ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 provides the basic definitions of the linguistic terms used in the discussion of the topic of aspect. It starts with the concept of tense that is familiar to English-speaking students and proceeds to the introduction of the concept of aspect by using an analogy.
Aspect is compositional. All languages have compositional aspects. Among various factors contributing to the aspectual meaning of a sentence, the main factor is the interaction of verb semantics (Aktionsart) with an aspect particle. Hence in the book, attention is given to the interaction between verb semantics, namely, the inherent temporal properties of a verb, and the grammatical meaning of a formal aspect particle.
To have some knowledge about the semantics of verbs, the classification of verbs is introduced. We adopt the basic categorization of verb types suggested by Vendler (1967), which classifies verbs into four types: State, Activity, Accomplishment, and Achievement. The verb types are also called situation types, their conceptual temporal properties of ‘dynamism, telicity and duration’ which distinguish verbs or situation types are examined.
The compositional nature of the aspectual meaning of a sentence is exemplified by a brief discussion, in which the interaction between verb semantics and the aspectual meaning of an aspect particle and other factors, such as an adverbial, the verb’s arguments of subject and object, is focused and highlighted.
