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

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

From: Brian M. Scott

To: Patrick Ryan

Sent: Monday, December 25, 2006 9:46 PM

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

At 10:27:40 PM on Monday, December 25, 2006, Patrick Ryan
wrote:

> Richard Wordingham:

>> For punctuality, try 'I shall read the street name
>> carefully next time I'm there.'. 'I shall be reading the
>> street name carefully next time I'm there' would be
>> unusual, though it might be appropriate if one had to
>> puzzle out what was written.

> Certainly, the 'carefully' suggests perfectivity.

> But why should we be constrained to interpret this
> punctually?

You aren't so constrained, but Richard just demonstrated
that it's the obvious and usual interpretation: if a
non-punctual interpretation were normal, 'I shall be reading
...' wouldn't sound so odd.

[...]

Brian

***

Sorry, but I cannot agree.

One of the things that make this kind of analysis so difficult is that English does not regularly distinguish punctual and durative. Nor even imperfective and perfective.

'I shall be reading ...' would be the form I would expect if someone had misread a street name and wanted to assure someone that a careful and slow effort would be made to be accurate in the future.

Patrick

***