Semantic Properties of Verbs in English Language
Semantic Properties of Verbs
Situation and its Types
Overview
Semantic Properties and Lexicon
Semantic Class
Learn these English verbs:
hit
,
kiss
, and
touch
Yes, they share a semantic property [
CONTACT
]
They are in a semantic class
Consider!
make, create, imagine
, and
build
girl, filly, pullet
, and
ewe
little, small, tiny,
and
short
Semantic
Relationship
Learn these English verbs:
hit, punch,
Hit
a computer keyboard to enter data.
Punch
a computer keyboard to enter data.
hit
and
punch
have semantic properties [
CONTACT
] and [
PRESS DOWN
]
‘
typewriter’
‘computer keyboard’
pushing
typewriter to enter data
, pressing
typewriter
down
to enter data
pushing, pressing
,
enter
,
data
are related to typewriter; semantic relations
Consider!
pour, drink, leak
,
droplet, swim, splash, goop, water,
and
liquid
fish swims
[
in a liquid, water
]
a liquid is splashed
pouring goops,
drinking goops,
plugging a hole where goops is leaking out and forming doplets
Grammatical Semantics
A verb in a clause
Compositionality and Situation
Rhetorical Focus
A verb, like
punch, hit, push
,
and
press
simply make a clause,
Hit a computer keyboard to enter data
“do something”
hit
interrelates to entity
computer keyboard
and
enter
to entity
data
computer keyboard
and
data
refer to aspect of the world – real or
imagined that language users talk and write about.
hit
and
enter
denote an action.
Verb classification
Criteria: a number of entities demanded
Billy
lies. (he tells untruths)
I
drank
a glass of water
Benjamin Franklin
told [us]
the truth
I
offered
her a scone
English verbs –
lie
,
told
, and
offer
–
differ in whether they demand one, two
or three entities.
Consider!
How many noun phrases does the verb demand?
I offer her a scone
This evidence confirms my hunch
Sharks hunt seals
The sharks chase these seals
The sharks killed these seals
He smiles
I sent you a flower
Offer him a scone
Hold out your arm
Argument(s)
Arguments are entities verbs require.
Billy
lies. (he tells untruths)
Benjamin Franklin
told
the truth
.
I
offered
her a scone
.
English nouns –
Billy
,
Benjamin Franklin
,
the truth, I, her
and
a scone
–
are
arguments for verbs
lie, told,
and
offer
of those sentences.
Argument Types
Noun phrases
Sharks
chased the seals
The seals
are chased
Embedded clause
It confirms
that spring has come early
That the daffodils are blooming
confirms my hunch
Prepositional phrases
I offered a scone
to her
Consider!
How many arguments does the verb require? What type of arguments are
there?
Tourist
walk
through the eco park
The bank’s interest rate
dropped
One of his teeth
chipped
Jo
cooked
dinner
He
slept
in five minutes
Axel
owned
a pair of jeans for a weak
Proposition
(1)
Hold out your arm
(2)
Spring has come early
(3)
Tourist
walk
through the eco park
(1),(2) and (3) denotes a situation
(1) denotes a situation that the speaker wants
(2) denotes a situation, that is, the start of a season
[3) denotes a situation happens
In semantics,
the speaker wants
for (1),
the start of a season
(2), and
situation happens
carry proposition.
Proposition
A proposition consists of one verb, and one or more noun phrase.
(4) I love the way you are
Proposition terms: predication, participants, circumstances
(5) I love you in every way
Exercises
1.
Mommy massed the banana
2.
The baby ate some banana
3.
We drove to Jakarta today
4.
The teacher held the first tutorial next week
Explore the semantic properties of English verbs through various examples and classifications. Discover how verbs like hit, kiss, and touch share common properties, while verbs like make, create, imagine, and build belong to different classes based on their semantic relationships. Delve into the grammatical semantics and rhetorical focus of verbs, and learn about their classification criteria in different contexts.
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Presentation Transcript
Semantic Properties of Verbs Situation and its Types
Overview Semantic Properties and Lexicon
Semantic Class Learn these English verbs: hit, kiss, and touch Yes, they share a semantic property [CONTACT] They are in a semantic class
Consider! make, create, imagine, and build girl, filly, pullet, and ewe little, small, tiny, and short
Learn these English verbs: hit, punch, Semantic Relationship Hit a computer keyboard to enter data. Punch a computer keyboard to enter data. hit and punch have semantic properties [CONTACT] and [PRESS DOWN] typewriter computer keyboard pushing typewriter to enter data, pressing typewriter down to enter data pushing, pressing, enter, data are related to typewriter; semantic relations
Consider! pour, drink, leak, droplet, swim, splash, goop, water, and liquid fish swims [in a liquid, water] a liquid is splashed pouring goops, drinking goops, plugging a hole where goops is leaking out and forming doplets
A verb in a clause Compositionality and Situation
Rhetorical Focus A verb, like punch, hit, push, and press simply make a clause, Hit a computer keyboard to enter data do something hit interrelates to entity computer keyboard and enter to entity data computer keyboard and data refer to aspect of the world real or imagined that language users talk and write about. hit and enter denote an action.
Verb classification Criteria: a number of entities demanded Billy lies. (he tells untruths) I drank a glass of water Benjamin Franklin told [us] the truth I offered her a scone English verbs lie, told, and offer differ in whether they demand one, two or three entities.
Consider! How many noun phrases does the verb demand? I offer her a scone This evidence confirms my hunch Sharks hunt seals The sharks chase these seals The sharks killed these seals He smiles I sent you a flower Offer him a scone Hold out your arm
Argument(s) Arguments are entities verbs require. Billy lies. (he tells untruths) Benjamin Franklin told the truth. I offered her a scone. English nouns Billy, Benjamin Franklin, the truth, I, her and a scone are arguments for verbs lie, told, and offer of those sentences.
Argument Types Noun phrases Sharks chased the seals The seals are chased Embedded clause It confirms that spring has come early That the daffodils are blooming confirms my hunch Prepositional phrases I offered a scone to her
Consider! How many arguments does the verb require? What type of arguments are there? Tourist walk through the eco park The bank s interest rate dropped One of his teeth chipped Jo cooked dinner He slept in five minutes Axel owned a pair of jeans for a weak
Proposition (1) Hold out your arm (2) Spring has come early (3) Tourist walk through the eco park (1),(2) and (3) denotes a situation (1) denotes a situation that the speaker wants (2) denotes a situation, that is, the start of a season [3) denotes a situation happens In semantics, the speaker wants for (1), the start of a season (2), and situation happens carry proposition.
Proposition A proposition consists of one verb, and one or more noun phrase. (4) I love the way you are Proposition terms: predication, participants, circumstances (5) I love you in every way
Exercises 1. Mommy massed the banana 2. The baby ate some banana 3. We drove to Jakarta today 4. The teacher held the first tutorial next week
