Re: Re[2]: [tied] Re: Ablaut, hi-conjugation, stress alternation, e

----- Original Message -----

From: Brian M. Scott

To: Patrick Ryan

Sent: Sunday, December 24, 2006 7:32 PM

Subject: Re[2]: [tied] Re: Ablaut, hi-conjugation, stress alternation, etc

At 7:40:29 PM on Sunday, December 24, 2006, Patrick Ryan
wrote:

> tgpedersen<mailto:tgpedersen@... com>:

>>> If someone said to me:

>>> "I shall read the paper, and then I can have a holiday."

>>> my first question would be:

>>> "How long do you think it will take?"

>>> That suggests to me durative rather than punctual.

>> It suggests punctual, since that someone by implication
>> will pass from a state of not having read the paper to
>> one of having read the paper which latter state is
>> apparently a precondition for his taking a holiday which
>> means "shall read" is aspectually punctual, at least
>> within the implicitly chosen universe if discourse, and
>> that your question is conversation.

> I see nothing stative here.

Torsten does not appear to be claiming that anything is
stative here.

> This is clearly a description of an active event.

Resulting in a change of state. What's the problem?

> A further proof is that

> "I shall be reading the paper . . ."

> could be substituted with no discernible difference in
> meaning for a native speaker of English.

This native speaker disagrees. One statement makes having
read the book a precondition for taking the holiday and
asserts that this condition will at some point be met; the
other tells the listener how the speaker will be occupying
himself during a certain period of time and explains why.
The emphases are quite different.

Brian

 

"having read" is the important part of your statement.

To express this, I would say:

"I shall have read the book, and then ...

 

Patrick

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