Dynamic verb
Encyclopedia
A dynamic or finitive verb is a verb
that shows continued or progressive action on the part of the subject
. This is the opposite of a stative verb
.
Dynamic verbs have duration, that is, they occur over time. This time may or may not have a defined endpoint
, and may or may not yet have occurred. These distinctions lead to various forms related to tense
and aspect
. For example, a dynamic verb may be said to have a durative aspect
if there is not a defined endpoint, or a punctual aspect if there is a defined endpoint.
Examples of dynamic verbs are 'to run', 'to hit', 'to intervene', 'to savour' and 'to go'.
An outstanding feature of modern English is its limited use of the simple present tense of dynamic verbs. Generally, the progressive tense
is required to express an action taking place in the present (I am going). The simple present usually refers to a habitual action (I go every day), a general rule (water runs downhill), a future action in some subordinate clauses (if I go) or the historical present
(President signs bill).
A dynamic verb expresses a wide range of actions that may be physical (to run), mental (to ponder), or perceptual (to see), as opposed to a stative verb, which purely expresses a state in which there is no obvious action (to know, believe, suppose etc.).
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
that shows continued or progressive action on the part of the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
. This is the opposite of a stative verb
Stative verb
A stative verb is one that asserts that one of its arguments has a particular property . Statives differ from other aspectual classes of verbs in that they are static; that is, they have undefined duration...
.
Dynamic verbs have duration, that is, they occur over time. This time may or may not have a defined endpoint
Telicity
In linguistics, telicity is the property of a verb or verb phrase that presents an action or event as being complete in some sense...
, and may or may not yet have occurred. These distinctions lead to various forms related to tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
and aspect
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
. For example, a dynamic verb may be said to have a durative aspect
Grammatical aspect
In linguistics, the grammatical aspect of a verb is a grammatical category that defines the temporal flow in a given action, event, or state, from the point of view of the speaker...
if there is not a defined endpoint, or a punctual aspect if there is a defined endpoint.
Examples of dynamic verbs are 'to run', 'to hit', 'to intervene', 'to savour' and 'to go'.
An outstanding feature of modern English is its limited use of the simple present tense of dynamic verbs. Generally, the progressive tense
Continuous and progressive aspects
The continuous and progressive aspects are grammatical aspects that express incomplete action in progress at a specific time: they are non-habitual, imperfective aspects. It is a verb category with two principal meaning components: duration and incompletion...
is required to express an action taking place in the present (I am going). The simple present usually refers to a habitual action (I go every day), a general rule (water runs downhill), a future action in some subordinate clauses (if I go) or the historical present
Historical present
In linguistics and rhetoric, the historical present refers to the employment of the present tense when narrating past events...
(President signs bill).
A dynamic verb expresses a wide range of actions that may be physical (to run), mental (to ponder), or perceptual (to see), as opposed to a stative verb, which purely expresses a state in which there is no obvious action (to know, believe, suppose etc.).