Aspectual Recategorization

Aspect (3)

Aspectual Recategorization
Predicates shift from their prototypical class due to various
elements in the verb constellations
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)

Aspectual Recategorization
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 dogs hair
for 3 days (activity)

Aspectual Recategorization
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)

Aspectual Recategorization
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)

Aspectual Recategorization
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 Recategorization
Activity 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)

Aspectual Recategorization
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)).

Aspectual Recategorization
(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)

Aspectual Recategorization
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.

Activity Verb Phrases

(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.

Activity Verb Phrases

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.