THE LEXICAL ASPECT OF VERBS Verbs can be divided into four categories based on the inherent lexical aspect

t (Vendler 1967). ACTIVITY ACCOMPLISHMENT run walk swim live study paint (a picture) make (a chair) build ( a house) write (a novel) grow up ACHIEVEMENT (punctual) recognize (something) realize (something) lose (something) find (something) win the race STATIVE have contain 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 VERBS shares with the ACT.VERBS their durativity but 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 no durations; they are PUNCTUAL. 4. STATIVE VERBS do not involve change. They depict a stable situation that 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 PERCEPTION smell, see, hear, taste and feel b. MENTAL PERCEPTION know, believe, think, understand, mean, doubt c. POSSESSION possess, have, own, belong d. EMOTIONS, ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS like, love, hate, dislike, want, desire, need, prefer appreciate, doubt, feel wish e. MEASUREMENT equal, measure, weigh, cost f. RELATIONSHIP contain, entail, consist of g. DESCRIPTION be, resemble, sound, appear, seem, look

? 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 VERBS are not commonly used. When used, they describe a prior experience or activity. Ex: I have run before. 2. ACCOMPLISHMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT VERBS go easily with perfect aspect and signal prior events that are completed Ex: John Updike has written many novels. The true meaning of that holiday has been lost. 3. STATIVE VERBS signal a state that may or not have ended at the time of speech Ex: I have owned a Rolis Royce { before. since 1987. WITH PROGRESSIVE ASPECT 1. ACTIVITY VERBS readily take the progressive which reinforces the fact that the action has duration Ex: Meg is washing her car. 2. ACCOMPLISHMENT VERBS - take the progressive but focuses on progress toward a particular end that has not yet been completed. Ex: The contractors are building the new civic center. 3. ACHIEVEMENT VERBS because they are punctual, they give the meaning of: a. ITERATION Ex: He is nodding his head in agreement.

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 a fundamental 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 verb Ex: I am hating this assignment. I hate this assignment. b. Indicate current behaviour as opposed to general description Ex: Hes being rude. Hes rude. c. Introduce change in states by focusing on differences in degree across 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 vividness One night in the middle of the night, Im hearing dripping. g. Express politeness it?) Are you liking it? (cf. Do you like

h. Mitigate criticism I like the first piano notes, but Im not liking it where the strings come in. (cf. ... but I do not like it...) i. Avoid imposition I 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. ACTION (subject is the agent) The butcher is weighing the steak. Youre being a fool. Well be tasting wine at the vineyard.

STATE (subject is not the agent) The steak weighs 12 ounces. You are a fool. I taste cinnamon in these rolls. 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 VERBS the action began in the past and has duration at the 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 VERBS the action has been going on for sometime and is not yet complete Ex: They have been repairing that bridge for months. 3. ACHIEVEMENT VERBS strange with PPA; only if only one action is intended Ex: ?Mike has been winning that race for hours.

But not if it is ITERATIVE: Ex: Mike has been winning that year for years. 4. STATIVE VERBS appears to be more compatible than progressive aspect 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 has just finished it. 2. Yes, she has already filed it. 3. No, she hasnt finished it yet. Explanation: 1. just signals recent completion 2. already signal a result that occurred previously-earlier than anticipated 3. yet indicates noncompletion 4. No, but shell finish it soon. 5. No, shes still working it soon. 6. No, shes not working on it anymore. 4. just signals recent completion. 5. already signals a state of affairs that is somehow persisting in the present- longer than anticipated 6. yet indicates noncompletion

Standard English permits simple past tense to occur with these 3 adverbs: Ex: 1. She just finished it. 2. She already finished it. 3. She didnt finish it yet. Note: Consider the situation. A parent may ask his or her child either 1. Have you done your homework already? Or 2. Have you done your homework yet?

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. yet is 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, while the 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 situation Ex: 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 situation Ex: 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)

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 a possibility 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 by another clause. I have been teaching for 25 years, but now I want to do something else. c. Single accomplishment, incomplete vs. A completed one Ex: 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 present perspective on the event rather than on the actual time at which it took place.

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 be defines 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. An incomplete one. Ex: My father lived here all his life. (complete-implies the father has left 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 query Ex: 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 view the differences between the simple past and present perfect. Knowles the 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 PROGRESSIVE a. 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)

b. Simple past sees the event as a totality with no room for change; past progressive 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 state Ex: They lived in Baltimore all their lives. (past permanent) They were living in Baltimore during the seventies. (past temporary) 5. SIMPLE PAST VERSUS PAST PERFECT a. The past perfect is used to mark the completion of some event before a 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 the earlier 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 FUTURITY a. 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.

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 very common 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 already been 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.

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 going to expresses the speakers certainty and will is used to make a strong prediction. However, since be going to is a present-tense form, it is used especially when there is evidence in the present to support the prediction; 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.

Will is used for quick, on-the-spot decisions, whereas be going to is used 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)

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.