The Lexical Aspect of Verbs

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THE LEXICAL ASPECT OF VERBS

Verbs can be divided into four categories based on the inherentlexical aspect (Vendler 1967).

ACTIVITY ACCOMPLISHMENT ACHIEVEMENT

(punctual)

STATIVE

runwalk

swim

live

study

paint (a picture)make (a chair)

build ( a house)

write (a novel)

grow up

recognize (something)realize (something)

lose (something)

find (something)

win the race

havecontain

seem

want

like

4 CATEGORIES:

1.ACTIVITY VERBS are durative and describe an ONGOING ACTION.They have an UNDEFINED beginning and end point.

2.ACCOMPLISHMENT VERBSshares with the ACT.VERBS their durativitybut ACC. VERBS have a well-defined end point, when the particular

action described in the verb phrase is not completed.

3.ACHIEVEMENT VERBS have a well-defined end point; they have nodurations; they are PUNCTUAL.

4.STATIVE VERBSdo not involve change. They depict a stable situationthat is assumed to last more or less indefinitely. Often, they are

broken down into the following subcategories, with several verbs

appearing in more than one category depending on their meaning:

a.SENSORY PERCEPTIONsmell, see, hear, taste and feelb.MENTAL PERCEPTIONknow, believe, think, understand, mean,

doubt

c.POSSESSIONpossess, have, own, belongd.EMOTIONS, ATTITUDES AND OPINIONSlike, love, hate, dislike,

want, desire, need, prefer appreciate, doubt, feel wish

e.MEASUREMENTequal, measure, weigh, costf. RELATIONSHIPcontain, entail, consist ofg.DESCRIPTIONbe, resemble, sound, appear, seem, look


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? How will these four main categories activity, accomplishment,

achievement and state interact with the aspects?

WITH SIMPLE ASPECT

The simple tenses can express either specific or general facts, events,

habits, and states with all the 4 verb types.

WITH PERFECT ASPECT

1.ACTIVITY VERBSare not commonly used. When used, they describea prior experience or activity.

Ex: I have run before.

2.ACCOMPLISHMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT VERBSgo easily with perfectaspect and signal prior events that are completedEx: John Updike has written many novels.

The true meaning of that holiday has been lost.

3.STATIVE VERBSsignal a state that may or not have ended at the timeof speech

Ex: I have owned a Rolis Royce { before.

since 1987.

WITH PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

1.ACTIVITY VERBSreadily take the progressive which reinforces thefact that the action has duration

Ex: Meg is washing her car.

2.ACCOMPLISHMENT VERBS - take the progressive but focuses onprogress toward a particular end that has not yet been completed.

Ex: The contractors are building the new civic center.

3.ACHIEVEMENT VERBSbecause they are punctual, they give themeaning of:

a.ITERATIONEx: He is nodding his head in agreement.


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b.INCEPTION of an event:Ex: Joe is realizing his mistake.

c.The speaker can place emphasis.Ex: The plane is landing right on schedule.

4.STATIVE VERBS do not take the progressive because of afundamental semantic conflict between a grammatical aspect that

denotes a limited duration and a lexical aspect that expresses a

stable state.

*I am knowing the answer.

Note: (Kesner Bland 1988) The progressive turns states into events.

As such, progressive statives can be used to:

a.Intensify the emotion expressed by the verbEx: I am hating this assignment. I hate this assignment.

b.Indicate current behaviour as opposed to general descriptionEx: Hes being rude. Hes rude.

c.Introduce change in states by focusing on differences in degreeacross time.

Ex: Im understanding less and less about life, the older I get.

Other uses of progressive statives found in Gavis (1997) are to:

d.Show limited duration Are you understanding this?e.Emphasize conscious involvement What we are seeing is a red

star?

f. Show vividnessOne night in the middle of the night, Im hearing dripping.

g.Express politeness Are you liking it? (cf. Do you likeit?)


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h.Mitigate criticismI like the first piano notes, but Im not liking it where the strings

come in. (cf. ... but I do not like it...)

i. Avoid impositionI was just wanting to invite you to a gathering...(answering

machine message)

Note: Many stative verbs, even the classic verb of state, the copula B,

have NONSTATIVE counterparts that are active in meaning and

that may occur with the progressive.

STATE (subject is not the agent) ACTION (subject is the agent)

The steak weighs 12 ounces. The butcher is weighing the steak.

You are a fool. Youre being a fool.I taste cinnamon in these rolls. Well be tasting wine at the

vineyard.

Note: STATIVE MEANINGS rather than STATIVE VERBS to correctly

understand and explain restrictions on the use of progressive

aspect

WITH PERFECT PROGRESSIVE ASPECT

1.ACTIVITY VERBSthe action began in the past and has duration atthe present time

Ex: Mike has been running for two hours.

or is ITERATIVE and/or habitual.

Ex: Mike has been running for years.

2.ACCOMPLISHEMENT VERBSthe action has been going on forsometime and is not yet complete

Ex: They have been repairing that bridge for months.

3.ACHIEVEMENT VERBSstrange with PPA; only if only one action isintended

Ex: ?Mike has been winning that race for hours.


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But not if it is ITERATIVE:

Ex: Mike has been winning that year for years.

4.STATIVE VERBSappears to be more compatible than progressiveaspect alone

Ex: ?I am wanting to see you.

I have been wanting to see you.

ADVERBS OF TENSE AND TIME

Note: Because of the semantics of the tense-aspect combinations,

certain adverbs of indefinite time (still, yet, soon, already, anymore

and just) often

co-occur with particular combinations.

Has Chris finished her M.A. thesis?

1.Yes, she hasjustfinished it. 4. No, but shell finish itsoon.2.Yes, she has already filed it. 5. No, shesstill working it soon.3.No, she hasnt finished it yet. 6. No, shes not working on it

anymore.

Explanation:1.justsignals recent completion 4.justsignals recent completion.

2. already signal a result that

occurred previously-earlier than

anticipated

5. already signals a state of affairs

that is somehow persisting in the

present- longer than anticipated

3. yetindicates noncompletion 6. yetindicates noncompletion

Standard English permits simple past tense to occur with these 3 adverbs:Ex: 1. Shejustfinished it.

2. She already finished it.

3. She didnt finish it yet.

Note: Consider the situation. A parent may ask his or her child either1.Have you done your homeworkalready? Or2.Have you done your homeworkyet?


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Explanation: 1. already suggests that the parent expects a positive

answer but perhaps is surprised but he or she did not expect

completion that early.2. yetis more neutral or it may be used to signal that the

parent does not expect the HW to finished but wants to make

the child feel as though it should be.

THE USE OF THE TENSE-ASPECT SYSTEM

UNDERSTANDING DIFFICULT CONTRASTS IN TENSE-ASPECT

COMBINATIONS

1.Simple Present vs. Present Progressive The present progressive is used for limited action in progress, whilethe simple present is more compatible with states.a.Action happening at the moment of speaking versus a habit:

Ex: Why are you wearing glasses? (moment of speech-i.e.right now)

Why do you wear glasses? (habitual)

b.Temporary events vs. Permanent situationEx: Linda is living with her parents (temporary-until she gets a better job)Linda lives with her parents. (permanent-because it costs her too

much to live alone)

c.Specific event vs, general situationEx: What are you doing for Thanksgiving? (one specific Thanksgiving

holiday- the forthcoming one)

What do you do for Thanksgiving? ( the holiday each year)

d.Activity vs. State (two different lexical entries required)Ex: I am thinking about the answer. (mental activity)

I think it is 144. (mental state/report)


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2.PRESENT PERFECT VS. PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSSIVE PPP emphasizes activity as compared with achievement with PP.a.Specific and possibly still ongoing activity vs Prior Event

Ex: I have been visiting my great-grandmother. (possibly ongoing)

I have visited my great-grandmother. (prior event)

b.Strong implication of continuous vs. Continuation being only apossibility

Ex: I have been teaching 25 years. (and I cant imagine doing anything

else)

I have taught for 25 years. (so now its time to think about doing

something else)

Note: In this pair, the PPP implies continuation unless it is contradicted byanother clause.

I have been teaching for 25 years, but now I want to do something

else.

c.Single accomplishment, incomplete vs. A completed oneEx: Gail has been remodelling her home. (incomplete)

Gail has remodelled her home. (complete)

3.SIMPLE PAST VERSUS PRESENT PERFECT As Inoue (1979) has pointed out, the truth value of the present perfect

is identical with the past.

Ex: Sheila has joined the Sierra Club.

Sheila joined the Sierra Club.

Explanation: The use of the PP has more to do with our presentperspective on the event rather than on the actual time at which it

took place.


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Some additional sentence-level ways to help students determine

whether to use the SP or PP:

a.Simple past makes use of specific past-time adverbials. (yesterday,last year etc.)

Present Perfect makes use of general temporal adverbials/ (already,

since, yet)

b.Even if a past-time adverbial isnt explicit, the remoteness may bedefines elsewhere in the context or simply stated:

Ex: John Lennon was a genius.

c.The past tense is used for a completed historical period vs. Anincomplete one.

Ex: My father lived here all his life. (complete-implies the father hasleft or is dead)

My father has lived here all his life. (incomplete-the father still

lives there)

d.The present perfect is used for an indefinite vs. A definite queryEx: Have you ever gone to Phoenix?

Did you go to Phoenix? (You said that you travelled to the

Southwest last summer)

e.Citing Joos (1967) and Knowles (1976) give us another way to viewthe differences between the simple past and present perfect.

Knowlesthe function of the PP is to change the nature of the

relationship between the subject and predicate-it emphasizes the

predicated events result on the grammatical subject.

Ex: Ive been to Japan twice already, but I still dont speak much

Japanese.

4.SIMPLE PAST VERSUS PAST PROGRESSIVEa.The past progressive indicates incomplete versus complete action.

Ex: He was drowning in the lake, so the lifeguard raced into the

water. (incomplete)

He drowned in the lake. (complete)


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b.Simple past sees the event as a totality with no room for change; pastprogressive indicates that an event has already begun and extends

the event in time and thus allows for a change or its interruption.

Ex: He left when I came in.

He was leaving when I came in. (and so may have changed his

mind and stayed.)

c.Permanent vs. Temporary stateEx: They lived in Baltimore all their lives. (past permanent)

They were living in Baltimore during the seventies. (past

temporary)

5.SIMPLE PAST VERSUS PAST PERFECTa.The past perfect is used to mark the completion of some event beforea past time period:

Ex: By the end of the 1920s, women in the United States had won

the right to vote.

Or before another past event that is in the is simple past

Ex: Pat had blamed them for the problem before he considered all

the evidence.

b.Sometimes the past perfect appears to mark the later rather than theearlier of the two events in a two-clause sequence.

Ex: I answered before she had asked.

She collected it before I had finished.

I answered before she had asked. (a simple past tense will often

do without change in meaning)

6.SIMPLE FUTURE (will) VERSUS OF INDICATING FUTURITYa.Simple future with will is used for the following:

a.Future predictions: Belinda will be 40 next year.b.Spontaneous decision when the person has control over

the action: Ill get the phone.


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b.Be going to is used for the following:a.Future predictions (more informal than will)Ex: Belindas going to be 40 next year.

b. future intentions (based on prior decision)

Ex: Randy and Joyce are going to get married in October.

c.Present progressive is used for the following:a.Future plans that have already been made:Ex: Im marching in the parade next week.

d.Simple present is used for the following:a.Fixed scheduled events: We get paid next Friday.b.Subordinate clause of time (i.e. those beginning with when,

after, before etc.) or condition (i.e. provided that, if, as long

as etc)Ex: If the train arrives on time, well beat rush hour getting

home.

Note: Here are some observations that may help in distinguishing some

uses:

a.The simple present is more formal and impersonal and is not verycommon except with travel arrangement and fixed timetables:

Ex: Aunt Jeannie arrives today.Aunt Jeannie is arriving today.

b.Present progressive emphasizes that the arrangements have alreadybeen made, whereas be going to focuses more on the speakers

plan or intentions.

Ex: Im staying at the Marriot.

Im going to stay at the Marriott.

Of course, the present progressive is not likely to be used to express

the future with stative verbs or where the subject is inanimate:*The red car is belonging to me tomorrow.

The red car is going to belong to me tomorrow.

*That tree is falling tomorrow.

That tree is going to fall tomorrow.


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Or anytime when no planning or preparation can guarantee the

outcome.

*We are winning the tennis match next week.

c.Will and be going to are sometimes interchangeable when be goingtoexpresses the speakers certainty and will is used to make a strong

prediction. However, since be going to is a present-tense form, it isused especially when there is evidence in the present to support theprediction; this is not necessarily the case with will.

Ex: Mark is going to be tall like his dad.

?Mark will be tall like his Dad.

Willis used for quick, on-the-spot decisions, whereas be going to isused with more premeditated ones:

Ex: What can I give Jill for her birthday? Oh I know. Ill get her that

new novel.

Oh, I know. ?Im going to get

her that new novel.

Finally, when they occur together, the be going to tends to come first,to introduce the event, with details supplied with will.

Ex: Tomorrow night, were going to have a cookout. Our guestsll

bring something to grill, and well supply the rest.

7.Simple Future Versus Future Progressive The Future Progressive allows for the possibility of change with regard

to some future event.

Ex: Well go to Everglades National Park on our vacation. (definite

plan)

Well be going to Everglades National Park on our vacation. (less

definite; it allows for a change in plans)

We will offer that class next summer. (more definite)


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We will be offering that class next summer. (more tentative; it

allows change/cancellation)

8.Simple Future versus Future Perfect The future perfect marks an event/activity that is complete prior to

some other time, or complete prior to some other future event.

Ex: By the year 2008, the information superhighway will have

become accessible to all.

Megan will have moved by the time she completes her studies.

Simple future alone suggests that the event/ activity begins with the

time mentioned:

Ex: The information superhighway will become accessible to

all by the year 2008.

Megan will move when she completes her studies.

The Lexical Aspect of Verbs

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