Events in the semantics of English: A study in subatomic semantics

✍ Scribed by Terence P. Parsons

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 352
• Series: Current studies in linguistics; 19
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This extended investigation of the semantics of event (and state) sentences in their various forms is a major contribution to the semantics of natural language, simultaneously encompassing important issues in linguistics, philosophy, and logic. It develops the view that the logical forms of simple English sentences typically contain quantification over events or states and shows how this view can account for a wide variety of semantic phenomena. Focusing on the structure of meaning in English sentences at a “subatomic” level – that is, a level below the one most theories accept as basic or “atomic” – Parsons asserts that the semantics of simple English sentences require logical forms somewhat more complex than is normally assumed in natural language semantics. His articulation of underlying event theory explains a wide variety of apparently diverse semantic characteristics of natural language, and his development of the theory shows the importance of seeing the distinction between events and states.

✦ Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Halftitle
Series title
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Analytical Table of Contents
Preface
Part I: The Basic Account
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Background
1.1.1 History of the Idea
1.1.2 The Theory
1.2 Subatomic Semantics
1.3 Methodology
1.4 Logical Form
Chapter 2: The Evidence in Favor of Underlying Events
2.1 The First Kind of Evidence: The Logic of Modifiers
2.2 A Second Kind of Evidence: The Logic of Perceptual Idioms
2.3 Implicit and Explicit Talk about Events
2.4 Explicit Quantification Over Events
2.5 Robustness
Chapter 3: Event Ontology and Logical Form
3.1 Events, States, and Processes
3.2 Ontological Assumptions and Logical Forms
3.2.1 Participants
3.2.2 Particularity of Events and States
3.2.3 Culmination and Holding
3.2.4 Logical Forms
3.3 Tenses and Times
3.4 More Details about Tenses
3.4.1 Past
3.4.2 Present
3.4.3 Future
3.5 States, Propositions, and Facts
3.5.1 Objects of Belief (Propositions)
3.5.2 Facts
3.5.3 States
3.6 Tests for Distinctions Among the Categories
3.6.1 Use of the Progressive
3.6.2 How Long?
3.6.3 Occurrence with Pseudo-Clefts
3.6.4 Progressive Entails Perfect (vs. Negation of Perfect)
3.6.5 Summary of Semantic Tests
Chapter 4: Modifiers
4.1 Classification of Modifiers
4.2 Attributives
4.2.1 The Problem
4.2.2 Two Theories and Their Paradigms
4.2.3 The Problem Needing Analysis
4.2.4 Scope
4.2.5 Attributive Adverbs as Predicates of Events
4.3 Group Readings, Scope, and Conjunctions
4.3.1 Group Readings and Scope
4.3.2 Groups as Objects of Prepositions
4.3.3 Conjunctions of Modifiers
4.4 Alternatives to the Underlying Event Approach
4.4.1 Unanalyzed Predicates
4.4.2 Meaning Postulates
4.4.3 Many-Place Predicates
4.4.4 Operators
4.4.5 Iterations of Modifiers
4.4.6 Reichenbach’s Theories
4.5 Distinguishing Kinds of Modifiers
4.5.1 Classes of Modifiers
4.5.2 Tests for Classifying Modifiers
Test #1 Sentence Position
Test #2 Factivity
Test #3 Opacity
Test #4 Presupposition Under Negation
Presupposition and Focus
Chapter 5: Thematic Roles
5.1 Thematic Roles in Grammatical Theory
5.2 Thematic Roles with Underlying Events
5.3 The Basic Account
5.4 Enhancements
5.4.1 Extension and Relabeling of the Instrumental Role
5.4.2 NPs with Multiple Thematic Roles
5.5 Objections to the Use of Thematic Roles
5.5.1 Roles Have No Use in Syntax
5.5.2 Multiple Agents
5.5.3 Buying and Selling
5.5.4 Abstruments
5.6 Passive Sentences
5.7 The Utility of Thematic Relations
5.7.1 Articulation of the Options
5.7.2 Syntactic Marks of Thematic Roles
5.7.3 The Logic of Modifiers
5.7.4 Semantic Optionality
5.7.5 The Dream Machine
5.8 Cross-Verbal Thematic Roles
5.8.1 Cases in which No Evidence is to be Found
5.8.2 Identity Conditions for Events
‘By’-Phrases
Modifiers
Chapter 6: Causatives and Inchoatives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Causatives in the Generative Semantics Tradition
6.3 An Analysis of Causatives in Terms of Events
6.3.1 Variants
6.4 Objections to the Analysis of Causatives
Objection 1: ‘CAUSE’ cannot mean ‘cause’; indirect causation and control
Objection 2: ‘CAUSE’ cannot mean ‘cause’; lack of interchangeability
Objection 3: Tenses work incorrectly
Objection 4: ‘By’-phrases work incorrectly
Objection 5: Causatives of bodily motion
6.5 An Incorrect Analysis Based on Optional Thematic Relations
6.6 Inchoatives
6.7 Causative-Inchoatives
6.8 Modifiers of Events and Modifiers of States
6.8.1 Becoming Uncrated
6.9 An Alternative Version of the Theory
Chapter 7: Explicit Discourse about Events
7.1 Basic Principles
7.1.1 Common Nouns That Pick Out Events
7.1.2 Adjectives of Events
7.1.3 Prepositional Phrases
7.1.4 Relative Clauses
7.1.5 Putting It All Together
7.2 Nominal and Verbal Gerundives
7.3 Intransitive Event Verbs: ‘Occur’, ‘Happen’, ‘Take Place’
7.4 Event Causatives
7.5 Event Perceptions
7.6 Transitive Event Verbs
Part II: Reflections and Refinements
Chapter 8: Metaphysical Issues
8.1 The Nature of Events and States
8.2 Reductionistic Accounts of Events and States
8.2.1 Definitional Reduction
8.2.2 Ontological Reduction
8.2.3 Eliminative Ontological Reduction
8.2.4 Ontological Construction
8.3 Event Identity: Coarse-Grained and Fine-Grained Accounts
8.3.1 Coarse-Grained and Fine-Grained Accounts
Davidsonian Claims
Kimian Claims
Quinean Claims
8.3.2 How the Theory Sometimes Forces Identity of Events
8.3.3 How the Theory Sometimes Forces Difference of Events
8.3.4 Cases Left Unresolved
8.4 Arguments from the Philosophical Literature
Objections Based on Construing Propositional Gerundives as Event Gerundives
Objections Based on Construing Non-Verb Modifiers as Verb Modifiers
Objections Based on the Notion of Cause
Objections Based on the Time at which Events Occur
8.5 Defenses of the Coarse-Grained Version Involving Postulation of Underlying Basic Actions
Lombard
Underlying Event
8.6 Defenses of the Coarse-Grained Version Based on a Universal Causative Analysis
Issue 1. Is the Coarse-Grained View Consistent with the Underlying Event View?
Issue 2. Are all event verbs causative-inchoative?
Chapter 9: The Progressive in English: Events, States, and Processes
9.1 History of the Problem: The “Imperfective Paradox”
9.2 An Analysis of the Progressive Using Events
9.3 Absent Processes and Unfinished Objects
9.3.1 Specifiability
9.3.2 Unfinished Objects
9.3.3 Inertia Worlds Again
9.3.4 Åqvist’s Analyses
9.4 Interval Semantics: Bennett’s Refined Analysis
9.5 Processes and the Progressive
Chapter 10: States
10.1 Introduction
Verbs
Adjectives
Locatives
Nouns
10.2 State Verbs
Modifiers
Perception Constructions
10.3 Adjectives
10.3.1 Copula Plus Adjective
Modifiers
Evidence Stemming from Perceptual Idioms
10.3.2 Attributive Constructions
10.4 Locatives
10.4.1 Evidence from the Logic of Modifiers
10.4.2 Evidence from Perceptual Idioms
10.4.3 Other Evidence
10.5 Explicit Reference to and Quantification over States
Explicit Reference to States
Quantification over States
10.6 Do Nouns Have Underlying States
Parallels to the Logic of Modifiers
Parallels to Perception Sentences
10.7 Participants of States
10.8 States in Arithmetic
Chapter 11: Tenses and “Temporal” Adverbials
11.1 Overview of Tenses and “Temporal” Adverbials
A Qualification about Noun Phrases
11.1.1 A Simplified Overview
Frame
Tense
Time-Limiting Adverbials
Temporal Event Modifiers
11.1.2 Frequency
11.2 Frame Adverbials
11.3 Tenses
Discourse
Frequency
Tenses and Scope
11.4 Constraints on Times
11.4.1 The Modular Approach
Indeterminacy of Constructions
Spatial Locatives
Constraining the Whole Event
11.4.2 Quantified Time-Constraining Adverbials
11.4.3 Durational Time Constraints
11.4.4 Permutations
11.5 Temporal Modifiers of Events
11.6 Frequency Adverbials and Subordinate Clauses
11.6.1 Cardinality Adverbials
11.6.2 Proportion Adverbials
11.6.3 Temporal Subordinate Clauses
11.7 Interactions
Chapter 12: The Semantics of the Perfect and the Progressive in Modern and Old English
12.1 The Perfect in Modern English: Data
12.2 The Semantical Framework of Underlying Events and States
12.2.1 Paradigms
Paradigm Analysis of State Adjectives Used as Predicates
Paradigm Analysis of State Adjectives Used Atttributively
Paradigm Analysis of Perception Sentences
12.3 The Progressive and Perfect in Modern English
12.3.1 The Progressive
12.3.2 The Perfect
12.3.3 Equivalence of the Present Perfect and the Simple Past
12.3.4 The Perfect Progressive
12.4 Participles as Adjectives
Past Participles
12.5 The Progressive and the Perfect in Old English
12.5.1 Historical Accounts
12.5.2 The Progressive
12.5.3 The Perfect
12.5.4 The Perfect Progressive in Old English
12.6 Unsolved Problems
Response 1
Response 2
Response 3
12.7 Skeptical Reflections on Participles
12.7.1 Problems Concerning Past Participles
12.7.2 Problems Concerning Present Participles
12.8 Temporal Adverbials
12.8.1 The Perfect Progressive; Repairing the Progressive
Chapter 13: Eventlish—A Fragment of English
13.1 Introduction
13.2 The Templates
Template #1: Simple Active Sentences
Syntax
Explanation
Logical Form
Explanation
Template #1a
Syntax
Logical Form
Example
13.2.1 Blocks and Atomic Formulas of English
13.3 The Lexicon
13.3.1 Tense
13.3.2 Perf and Prog
13.3.3 Pass
13.3.4 Thematic Relations
13.3.5 Noncausative Noninchoative Verbs
13.3.6 Intransitive Verbs (IVs)
13.3.7 Transitive Verbs (TVs)
13.3.8 Double-Object Verbs (2TVs)
13.3.9 Perception Verbs
13.3.10 Inchoatives and Causative-Inchoatives
13.3.11 Causatives of Noninchoatives
13.3.12 Higher-Order Verbs\
13.3.13 Adverbials (AdVs):
13.3.14 Adjectives
13.3.15 Other Primitives
13.4 Miscellaneous Matters
13.4.1 Context
13.4.2 Adverbial Transportation
13.4.3 Conjunctions and Disjunctions
13.5 Simple Passives
Template #2 (Simple Passives)
Syntax
Logical Form (same as the active form)
Examples
Template #2a (Simple Passives—Second Form)
Syntax
Examples
13.5.1 Other Passives (Not Implemented)
13.6 Perception Sentences
Template #3 (Perception Sentences)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
Template #3a (Perception Sentences with Missing Copulas)
Logical Form
Examples
13.6.1 Forms not Implemented
13.7 Inchoatives
Template #4 (Inchoatives)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
13.8 Resultative Tags
Template #5 (Resultative Tags)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
13.9 Causatives
Template #6 (Causative-Inchoatives)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
13.10 Higher-Order Constructions with Causative Verbs
Template #7 (Higher-Order Causatives)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
13.11 Higher-Order Verbs
Template #8 (Higher-Order Intransitives)
Syntax
Logical Form
Template #9 (Higher-Order Transitives)
Syntax
Logical Form
13.12 Copular Sentences
Template #10 (be+adj)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
Template #11 (be+advLOC)
Syntax
Logical Form
Examples
13.12.1 The ‘be’ of Activity (Not Implemented)
Afterword
Notes
Chapter 1
1–4
5–13
14
Chapter 2
1–4
5
Chapter 3
1–3
4–10
11–18
Chapter 4
1–4
5–11
12–17
18–23
24–31
32–34
Chapter 5
1–2
3–5
6–14
15–21
22–24
25–29
Chapter 6
1–3
4–8
9–15
16–22
Chapter 7
1–2
3–8
9–17
Chapter 8
1–8
9–14
Chapter 9
1–2
3–6
7–14
Chapter 10
1
2–12
13–17
19–22
Chapter 11
1–4
5–9
11–14
Chapter 12
1–4
5–10
11–14
15
16–17
19–21
22–28
Chapter 13
1−8
9–11
Bibliography
A
B
C
D
F
G
H
J
K
L
M
P
Q
R
S
T
V
W
Z
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W