Time structure of english verbs

Abstract

The present work focuses on the feature (durative). Attempts have been made to refine and extend Vendler's analysis. However, the contention here is that verbs should not be discussed in the context of superimposed qualifications (e.g. to draw a circle) or quantifications (e.g. to run a mile), for such an allowance of superimpositions is open‐ended. The contrast in (± durative) is not only a necessary and sufficient distinction in the time structure of verbs, but also the only distinction that can be made without adding superimpositions to the verbs. The perfect continuous aspect rather than the simple continuous, which Vendler uses, has been proved to be the valid frame for the testing of the time structure of verbs. The change of state for both achievements and accomplishments are proved to occur at a point in time rather than in an interval as claimed by Dowty.