Difference between revisions of "Inchoative"
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| − | '''Inchoative''' is a term used for [[ | + | '''Inchoative''' is a term used for [[verb]]s whose meanings can be paraphrased as 'TO BEGIN TO...' (e.g. ''inflame'' and ''depopulate'') or verbs which express the beginning of a state or process, like ''harden'' (become hard), ''die'' (become dead) or ''break''. The term is also used in explicating the ambiguity of ''John will eat his lunch in an hour'': the inchoative reading is the one in which it will take an hour before John is to eat his lunch. |
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Latest revision as of 03:13, 19 March 2016
Inchoative is a term used for verbs whose meanings can be paraphrased as 'TO BEGIN TO...' (e.g. inflame and depopulate) or verbs which express the beginning of a state or process, like harden (become hard), die (become dead) or break. The term is also used in explicating the ambiguity of John will eat his lunch in an hour: the inchoative reading is the one in which it will take an hour before John is to eat his lunch.
