Re: [tied] Re: Ablaut, hi-conjugation, stress alternation, etc

From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 46764
Date: 2006-12-25

On 2006-12-25 01:14, Patrick Ryan wrote:

> I have tried hard to think of a sentence in which I would consider
> "I shall read" as punctual.
>
> I repeat my request that you do so with the situational context that
> you believe justifies that interpretation.

English does not distinguish between READ meaning 'read something from
the beginning to the end' (when the whole action is viewed as complete
and the speaker expresses no interest in its internal structure or
details such as duration) and other aktionsart interpretations of the
same verb (durative, habitual, iterative). Russian <c^itaju> is durative
(reading in progress) or habitual, while <proc^itaju> is punctual (a
complete act of reading)

READ can be regarded as punctual in such sentences as:

I'll read your paper and return it with comments.
I'll read the book twice to get the most of it.
I'll read only the last paragraph of each chapter.

Note that the punctual interpretation doesn't mean that the act itself
takes very little time. It only means that the duration doesn't matter.

Piotr