a comprehensie s'ntactic and semantic

characteriation of basic-situation t'pes& the central stereot!pes for each of the identifiedsubt'pes& taing into consideration the insights of the three influential approaches mentioned in

the preious subchapter as /ell as the two component theor! of aspect deeloped b' Smith

(11#. In the t/o component theor' the composite nature of aspectual meaning is essential& since

aspectual meaninginterpretation pertains to the sentence that presents information about situation

t'pe (leical information# and ie/point (grammatical information# To the aboe mentioned situation t'pes /e also introduce a fifth situation t'pe identified

b' linguists& namel' semelfactives. Semelfacties are represented b' epressions lie3 knock, hit,

kick, cough, etc. and in Smith%s ie/ (11# the' are considered as a subt'pe of ,ctiities.Sometimes the' are treated as a special subclass of ,chieements& that is& instantaneous eents

that are not telic.

5.1 Eonceptual features of the situation t!pesThe follo/ing semantic features are assumed to distinguish bet/een the situation t'pes&

these features functioning as shorthand for the cluster of properties that distinguishes them.

The first feature that is fundamentul in the characteriation of situation t'pes is the feature

)± statie+. ;ognitiel' this distinction bet/een $stasis% and $motion% (change# is fundamental.

The feature of statiit' bifurcates situation t'pes into the classes of states and non-states

(actiities and eents#.tates are the simplest of the situation t'pes. From a temporal point of ie/& the' consist

onl' of undifferentiated moments& /ithout endpoints.

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The distinction bet/een states and non-states (actiities and eents# is reflected in

language3 in Cnglish a non-statie situation occurs, happens, takes place (i.e. culminates& in

Harsons% terms# /hile a state holds.

The pro-erb do generall' associates /ith non-states rather than states. inguists maethis distinction at the leel of the leical entr' of the erb b' assuming that onl' non-statie

predicates hae an $eent% ariable in their leical entr'.

Oon-statie situations form the natural class of $eents% (actiities and eents proper#. ,ssho/n b' oss (1!2# non-staties are $doings%6 the' are d'namic& inoling causation (/hich

includes both agentie and non-agentie subKects#& activit! and change. The' consist of

stages/phases rather than undifferentiated moments.The successie changes of Activities and Accomplishments oer time reflect d'namism&

as do the single stages of Achievements and emelfactives. ,ccordingl'& since stages characterie

eents& the propert' )Estage+ corresponds to the feature )Ed'namic& i.e. 7statie+.

The feature )±telic+ goes as far bac as ,ristotle%s notions of inesis (performance# and

energia. Situation t'pes are characteried as telic or atelic.

Telic eventualities are directed to/ards a goal/outcome& i.e. the' hae an inherent

culmination point.


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The eamples aboe suggest that telicit' ma' be triggered b' the presence of different

s'ntactic epressions. f the four Vendlerian classes& Accomplishments and Achievements are

characteried as telic.

Atelic eventualities are simpl' processes& /hich are realied as soon as the' begin. ,teliceentualities hae no $inherent% endpoint & but rather an arbitrar! final point3 the' can stop or be

terminated at an' time3 for eample if one doesn%t continue running& one automaticall' ceases

running. ,ctiities (i.e. processes# and semelfacties are atelic.The feature )±duratie+ also categories idealied situations3 some tae time (i.e. actiities

& accomplishments are duratie#& other are instantaneous (i.e. ,chieements and Semelfacties#.

This feature has sometimes been ignored b' some scholars& being considered as an inessentialfeature of eentualities (e.g. 9ourelatos 1!A& Do/t'& 1A"#.

,ccording to Smith (11# the feature of $duration% is releant in the description of

situation t'pes since in man' languages it is grammaticied oertl' or coertl'. 9itt/och (1!# presents strong eidence for a duratie feature in the grammar of Cnglish. The propert' of

duration is eplicitl' indicated b' aderbials ( for pharses# and main erbs (continue/keep#. The

imperfectie ie/point is also a linguistic correlate of duration& since imperfectie focusses on

the internal stages of duratie situations.


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Intuitiel'& statie predicates predicate a #ualit! or propert! of an indiidual. The' can be

considered as properties or relations disguised as erbs (Guenthner& >oepelman and ohrer&

1!A#6 the' include concrete and abstract properties of all inds3 possession& location& belief and

other mental states& dispositions& etc.Statie predicates are also characteried as being #ualitativel! homogeneous, i.e.

subdivisible and additive& that is to sa' that statie predications hae the subinterval propert'.

The general temporal schema for states consists of an undifferentiated period as in (5!# belo/3

(5!# (I# (F#

The line represents the interal (period# during /hich a state holds6 it is not diided into

stages. The lac of stages can be reinterpreted b' characteriing states as lacing a processual part ( Galton 1A=& >oesema 1A=& Giorgi and Hianesi& 1A##. The presence or absence of a

processual part in the actional properties of predicates is detected b' the continuous tense

criterion used b' Vendler in his classification.

The initial (I# and final (F# points are /ithin parentheses& to indicate that the' are not partof the state itself. This can be rephrased b' adopting the feature )-definite+& used b' Galton 1A=&

>oesema 1A=& to characterie this propert' of states.

The schema also reflects that the state holds consistentl' during the entire interal& sincestates ma' be Kudged as true at an! moment of time /ithin that interal. This propert' can be

stated as follo/s (Ta'lor& 1!!#3

(5A# If α is a state& then α(# is true at an interal I Kust in case

α(# is true at all moments /ithin I

To eemplif'& if 4ohn owns a dog for a week there is no moment throughout this interalduring /hich he did not own that dog . States ma' be Kudged as true at an' moment in time

because the' are not dependent on time (i.e. the' are atemporal #.,s states do not inole change& the' appear to be $simpler% in terms of their

temporal constituenc' than actiities or eents /hich need at least two moments of time for theirealuation.

If /e /ere to decompose the meaning of a state predicate lie $own% in $ John owns the

house’ (Do/t'& 1!# /e /ould hae the follo/ing representation3

(5# 4ohn o/ns the house

o/n(K& h#

Some scholars (e.g. Do/t'& 1!# assume that states (as an eentualit' t'pe# enter into the

conceptual structure of the other aspectual classes (actiities& accomplishments andachieements#.Gien the temporal properties of states& sentences /ith statie predicates displa' all the

s'ntactic non-statie tests. The' do not appear in constructions that directl' assume agenc' and

d'namism3

(i# states are odd in imperaties& (Jno/ Gree#

(ii# states do not accept agent-oriented aderbs lie willingl!, deliberatel!& since their subKectscannot be interpreted as agents (>e ne/ Gree deliberatel'#&

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(iii# states cannot be embedded under $ force% and $ persuade (I forced her to no/ Gree#&

(i# states do not neutrall' allo/ the $do% test (e ne/ Gree three times#. Further eidence for the$mass% properties of state predicates is proided b' nominaliations of state predicates (hatred,

love, knowledge& etc# /hich are uncountable and do not allo/ the indefinite article or cardinal

numerals. These nominaliations /ill perfectl' collocate /ith mass :uantifiers lie muchlittle(There was little love lost among themselves#.

5.2.2. Scholars hae acno/ledged that /e can distinguish bet/een different t'pes of states6

some of these t'pes are basic&level states and there are also two derived stative predicatesThe important difference among basic stative predicates (e.g. ;arlson& 1!!& Do/t'&

1!& Smith& 11& etc# is brought about b' the t'pes of referents to /hich the' appl'.

Hredicates ma' appl' to individuals (kinds of ob4ects or ob4ects# or to stages of

individuals.A Cnglish distinguishes s'ntacticall' bet/een permanent, non&temporar! states (know,desire, be tall, be widespread # and temporar! states (be available, be in the garden#.

;arlson argues that the class of predicates that denote relatiel' stable, non&transitor!

inherent properties appl' to individuals (obKects or inds#3 )be altruistic+ )be a teacher+& )beintelligent+ )be /idespread+& /hile statie predicates that denote transitor! properties appl' to

stages of individuals )be aailable+ )be in the garden no/+ )be drun+. The predicates assert a

:ualit' or propert' of an indiidual as a spatio-temporal /hole& or of an indiidual%s limitedspatio-temporal properties. D'namic predicates (i.e actiities& accomplishments& achieements&

semelfacties# are characterued as being stage-leel predicates inherentl'.

Belo/ is a list of eamples of some predicates that appl' to stages and some that appl'

to o"ects'inds as the eamples sho/& most nominal predicates appl' to ob4ects /kinds& /hilethe maKorit' of prepositional phrases (HHs# in predicate position appl' to stages (especiall' the

locaties#. ,dKecties appear to constitute a mied group& /ith the maKorit' appl'ing to obKects3

(=0# !tages Individuals 3"ects4inds5

run into the room no/ ho/ to dancefind a boo hae ears

(be# in the net room (be# a turtlean orphan

(be# presentaailable (be# intelligenttall(be# on top of the house /eigh 20 g

(be# drun no/ French

(be# running about be sic (mentall'#

be on top of the house be /idespread

8 Stages of individuals are thought of as ‘temporal slices/manifestations” of individuals, their actual/concrete manifestation

in space and at particular times. Stages could be viewed as (temporally/spatially bound) parts of obects/!inds in an underlying

mereological logic. "n general, verbs that may ta!e the progressive form refer to stages, while prototypical state verbs may predicate

of obects and !inds but not stages.

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;lassical statie predicates )no/+& )desire+ )beliee+& )lie+& )be altruistic+ )o/n+ turn out

to be predicates over individuals not predicates oer stages of individuals i.e. the' are basic

individual level predicates.


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To this basic subt'pe of states /e add t/o t'pes of derived statives& namel' generics and

habituals that predicate oer indiiduals (inds of obKects and obKects& # and hence& are also

thought of in terms of indiidual leel predicates.

(b# stage leel state predicates (be angr!, be available, be in Ehicago, etc# /hich denotetemporar' states (momentar' stage-predicates in Do/t'%s terms# and appl' to a temporal and

spatial $stage% (manifestation# of an indiidual. The interals at /hich $stage% predicates are true

are shorter& hae distinct boundaries and ma' hae truth conditions that differentiate among partsof the interal. This t'pe of staties is compatible /ith epressions of simple duration and

punctualit'3 *e was angr! for an instant, he was hungr! at noon.

,ccording to Do/t' (1!31A0# these t/o classes $can be true at moments and are true atan interal if and onl' if the' are true at all moments /ithin that interal%. In other /ords& the'

obe' Ta'lor%s postulate stated in (55# aboe.

(c# a third subt'pe of staties is identified b' Do/t' (1!31!A# as $interal staties%&since their truth condition re:uires an interal larger than a moment. This subt'pe of staties

includes erb constellations of position and location (/ith erbs lie sit, be, crouch, lie, perch&

sprawl, stand% /hich hae properties that distinguishes them from the other predicates epressing

temporar! states. In Cnglish these erbs are uni:ue among statie erbs in allo/ing the progressie although& Kust lie bona fide states& the' inole no agenc' (the' ma' occur /ith

inanimate subKects# or change. The eamples belo/ are borro/ed from Do/t' (1!31!5#3

(=1# a# The socs lieare l'ing under the bed

b# Oe/ rleans lies WWis l'ing at the mouth of the 9ississippi ier

c# ne corner of the piano restsis resting on the bottom stepd# That argument restsWW is resting on an inalid assumption

The progressie in these sentences has a statie interpretation (actuall' the' denote a

temporar' state#& /hereas usuall' the progressie is associated /ith an actie interpretation.


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I lied him in a second.

(ii# Herception erbs lie smell/taste/feel hae the same form but distinct s'ntactic behaiour

/hen the' refer to a state or an actiit'3 intransitie /hen :ualif'ing as state& transitie /hendenoting actiit'. The erbs see and hear & on the other hand& appear in pairs of statie and actie

perception erbs3 seeence& Hrocesses $ stop% or $terminate% but the' neer $ finish%. Hrocesseshae d'namic& successie& homogeneous stages and tae time& that is& the stereot'pic Hrocess

occurs oer an interval longer than a moment . The abstract temporal schema for processes is

gien belo/. In the abstract temporal schema $I $stands for the initial point& Farb stands for thearbitrar' endpoint& /hile the dots represent the successie stages (indefinite changes#3

(=# Temporal schema for Hrocesses

I*****Farb

Since processes are characteried as being homogeneous there is no difference in ind

bet/een a proper part and the entire situation. (i.e. processes are subdiisible and additie#. For instance& if $4ohn /aled in the par% for an interal& his /aling during seeral

minutes of the interal also counts as /aling. Vendler characteries this propert' of processes as

follo/s3 $,ctiities go on in time in a homogeneous /a'6 an' part of the process is of the samenature as the /hole% (1"!3155#.

The remars aboe actuall' sho/ that Kust lie states& processes are subinterval erb

phrases obe'ing the postulate belo/ (Ta'lor (1!!##3

(="# If α is a process& then if α(# is true at I& then α(# is true at all subinterals of I

/hich are larger than a moment

,s in the case of states& processes behae lie uncountable nouns. The' cannot be

counted& being cumulatieadditie and subdiisible. Hrocess nominaliations hae mass noun

properties co-occurring /ith indefinite mass :uantifiers such as3 much& little& enough& no3

(=!# For hours there /as littlenomuch runningpla'ing in the par

The most general actiit' erb seems to be D6 processes are doings& so D might be

ie/ed as a common component in the leical conceptual structure (N;S# of process predicates.

2"


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(Do/t'& 1!#. The semanticconceptual represention of a process sentence is as in (=2# belo/

belo/3

(=A# 4ohn /aled D (/al# (K#

Gien their semanticconceptual and temporal properties& process predicates pass all thenon-statiit' tests mentioned in the preious subchapters& such as3

(i# compatibilit' /ith the progressie

(ii# appear in pseudo-cleft constructions /ith the auiliar' do(iii# as complements of $stop%

(i5 the' naturall' co-occur /ith period aderbials3 for - time& all

summermorningda'& and as complements of spend α-amount of time3

(# the entailment from the progressie form 8 is φ X-ing ? to the simple form 8 has φ-

ed ? is alid6 i.e. the imperfectie process sentence entails the perfectie sentence3

(=# The dog /as chasing a car

entailsThe dog chased a car

,gentie process erb phrases (/ith animate& agentie subKects# occur as 3

(i# complements of forcepersuade&

(ii# imperaties(iii# /ith agent oriented aderbs3 deliberatel'& /illingl'& carefull'

Oon-agentie processes do not occur /ith agent 7oriented aderbs or as complements of

force/persuade3

(0# (i#4ohn persuadedforced the refrigerator to run(ii# The refrigerator deliberatel' ran

(iii# The refrigerator is running


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In Cnglish /e also hae other means to change the telicit' of a constellation6 one

particular possibilit' is the t'pe of preposition emplo'ed3 e.g. read the book s read at the book 6

paint the fence s paint awa! at the fence. The telicit' tests /ill sho/ that the first member of the

pair :ualifies as telic (i.e. accomplishment# /hile the second member :ualifies as atelic (process#.The possibilit' of such eents mae the Hrocess the most aried of situation t'pes.

5.2.5. The event situation types 3accomplishment and achievement5

5.2.5. The term $eent% denotes those situation t'pes that inole a product& upshot or outcome

i.e. the' inole a definite change of state. The' are characteried b' the feature )Etelic+.,ccording to Von


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structure of t'pe )e1 causes e2# /here e1 is the (causing# activit!/process /hile e2 is the resulting

(change of % state.

,chieements& on the other hand& focus on the change of state& bacgrounding or simpl'

leaing out the causing actiit'process and the causing factor.3 e.g. "! father died. "! fatherdied $from his wounds% $in the end%. ,chieements are trul' changes of state& the' are

$becomings%& the' are all $culmination% and are conceptualied as $instantaneous%.

5.2.5.1 Accomplishments,s alread' mentioned accomplishments consist of a process and an outcome& a change of state&

haing successie stages in /hich the process adances to its conclusion. The successie stages

of accomplishments are characteried b' Do/t' (1!# as $definite changes of state% /hichaccount for the lac of the subinteral propert' /ith these situation t'pes& i.e. the' are anti-

subdiisible (no proper part of an eent is of the same ind as the eent#.

Do/t' (1!# dubbed accomplishments as $comple changes of state%. ,ccomplishmentsresult in a ne/ state. For instance& )build a house+ includes the arious stages of house building as

/ell as its completion. The relation bet/een the process and the outcome of an ,ccomplishment

is non-detachable. If the outcome of an ,ccomplishment is reached & it follo/s that the process

occurred& i.e. if ) John build a house+ occurs at an interal& then it is true that during that interal) John was building the house+. This entailment is stated informall' in (2# belo/ (Smith (1!#3

(2# If eent , occurs at interal ,& then the process associated /ith , occurs during theinternal stages of that interal.

This entailment can be stated /ith truth conditions for related perfectie and imperfectieaccomplishment predications3

(5# If φ is an accomplishment erb then φ-ed in ' time entails /as φ-ing during that time

o/eer& the opposite is not true3if a process occurs one cannot infer its outcome& i.e. $4ohn is /riting an essa'% does not entail $4ohn /rote an essa'%.

The temporal schema of an ,ccomplishment is gien in (=# belo/.( Smith 113=#. The

dots represent the successie internal stages. Fnat represents the natural final point& or completion&/hich represents the defining propert' of telic situation t'pes. represents the result state that

obtains after the completion of the process3

(=# I*****.F Oat \]

Since ,ccomplishments conceptualie not onl' the change but also the process (i.e.

causing factor# that brings about (causes# the resultant state& it has been assumed thatsemanticall'& accomplishments can be interpreted as including 5 abstract predicates& namel' D&

;,PSC and BC;9C. ;,PSC is ie/ed as bisentential (i.e. logicall' connecting t/o sentences

(propositions#. Its subKect clause epresses the process (the $DIOG%# that leads to the change ofstate& /hile the obKect clause epresses the resultant state.

(# 4ohn dre/ the circle

D(K # ;,PSC )BC;9C (eist (c##+

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There are good reasons (morphological& semantic and s'ntactic# to assume that D&

;,PSC and BC;9C should be considered significant conceptual components of

accomplishment situations.(a# First of all in Cnglish there are a large number of causatieinchoatie affies such as

^ie& ^if' & ̂ en& be^& en^ that form )ETelic+ erbs from adKecties or nouns (e.g.

fertile→fertilie6 solid→solidif'& height_ heighten& broad_broaden& slae_enslae& etc#& as/ell as the eistence of conersion phenomena (bottle →to bottle (the /ine#6 saddle→to saddle

(the horse#6 cool _to cool& /here D& ;,PSC& BC;9C are leicall' incorporated. 9an'

cases ma' be categoried as either accomplishments or achieements& depending on /hether the

process is seen as intrinsicall' related to the outcome. The erbal prefies re^ (to do oer again#or pre^ are also telic& re:uiring situation t'pes /ith natural endpoints.3 reopen& reealuate& etc.6

State& ,ctiit' and Semelfactie erbs do not tae this prefi3 resneee& rebeliee& relaugh&

renoc& etc& nor do erbs /ith re- appear in atelic constellations3 John rethought the problem s John rethought that (H( F I (Smith 11325=#

b# Secondl'& 'le (1=311# obsered that duratie eents are caracteried semanticall'

as being $bipartite% in a /a' that ,ctiities and ,chieements are not. In using an

,ccomplishment predicate $er s/eeping the floor caused the floor to become clean#

(!# thro/ something a/a'do/nasideupin putsendthro/driecall a/a'


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,nother proof for the bipartite nature of ,ccomplishments is the abilit' of

accomplishment predicates to occur /ith for&phrases& and the epression spend x time& ho/eer

marginall'. This can be accounted for onl' b' acno/ledging the presence of a process phase in

their temporal mae-up. ,ctuall'& the entire sentence :ualifies as a deried process predicate.,chieement predicates are ecluded in these contets3

(# (W#4ohn built a ite for t/o hours 4ohn did t/o hours of ite-building

(W#9ar' pla'ed a sonata for an hour

9ar' did t/o hours of sonata-pla'ing 4ohn spent an hour building a ite

9ar' spent an hour pla'ing a sonata

,ctuall'& in Cnglish& for&phrases& ma' create ambiguit' /ith some ,ccomplishment predicates.

(Binnic 1A" apud ;rainiceanu 1!##3

("0# The sheriff of Oottingham Kailed obin >ood for four 'ears

n one reading& the act of Kailing obin >ood lasted for four 'ears& /hile on the second reading

obin >ood /as sentenced to four 'ears in prison. In the first interpretation the aderbial refersto the process part /hile in the second to the result state.

The bipartite structure of ,ccomplishment situations also accounts for the fact that

accomplishments ma' naturall' co-occur /ith both $stop% and $finish%. Gien the heterogeneousstructure of accomplishments it is but natural that the entailments differ3

("1# (i# 4ohn finished building the house

(ii# 4ohn stopped building the house

In (i# the entailment is that the actiit' reached its completion and the resultant state is the

eistence of the house. In (ii# the entailment is that /e are not entitled to conclude that $ John didbuild the house’ & but onl' that he $was building’ a house& /hich he ma' or ma' not hae finished.

,chieement predicates are ecluded from these contets.

Gien their temporal structure& ,ccomplishments& as obsered b' Do/t' $do not tae place (actuall' are not %true% or $false%# at a time%. Oeertheless& /e ma' come across sentences

/here there is a erb constellation t'pical of a duratie ,ccomplishment in the compan' of a

momentar' aderbial lie at noon. ,ccording to Smith (113# such sentences focus the beginning of the eent3 it is an inceptie presentation of an accomplishment. Such interpretations

are also made possible /ith $super-leical% erbs such as )begin+ )start+.

("2# The' /aled to school at noon

ie processes& accomplishments are )Ed'namic+ and ma' be controllable (i.e. ma' hae

agentie subKects#& hence the' pass all the tests for non-statiit'3

a% occur in imperaties

b% occur as complements of force/persuadec% co-occur /ith agent-oriented aderbs deliberatel!, carefull!

d# appear in pseudo-cleft constructions /ith the auiliar' do

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,ccomplishment sentences consist of constellations that hae3 (a# telic& duratie erbs and

countable (:uantied# arguments (see eample "5 (i##6 (b# atelic& duratie erbs and directional

complements& or /ith certain prepositions (see "5 (ii# and (iii#6 (c# atelic erb and resultatieconstruction (see eamples in "5(i#3

("5# (i# The' dran a glass of beer and left (ii# The children /aled to school

(iii# The bo' ran out

(i# She laughed herself sill' The alarm cloc ticed the bab' a/ae

To conclude& the essential characteristics of ,ccomplishments are d'namism& duration&

completion and non-detachabilit' (i.e. the entailment relation bet/een process and

oucomeresultant state 3eNe1 → e2#.

/.2.2.6 Achievements

,chieements are instantaneous& single-stage eents that result in a change of state.,chieements focus mainl' on the change of state& simpl! leaving out or backgrounding the

causing activit! and causing factor . Camples of stereot'pic achieements are 3 die, reach thetop, win the race& arrive, leave, recognie, notice, find a penn!, miss the target, lose the watch,

remember & etc.

Cen if some achieements ma! be preceded b' some preparator' actiit' (e.g. land, die,reach the top, win the race& etc# this instantaneous eent t'pe does not conceptualie it. ,s Smith

(113A# remars3 $The preliminar! stages which ma! be associated with the change of state are

conceptuall! detached from the event as such’ .

The temporal schema (Smith 11# of an achieement presents an eent as consisting of asingle stage& /hich constitutes the change of state as such. The initial and final points are

represented as simultaneous3

("=# *.I

F\]*..

In the temporal schema diagram aboe stands for the result of the change of state& /hile

the dots represent preliminar' and resultant stages. The eistence of such preliminar' stages

accounts for the abilit' of some achieement predicates to occur in the progressie (e.g. *e is

d!ing . The plane was landing when the storm started .# Oot all achieement predicates presuppose

or impl' preliminar' stages (or a preparator'& $prelude% process as Jearns (11# puts it #.

The predicates that do no presuppose a preparator' process are no/n as $luck!

achievements% ( find, recognie, discover, notice, lose, remember, etc# and the' resist use in the progressie.

It is interesting to mention here a group of erbs (no/n as degree or scalar predicates&

Do/t' 1!& amchand 2001# that do not inherentl' impl' telicit'& i.e. the' describe a change ofstatelocation as far as their argument is concerned but the' need not entail the attainment of a

final state. (e.g widen, harden, rise, fall, descend, roll, dr!, cool & melt, etc#. , gap can widen for

hours but then it ma' close again6 a balloon can rise /ithout hitting the top of the s'. Such predicates are on the borderline bet/een achieements and accomplishments. The' ma' hae an

achieement interpretation or an accomplishment interpretation. These erbs /ill all occur in

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The sentences aboe can onl' be interpreted as denoting a series of ics& an iterated (duratie#

,ctiit'Hrocess. This interpretation is pragmaticall' drien b' the incompatibilit' of the

aderbial and the erb constellation.;ompletie aderbials of the $in-`-time% t'pe onl' hae a temporal location interpretation3

(!=# 4ohn iced the ball in minutes>e coughed in fie minutes

The sentence aboe can be interpreted as 3 fie minutes after something-or -other occurred& theeent )kick the ball + occurred. If /e loo carefull'& this interpretation also characteries duratie

actiities and achieements3

(!# >e /aled in fie minutes

The bomb eploded in fie minutes

In all the sentences aboe the aderbials hae an ingressive interpretation& that is the' indicate aninteral at the end of /hich the eent occurs.

9anner aderbial lies slowl!, #uickl! in the contet of semelfacties do not refer to the

progression of the semelfactie eent as such but rather to the state preliminar! to the eent& as inthe eamples belo/3

(!"# 4ohn slo/l' noced on the door 4ohn :uicl' coughed

The interpretation of these sentences is something lie3 John was slow to knock at the door and

John was #uick to cough.Since semelfacties are characteried b' the feature )Ed'namic+ the' ma' co-ccur /ith agentie

aderbials lie deliberatel!, carefull!, intentionall!& imperaties and as complements to $stop%&

$force% and $persuade%.

6.0 )iewpoint7rammatical Aspect

=.1.The temporal properties of situation t'pes become semanticall! visible in sentences the

moment viewpoint aspect contributes information.

The aspectual ie/point of a sentence functions as an independent lens on the situationtaled about. (Smith 1131!1#. Vie/point aspect maes isible all or part of a situation& /ithout

obscuring the conceptualsemantic properties of the situation t'pe.

In Cnglish& ie/point is indicated b' the presence or absence of grammatical marers.

The perfectie ie/point is phoneticall' ero& contrasting /ith the auiliar' E bound morphemeepression $-ing% (the present participle form of the main erb# /hich cone's& in Cnglish& the

progressie aspect. The progressie aspect in Cnglish corresponds to the imperfectie ie/point.

;ompare3

(!!# (i# 9ar' taled (Herfectie ie/point#

(ii# 9ar' /as taling (/hen I entered# (Imperfectie ie/point#

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Sam o/ned seeral apple orchards ( but he no longer o/ns them#

In the eamples in (A0i-i# the situations are presented as closed . There are neertheless

slight differences that distinguish among the endpoint properties .The first t/o sentences (A0i&ii# present terminated eents& since the situations described

:ualif' as atelic& /hile the net t/o sentences (A0iii&i# present intrinsicall! completed situations

since the sentences describe telic situation t'pes. The $stop% and $finish% tests distinguish bet/eenthe t/o t'pes of endpoints as /e hae alread' seen. ,telic predicates felicitousl' occur /ith

$stop% ( stop chasing the car@ stop kicking the ball # /hile duratie telic eents felicitousl' occur

/ith $finish% ( finish writing the report%. In contrast& statie sentences (A0 # /ith a perfectie ie/point 7 the onl' ie/point

neutrall' aailable to such sentences- are flexible in interpretation. Since statie situation t'pes do

not conceptualie endpoints in their temporal pattern& staties in Cnglish are compatible /ith botha closed and an open interpretation& depending on contet.

In the open reading the state continues into the present as such& sentences naturall'

conKoin /ith present tense affirmatie sentences as the eample aboe indicates. Staties also

allo/ for a closed interpretation& i.e. the state has ended6 this reading can be asserted b'conKoining statie sentences /ith negatie present tense sentences.

ith stative situation t!pes the closed interpretation is not semanticall! re#uired b! the

perfective viewpoint and must be due to pragmatic context (i.e. inference#. The informationcone'ed b' a state perfectie is precisel' that of the temporal schema for states. The schema

does not include endpoints& since endpoints inole change of state. States simpl' consist of an

undifferentiated period.The closed interpretation of perfectie non-statie predicates accounts for the

successive/se#uential interpretation of eents in the contet of when&clauses3

(A1# 4ohn ran/ent to bedfell asleep /hen 9ar' got home

In sum& the perfectie ie/point /ith non-statie situation t'pes focuses on the /hole

situation.and maes it isible for semantic interpretation

Imperfective viewpoint

,s alread' mentioned the imperfectie ie/point maes isible onl' part of the situation& /ith no

information about its endpoints. Thus& it could be argued that informationall'& sentences in theimperfectie form are open, i.e. imperfectie ie/points do not linguisticall' present closed

situations& although the' allo/ inferences about beginnings and endings. The distinction is

Since the $perfectie% is not grammaticall' mared& #iorgi and $ianesi (%&&') argue that the notion ‘perfectiveshould be viewed as a leical feature that characteri*es bare non+stative verbs in nglish. -he leicon feature‘perfective would, thus, account for the habitual/generic reading of the simple present with such eventivepredicates. vidence for this assumption comes from the cc"nf and cc$articiple constructions in nglish.

0ompare the eamples below1

(i) 2ohn saw 3ary eat an apple(ii) 2ohn saw 3ary eating an apple.

"n (i) above it must be the case that the apple is eventually eaten4 i.e. the event is bounded, closed, whichis the semantic content of perfectivity. -he participle embedded under the perceptual verb ‘see (in ii) isincompatible with the perfective (closed) reading4 this suggests that actually the progressive marker is themorpheme –ing. -his conclusion is in line with 2espersens account of ‘the epanded tense, namely that theprogressive in nglish actually derives from ”the phrase he was on hunting & /hich meant $he /as in the course of hunting& engaged inhunting& bus' /ith hunting%6 he /as& as it /ere& in the middle of something& some protracted action& denoted b' the substantie hunting. >ere on

became phoneticall' a *. and a /as eentuall' dropped*.?

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brought about b' linguistic contet.


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(i# Susan /as no/ing the ans/er (/hen I arried#

(# I am hating oolog' class

Cnglish has been under stud' for a long time& and its ie/point s'stem has been underscrutin' for decades3 traditional grammarians such as 4espersen (151#& Jruisinga (12#&

Houtsma (12A#& ;urme (15#6 structuralists lie 4oos (1"=# or T/addell (1"# hae come up

/ith essential insights and useful comments.ogicians and philosophers of language lie 'le (1=!#& Vendler (1"!#& Do/t' (1!!#&

Vlach (1A0#& Bennet and Hartee (1!21!A# 9ontague (1"A# to mention Kust a fe/& focus on

the semantics of both situation aspect and ie/point aspect. The aim of the present subchapter is to focus on the semantic contribution of the

progressie& offering a theor' able to capture the truth conditions of the Hrogressie.


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The intuition behind (Ai#& as alread' mentioned& is that the process of crossing

buildingpla'ing is under /a'& it is not oer. The sentences in (Aii# can be felicitousl' uttered in

a situation in /hich Susan is sort of half/a' across the street& half/a' in building the house& etc.

The sentences& though& do not sa' /hether she reaches the other /a' of the street& finishes thehouse or the sonata or not. That is to sa'& the utterance of the sentence in (Ai# does not commit

the speaker to an! particular outcome6 the actual reaching of the other side of the street is onl' a

possible outcome of the eent denoted b' (Ai#. The interpretation of accomplishments in the progressie form is /hat Do/t' (1!# labels the $imperfectie parado% and Bach (1A1# $the

partitie pule%

Do/t' (1!# obseres that a definition of the progressie should capture the intuition behind the progressie aspect as a $time frame’ & /hich intuition can be found in 4espersen

(15532"5#3 8the chief use of the epanded tenses )progressie aspect+ is to sere as a frame

round something else& /hich ma' or ma' not be epressl' indicated. This is easil' understood if/e start from the old phrase he was on hunting & /hich meant $he /as in the course of hunting&

engaged in hunting& bus' /ith hunting%6 he /as& as it /ere& in the middle of something& some

protracted action& denoted b' the substantie hunting. >ere on became phoneticall' a *. and a

/as eentuall' dropped& eactl' as in other phrases3 burst out on laughing, a&laughing, laughing/ fall on thinking, a&thinking, thinking@ set the clock on going, a&going, going, etc. If /e sa' he was

$on% hunting & /e mean that the hunting (/hich ma' be completed now# had begun& but /as not

completed at the time mentioned or implied in the sentence6 this element of relatie incompletionis er' important if /e /ant to understand the epanded tenses& een if it is not e:uall' manifest

in all cases. The action or state denoted b' the epanded tense is thought of as a temporal frame

encompassing something else /hich as often as not is to be understood from the /holesituation*.%

4espersen%s definition includes another important intuition& namel' that the $protracted

action% denoted b' the progressie sentence had begun before the time stated or implied in the

sentence. This intuition has materialied in the definition first stated b' Bennet YHartee(1!21!A# according to /hich 3

$the progressie sentence is true at an interal I Kust in case there is an interal of time I% that properl' includes I. %.

The third element in 4espersen%s definition that has gien linguists a hard time is the$element of relatie incompletion.% Hartl'& this is /hat Do/t' (1!# labels the $imperfectie

parado% and Bach (1A1# $the partitie pule%

In order to account for the imperfectie parado that characteries accomplishment predicates in the progressie& as /ell as eamples lie the ones in (A"# belo/& /here /e can not

assume that the situation denoted b' the progressie etends be'ond the time mentioned in the

sentence& Do/t' (1!2#& in his approach to the semantics of the progressie aspect& adopts the

notion of $possible futurescourse of eents% (Thomason (1!0#& Tedeschi (1A1# /hich re:uiresthat time be branching rather than linear& that is to sa' that at an' gien moment there is not one&

but an infinite number of $possible futuresoutcomes%. The interpretation that a certain situation

goes be'ond the time gien in the sentence is pragmatic in nature haing largel' to do /ith our general knowledge of the world associated with the inherent temporal properties of the

eventualities3

(A"# (i# 4ohn /as /atching TV /hen he fell asleep

(ii# 4ohn /as /atching TV /hen 9ar' entered the room

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(iii# 4ohn /as building a cabin /hen I first heard of him

The eample in (A"ii# allows the interpretation that 4ohn%s /atching TV etended at least

a fe/ moments be'ond the time /hen 9ar' entered the room. n the other hand& 4ohn ma' Kustas /ell hae decided to stop /atching TV /hen 9ar' entered. ,s for the eample in (A"i# there

is no possible interpretation according to /hich 4ohn $s /atching TV etended "eyond the time

of his falling asleep. In this case it is the temporal properties of )fall asleep+ that restricts theinteral to that moment. ,s for the sentence in (A"iii# the sentence inites an interpretation that a

possible outcome of 4ohn%s actiit' is the eistence of the respectie cabin& but other possible

outcomes are allo/ed b' this sentence3 he ma' hae run out of

2011iulThe Category of Aspect 2

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