Aspect (3)

Aspectual Recategorization

Aspect (3)

Aspectual RecategorizationPredicates shift from their prototypical class due to various elements in the verb constellationsȘ

The Subject: if the subject of an achievement is an indefinite plural noun phrase or a collective noun, the achievement recategorizes into an activity:

(1) a. The tourists have discovered a beautiful castle.

(achievement)

b. Tourists have discovered that beautiful castle for years (activity)

c. The battalion was crossing the border for 20 minutes

(activity)


The direct object: if the direct object of an accomplishment or an achievement is a bare plural noun phrase, they become activities.

(2) a. Tom wrote the essay in 2 hours.

(accomplishment)

b. Tom wrote essays for 2 hours (activity)

c. He discovered a treasure in the backyard.

(achievement)

d. Tom has been discovering fleas in the dog’s hair for 3 days (activity)


If the direct object of an accomplishment / an achievement is a mass noun, the accomplishment / achievement turns into an activity.

(3) a. Tom ate his hamburger in three minutes.

(accomplishment)

b. Tom ate popcorn for an hour.

(activity)


Adverbials: if an activity is combined with an adverbial of extent (for X time), it turns into an accomplishment:

(4) a. Tom walked for an hour.

(activity)

b. Tom walked 2 kilometers in half an hour.

(accomplishment)


Tense: habitual sentences always designate states. Almost any verb can become the predicate of a habitual sentence if used in the simple present, sometimes with a frequency time adverbial:

(5) a. He played chess for 2 hours.

(activity)

b. He plays chess every day.

(state)

Aspectual RecategorizationActivity verb phrases such as rub, burn, scratch turn into states when used in the simple present form, designating a general characteristic of the subject:

(6) a. The wood is burning in the fireplace.

(activity)

b. This burns like fire.

(state)

(7) a. He has been rubbing his eyes.

(activity)

b. The shoe rubs my heel.

(state)


Progressive (continuous) aspect: when used in the progressive aspect, states accomplishments and achievements recategorize into activities unfolding at a certain reference time.

N.B. Some verbs can have several readings even if the verb phrase does not undergo any change of the type illustrated above (see examples (8)).


(8) a. Tom read a book for an hour.

(activity)

b. Tom read a book in an hour.

(accomplishment)

c. She combed her hair for 2 minutes.

(activity)

d. She combed her hair in 2 minutes.

(accomplishment)


Recapitulation

Aspectual recategorization may be caused by:

(i) The semantic properties of the subject;

(ii) The semantic type of direct object;

(iii) The presence of an adverbial of extent (in time);

(iv) The tense in the sentence;

(v) The aspect in the sentence.

Aspectual Classes and the Progressive

Activity Verb Phrases

Used in the continuous aspect, with or without adverbials expressing duration (all the time, meanwhile, all day / night long, for some time, etc.), activity verb phrases designate processes that go on at a certain reference time.

Sometimes they describe two simultaneous processes and are connected either by and or by subordinating conjunctions such as while, as, all the while. etc.


(9) a. The river is flooding.

b. Meanwhile, he was trying to find out who had robbed him.

c. While she was rehearsing for the show, her maid was sewing her dress for the gala.

d. As he was crossing the street, he slipped on a banana skin and broke his leg.


When used in the progressive, semelfactives jump, kick, tremble, nod, knock, tap, pat, slam /bang, etc. describe a series of repeated processes rather than a single process:

(10) a. The boy was kicking the ball against the wall.

b. The dog is jumping up and down.

c. Her lips were trembling.

Accomplishment and Achievement Verb Phrases

The internal structure of accomplishments and achievements includes a final goal, outcome or result that ends up being suspended when the respective verb phrases combine with the progressive aspect.

When they appear in the continuous / progressive aspect, they acquire an activity reading.

Accomplishment and Achievement Verb Phrases

(11) a. They built their house in two years.

(accomplishment)

b. They were building the house when the accident happened.

(activity)

c. The man fell into the river and drowned.

(achievement)

d. When his son came running to help him, the man was already drowning.

(activity)

State Verb Phrases

States are defined as having an abstract quality and an atemporal interpretation. They are said to designate a property of the subject that lasts throughout time. Hence, they do not typically combine with the progressive, which refers to situations of limited duration.

However, there are certain state verb phrases that may appear in the continuous, sometimes undergoing a shift in meaning due to this.

State Verb Phrases

To be + property designating adjectives and nouns:

If the adjective / noun designates a permanent property of an individual, the verb will never appear in the continuous form (be tall, be young, be smart, etc.). Yet, certain adjectives / nouns denote properties that can be altered and thus refer to only a temporally limited stage of the individual, in which case the use of the progressive becomes possible (compare (12) to (13)):

State Verb Phrases

(12) a. He is a teacher.

b. She is taller than you

(general properties)

(13) a. He is being rude tonight.

b. You are being a total bastard.

(processes unfolding now)

The second set of sentences describes temporary activities under the control of the subject. The implication is that their behavior is deliberate and they can put an end to it if they want to.

State Verb Phrases

Mental perception verb phrases: know, believe, hope, trust, imagine, wonder, think, etc.

When they occur in the progressive, they denote temporally and spatially limited processes unfolding at a certain reference in time. They refer to a manifestation of the individual, not to a characteristic property of his or hers (compare the pairs below):

State Verb Phrases

(14) a. I imagine she will agree to your proposal.

b. I was only imagining those ugly scenarios.

(15) a. I think he is wrong.

b. I am thinking of giving up smoching.

(16) a. They hope to win.

b. He was hoping against hope that there was a chance of success.

State Verb Phrases

Physical perception verb phrases: see, hear, smell, taste, feel

These verbs do not occur in the progressive if they denote a general characteristic of a certain individual / object. Even if they make reference to an act of perception unfolding at a specific moment like NOW, they resist the use of the continuous. Instead, they appear accompanied by the modal verb CAN (ability): I hear the wind blowing / I can hear the wind blowing/ * I am hearing the wind blowing.

State Verb Phrases

If they combine with the progressive, they denote processes going on for a limited period of time. In this case, the subject is attributed intention or purpose:

(17) a. You smell nice.

b. I am smelling your perfume to see if I can guess what it is.

c. The milk tastes sour.

d. He is tasting the soup to see if it has got enough salt.

State Verb Phrases

See and hear may even acquire new meanings when appearing in the continuous:

(18) The court is hearing the evidence tomorrow.

(they are listening to the witnesses in the trial)

(19) I am seeing the doctor next week.

(I have made an appointment)

but …

(20) ‘I am finally seeing Venice!’, she thought.

State Verb Phrases

Psychological verb phrases: love, hate, like, dislike, want, miss, etc.

Again, the atemporal quality of the state verbs is replaced with the temporal quality of the process unfolding for a certain limited period of time:

(20) a. I despise bad behavior.

b. He will be despising me heartily.

c. Everybody envied everybody in that room.

d. I was envying him his freedom at the time.

State Verb Phrases

Other property designating verbs: belong, contain, consist, weigh, measure, cost.

If used in the progressive, they denote temporary properties:

(21) a. The necklace belongs to me.

b. Are you belonging to the local library?

c. The castle costs a fortune.

d. The mistake is costing us dearly.

State Verb Phrases

Verbs like weigh and measure have a behavior similar to that of perception verbs, that is, the subject deliberately does the action of weighing or measuring:

(22) a. The baby weighs 6 pounds.

b. The nurse is weighing the baby.

State Verb Phrases

Spatial configuation verb phrases: sit, stand, lie, rest, remain, etc.

These verbs appear in the continuous aspect if their subject represents a movable object and is part of a temporary state:

(23) a. Her new house stands / *is standing at the corner of our street.

b. He is standing near the plane in this photo.

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Aspect (3)