Topic 5 (LV5)

-a way of ccategorizing words into different semantic groups

-deptermined by 3 main parameters

-typically expressed by verbs

every lexical verb itself represents a specific action or state (lexical action)

-duration:

length of time an event lasts (does it last long or is it over immediately?)

e.g. durative (draw) vs punctual (drop a pencil)

-dynamic:

is it an event (dynamic situation; do we put effort into it) or a state?

-inherent endpoint: (i.e. telicity)

is there some kind of 'goal' or endpoint?

e.g. drop, eat a sandwhich (not the same as eat), draw a tree (not the same as draw) ->have an endpoint

-every situation type that starts with 'A' is dynAmic

1. Is it dynamic or not?

(no: state verb; yes: proceed to question 2)

2. Is it curative or punctual?

(punctual: achievement; not: proceed to question 3)

3. Does it have a fixed endpoint or not?

(yes: accomplishment; no: activity)

-semantic

actions, activities, states, events, relationships, sensory perceptions, cognitive processes

-morphology

lexical: -ise/-ize, -ify

inflectional: 3 finite forms, 3 non-finite forms, overall, 6 forms

-syntactic

head of VP (main/lexical verbs)

dependents

= EVP

-a VP that includes the finite verb of a sentence plus its arguments

-can expresse ...

*time

*aspect

*voice

*modality

-always occur before the head

-always occur in the fixed order

-gives information about whether the speaker is talking about a situation as a whole or just "tthe middle" of a situation

-in English there are 2 aspects

*perfect (viewed from the outsidde, in retrospect)

*progressive (viewed from the inside, in progress)

-tense

locates events in points on a timeline

-aspect

covers other temporal dimensions, but not in terms of where it is located onn a timeline, but whether it is in progress or not

-gives information about whether the speaker is talking about a question as a whole or just "the middle" of a situation

-beginning & end of situation are out of focus

-expressing grammatically by adding a progressive marker (-ing) to the verb stem (be + -ing form)

-viewed "from the inside", in retrospective (as opposed to an outside/retrospective view as it is the case the past perfect)

-can make an action seem longer & shorter ->depends on the situation type described by the verb

*stative/state verbs: ccompress the time of an action

*event&dynamic verbs: stretch the time of an action

-has an effect on the temporal frame surrounding the verb

-activities ->adding the progressive aspect: time limited activity

-accomplishments ->adding the progressive aspecct: adds duration

-achievements ->adding the progressive aspect: series of events

-verbs that denote a permanent state or passivity

*state verbs of having & being

(e.g.*I am being a good student.)

but: I am having a bath. ->dynamic nature; wait, sit, stand, live ->also mostly dynamic

*verbs of inert cognition

(e.g. believe, forget, think, know)

but: e.g. I was thinking about her message when she entered the room.

*verbs of attitude

prefer, refuse

*verbs of inert perception

fear, hear, smell, taste

but: e.g. I am tasting the soup to check if I have used enough salt.

-verbs that denote longer periods of time (usually states & activities)

-transitional verbs

*The man is dying.

->not necessarily complete

iin grammar books the progressive is important for expressing ...

-"Change in progress"

*e.g. My handwriting is improving.

-"Habitual actions"

*e.g. When I was still a teenager, I was staying up late to watch Netflix. Now I get tired around 10pm.

-"Regrettable habits with always"

*e.g. I am always losing my keys.