Cover not available

In:Events, Arguments, and Aspects: Topics in the Semantics of Verbs
Edited by Klaus Robering
[Studies in Language Companion Series 152] 2014
► pp. 227–260

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
authorization required

Phases in verbal semantics

Published online: 28 March 2014
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.152.06eng
The following article deals with phasal verbs, i.e., verbs referring to a special phase of an entire event. Thus, for instance, start refers to the beginning of an event whereas stop and finish focus on an event’s final phase. After a general introduction, I shall show in Section 1.2 that there is a direct line from medieval thinking about event phases to recent semantic theories as they have been developed since the 1960s or so onward. Three influential modern theories are discussed in the second section, namely: (1) Jackendoff’s account of the cognitive mechanism used to delimit events and their initial and final sub-phases; (2) Pustejovsky’s theory of the interaction of phasal verbs with their complements; and (3) Partee and Bennett’s analysis of phasal verbs within their interval semantics. In the main Section 3 I try to integrate these approaches to the semantics of phasal verbs within a more elaborate and comprehensive model for the semantic description of phasal verbs. The discussion will show that a coherent and descriptively adequate analysis of phasal verbs is possible and that phasal verbs must be recognized as constituting a grammatical class at least in the languages discussed here.
References (78)
Bibliography
Anderson, Gregory D.S. (2005): Auxiliary Verb Constructions . Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anderson, John M. (2000): “Auxiliary.” In Booij et al. (2000 and 2004: Vol. I, 808–820).
Apresjan, Jurij D. (1974): Leksičeskaja semantika: Sinonimičeskie sredstva jazyka (Lexical Semantics: Synonymic Means of Language) . Moscow: Nauka.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Aristotle (1957): The Physics . London: William Heinemann,revised edition 1960 edition.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ballmer, Thomas T. & Brennenstuhl, Waltraud (1986): Deutsche Verben. Eine sprachanalytische Untersuchung des deutschen Verbwortschatzes . Tübingen: Gunter Narr.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barwise, Jon & Perry, John (1984): Situations and Attitudes . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bennett, Michael & Partee, Barbara H. (2004): “Toward the logic of tense and aspect in English.” In: Barbara H. Partee (ed.) Compositionality in Formal Semantic , Malden: Blackwell. 59–109. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Booij, Geert, Lehmann, Christian & Mugdan, Joachim (eds.) (2000 and 2004): Morphologie: ein internationales Handbuch zur Flexion und Wortbildung . 2 Volumes. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brinton, Laurel J. (1988): The Development of English Aspectual Systems: Aspectualizers and Post-verbal Particles . Cambridge GB: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brown, Keith (ed.) (2006): Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics . Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cann, Ronnie (1993): Formal Semantics: an Introduction . Cambridge GB: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chierchia, Gennaro & McConnell-Ginet, Sally (1990): Meaning and Grammar: An Introduction to Semantics . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Croft, William (2000): “Lexical and grammatical meaning.” In Booij et al. (2000 and 2004: Vol. I, 257–263).
Dahl, Östen (1990): “Review of: Brinton (1988).” Journal of Semantics 7: 115–119. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
DeLancey, Scott (2004): “Grammaticalization: from syntax to morphology.” In Booij et al. (2000 and 2004: Vol. II, 1590–1599).
Dowty, David R. (1979): Word Meaning and Montague Grammar. The Semantics of Verbs and Times in Generative Semantics and in Montague’s PTQ . Dordrecht: Reidel. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dubinsky, Stanley W. & Davies, William D. (2006): “Control and raising.” In Brown (2006: 131–139).
Egg, Markus (2003): “Beginning novels and finishing hamburgers: Remarks on the semantics of to begin.” Journal of Semantics 20: 163–191. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Engerer, Volkmar (1999): “Phasenverbkomplemente.” Studia Germanica Universitatis Vesprimiensis 3: 145–159.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000a): “Phasenverbsemantik.” In: Käthi Dorfmüller-Karpusa & Ekaterini Vretta-Panidou (eds.) Thessaloniker Interkulturelle Analysen. Akten des 33. Linguistischen Kolloquiums in Thessaloniki 1998 .Frankfurt/M., etc.: Peter Lang, 101–110.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2000b): “Was lässt sich im Deutschen aufhören und beenden? Aspekt, Aktionsart und nominale Komplementation intervallabschlussdenotierender Phasenverben.” Odense Working Papers in Language and Communication 19: 171–186.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001): “Phasenverben brauchen Zeit: Die zeitsemantische Verankerung von Satzgliedern.” Studia Germanica Universitatis Vesprimiensis 5: 5–20.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2002): “Faseverbernes tidsbetingelse. Grundtræk af den semantiske beskrivelse af faseverbkonstruktioner.” Hermes 29: 53–71.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2003): “Tid i sprog: aktionsartteoriernes fire grundpiller.” Tidsskrift for Sprogforskning 1: 21–45.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(ed.) (2004a): Form og betydning: Bidrag til syntaks-semantik-interface i sprog og grammatik . Århus: SB-Tryk.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2004b): “Konzeptionen der Syntax-Semantik-Schnittstelle in der Grammatik. Das Verhältnis von Syntax und Semantik in zwei Syntaxen des Deutschen.” Tidsskrift for Sprogforskning 2: 21–35.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008a): “Phasen, Zustandswechsel und die einfache Phasensemantik.” Tidsskrift for Sprogforskning 6: 1–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008b): “Phasenverben, Zeitbedingung und Zustandswechsel. Phasenbedeutungen in Wortbildung und Lexikon.” Studia Germanica Universitatis Vesprimiensis 12: 111–125.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008c): “Vorschlag zu einer Systematik der grammatischen Beschreibung von Phasenverben.” In: Karin Pittner (ed.) Vorträge der 16. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Sprache und Sprachen (Gesus e.V.) .München: Lincom Europa, 173–182.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2009): “Phasenverben und die Dreigliedrigkeit von Phasenaktionsarten in der Wortbildung.” Sprachwissenschaft 34: 1–30.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2010): “Zur zeitlichen Evaluierung von Phasenverben. Das Problem der “leeren Mitte” oder: Wie viele Intervalle braucht die Semantik von Phasenverben?” Hermes 44: 153–167.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Engerer, Volkmar & Nicolay, Nathalie (1999): “Telizität, Aspekt und Zustandswechsel.” In: Hans Otto Spillmann & Ingo Warnke (eds.) Internationale Tendenzen der Syntaktik, Semantik und Pragmatik. Akten des 32. Linguistischen Kolloquiums in Kassel 1997. Frankfurt/M., etc.: Peter Lang, 333–340.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fabricius-Hansen, Cathrine (1975): Transformative, intransformative und kursive Verben . Tübingen: Max Niemeyer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Filip, Hana (2003): “Prefixes and the delimitation of events.” Journal of Slavic Linguistics 11: 55–101.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Freed, Alice F. (1979): The Semantics of English Aspectual Complementation . Dordrecht: Reidel. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García, Erica C. (1967): “Auxiliaries and the criterion of simplicity.” Language 43: 853–870. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Givón, Talmy (1972): “Forward implications, backward presuppositions, and the time axis of verbs.” In: John P. Kimball (ed.) Syntax and Semantics , New York and London: Seminar Press. 29–50.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1973): “The time-axis phenomenon.” Language 49: 890–925. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heine, Bernd (1993): Auxiliaries: Cognitive Forces and Grammaticalization . New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Helbig, Gerhard & Buscha, Joachim (1984): Deutsche Grammatik. Ein Handbuch für den Ausländerunterricht . Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jackendoff, Ray (1986): Semantics and Cognition . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1991a): “Parts and boundaries.” Cognition 41: 9–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1991b): Semantic Structures . Cambridge MA: MIT Press,2nd edition.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jun, J.S. (2006): “Lexical conceptual structure.” In Brown (2006: 69–77).
Kamp, Hans & Reyle, Uwe (1993): From Discourse to Logic . Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Klima, Gyula (2006): “Syncategoremata.” In Brown (2006: 353–356).
Kretzmann, Norman (1976): “Incipit/desinit.” In: Peter K. Machamer & Robert G. Turnbull (eds.) Motion and Time, Space and Matter: Interrelations in the History of Philosophy and Science ,Columbus OH: Ohio State University Press. 101–136.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lamiroy, Beatrice (1987): “The complementation of aspectual verbs in French.” Language 63: 278–298. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lieber, Rochelle (2004): Morphology and lexical semantics . Cambrdige UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Löbner, Sebastian (1990): Wahr neben Falsch: Duale Operatoren als die Quantoren natürlicher Sprache . Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lohnstein, Horst (1996): Formale Semantik und natürliche Sprache. Einführendes Lehrbuch . Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maisak, Timur (1999): “Multiple periphrastic perfectives: another case of “bounder perfectivization”.” In: Language Typology. Proceedings of Electronic Conference, May 15–25 . URL [URL].Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
ter Meulen, Alice G.B. (1995): Representing Time in Natural Language: The Dynamic Interpretation of Tense and Aspect . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moens, Marc & Steedman, Mark (1988): “Temporal ontology and temporal reference.” Computational Linguistics 14: 15–28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mulisch, Herbert (ed.) (1985): Morphologie . Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nedjalkov, Vladimir P. (1987): “Načinatel’nost’ i sredstva ee vyraženija v jazykach raznych tipov (The category of ‘beginning’ and the means for its expressions in languages of different types).” In: Aleksandr V. Bondarko (ed.) Teorija funkcional’noj grammatiki. Vvedenie. Aspektual’nost’, vremennaja lokalizovannost’, taksis (Theory of Functional Grammar. Introduction. Aspectuality, Temporal Localisation, Taxis) , Leningrad: Nauka. 180–195.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Newmeyer, Frederick J. (1975): English Aspectual Verbs . The Hague and Paris: Mouton.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Øhrstrøm, Peter & Hasle, Per F.V. (1995): Temporal Logic. From Ancient Ideas to Artificial Intelligence . Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Palmer, Frank Robert (1987): The English Verb . London: Longman, 2nd edition.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Perlmutter, David M. (1970): “The two verbs begin .” In: Roderick A. Jacobs & Peter S. Rosenbaum (eds.) Readings in English Transformational Grammar , Waltham MA, etc.: Ginn and Company. 107–119.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pinkster, Harm (1983): “Tempus, aspect and aktionsart in latin (recent trends 1961–1981).” In: 2. Principat. Bd. 29. Sprache und Literatur. 1. Teilband , Berlin and New York: de Gruyter. 270–319.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Postal, Paul M. (1974): On Raising: One Rule of English Grammar and Its Theoretical Implications . Cambridge MA and London: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pustejovsky, James (1991): “The syntax of event structure.” Cognition 41: 47–81. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1995): The Generative Lexicon . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pustejovsky, James & Boullion, Pierette (1995): “Aspectual coercion and logical polysemy.” Journal of Semantics 12: 133–162. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ramchand, Gillian (2008): Verb Meaning and the Lexicon: a First-phase Syntax . Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rezac, Milan (2005): “The syntax of clitic climbing in Czech.” In: Lorie Heggie (ed.) Clitic and Affix Combinations. Theoretical perspectives ,Philadelphia PA: John Benjamins. 103–140.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ross, John R. (1972): “More on begin .” Foundations of Language 8: 574–577.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tichý, Pavel (1985): “Do we need interval semantics?” Linguistics and Philosophy 8: 263–282. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vendler, Zeno (1957): “Verbs and times.” Philosophical Review 66: 143–160. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Verkuyl, Henk J. (1972): On the Compositional Nature of the Aspects . Dordrecht: Reidel. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1988): “Aspectual asymmetry and quantification.” In: Veronika Ehrich & Heinz Vater (eds.) Temporalsemantik: Beiträge zur Linguistik der Zeitreferenz, Tübingen: Niemeyer. 220–259.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (1993): A Theory of Aspectuality: The Interaction between Temporal and Atemporal Structure . Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Williams, Edwin (1994): Thematic Structure in Syntax . Cambridge MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
von Wright, Georg Henrik (1963): Norm and Action: A Logical Enquiry . London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1968): An Essay in Deontic Logic and the General Theory of Action . Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zifonun, Gisela, Hoffmann, Ludger & Strecker, Bruno (1997): Grammatik der deutschen Sprache . Berlin: de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Ángel J. Gallego & Dennis Ott
2024. Cartography and Explanatory Adequacy, DOI logo
Inglese, Guglielmo & Silvia Luraghi
2020. The Hittite periphrastic perfect. In Perfects in Indo-European languages and beyond [Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 352], ► pp. 377 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue