ON THE ASPECT OF THE ENGLISH VERB

Abstract

1. Views widely diverge among scholars as to whether or how aspect should find its place in English semantics or grammar. The aim of this study is to introduce a tentative plan for admittance of that category ; it is also to inquire into some problems of usage in current English, in connection with aspect. 2. There might be three classes of aspects: (1) Lexical aspect (2) Contextual aspect (3) Syntactic aspect. Lexical aspect is an aspect represented by the lexical meaning of an individual verb. The sub-classification of lexical aspect (and also of contextual aspect) is : Durative aspect (including Indefinitely durative aspect of non-conclusive actional verbs), Momentaneous aspect (including Ingressive aspect, Terminate aspect, and Effective aspect), and Iterative aspect. 3. Contextual aspect is a lexical aspect confirmed or transferred by collocation or the context. The collocation may be an adverb, phrase, object, or complement, which follows the verb; also repeated words or phrases, or else aspect-indicating words preceding the verb. Lexical aspect and Contextual aspect correspond to Deutschbein's 'Aktionsarten'. 4. Syntactic aspect, which corresponds to his 'Aspekte', may be subdivided into Progressive aspect and Perfective aspect. These two are the only aspects for which there are well-developed forms of expression. 5. Progressive aspect (with the form 'be+-ing') indicates a condition of some action or event being in the process. 6. The idea expressed by Perfective aspect (usually, 'have+-ed') is a condition of relationship between some previously completed action or event and a state at a particular moment. 7. Non-progressive and non-perfect forms are sometimes equivalent to the expressions of Progressive aspect and Perfective aspect, respectively. Such simple forms, however, can be equivalent only through their lexical or contextual aspect, since they bear no syntactic aspect. 8. Progressive-aspect forms usually occur where the subjective view-point of the speaker is approached. Non-progressive forms, on the other hand, are normal where actions or events are spoken of as wholes. At the same time it is noteworthy that the progressive has supplanted the simple form to a very large extent. 9. Perfective aspect deals with a present condition as the result of some past action. Therefore, the non-perfect forms of statal verbs, when they express a present state, are often close to the corresponding aspect forms. Sometimes past or future perfect forms are substituted by the non-perfect, presumably because of their awkwardness. 10. As the result of bringing the above-mentioned aspects into the syntactic system, tenses are limited to present, past, and future, with the exception of 'before-past' and 'before-future'. Aspects are inferred to have been diverted to the latter two.