The English Verb System – Contrastive Approach 1 November 10, 2018 Lesson 6 LEXICAL ASPECT and VENDLER’S CLASSIFICATION (Part 2) I Determine the situation type in the following sentences: 1. a) The light flashed. b) The light flashed for six hours. c) The light was flashing for six hours. 2. a) He banged his fist on the table. b) He banged his fist on the table for 20 seconds. c) He was banging his fist on the table for 20 seconds.
For with achievements implies repetition. Leonard reads fashion magazines. → STATE or ACTIVITY? He smokes. → He is a smoker. He writes. → He is a writer. Activities are “habit-forming”?
Vendler (1967: 109) distinguishes between generic and specific states. Generic states: He is an educator. He is a grocer. He is servant. Specific states: He is a painter. He is a dogcatcher. He is a taxi driver. Specific states such as driving a taxi, painting and catching dogs are uniform activities; there is one activity which is “the” activity of a taxi driver, painter or a dogcatcher. Generic states involve manifold activities, quite disparate in nature. There is not a single particular activity that can be called “educating, grocing or serving”.
II Discuss the possible difference in the interpretation of almost in the following examples: 1. a) Leonard almost swam. b) Leonard almost wrote an article. 1