by Jonathan Robie » June 14th, 2012, 2:32 pm
OK, I'm going to rush in where angels fear to tread.
Here are some verbs, along with Vendler's categories. Here's my best guess at how to categorize them. I called Stephen Carlson after doing my first take, and he helped me fix a few, and we also decided to merge achievements and accomplishments, since its' often hard to distinguish the two.
Does this classification seem correct? If not, what's wrong with it? What other verbs obviously seem to fit in each of these categories? (I'll propose ~10 new verbs of my own every once in a while.)
As we argue about what fits where, can we develop a methodology for testing verbs?
Once we reach agreement on a useful set of verbs, I'll post it in an appropriate format on the Internet, revising it incrementally as we go.
states, which are static and do not have an endpoint ("know," "love");
ἔχω 708
εἰμί 2462
οἶδα 324
πιστεύω 249
θέλω 208
activities, which are dynamic and do not have an endpoint ("run," "drive");
ὁράω 455
ἀκούω 428
λαλέω 296
accomplishments, which have an endpoint and are incremental or gradual ("paint a picture," "build a house");
achievements, which have an endpoint and occur instantaneously ("recognize," "notice")
λέγω 2357
γινώσκω 242
δίδωμι 417
ποιέω 572
λαμβάνω 258
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;