The Structure of Stative Verbs PDF

The Structure of Stative Verbs
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today (LA)

Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today (LA) provides a platform for original monograph
studies into synchronic and diachronic linguistics. Studies in LA confront empirical
and theoretical problems as these are currently discussed in syntax, semantics,
morphology, phonology, and systematic pragmatics with the aim to establish robust
empirical generalizations within a universalistic perspective.
General Editors
Werner Abraham Elly van Gelderen
University of Vienna / Rijksuniversiteit Arizona State University
Groningen
Advisory Editorial Board

Cedric Boeckx Christer Platzack
ICREA/Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona University of Lund
Guglielmo Cinque Ian Roberts
University of Venice Cambridge University
Günther Grewendorf Lisa deMena Travis
J.W. Goethe-University, Frankfurt McGill University
Liliane Haegeman Sten Vikner
University of Lille, France University of Aarhus
Hubert Haider C. Jan-Wouter Zwart
University of Salzburg University of Groningen
Terje Lohndal
University of Maryland
Volume 143
by Antonia Rothmayr
Antonia Rothmayr
University of Vienna
John Benjamins Publishing Company

Amsterdam / Philadelphia
TM
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of

Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rothmayr, Antonia.
The structure of stative verbs / Antonia Rothmayr.
p. cm. (Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, issn 0166-0829 ; v. 143)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Grammar, Comparative and general--Stative verb. I. Title.
P281.R673 2009
415'.6--dc22 2009007785
isbn 978 90 272 5526 6 (hb; alk. paper)
isbn 978 90 272 8946 9 (eb)
© 2009 – John Benjamins B.V.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
Für Mama
Philosophieanfall: Die Zeit ist eine Zeit.

Wenn sie zwei Zeiten ist, kann sie gleichzeitig sein.
Heidi Heide
(in: Podium 127/128 April 2003, 56)
Table of contents
Acknowledgements xiii
List of tables xv
chapter 1
Introduction 1
chapter 2
Theoretical considerations 3
2.1 Background I: Event semantics and argument structure 3
2.1.1 Aspectual classes 3
2.1.2 The Davidsonian view 4
2.1.3 The Neo-Davidsonian view 5
2.1.4 The Post-Davidsonian view 5
2.1.5 Kimian and Davidsonian statives 6
2.2 Background II: Semantic form 8
2.3 The stative verb in argument structure theory 10
2.3.1 Projectionist views 11
2.3.1.1 Hale and Keyser: Argument structure 11
2.3.1.2 Levin and Rappaport: Structure and constant participants 14
2.3.2 Constructionist views 16
2.3.2.1 Marantz: distributed morphology 16
2.3.2.2 Kratzer I: Stage-level and individual-level predicates 16
2.3.2.3 Extension by Hallman 19
2.3.2.4 Kratzer II: Severing the external argument 21
2.3.2.5 Harley: Different types of v 22
2.3.2.6 Borer: Exoskeletal approach 23
2.3.2.7 Ramchand: A Post-Davidsonian view 25
2.3.3 Conclusion 27
2.4 A semantic definition: Stative verb 28
2.4.1 The ontology of Kimian and Davidsonian states 28
2.4.2 A filter that groups together D- and K-states 29
2.4.3 Syntactic tests 30
2.4.4 Infinitival complements of perception verbs 31
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
2.4.5.1 Manner adverbials 31

2.4.5 Tests based on adverbial modification 31
2.4.5.2 Locative modifiers 32
2.4.5.3 Degree readings of ein bisschen 33
2.4.6 Summary 34
2.5 Other kinds of stative expressions 35
2.5.1 Generic expressions 35
2.5.2 Perfect as a stativizer 36
2.5.3 Adjectival passive 36
chapter 3
Stative/eventive ambiguities 37
3.1 Introduction 37
3.2 Ambiguity due to instrumental alternation 37
3.2.1 Introduction 37
3.2.2 Tests for a Kimian stative reading 40
3.2.2.2 Event-related locative modifiers 42
3.2.2.3 Degree readings 42
3.3.3 Stative causation? 43
3.2.3.1 Counterfactual analysis of causation 43
3.2.3.2 Causation and event structure: A note on Kaufmann
and Wunderlich 44
3.2.4 The structure of stative verbs of causation 47
3.2.4.1 The stative reading 47
3.2.4.2 Stative/eventive ambiguities 48
3.2.5 Conclusion 51
3.3 Object-experiencer verbs assigning accusative 52
3.3.2 Object-experiencer verbs in previous work 52
3.3.2.1 A note on terminology 53
3.3.2.2 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Italian 53
3.3.2.3 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Spanish 56
3.3.2.4 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Finnish 56
3.3.2.5 Previous accounts of object-experiencer verbs 58
3.3.4 Properties particular to this verb class 63
3.3.4.1 Temporal modification 63
Table of contents 
3.3.4.2 Modifiers that express the start of the target state 63

3.3.4.3 Modification of domains 64
3.3.5. The structure of object-experiencer verbs 65
3.3.5.1 The lexical-semantic structure 65
3.3.5.2 The syntactic structure 65
3.3.6 Conclusion 68
3.4 The threaten-class 68
3.4.2.4 Summary 75
3.4.3 The modal component of threaten 75
3.4.3.1 The DO/MOD alternation 75
3.4.3.2 The modality of drohen 76
3.4.4 The structure of threaten-type verbs 77
3.4.5 Conclusion 80
3.5 Dispositional verbs 80
3.5.2 Stative/eventive ambiguities noted in previous work 80
3.5.4 Properties particular to this verb class 88
3.5.4.1 Temporal modification 89
3.5.4.2 Modifiers that express the start of the target state 91
3.5.4.3 Modification of domains 93
3.5.4.4 Evaluation 94
3.5.4.5 Semantic properties of dispositional verbs 94
3.5.5 The structure of dispositional verbs 95
3.5.5.1 Dative assignment 95
3.5.5.2 Lexical-semantic structure 97
3.5.5.3 Summary: Helfen-verbs 100
3.6. Perception verbs 100
3.6.1 Evidence for a Kimian stative reading 102
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
3.6.2 The structure of perception verbs 105

3.6.3. Conclusion 106
3.7 Conclusion 107
chapter 4
Non-ambiguous statives 109
4.1 Subject-experiencer/possessor verbs 109
4.1.1.1 Case assignment in Finnish 110
4.1.1.2 Inchoative subject-experiencers in Spanish 113
4.1.2 Tests for an underlying Kimian state 114
4.1.2 Locative modifiers 116
4.1.3 Are subject-experiencer verbs really stative? A comment on Rapp 117
4.1.4 Argument structure 121
4.1.5 The structure of subject-experiencer verbs 122
4.1.6 Conclusion 123
4.2 Dative-experiencer / possessor verbs 124
4.2.1.4 Complement of perception verbs 129
4.2.2 The structure of dative-experiencer/possessor verbs 130
4.3 Measure verbs 131
4.3.2 Further properties of measure verbs 134
4.3.3 The lack of an eventive reading 135
4.3.4 The structure of measure verbs 135
4.3.4.1 The lexical structure of measure verbs 135
4.3.4.2 The syntactic structure of measure verbs 139
4.4 PP-complement verbs 140
4.4.1 Remark 140
Table of contents 

4.4.2.4 Complement of perception verbs 142
4.4.3 The structure of verbs with a PP-complement 142
4.5 Conclusion 145
chapter 5
Verbs of position 147
5.1 Stative verbs of position 147
5.1.2 The structure of stative verbs of position 151
5.2 Verbs of body posture 153
5.2.1 Tests for an eventive reading 153
5.2.2 The structure of posture verbs 156
5.3 PP-argument versus PP-incorporation 157
5.4 Evidence from Tibeto-Burman 158
5.5 Conclusion 159
chapter 6
Verbs of internal causation 161
6.1 Non-agentive verbs of internal causation 161
6.1.1 The instrument role 163
6.1.1.1 Verbs of sound emission 164
6.1.1.2 Verbs of light emission 167
6.1.1.3 Verbs of smell and substance emission 168
6.1.1.4 Conclusion 170
6.1.2 The structure of verbs of emission 170
chapter 7
Event structure and theta features 173
7.1 Features within the vP 173
7.1.1 Features in v 173
7.1.2 Flavors of v 174
7.1.3 Dowty’s calculus from a minimalist perspective 175
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
7.2 Theta checking 176

7.2.1 Aspectual layout 177
7.2.2 Example verb structures 184
7.2.3 Checking and verb phases 187
7.2.4 The situation argument 195
7.2.4.1 The elimination of the Davidsonian event argument 196
7.3 Conclusion 197
chapter 8
Conclusion 199
8.1 Further verb classes 199
8.1.1 Modals 199
8.1.2 Sensation predicates 199
8.1.2 Degree readings 201
8.1.2.4 Conclusion 202
8.2 Conclusion 202
References 207
Author index 213
Subject index 215

Acknowledgements
This monograph is a revised and extended version of the PhD dissertation I defended
at the University of Vienna in 2006. The research for Chapters 1–4 was funded by a
DOC-grant (Doktorandenprogramm) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The re-
search for Chapters 5, 6 and 7 was not financially supported. I am indebted to my
teachers Wolfgang U. Dressler, Claudia Maienborn and Martin Prinzhorn as well as to
my editor Werner Abraham.
List of tables
Table 2.1 Aspectual classes 3

Table 2.2 Analysis of event structure by Pustejovsky 6
Table 2.3 Kimian and Davidsonian statives 7
Table 2.4 Possible interpretations of AIVs 20
Table 2.5 Possible interpretations of AIVs 20
Table 2.6 Eventuality structure by Borer 24
Table 3.1 Types of modality 76
Table 3.2 Semantic properties of dispositional verbs 95
Table 3.3 Ambiguity of perception verbs 101
Table 7.1 Arguments licensed by do / cause 187
Table 7.2 Arguments licensed by predicate 188
chapter 1
Introduction
When children first learn about grammar at school, they are often taught that there
exist different types of words. In the German-speaking part of the world, kids learn to
discriminate between Namen-Wörter (“name-words”, i.e., nouns), Wie-Wörter (“how-
words”, i.e., adjectives), and Tun-Wörter (“do-words”, i.e., verbs). At least this is what I
was taught about 20 years ago. But, how come that there are Tun-Wörter that do not
express something one can do? Or, in more “adult-like” terms: how come there are
verbs that express states rather than events?
In what is to follow I will not answer these naive questions, but focus on the nature
of stative verbs. What kind of stative verbs exist? Is there only a single class of verbs
that classify as statives? Do they share some properties other than their stativity? How
are stative verbs related to eventive ones? Are they derived from one another? And if
so, by what kind of grammatical mechanism?
In current linguistic theory “statives” or “stative verbs” are more often than not
taken to be the most basic verbs, or the building blocks out of which more complex
(eventive) verbs are formed. The first goal of this book is to sketch a picture of how
stative verbs are seen in the literature, followed by a look on whether these claims are
empirically justified. The answer will be that stative verbs are not simple at all: there
exist different kinds of statives, simple and complex ones.
The second goal of this monograph is to examine the different types of stative
verbs in greater detail. Thereby I will come across a systematic pattern of stative/even-
tive ambiguities, which gives rise to the following questions: what are the grammatical
mechanisms that trigger the eventive reading? What kind of predicates allow for the
stative reading? Moreover, a second group of stative verbs does not display this kind of
ambiguity. I will analyze the lexical-semantic structure of these verbs as well.
The structure of the book is as follows. In Chapter 2 I will address the theoretical
background. First, a short overview of the current picture of event structure is given,
including a note on the distinction between two kinds of eventuality arguments, the
Kimian and the Davidsonian one. After a brief introduction to the technical details of
Semantic Form, I will take a look at how stative verbs are conceptualized within the
research on argument structure. Next, a semantic definition of stative verb is given,
following the distinction between Kimian and Davidsonian state expressions devel-
oped by Maienborn 2003. Finally, stative expressions other than verbs are mentioned.
Chapter 3 deals with stative/eventive ambiguities. Verbs that may have both a
Kimian stative and an eventive reading are analyzed in terms of their lexical-semantic
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
structure. These include verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation, object-expe-
riencer verbs, verbs of the threaten-class, dispositional verbs, and perception verbs.
In Chapter 4, verbs that only allow for a Kimian stative reading are discussed. These
include subject-experiencer/possessor verbs, dative-experiencer/possessor verbs, meas-
ure phrase verbs, verbs that require a PP-complement, and modal auxiliaries.
Next, Davidsonian statives are examined. Is it the case that a third class of verbs
apart from Kimian statives and Davidsonian events is necessary? Chapter 5 investigates
the nature of verbs of position and Chapter 6 examines verbs of internal causation, both
of which, according to Maienborn 2003, belong to the class of Davidsonian statives.
Finally, Chapter 7 integrates the findings of the previous chapters and puts for-
ward a novel account of event structure and argument licensing.
chapter 2
Theoretical considerations
2.1 Background I: Event semantics and argument structure
In general verbs denote all kinds of actions, processes or events; sometimes they can
even express states. Being part of the denotation, a process or a state, therefore, belongs
to the semantics of a verb. In particular, stativity is a purely semantic notion.
2.1.1 Aspectual classes
Vendler 1957 was the first one to group verbs along the lines of event structure. He
classified them into activities, accomplishments, achievements and states. The basic idea
underlying this classification is how an event proceeds in time. For example, activity
verbs such as pet the cat or smile have an actor who is doing something (i.e. petting the
cat or smiling) for an unbounded time interval. Similarly, states such as know or love
don’t include an endpoint in their basic denotation. In contrast to activities, states have
no agent who is doing something (that is, there is no active knowing or loving). Achieve-
ments and accomplishments, on the other hand, include an endpoint. For example, an
achievement like reach the top is not homogeneous like a state such as love. It denotes
a sudden change from a state in which the subject is not at the top to a state in which
the subject is there. Vendler’s verb classes are summarized in Table 2.1.
Homogeneity can be captured in more formal terms (Dowty 1979, Krifka 1989,
among others): homogeneous predicates such as love or know have the subinterval
property. That is, if a predicate is true at a certain time interval, it is also true for any
subpart of this interval. For example, if I have loved syntax ever since I read LGB for
the first time, I also loved it at Christmas Eve last year.
Activity verbs, as homogeneous as they may seem, do not have the subinterval
property. Of course, down to a certain time-span the subinterval property holds for
activities: imagine I am petting the cat for 30 minutes. There are subintervals – say of
Table 2.1 Aspectual classes

Activity run
Accomplishment paint a picture
Achievement recognize
State know
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
about 2 seconds – where there is still some petting of the cat going on, but at a certain
point the intervals get so small that it is physically impossible for an action to occur. At
that point, the time-interval becomes so short that my hand is not rubbing the cat’s
body anymore. Instead, just the tips of my fingers are on the cat’s head. This is not pet-
ting the cat anymore.
Dowty 1979 already observes that not all verbs that are classified as statives behave
alike. He mentions that verbs of position like sit and lie can be used in the progressive
form, in contrast to all other kinds of stative verbs. Similarly, when classifying the
various kinds of states and events, Bach 1986 observes that at least two kinds of statives
must be distinguished, namely dynamic and static states. The typology of eventualities
according to Bach 1986: 6 is depicted in (1).
(1) eventualities
wo
states non-states
3 3
dynamic (a) static (b) processes (c) events
3
protracted (d) momentaneous
3
happenings (e) culminations (f)
(2) a. sit, stand, lie + loc
b. be drunk, be in New York, own x, love x, resemble x
c. walk, push a cart, be mean (agentive)
d. build x, walk to Boston
e. recognize, notice, flash once
f. die, reach the top
[Bach 1986: 6]
Within the literature dealing with event semantics there has been some confusion
about the terminology. In the following, I will stick to the terms put forward by Bach,
i.e., the term eventuality includes states and events, whereas the term event only refers
to the eventive type of eventuality.
2.1.2 The Davidsonian view
Events, but not eventualities, have also received attention within philosophy. In his
seminal essay, Davidson 1967 proposes that action sentences contain a special variable
referring to the event denoted by the verb. In other words, non-states (in the terms of
Bach) contain an argument which refers to the ongoing event. Davidson substantiates
his claim with the example in (3).
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
(3) Jones buttered the toast slowly, deliberately, in the bathroom, with a knife, at
midnight. [Davidson 1967: (1)]
(4) ∃e [butter(Jones, toast, e) ∧ deliberately(e) ∧ in the bathroom(e) ...]
The structure given in (4) shows that the verb contains not only the subject (Jones) and
the object (toast), but also the event argument e. It is this argument that anchors adver-
bials to the sentence. So, the manner adverbial deliberately does not modify the agent
or the patient; rather, it modifies the event itself.
Several linguists which conform to the Davidsonian paradigma have taken up this
idea and argue that the event variable is present in argument structure (e.g. Kratzer
1995). According to this line of analysis, the event argument is the topmost element
within the argument hierarchy, occupying the position of the external argument.
2.1.3 The Neo-Davidsonian view
Parsons 1990 suggests a refinement of Davidson’s notion. He argues that not only ad-
verbials, but all participants are introduced by predication of the event variable. Thus,
thematic roles such as agent and patient are introduced with the help of such extra
predicates. The structure of sentences like (3) is therefore extended to (5).
(5) ∃e [butter(e) ∧ Agent(Jones, e) ∧ Patient(toast, e) ∧ deliberately(e) ∧ in the
bathroom(e) ...]
Linguists who assume that an event variable is present in argument structure do not
focus on the distinction between the Davidsonian and the Neo-Davidsonian view. For
them, it is only important that the event argument is present both in argument struc-
tureand in syntactic structure.
2.1.4 The Post-Davidsonian view
Contra to the assumptions of linguists following Davidson or Parsons, Post-Davidso-

nian scholars (e.g. Pustejovsky 1991, Hale and Keyser 1993) argue that the event argu-
ment is not present in syntactic structure. Rather, syntactic structure as a whole is
taken to represent the event.
Hale and Keyser 1993 argue that the event semantics of a verb does not come from
the properties of its event variable; rather, the semantics is read off from the parts of the
verb’s structure: every subpart of a verbal structure denotes a subevent. These subevents
are composed by implication: a matrix event corresponding to a VP implicates the sub-
event denoted by the complement VP, i.e. the subevent is part of the matrix event.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(6) a. VP
wo
NP V’
wo
Vmatrix VP
3
Vsubordinated XP
b. subeventmatrix ⇒ subeventsubordinated
Depending on the category of the complement, different verb classes emerge. For ex-
ample, V subcategorizing a preposition corresponds to a locatum verb like saddle.
Similarly, an AP gives rise to a change of state verb (e.g. narrow), whereas a NP results
in a verb of creation. Therefore, the kind of aspectual class a verb belongs to is deter-
mined by the category of its complement.
Pustejovsky 1991 argues that events are not unstructured entities, but objects
made up from different subevents. For example, a state consists merely of a single
event, whereas a process develops through time via several subevents, each occurring
one after the other. Moreover, a transition includes an initial state, several transitory
subevents and a final event which is different from the initial one.
Table 2.2 Analysis of event structure by Pustejovsky
State Process Transition
|
S P T
| 6 2
E el ...en El... ...¬E2
[Pustejovsky 1991: 56 (13)]
In sum, the common ground of Post-Davidsonian accounts on event structure is that

events are complex entities which consist of one or more subevents. In particular, these
subevents can be associated with different levels of the verbal projection, as suggested
by Hale and Keyser 1993 and Ramchand 2008. Since each layer of the verbal structure
is associated with a particular thematic participant (for example, the little v projection
is said to be responsible for the introduction of the agent), an intimate relation be-
tween subevents and arguments is established.
2.1.5 Kimian and Davidsonian statives
The event argument, as introduced by Davidson 1967, has not only been used for the
analysis of action sentences, but also for a variety of purposes in the recent literature.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
For example, Diesing 1992 and Kratzer 1995 argue that the difference between stage-
level (SLP) and individual-level (ILP) predicates can be captured in terms of presence
and absence of the event variable. The theta-grid of a SLP, which denotes a temporary
predicate, includes an event argument, but the theta-grid of an ILP lacks it. In this way,
the different behavior of SLPs and ILPs regarding weak and strong determiners can be
attributed to the difference in the theta-grid. Kratzer illustrates this claim with the help
of the following examples. SLPs like hit contain an event argument (“location” in her
terms) as in (7a), and ILPs like know lack it as in (7b).
(7) a. hit 〈location, agent, theme〉
b. know 〈experiencer, theme〉
[Kratzer 1995: 136]
The event argument appears in several other analyses of grammatical problems, in
particular, it is used in the analyis of stage-level copular constructions by many au-
thors. However, Maienborn 20031 argues that the event argument as defined by Dav-
idson should be restricted to action sentences or to predicates expressing an event.2
She takes a closer look at different stative expressions and concludes that there are at
least two different kinds of statives. In addition to the class of pseudo-stative verbs
(verbs of position and a group containing sleep, wait, glow and stick, among others),
there exists the class of Kimian state verbs (Maienborn 2003: 55). These include copu-
lar constructions and various stative verbs such as weigh, know and resemble.
Davidsonian and Kimian statives differ with respect to the nature of the Davidso-
nian argument. Whereas Davidsonian statives contain an event argument – in this
case a stative one – Kimian statives contain an ontologically different argument. This
argument, called a Kimian state,3 does not denote an event. It refers to a property being
instantiated at a particular time, i.e., a Kimian state is the object of a property realized
at a particular time (see also the discussion in Engelberg 2000).
Table 2.3 Kimian and Davidsonian statives
Davidsonian statives Kimian statives
sit, stand, lie be intelligent, be tired

sleep, wait, gleam weigh, know, resemble
1. As the original book (Maienborn 2003) is written in German, I will cite the English short-
version (Maienborn 2005b) whenever possible.
2. See Katz 1995 for an early argument that statives do not contain the Davidsonian event
argument.
3. This idea goes back to Kim 1969 and Kim 1976, hence the term “Kimian” state.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(8) Kimian states (K-states):

K-states are abstract objects for the exemplification of a property P at a holder
x and a time t.
[Maienborn 2005b: (47)]
Maienborn 2003 shows that not only Kimian stative verbs, but also both stage-level (be
sick) and individual-level (be intelligent) copular constructions express a Kimian state.
The stage-level/individual-level distinction is, according to this line of research, not
due to the inherent structure of the predicates; rather, it is due to the discourse struc-
ture (see Maienborn 2005a for an account of the Spanish ser/estar-distinction). In
other words, the stage-level copular construction which is often associated with Span-
ish estar is related to a situation that is already present in discourse. The individual-
level predicate, on the other hand, is not.
2.2 Background II: Semantic form
In the following, I will analyze stative verbs in the framework of the two-level approach
to meaning (c.f. Bierwisch 1982, Bierwisch 1987 and Bierwisch and Lang 1987; see also
Kaufmann 1995a, Wunderlich 1997). The core idea of this approach is the separation
between linguistic information and conceptual knowledge. Regarding lexical entries,
the former is specified at the level of Semantic Form (SF), whereas the latter is repre-
sented at the level of Conceptual Structure (CS). At the level of Semantic Form, a lexical
entry is specified with respect to grammatically relevant information, e.g. the number
of arguments of a verb and its decompositional structure. At the level of Conceptual
Structure, on the other hand, world knowledge comes into play. To illustrate, certain
verbs of speech such as gossip, talk, swear or preach may differ with respect to the social
context of the action, while their grammatical information is the same. Hence, these
verbs differ with respect to their associated conceptual structure but not with respect
to their SF-representation.
Semantic Form as developed by Bierwisch 1987: 94 functions as the interface be-
tween linguistic knowledge and world knowledge. In other words, Wunderlich 1997:
29 suggests that “[t]he notion of SF assumed here may best be compared with the notion
of Logical Form (LF) extended to sublexical structures”. So, both LF and SF take part in
the computation of the meaning of a sentence. Regarding the relation between LF and
SF, Bierwisch and Lang 1987: 665 argue that at LF the meaning between syntactic enti-
ties is computed, whereas SF determines the meaning of words themselves. Hence,
both LF and SF are part of grammar.
The SF-representation of a lexical entry specifies the number of arguments re-
quired. In order to do this, every argument position corresponds to a λ-abstractor. In
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
other words, thematic roles are rephrased as λ-operators which bind the correspond-
ing variable at SF. For exampe, a verb like eat is represented as in (9).
(9) λy λx [eat(x, y)]
The two-level approach to meaning is compatible with recent minimalist views on argu-
ment realization (e.g. Butler 2004). Butler builds on Adger and Ramchand 2005, who
develop a feature valuation mechanism for wh-dependencies. According to Adger and
Ramchand, there exists a syntactically visible feature which corresponds to predicate
abstraction in semantics. They term this feature [Λ] and take it to correspond to a
λ-operator. The variable bound by this operator is reflected by a syntactic feature as well,
this time an unvalued feature [Id]. In this way, the semantic operation of λ-abstraction
has a syntactic correlate: [Id] gets its value by agreeing with [Λ]. Agree (c.f. Chomsky
2001) is subject to syntactic restrictions such as locality conditions. In sum, the corre-
spondence between syntax and semantics can be summarized as in (10).
(10) [Λ ... Id] → λx ... x
[Adger and Ramchand 2005:173 (38)]
Butler 2004: 64-68 extends this proposal to the mechansim of argument introduction.
He argues that lexical entries of verbs (roots in his terms) come with as many unvalued
[Id]-features as they have arguments. In order to be interpretable at the interface, these
[Id]-features, must be valued by a corresponding [Λ]-feature, as proposed by Adger
and Ramchand 2005. Butler claims that the [Λ]-features are introduced into syntactic
structure by little v-heads. Every [Λ]-feature binds a single [Id]-feature by assigning a
value to it. In this way, as many λ-abstractions are generated as there are [Id]-features
on the root. By agreeing with the [λ]-features, a predicate is created that requires as
many arguments as there are [λ]-features (or λ-operators, respectively). In sum, we
end up with a representation similar to an SF-entry.
At this point in the derivation, the predicates created by the λ-abstractions must
be saturated. Butler assumes that the relevant arguments are introduced into the spec-
ifiers of the little v-heads, which express sub-situations. The macro-situation is ex-
pressed (or anchored) at the top v-layer, which Butler takes to correspond roughly to
the Davidsonian event argument in the sense of Kratzer 1995.
To illustrate this mechanism, the initial derivation of Arthur laugh is given in (11).
The [Id]-feature of the verb laugh has already received its value Λ via agreement with
the [Λ]-feature on v. The uninterpretable feature [uId] on v has been checked. Moreo-
ver, the argument Arthur has been merged into the specifier of v in order to satisfy the
requirements of the predicate λx.laugh(x).
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(11) a. vP
wo
Arthur v’
3
v[Λ, uid: Λ] VP
6
laugh [id: Λ]
b. λ.[laugh(δ)] (Arthur)
= Arthur laugh
[Butler 2004: 68 (61)]
In conclusion, the idea that roots select their arguments via some features corresponds
directly to the representation of Semantic Form where the number of arguments of
lexical entries is specified via λ-abstractors. In what is to follow, I will therefore con-
centrate on the Semantic Form of stative verbs, keeping in mind that this format is
directly compatible with recent Minimalist developments.
2.3 The stative verb in argument structure theory
In this section, I would like to take a look on how different theories of argument struc-
ture judge the status of stative verbs. Research on argument structure investigates what
kind of thematic roles are required by different kinds of verbs (starting with Fillmore
1968, Gruber 1976). Furthermore, the hierarchical relation among the arguments and
various argument alternations such as the passive and the middle formation are cen-
tral to this topic (cf. Grimshaw 1990, Baker 1997).
The review is oriented along the lines of the projectionist / constructionist distinc-
tion that was put forward in Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998 and more recently in
Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005. Projectionist views (e.g. Bresnan 2001, Levin and
Rappaport Hovav 1995, Williams 1981, among many others) assume that argument
structure is semantically anchored within the lexical structure of the verb. In other
words, there is something in the meaning of a verb that requires the arguments to be
the way they are (with respect to their number, hierarchy and Case-status). The mor-
phosyntactic properties of the arguments are therefore a reflection of the lexical mean-
ing of the verb.
Constructional views (e.g. Borer 2005, Goldberg 1995, Harley 1995, van Hout
1998, Jackendoff 1990, McClure 1995, Marantz 1997, Ritter and Rosen 1998), on the
other hand, assume that all words, not only verbs, consist of category-neutral roots
that are combined with functional categories in order to add event-based meanings.
Crucially, arguments are not licensed by the root, but from the functional heads.
Therefore, constructional views assume a close relation between event structure and
the realization of arguments.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
Therefore, the study of stative verbs provides a new argument for the distinction
between projectionist and constructional views. From a constructionist perspective,
the ideal stative verb is a simple predicate with no further structure. Because there is
no event structure within stative verbs, it is expected that there is no “complex” argu-
ment structure as well. Stative verbs, then, have often been associated (see below for a
discussion of the claims that have been made within this framework) with a stative
little v projection that turns the category-neutral root into a verb and licenses a subject
which is interpreted as the holder of the state.
Projectionist theories, on the other hand, do not pose such a strong requirement.
For such a view, it is possible to have a single type of eventuality associated with differ-
ent patterns of argument realization.
Both approaches require a kind of predicate decomposition in order to spell out
their assumptions about the different structures of verbs. Decompositional analyses
have been put forward by e.g. Dowty 1979, Hale and Keyser 1993, Parsons 1990, Rap-
paport Hovav and Levin 1998, von Stechow 1995, van Valin 1990, among many others.
Although these analyses may differ greatly with respect to their theoretical assump-
tions, the authors converge on the claim that verbs must be decomposed into smaller
building blocks in order to capture their behavior, both with respect to event structure
and with respect to argument realization.
Despite the central nature of the structure of stative verbs to both approaches,
these verbs have been somewhat neglected by scholars of both frameworks. Neverthe-
less, implicit assumptions are spelled out at various points within the literature.
2.3.1 Projectionist views
2.3.1.1 Hale and Keyser: Argument structure

In their seminal paper, Hale and Keyser 1993 put forward a concise theory of how the
relation between theta roles, argument structure and aspect can be captured. They
claim that theta roles must be defined in structural terms: a DP occupying a particular
structural position is always mapped to a fixed theta role; for example, the specifier of
a verbal projection that takes another verbal projection as its complement is always
interpreted as the agent argument. All the other theta roles are derived by particular
structural conditions along the same lines. Tying together phrase structure positions
and thematic roles in this way, their theory implements the requirement posed by the
Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (UTAH; cf. Baker 1988).
In addition to their treatment of theta roles, Hale and Keyser argue that the event
semantics of a verb does not come from the properties of its event variable; rather, the
semantics is read off from the parts of the verb’s structure: every subpart of a verbal
structure denotes a subevent. These subevents are composed by implication: the ma-
trix event corresponding to the VP implicates the subevent denoted by the comple-
ment VP, i.e., the subevent is part of the matrix event.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(12) a. VP
3
NP V’
3
Vmatrix VP
3
Vsubordinated XP
b. subeventmatrix ⇒ subeventsubordinated
Depending on the category of the complement, different verb classes emerge. For ex-
ample, V subcategorizing a preposition boils down to a locatum verb like saddle. Sim-
ilarly, an AP gives rise to a change-of-state verb (e.g. narrow), whereas a NP results in
a verb of creation. Therefore, the aspectual class a verb belongs to is determined by the
category of its complement.
The authors only treat eventive verbs in their 1993 paper, but they elaborate on
stative verbs in Hale and Keyser 2002: first, they discuss the difference between dead-
jectival verbs (clear, narrow, redden, darken; Hale and Keyser 2002: 205) in (13a) and
predicative adjectives as in (13b).
(13) a. The sky cleared.
[Hale and Keyser 2002: 206]
b. We found [the sky clear].
[Hale and Keyser 2002: 206 (2a)]
The authors argue that the fundamental difference between deadjectival verbs and
predicative adjectives is categorial. A verb is active due to its verbal category, a predica-
tive adjective is stative due to its category δ. The head δ corresponds to an extended
projection of A that hosts the usual degree morphology (i.e., comparative and superla-
tive morphemes). Both verbal and adjectival structures share the property that they
require a specifier and a complement. They differ with respectto the nature of the de-
noted event: the verbal structure is active, whereas the adjectival one is stative (see
(14), from Hale and Keyser 2002: 206 f. (1) and (4)).
(14) V δ
2 3
DP V DP δ
2 6 2
V A the sky δ A
| |
clear clear
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
Next, Hale and Keyser discuss subject experiencer verbs as in (15a). The authors argue
that these verbs are derived from possessive constructions such as (15b).
(15) a. John respected the truth.
[Hale and Keyser 2002: 208 (6e)]
b. John got the truth (to be) with his respect.
[Hale and Keyser 2002: 208]
The structure of verbs like respect (and know, admire, like etc.) resembles the structure
in (14), but now there is a prepositional head instead of a verbal one (Hale and Keyser
2002: 208 (7)).4 A special conflation mechanism allows for P to appear with inflec-
tional morphology.
(16) P
3
DP P
6 2
the truth P N
|
respect
Finally, the authors take “true” stative verbs (in their terms) such as cost and weigh to cor-
respond directly to copular constructions. Therefore, the argument of such verbs does not
count as a direct object but rather as a measure phrase that is part of the predicate.
In sum, these three ways are the only ones to form stative expressions: the ex-
tended projection of A, a subset of P and copular constructions. According to the
theory of Hale and Keyser, the property of stativity can be reduced to the nature of the
lexical category. Hence, a predicate is active if it contains a lexical item of category V;
it is stative if categories A and P are present.
Besides the non-standard conflation mechanism, Hale and Keyser’s answer to the
question why statives fail to undergo the passive alternation remains stipulative. Ac-
cording to the authors, passive formation is ruled out, since stative verbs are equivalent
to copular constructions. However, they do not explain why the passive is unavailable
for copular constructions. The authors present no arguments supporting for their as-
sumption that stative verbs are equivalent to copular constructions.
Similarly, Hale and Keyser’s treatment of Case assignment in statives remains
speculative. They claim that the DP that is part of the predicate does not get assigned
accusative case. Rather, it is nominative case that is transmitted via the copula. This
cannot be true once German verbs are looked at. Take (17).
(17) Der Computer kostet einen Haufen Geld.
The computer nom costs a bunch acc money.
‘The computer costs a bunch of money.’
4. The authors assume that subject experiencer verbs are ambiguous between a stative and a non-
stative use. The latter have an additional V head that takes the structure in (16) as its complement.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
In (17), the subject bears nominative case and the object einen Haufen clearly shows
accusative morphology.
2.3.1.2 Levin and Rappaport: Structure and constant participants

A somewhat different perspective on argument structure is developed by Levin and
Rappaport Hovav 1995. Instead of relating syntactic structure to event semantics,
these authors establish linking principles derived from the lexical semantics of verbs.
Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998 and Levin 1999 deal with the question of object-
hood. The authors distinguish two kinds of arguments: first, there are structure argu-
ments. They are DPs that fill a slot in the event structure of a verb. These are obligatory
in order to render a sentence grammatical. Second, there are constant participants. A
constant in the sense of Rappaport and Levin hosts the ideosyncratic meaning of a
verb, i.e., it can host other participants of the event, participants that are not licensed
by the event structure itself.
Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998 illustrate the distinction between structure and
constant arguments along the following lines: activity verbs such as run host only one
structural argument. Their event structure is given in (18).
(18) [ x act<MANNER> ]
[Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998: 108]
The activity of running involves minimally only an actor, which is assigned to the
structural position x. The runner is therefore a structure argument.
In contrast, verbs of surface contact like sweep the floor minimally involve an actor
and a surface. Again, the actor is mapped into the structural position. The argument
denoting the surface cannot be licensed by the event structure anymore, since there is
no free variable left. Therefore, this argument is licensed by the constant alone. Con-
stant arguments, the way Rappaport and Levin understand them, may remain im-
plicit as long as they can be recovered semantically. While it is not possible to omit a
structure argument, it is allowed to do so for constant arguments.
Levin and Rappaport propose the event structure in (19) for stative verbs, which
suggests that a state holds for a certain argument.
(19) [ x <state> ]
This structure is not only suggested for stative verbs, but also for verbs such as blossom,
which express an internally caused state. These verbs show a systematic ambiguity
between a stative and an eventive reading. The former expresses that a flower is in the
state of blossoming as in (20a), whereas the latter describes the change-of-state until
blossoming is reached, see (20b).
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
(20) a. The amaryllis blossomed for ten days.

b. The tree blossomed in a day.
[Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998: 125 (48)]
The structure of eventive change-of-state verbs like those in (20b) is created through
the addition of the become-operator.
(21) [ become [ x <in-blossom> ] ]
[Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998: 126 (59)]
The authors note that “it is a widespread phenomenon that stative verbs have achieve-
ment interpretations” (Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998: 126).
In contrast to internally caused verbs, verbs that are externally caused, such as
break, never show this stative/eventive ambiguity. In particular, “a sentence like The
vase broke can never mean that the vase was in a state of being broken” (Rappaport
Hovav and Levin 1998: 125).
Rappaport and Levin also discuss the two other main aspectual classes: achieve-
ments and accomplishments. Whereas achievements have the uniform structure in
(22), accomplishments may or may not have an agentive component, see (23).
(22) [ become [ x <state> ] ]
(23) a. [ [ x act<manner>] cause [ become [ y <state> ] ] ]
b. [x cause [ become [ y <state> ] ] ]
Whereas those accomplishments that involve an intentional action correspond to
verbs which express an externally caused state (e.g. break, dry, harden, melt, open; Rap-
paport Hovav and Levin 1998: 109), the other type of accomplishment may be realized
asone of two major types. On the one hand, the structure in (23b) may be instantiated
with a “placeable object” (butter, oil, paper, tile, wax; ibid.: 109). On the other hand, the
state predicate may be realized as a pure location predicate,i.e., <place>, responsible
for verbs such as bag, box, cage, crate, garage and pocket (ibid.: 109).
Note that according to the verb structures discussed by Rappaport and Levin, cause
only occurs together with a complement that contains the become-operator. The au-
thors do not discuss whether it is possible for cause to occur together with stative pred-
icates that do not contain become. Hence, a stative verb containing cause is in principle
compatible with a decompositional account such as Rappaport Hovav and Levin 1998.
In sum, the structure for stative verbs, as far as the proposal of Levin and Rappaport
is concerned, only requires that there is a single (uniform) structure argument. Different
classes of stative verbs are not expected within the domain of lexical semantics.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
2.3.2 Constructionist views
2.3.2.1 Marantz: Distributed Morphology

Extending the idea that the verbal phrase consists of several “layers” or verbal heads
(c.f. Larson 1988, Travis 1994, Harley 1995, Pesetsky 1995, Kratzer 1996, among oth-
ers) in order to host the arguments, analyses conforming to the framework of Dis-
trubuted Morphology require that words consist of a category neutral root and a func-
tional head. This functional head turns the root into a lexical category such as verb,
noun or adjective (see, for example Halle and Marantz 1993, Marantz 1997, Marantz
2001). This idea is schematized in (24).
(24) vP
2
v root
With respect to verbs, this functional head also expresses the type of eventuality the
verb denotes. For example, there are different kinds of little v-projections in order to
capture causers, agents, and holder of states (see below).
2.3.2.2 Kratzer I: Stage-level and individual-level predicates

Kratzer 1995 discusses the difference between stage-level and individual-level predi-
cates. This terminology, which was first introduced by Carlson 1977, classifies predi-
cates into two groups.
Kratzer argues that stage-level predicates contain an additional argument in their
thematic grid. Individual-level predicates do not have this argument. This additional
argument is a spatiotemporal variable similar to the Davidsonian event variable (cf.
Davidson 1967).
All statives belong to the group of individual-level predicates. Kratzer distinguish-
es between two kinds of individual-level predicates (Kratzer 1995: 136): on the one
hand, there are individual-level predicates that are not unaccusative such as know and
be altruistic. These predicates have an external argument, bearing the experiencer or
the theme role. On the other hand, predicates such as belong to and be known to are
analyzed as individual-level predicates that are unaccusatives. Hence, they do not have
an external argument.
(25) Individual-level predicates that are not unaccusatives
a. know 〈experiencer, theme〉
b. altruistic 〈theme〉
[Kratzer 1995: 136 (27)]
(26) Individual-level predicates that are unaccusatives
a. belong 〈theme, goal〉
b. be known to 〈theme, experiencer〉
[Kratzer 1995: 136 (28)]
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
Following Diesing 1992, Kratzer bases her argument on the phenomenon of quantifier
split: in German main clauses, the subject may move to the sentence initial position,
leaving its quantifier behind. This kind of operation is only possible for stage-level
predicates and for unaccusative individual-level predicates as in (27a). Non-unaccusa-
tive individual-level predicates are ungrammatical, see (27b).
(27) a. Esel gehören ihm viele.
donkeys belong to him many
‘As for donkeys, there are many that belong to him.’
[Kratzer 1995: 137 (31c)]
b. *Bürger wissen das viele.
citizens know this many
‘As for citizens, many of them know this.’
[Kratzer 1995: 137 (29c)]
This difference is replicated with negative quantifiers. Kratzer argues that negative
quantifiers in German must be analyzed as nicht (not) plus a bare plural NP (ibid.:
145). As nicht is assumed to be base generated next to VP, subjects with negative quan-
tifiers must therefore be internal to VP. Because subjects of individual-level predicates
that are not unaccusatives must leave the VP, these are ungrammatical with negative
quantifiers (see (28a)).
(28) a. * ... weil das keine Kandidaten wissen.
... since this no candidates know
‘... since no candidates know this.’
[Kratzer 1995: 146 (52)]
b. ... weil ihr keine Fahrräder gehören.
... since to her no bicycles belong
‘... since she owns no bicycles’
[Kratzer 1995: 145 (49)]
The verb belong corresponds to German gehören, which has no external argument but a
dative possessor. Note that the verb besitzen (possess/own) belongs to the class of not unac-
cusative indiviudual-level predicates, since it passes alltests for the external argument.
In sum, both kinds of individual-level predicates lack the Davidsonian argument.
As far as the nature of the Davidsonian argument is concerned, Kratzer argues
(ibid.: 154 ff.) that it does not appear within the VP at S-structure, it shows up only at
LF; Davidsonian arguments are introduced by the argument structure of certain,
namely stage-level, predicates. Additionally, locatives and tense may introduce or li-
cense the Davidsonian variable as well.
It remains unclear whether Chomsky’s Principle of Full Interpretation (cf. Chom-
sky 1995) is violated here, as this principle requires that all elements that end up in the
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
syntactic structure are already present in the numeration. The principle prohibits that
new elements are added during the derivation.
Furthermore, Kratzer distinguishes between verbs that select well-behaved indefi-
nite objects and verbs that have ill-behaved ones.
(29) verbs selecting well-behaved indefinite objects:
contain, require, be close to, have
(30) verbs selecting ill-behaved indefinite objects:
like, appreciate, know, be responsible for, fit
Well-behaved indefinite objects are always interpreted existentially. According to
Kratzer, these objects remain within the VP and are therefore subject to existential
closure. In contrast, ill-behaved indefinite objects are not always interpreted existen-
tially, it is possible that they receive a generic reading. These two types of objects be-
have differently when occurring in when-clauses. Well-behaved but not ill-behaved
objects are grammatical in this type of construction.
(31) a. * When this proof contains a mistake, Mary will point it out to us.
[Kratzer 1995: 148 (57b)]
b. When Sue likes a movie, she recommends it to everyone.
[Kratzer 1995: 151 (62a)]
Only sentence (31b) is grammatical because the indefinite object is saved from exis-
tential closure by scrambling out of VP. Kratzer shows that only ill-behaved objects
allow for scrambling (see (33)).
(32) a. * ... falls ein Beweis einen Fehler nicht enthält.
... if a proof a mistake not contains
[Kratzer 1995: 152 (64a)]
b. * ... weil diese Zeitung einen schlechten Artikel meistens enthält.
... since this paper a bad article usually contains
[Kratzer 1995: 152 (68b)]
(33) a. ... falls ein Kritiker einen Film nicht mag.
... if a critic a movie not likes
[Kratzer 1995: 152 (65a)]
b. ... weil ein Pianist eine Sonate immer auswendig kann.
... since a pianist a sonata always by heart knows
[Kratzer 1995: 152 (71b)]
In (33), the direct object must have been scrambled out of VP, since it occurs to the left of
the adverbial immer, which marks the upper boundary of the VP. The English ill-behaved
verbs receive a generic interpretation, because they are not caught by existential closure.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
(34) no scrambling:
enthalten (contain), erfordern (require), grenzen (border), haben (have)
(35) scrambling:
mögen (like), schätzen (appreciate), beherrschen (master), verantwortlich sein
(be responsible), schwerfallen (struggle), passen (fit)
2.3.2.3 Extension by Hallman

Hallman 2004 extends Diesing’s claim that there are different subject positions for
stage-level and for individual-level predicates. He argues that the stage/individual-
level contrast is repeated predicate-internally, i.e., objects show different behavior
along the lines of this distinction as well. Hallman distinguishes between accusative
intensional verbs (AIV) such as seek, owe and hunt and transitive subject-experiencer
verbs (SEV) (fear, love, hate etc.).While members of the former class don’t show any
exceptional behaviour, members of the latter correspond to Diesing’s class of verbs
with ill-behaved objects. Hallman’s main point is “that quite generally weak objects of
SEVs are interpreted according to the individual-level pattern and weak objects of AIVs
are interpreted according to the stage-level pattern” (Hallman 2004: 720).
Stage-level subjects and objects of AIVs allow for a nonspecific intersective read-
ing of weak determiners, but not for a specific intersective nor a generic reading. Mil-
sark 1974 defines weak determiners as those that may occur in the existential con-
struction. Strong determiners, in contrast, are ungrammatical in this environment.
(36) Weak determiners
a. There is a unicorn in the garden.
b. There are many/several/two/few unicorns in the garden.
(37) Strong determiners
?? There is the/every/most unicorn in the garden.
Furthermore, Keenan 1996 shows that weak determiners are intersective. In order to
determine the meaning of a DP containing a weak determiner, the intersection of two
sets must be taken into consideration. To illustrate this point, Hallman (Hallman 2004:
709) uses the example “a fireman is available”. In order for this sentence to be true, the
intersection of the set of firemen with the set of available things must be non-empty. In
contrast, strong determiners are non-intersective.
Hallman 2004 shows that weak determiners, when occurring within stage-level subjects
or objects of AIVs, can only have a nonspecific reading.5 It is not possible to interpret these
determiners with a specific nor a generic reading. This is illustrated in (38) and Table 2.4.
5. It has been noted in the literature that opaque verbs like seek do not imply the existence of
their object. However, these verbs allow for both a specific and a non-specific reading.
(1) Die Irmi sucht eine CD.
The Irmi looks for a CD.
‘Irmi is looking for a CD.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Table 2.4 Possible interpretations of AIVs
Possible interpretations of AIVs
nonspecific specific generic
yes no no
(38) Stage-level subjects / objects of AIVs

a. A fireman is available. [Hallman 2004: 712 (16a)]
b. Three firemen are available. (nonspecific)
[Hallman 2004: 713 (19a)]
c. John is looking for a sorcerer.
[Hallman 2004: 721 (39a)]
d. John is looking for three sorcerers.
[Hallman 2004: 726 (56a)]
The opposite pattern occurs with weak subjects of individual-level predicates and weak
objects of SEVs. They easily allow for a specific intersective and for a generic reading,
but prohibit the nonspecific intersective interpretation.
(39) Individual-level subjects / objects of SEVs
a. A fireman is altruistic.
[Hallman 2004: 712 (16b)]
b. Three firemen are altruistic.
[Hallman 2004: 713 (19b)]
John fears a sorcerer.
[Hallman 2004: 721 (39b)]
d. John fears three sorcerers.
[Hallman 2004: 726 (56b)]
In order to account for this pattern, Hallman suggests the following structure for sub-
ject and object positions: external to the little v projection there is a position for strong
subjects (DSUBJ), followed by the position for individual-level subjects (dsubj) and the
Table 2.5 Possible interpretations of AIVs
Possible interpretations of SEVs
nonspecific specific generic
no yes yes
In (1), Irmi may either look for a CD no matter which one, or she might have a particular one in
mind. See Zimmermann 1993 for further discussion.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
position for strong objects (DOBJ). Stage-level subjects (δSUBJ) originate within νP. VP
accomodates the position for individual-level objects (dOBJ) and, finally, the locus of
stage-level objects (δOBJ).
(40) [DSUBJ ... [dSUBJ ... [DOBJ ... [VPδSUBJ v [dOBJ ... [VPδOBJ V]]]]]]
[Hallman 2004: 742 (92)]
Thus, the picture is repeated for subjects and for objects. The sequence for both is
strong NPs – weak NPs with individual-level interpretation – weak NPs with stage-
level interpretation. Both structures are connected with a twist: the highest position
for objects preceeds the lowest position for subjects.
In sum, Hallman relates the different positions with different functional layers of
the clause: first, theta heads such as v and V are responsible for the stage-level interpre-
tation of both subjects and objects. Second, functional heads that license aspectual
structure (T licenses outer aspect and Asp licenses inner aspect) host the NPs with
individual-level interpretation. Third, Hallman assumes that there are distinct agree-
ment phrases (AgrSP and AgrOP) which are responsible for strong NPs.
2.3.2.4 Kratzer II: Severing the external argument

In Kratzer 1996, a different possible relation between syntactic structure and the Dav-
idsonian argument is explored. In this paper, Kratzer argues that all external argu-
ments must be introduced by a functional head, Voice in her terms, which is generally
assumed to correspond to little v. Furthermore, it is assumed that “[t]he Event Argu-
ment is not syntactically realized at all” (Kratzer 1996: 133 fn.12).
The external argument, in contrast to internal arguments, does not add to any
particular interpretation of the predicate. For example, internal arguments but not
external ones may be part of idiomatic expression, a point originally made by Marantz
1984. Thus, the meaning of the verb take in (41) is dependent on its particular object.
(41) a. Take a leap
b. Take a leak
c. Take a piss
d. Take a break
[Marantz 1997: 207 (5a-d)]
In order to compute the semantics for the combination of the external argument and
the predicate, Kratzer introduces a new operation called Event Identification which
relates the external argument to the predicate via the identification of the two event
variables of the predicates. Although the event argument is not present in the syntax
anymore, it serves a crucial role for combining the verb with the external argument.
Depending on the type of the predicate, the Voice head may either introduce the
agent of an action or, in case of a stative predicate, the holder of the state (Kratzer 1996:
123). Only if the two predicates have compatible Aktionsarten, event identification
may take place.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Both action and stative predicates possess the Voice projection, which licenses
external arguments and checks structural Case. These two kinds of Voice head are the
only active Voice heads. However, Kratzer assumes that there may be non-active Voice
headsas well. In particular, “all other verbs start out with non-active voice markers, and
hence without an external argument” (Kratzer 1996: 123). These verbs may get an ex-
ternal argument by incorporating a preposition into the non-active Voice head. In this
way, Kratzer implements the unaccusative analysis of object-experiencer verbs origi-
nally put forward by Belletti and Rizzi 1988.
It follows from Kratzer’s claims that non-external arguments are always intro-
duced by the predicate itself. In sum, all verbs are headed by the Voice or little v projec-
tion. In order to derive the different verb classes with respect to argument structure,
little v comes in several types: active, stative and non-active, where both active and
stative Voice heads introduce external arguments. In contrast, non-active Voice may
only license an external argument via preposition incorporation and raising of a
former internal PP-argument. Within the account of Kratzer 1996 it is not possible to
have a bare VP projection.
2.3.2.5 Harley: Different types of v

In her dissertation, Heidi Harley (Harley 1995) discusses the typology of the little v
projection. She agrees with Kratzer 1996 that all external arguments are introduced by
this functional head. Similarly, Harley conforms to the claim that little v comes in two
different types: an active type for external arguments and transitive constructions, and
a non-active type for passive or unaccusative verbs. The non-active type doesn’t license
an external argument.
Harley redefines Kratzer’s account. She argues that the little v head corresponds to
an Event head which comes in two types: either it is causative and selects an external
argument, or it is a “be”-head which does not select an external argument and is used
for stative expressions.
The event argument (or the Voice head) is the border where l-syntax (lexical syn-
tax in the sense of Hale and Kratzer 1993) starts; above, there is clausal syntax. L-syn-
tax includes vP and all projections below. So, for Harley there is a separation between
clausal syntax and lexical syntax.
Below vP there is a basic element that forms a verb together with the Event head.
Basing her ideas on the work of Hale 1995, Harley argues that bases come in three dif-
ferent forms, depending on the number of arguments they take. Items selecting no
arguments are nouns, items selecting one argument boil down to adjectives, and ele-
ments which require two arguments are taken to be prepositions. Therefore, v com-
bines with either N, A or P to form a verb.
The causative nature of v is further developed in Folli and Harley 2005. Little v
comes now in one of three types: caus, do or become. The main point is that the
causative semantics is separated from the agentive interpretation. Little v may have
causative interpretation without an agentive one. Only the occurrence of do poses an
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
animacy restriction on the external argument. See also Kallulli 2006 for an account
regarding dative causers in unaccusative constructions that expands this idea to a
more general level.
2.3.2.6 Borer: Exoskeletal approach

Hagit Borer endorses a radical constructionist view regarding the lexicon/syntax in-
terface (Borer 1994, Borer 2005). For her, the lexicon contains the encyclopedia which
is a list of pairings between sound and meaning. These listemes do not bear any gram-
matical information. Additionally, there is a functional lexicon accommodating gram-
matical formatives. These are either f-morphs or certain head features. While f-morphs
correspond to free grammatical morphemes such as the English future auxiliary will,
head features have an abstract phonological shape. For example, the English past tense
marker is a head feature, indicated by Borer as 〈pst〉.
Functional heads are characterized as operator-variable pairs. The variables must
be assigned a range, and functional heads contain a categorial label which restricts the
set of elements, the functional operators, who are to bind the variable. The assignment
of the range can take place in different ways: either by direct range assignment or by
indirect range assignment. The former comes down to merging a grammatical forma-
tive, i.e., either merging an f-morph or a head feature directly. The latter, on the other
hand, allows for a quantificational adverb to bind the open variable of the functional
head. In addition, spec-head agreement may bind the variable as well, i.e., some ele-
ment in the specifier of the functional head may bind the open value. For instance, in
English possessors in SpecDP may assign definiteness to the D which they possess.
This mechanism of indirect range assignment is not available in traditional versions of
generative grammar such as X-bar theory. Grammatical formatives may bind more
than one open variable at once if its semantic properties are compatible.
In sum, the semantics of an item is computed by the combination of the concep-
tual value of a listeme and the semantics of the corresponding syntactic structure. As
syntactic structure plays the central part in the theory of Borer, she assumes that it is
this structure which corresponds to Universal Grammar. For her, functional structure
is innate and universal.
Borer’s main argument for pushing a constructionist perspective on argument
structure comes from variable behaviour verbs. A verb such as drop may be used tran-
sitive (Irmi dropped the stone.) or unaccusative (The stone dropped.). She claims that
some unaccusative verbs may be changed into non-unaccusatives. Because variable
behavior verbs exist, it would be redundant to have a distinct entry in the lexicon for
each of the variants. Borer stresses the fact that the lexicon is non-redundant. There-
fore, the different variants appear depending on the syntactic configuration where the
verbs are inserted.
Thus, arguments are not licensed via the lexical entry, nor within the lexicon.
Rather, arguments are licensed via the syntax. In particular, arguments are licensed in
the specifiers of functional projections. For example, what is usually called the external
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
argument (Williams 1981) is now termed the originator, denoting a special position
in the tree.
In the next few paragraphs, let’s see how the syntax of stativity is captured within
Borer’s theory. In general, Borer agrees that her theory needs to accommodate the
syntax of stative verbs. Regarding this point, she claims that “it is also clear that the
substantiation of such a proposal must rely on a full articulation of the structure of stative
predicates, a task beyond the scope of this work”. (Borer 2005: Chapter 18). Borer com-
mits herself to a Davidsonian approach (Davidson 1967) regarding the representation
of event structure in syntax. Therefore, she assumes that a special event projection
(EP) hosts the Davidsonian argument. The event phrase is a functional projection, the
range assignment to its variable corresponds to a mapping from predicates to events.
Range assignment happens by every element that occupies the specifier of the EP.
A phrase marker, according to Borer 2005, consists of the event projection (EP),
heading the clause. Below, TP is generated, subcategorizing for an aspect phrase (ASPQ),
which is a functional projection responsible for telic interpretation; likewise, accusative
case is checked in its specifier. DPs which move to ASPQ must have a quantized inter-
pretation in order for telicity to arise. Finally, the bare VP is the complement of ASPq.
Regarding statives, Borer argues that they contain an event projection, although
no special stative structure. Similarly, there is no dedicated atelic functional structure.
In general, atelic structures are characterized by either not projecting an ASPQ projec-
tion, or by not projecting a contentful ASPQ projection. Stativity and Quantity (the
predicate that is responsible for telicity) are both predicates of the event argument, i.e.,
the event argument may come in different types - stative for atelic events and quan-
tized for telic events. Therefore, both kinds of expressions must project the event
phrase layer. In contrast, activites lack this projection. Activities, then, are the default
case that arises when this functional layer is missing.
In Chapter 18, Borer postulates a distinct and elaborate structure for statives. She
argues that statives have a special functional stative event structure (SP) that is below
the EP layer. Compared to telic verbs, ASPQ and SP occupy the same position. Thus,
there is either ASPQ or SP, or nothing in case of atelic activities. SP, in principle, may
function as an adjecivizer, since some adjectives are stative, too. SP is taken to be higher
than the projection that licenses direct objects, but Borer leaves the question open
where SP is with respect to PT.
Table 2.6 Eventuality structure by Borer

Stative: [EP 〈e〉E ... [SP [VP/AP ]]]]]
Eventive, atelic (activity) [EP 〈e〉E [TP [VP ]]]]
Eventive, telic: [EP 〈e〉E [TP [ASPQ [VP ]]]]
[Borer 2005:ex. (25a-c)]
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
It is possible, for example in the case of statives, that EP does not license the orig-
inator role.
Borer criticizes the accounts which establish a battery of different little vs in order
to account for the different behaviour of verbs (cf. Harley 1995, Kratzer 1996, Folli and
Harley 2005). She argues that specifying as many different little v projections as there
are different argument structures boils down to the lexicalist’s point of view that every
kind of argument structure must receive a different syntactic type of projection. This
is, according to Borer, quite redundant.
2.3.2.7 Ramchand: A Post-Davidsonian view

Extending the theory of event decomposition of Pustejovsky 1991 and Hale and Key-
ser 1993, Ramchand argues that the Davidsonian account of event structure must be
overcome. She develops a post-Davidsonian view: the event argument itself is not part
of syntactic structure. Rather, the event of a verbal expression is determined by its
parts. These parts, which correspond to subtrees, are either characterized as a process
or as a stative event.
Following Hale and Keyser, Ramchand argues that the nature of theta roles is en-
tirely determined by their position in syntactic structure. The position of the argu-
ments within syntactic structure determines their role in argument structure. At the
same time, the position within syntactic structure determines their function with re-
spect to the aspectual interpretation.
Ramchand suggests five different participants instead of the traditional thematic
roles. First, there is a causer or initiator role that is assigned in SpecvP. Then, there are
two internal arguments, the undergoer, which is connected to the termination of an
event in case it is quantized, and the resultee, which is part of the resultant state. Both
are assigned in the specifier of VP. Finally, there is a non-aspectual argument called the
rheme. Rhematic material is not assigned in a specifier position, it is always assigned in
complement position. While aspectual arguments are restricted to DPs, non-aspectual
ones can be DPs, APs or PPs. Providing no function for the aspectual interpretation,
rhemes are parts of the description of the predicate.
The structure of a telic verb thus is as follows: a causing event represented by vP
initiates a process event. The process event is represented by VP, the complement of vP.
It terminates with a resultant event that is expressed by the resultant phrase RP, which
is the complement of VP. Note that the causing event and the resultant event are both
states. Only the process event is characterized as a process.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(42) vP
3
Initiator v’
3
v VP
3
Undergoer V’
3
V RP
3
Resultee R’
2
R XP
The structure of a stative verb is not as elaborate as the one in (42). It only consists of
a stative event and a rheme, i.e., its structure is made up only of the little v projection.
The specifier of vP, which is usually interpreted as a causer, is now understood as the
holder of the state. The rhematic material occupying the complement position further
specifies the predicate. It is important that statives have no VP projection, since they
do not denote aprocess. Similarly, they lack a RP projection. Their structure is depicted
in (43) [cf. Ramchand 2008: 55 (34)].
(43) vP
3
DP v’
Holder 2
v DP/NP
Rheme
The structure in (43) predicts that the class of stative verbs behaves completely homoge-
neously. A difference within the group of statives is not expected. Although Ramchand
allows the rheme to vary within DP, AP and PP, no systematic subgroups are predicted.
As we will see in the remainder of this thesis, the class of stative verbs must be
divided into several subclasses, each of them having a distinct lexical-semantic repre-
sentation. In particular, two main groups of stative verbs will emerge: on the one hand,
there are those verbs that allow for a stative reading only. On the other hand, there are
verbs that display a systematic stative/eventive ambiguity. In the following chapters, I
will argue that the ambiguity is due to the optional presence of the tscdo and/or the
become-operator. Since the structure in (43) is the only one available for stative verbs
in the framework of Ramchand 2008, the analysis suggested by her is too simple. It
predicts that there is onlya single, homogeneous class of stative verbs.
Moreover, each of those two groups that I am going to present in this thesis con-
sists of several classes of verbs that have a distinct argument structure. For example,
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
the group of ambiguous verbs contains object-experiencer verbs, verbs that undergo
the instrumental alternation, perception verbs and “dispositional”-verbs (like help). It
is not possible to capture this variety of different verbs nor the systematic ambiguity
with the structure in (43).
Finally, the group of verbs that allows for a stative reading only includes – among
others – measure verbs, subject-experiencer verbs like love and object-experiencer
verbs that assign dative case (e.g. appeal to). It is very likely that dative DPs occupy a
different structural position than common rhematic material. In particular, dative ex-
periencers behave differently from complements of measure verbs such as cost 5 euro,
thus posing another problem for Ramchand’s analysis.
2.3.3 Conclusion
In sum, the various approaches to argument realization, as different as they may be,
converge into three core questions. Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005 summarize
these as follows:
(44) “[C]urrent versions of all approaches – projectionist, constructional, and neo-
constructionist – share certain features. [...] [A]ll theories of event structure
distinguish between the verb root and the structural aspect of meaning or
event structure.[...] All approaches must assume some mechanism which
makes the various event structures, whether encoded syntactically or not,
available for combination with the root in a productive and compositional
way. All approaches agree that to a certain degree argument projection is de-
termined compositionally[.]”
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005: 192]
Regarding stative verbs, no clear picture has emerged yet. Rather, each view contains
more or less implicit assumptions about statives. Some ideas that are assumed by sev-
eral scholars include the following:
– Stative predicates are the smallest and simplest building-blocks of event strucutre.
– Stative verbs have a less complex structure than eventive verbs.
– Stative verbs are very similar to copular constructions.
– Stative verbs contain only a single (structural) argument which is the holder of
the state.
However, up to now these claims have not been studied in a thorough way nor is there
sufficient empirical evidence in order to substantiate this claim.
In what is to follow in the subsequent chapters, I will strongly question the as-
sumptions on stative verbs that have been put forward in the literature. The fact that
there are two main groups of stative verbs (those that allow for a systematic stative/
eventive ambiguity and those that don’t), each of them again containing different types
of statives, poses severe problems for the previous analyses.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are not the smallest and simplest building-blocks of event structure. The
systematic stative/eventive ambiguity shows that stative verbs may have quite a complex
underlying structure (take, e.g. the threaten-type verbs in Section 3.4), contrasting the two
“simple” mechanisms of rendering a verb eventive (the insertion of do and become).
Apart from the lack of the do and the become-operator, there is no property of
argument structure that stative verbs do not have. Stative verbs may contain a cause-
operator (as with verbs of the instrumental alternation, object-experiencer verbs (ac-
cusative), and dispositional verbs), and they may contain an external argument (as in
subject-experiencer verbs).
Not all stative verbs are similar to copular constructions. If this similarity holds at
all, it is only measure verbs (Section 4.3) and verbs that select for a PP-complement
(Section 4.4) that express a single property of the subject.
Before I continue with the investigation of the behavior of different kinds of stative
verbs, I will provide a working definition of stative verb in the next section.
2.4 A semantic definition: Stative verb
2.4.1 The ontology of Kimian and Davidsonian states
After having established the distinction between Davidsonian and Kimian statives in
the previous section, let’s look at the criteria Maienborn establishes in order to define
the class of Kimian statives. K-states are taken to be ontological objects. These objects,
being non-linguistic entities, are taken to be part of the world, therefore they have
properties on their own. Because of their abstract nature, K-states cannot be perceived.
These states are abstract objects which are located in time, but not in location. In par-
ticular, they are used for cognitive operations which include but are not limited to
linguistic mechanisms. Maienborn summarizes these properties in the following list.
(45) Ontological properties of K-states:
a. K-states, being abstract objects, are not accessible to direct perception
and have no location in space.
b. K-states, being abstract objects, are accessible to (higher) cognitive operations.
c. K-states can be located in time.
The ontological properties of K-states are reflected in linguistic structure. Hence, K-
states, contrasting Davidsonian statives, cannot be the complement of perception
verbs. Additionally, adverbial modification is severely restricted. Davidsonian states,in
contrast, do not show these restrictions on adverbial modification. K-states may not be
modified by manner adverbials; locative modifiers (in particular, event related locative
modifiers, but see below) are interpreted differently than they are with Davidsonian
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
statives. Furthermore, K-states can be detected via anaphorical reference. In other

words, anaphorical elements like this can refer to a preceding K-state.
An overview of the linguistic properties of K-states corresponding to the onto-
logical properties is listed in (46).
(46) Linguistic diagnostics for K-states:
a. K-state expressions cannot serve as infinitival complements of perception
verbs and do not combine with locative modifiers.
b. K-state expressions are accessible for anaphoric reference.
c. K-state expressions combine with temporal modifiers.
In turn, I will discuss the linguistic diagnostics in more detail: Section 2.4.4 treats the
infinitival complements of perception verbs, and Section 2.4.5.2 shows that it is not
possible to combine Kimian states with locative modifiers.
2.4.2 A filter that groups together D- and K-states
Both Kimian and Davidsonian statives must not be continued with this happened ....
Originally, this test was invented by Davidson 1967 in order to show that action sen-
tences contain a hidden event variable, since they may be continued with this hap-
pened .... Davidson argued that the anaphoric element this refers to the hidden event
argument. It was assumed then that verbs which fail this test lack the Davidsonian
argument. Hence, they are not part of action sentences but part of stative ones.
Maienborn 2003 shows that both K- and D-states fail this test. Neither of them
allow for the continuation with this happened ....
(47) Eva besaß ein Haus. *Das geschah während... statives
Eva owned a house. This happened while...
[Maienborn 2005b: (13a)]
(48) Eva stand am Fenster. *Das geschah während... D-state verbs
Eva stood at.the window. This happened while...
Nevertheless, anaphoric reference to the Kimian state is possible. The Kimian state in
(49) is picked up by the following das (this).
(49) Carolin wog zu viel. Das endete erst mit der Pubertät.
Carolin weighed too much. This ended not-until with the puberty.
Thus, it is not anaphoric reference that is excluded, but reference to an event argument.
The eventive character, stressed by the following verb happened, is only present in
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
action sentences. Anaphoric reference, on the other hand, is possible for action sen-
tences and for statives.
2.4.3 Syntactic tests
Maienborn 2003 only goes briefly through two syntactic tests for Kimian statives. For
her, these tests function only as a first characterization, whereas the tests based on
adverbial modification (see below) provide the major evidence for the Kimian state.
First, K-states cannot undergo event nominalization. This morphosyntactic proc-
ess creates a noun that refers to an iteration of events denoted by the respective verb.
Event nominalization can either be carried out with the help of the suffix -erei or with
the circumfix Ge-...-e. Action verbs, as in (50), allow this process freely. In (50), the
derived nominals Schreierei and Geschreie (screaming) denote an iteration of scream-
ing-events. See (51) for the unavailability with Kimian statives; (52) shows that this is
not dependent on the type of compound.
(50) schreien – Schreierei – Geschreie
scream – screaming – screaming
(51) * Romy-Schneider-Geähnle
Romy-Schneider-resemblance
[Maienborn 2003: p. 61 (38a), my translation]
(52) * Geähnle
resemblance
Second, do-periphrasis is not available for stative verbs. Certain variants of German, in-
cluding Bavarian dialects, allow for an optional insertion of tun (do).6 This tun is only
present with activity verbs such as lesen (read), illustrated in (53). Kimian statives do not
allow for tun-insertion at all as in (54), whereas Davidsonian statives are marginal in this
construction; see (55). Note that not all variants of German allow for do-periphrasis.
(53) Da Poidi duad grod a Heftl lesn. Viennese
The Poldi does right now a booklet read.
‘Poldi is reading a booklet right now.’
6. The insertion of tun is one of the genuine focus constructions in Bavarian/Viennese.

(1) Lesn duad di Iami imma nua in da Nochd. Viennese
Reading does the Irmi always only in the night.
‘It is reading that Irmi does only at night.’
However, the tun-insertion which is used as a test for stativity is not related to the focus con-
struction.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
(54) * Catherine tut diese Oper gut kennen.

Catherine does this opera well know.
(55) * Renate tut verlegen in der Ecke stehen.
Renate does bashfully in the corner stand.
Maienborn 2003 uses both event nominalization and do-periphrasis as a heuristic in
order to determine the class of Kimian statives. She does not use these tests as an argu-
ment for the existence of Kimian states.
2.4.4 Infinitival complements of perception verbs
In contrast to all other verb classes, statives cannot serve as the complement of per-
ception verbs.
(56) * Ich sah meine Tante Romy Schneider ähneln.
I saw my aunt Romy Schneider resemble.
[Maienborn 2005b: (9c)]
One problem that comes up when using this test is that psychological activities are not
easy to perceive. For example, one cannot see someone think. Therefore, when trying
to separate psychological states from psychological activities later on, this test cannot
be employed.
2.4.5 Tests based on adverbial modification
The major evidence for the difference between Kimian statives and verbs containing a
Davidsonian argument comes from adverbial modification. Following the Davidso-
nian paradigm, Maienborn assumes that the event argument is the place where certain
(namely, event-related) adverbs are connected to the linguistic structure. As adverbials
are always optional elements, they have to be anchored within the linguistic structure
at some point. Therefore, the presence of an adverbial hints at the existence of a Dav-
idsonian argument. Kimian states, on the other hand, do not contain the Davidsonian
argument. Hence, adverbial modification is severely restricted.
2.4.5.1 Manner adverbials

Manner adverbials modify the way an event happens. Thus, these adverbs need the pres-
ence of a Davidsonian argument in order to be used feliciously. Sentences without an
event argument such as Kimian state expressions do not allow for manner modification.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(57) * Paul besitzt sparsam / spendabel viel Geld.

Paul owns thriftily / generously much money.
[Maienborn 2005b: (30b)]
However, Davidsonian statives, bearing a full-blown event argument, do allow for
manner modification freely.
(58) Carol saß reglos / kerzengerade am Tisch. D-state verbs
Carol sat motionless / straight.as.a.die at.the table.
Similarly, comitatives may modify the internal structure of events but not of Kimian states.
Hence, they are excluded with the latter, but are grammatical with Davidsonian statives.
(59) * Maria ähnelt mit ihrer Tochter Romy Schneider. statives
Maria resembles with her daughter Romy Schneider.
(60) Paul schläft friedlich / mit seinem Teddy / ohne Schnuller. D-state verbs
Paul sleeps calmly / with his teddy / without dummy.
Certain manner adverbials such as mit Begeisterung (with enthusiasm) seem to occur
together with Kimian states, but they are all subject to a shifted interpretation. There-
fore, these examples do not provide counterevidence to the claim that Kimian states do
not allow for manner modification. See Maienborn 2003 for a detailed discussion of
these coerced readings.
2.4.5.2 Locative modifiers

The interpretation of local modifiers functions as a further hint that there the Kimian
state argument differs from the Davidsonian event argument. In order to find the rele-
vant evidence, different local modifiers have to be set apart. Maienborn illustrates in
(61) that there are at least three different local modifiers which must not be mixed up.
(61) weil in den Anden Schafe auf dem Marktplatz
because in the Andes sheep on the market place
an den Ohren markiert werden
at the ears marked are
First, in den Anden is a frame-setting adverbial. It does not specify the location where the
event is happening, but it provides a general context in which the sentence is interpreted.
Frame-setting adverbials, therefore, can be interpreted in several ways. With respect to
(61), the frame-setting adverbial can serve as a general restriction, i.e., it can mean that
people who live in the Andes do in general treat sheep this way. See Maienborn 2001 for
a detailed discussion of the possible interpretations of frame-setting adverbials.
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
The other two local modifiers are eventuality-related. They specify the location
where the event takes place. Crucally, in order to be located in space, an event must be
there in the first place. Maienborn distinguishes between external and internal eventu-
ality-related locative adverbials, which both modify the Davidsonian event argument.
Example (61) contains an external locative modifier (auf dem Marktplatz) and an in-
ternal one (an den Ohren).
As the eventuality-related locative modifiers are restricted to sentences which contain
a Davidsonian argument, they are ungrammatical with Kimian statives, as shown in (62).
(62) * Die Tomaten wiegen neben den Zwiebeln 1 Kg. statives
The tomatoes weigh besides the onions 1 kg.
Notice that locative modifiers are not excluded in general for Kimian statives. If they do co-
occur, as in (63), the locative adverbials must be interpreted as frame-setting adverbials.
(63) Eine Flasche Rotwein kostet im Restaurant 45 DM.
One bottle red wine costs in.the restaurant 45 DM.
[Maienborn 2001: 217 (60c)]
Example the locative modifier im Restaurant of example (63) is understood as a frame-
setter. In other words, (63) means that red wine costs 45 DM when it is sold in restau-
rants. It cannot mean that the bottle I bought at the super marked for 20 DM sud-
denly costs 45 DM the moment I enter the restaurant, carrying the bottle with me.
Thus, if locative modifiers do occur at all with Kimian statives, they are always inter-
preted as frame-setting adverbials.
Davidsonian statives, containing an event argument, do allow for eventuality-re-
lated locative modification. The modifier bei Calais of example (64) clearly specifies
where geographically the lying event took place.
(64) Die spanische Armada lag bei Calais vor Anker. D-state verbs
The Spanish Armada lay near Calais at anchor.
2.4.5.3 Degree readings of ein bisschen

In general, the modifier ein bisschen (a little bit) is ambiguous in two ways. It can be in-
terpreted either as a degree modifier or as modifying the temporal extension of an event.
Both readings are possible with an eventive verb like schwitzen (sweat) as in (65).
(65) Carol hat gestern ein bisschen geschwitzt. degree and eventive reading
Carol has yesterday a little bit sweated.
The eventive interpretation of ein bisschen in (65) is that Carol was sweating for a short
period of time. To illustrate an appropriate context for the time-span reading, imagine
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Carol is moving from one apartment to another, and yesterday she was sweating while
she carried a box of books. The rest of the day she only wrapped old newspapers around
her china, which didn’t cause her to sweat.
The degree interpretation describes how much sweat there was, i.e., how wet Car-
ol got. In the case of (65), her t-shirt might have stayed almost completely dry.
Crucially, the time-span reading is only available for verbs that bear a Davidsonian
argument, since ein bisschen specifies that the event didn’t last very long (see (66)).
(66) Paul hat ein bisschen im Garten gesessen. eventive reading
Paul has a little bit in.the garden sat.
[Maienborn 2003: (37b)]
In Kimian statives, there is no event argument, hence, a time-span reading is excluded.
Kimian statives therefore either allow for the degree reading only, as in (67a), or they
are completely ungrammatical, as (67b).
(67) a. Carol ähnelte ein bisschen ihrer Großmutter. only degree reading
Carol resembled a little bit her grandmother.
b. * Nach ihrer 5. Heirat hieß Liz ein bisschen Burton.
After her 5th marriage was-named Liz a little bit
[Maienborn 2005b: (39ca)]
Note that the degree reading is only possible for gradable predicates. Non-gradable
predicates like the one in (67b) are excluded for the modification with ein bisschen.
2.4.6 Summary
In the previous sections, several linguistic tests were described. These tests show that
the underlying Kimian state argument differs from the Davidsonian event argument.
This difference can be detected via several linguistic phenomena, in particular, adver-
bial modification is severely restricted for Kimian statives. In the next chapter, I will
use these tests as evidence that a Kimian stative reading exists with different verbs. The
list of criteria summarized below will function as a “checklist” that helps to identify
Kimian statives in the following chapters.
Syntactic tests:
– Event nominalization
– tun-insertion
Infinitival complements of perception verbs
Tests based on adverbial modification:
– Manner adverbials
– Locative modifiers
– Degree readings (ein bisschen)
Chapter 2. Theoretical considerations 
2.5 Other kinds of stative expressions
Apart from stative verbs, which are the topic of this dissertation, three other main
kinds of stative expressions exist: generic sentences, perfect constructions and the ad-
jectival passive. All of them render a sentence stative. In other words, these mecha-
nisms may stativize a sentence. Take, for example, a telic expression such as eat an
apple. This verb phrase is clearly eventive when used in contexts such as Last sunday,
Mary ate an apple. Such verb phrases may be interpreted stative, once they are part of
a generic construction, or if they are used in the perfect, or in the adjectival passive.
(68) a. Last Sunday Mary ate an apple.
b. Maria ißt Äpfel. (generic)
Maria eats apples.
‘Maria is eating apples.’
c. Maria hat einen Apfel gegessen. (perfect)
Maria has an apple eaten.
‘Maria ate an apple.’
d. Der Apfel ist aufgegessen. (adjectival passive)
The apple is up-eaten.
‘The apple is eaten.’
Lexical statives, on the other hand, are verbs that are stative in the first place, i.e., they
are stative without a generic operator, and they are stative even if they do not appear in
perfect tense. Those statives, which are not derived, are the topic of the current work.
Nevertheless, let’s take a brief look on the other main mechanisms for stativiz-
ing a sentence.
2.5.1 Generic expressions
Krifka et al. 1995 distinguish two main types of genericity: reference to a kind and gen-
eral property. Example (69) illustrates the former case.
(69) The potato was first cultivated in South America.
[Krifka et al. 1995: 2 (1a)]
In this example, the noun phrase the potato does not refer to a particular potato, but to
the kind of potato. Hence, the sentence does not describe the particular event of
cultivating the very first potato ever, but refers to the start of the cultivation of potatoes
in general. Very often, reference to a kind is done with bare plurals, such as Potatoes
were first cultivated in South America.
The second kind of generic expressions, general properties or characterizing sen-
tences are exemplified in (70). Characterizing sentences describe properties that peo-
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
ple do generally or as a habit. Hence, so called habitual sentences are related to generic
constructions as well.
(70) John smokes a cigar after dinner.
[Krifka et al. 1995: 3 (2a)]
Example (70) describes a habit of John: he usually smokes a cigar after dinner. Therefore,
it is not a single event of smoking that (70) refers to, but a whole series of such events.
2.5.2 Perfect as a stativizer
Perfect sentences such as (71) show a similar behavior to stative ones. For example,
Katz 2003 discusses the similarities between the two.
(71) Irmi has eaten a cookie.
Both statives and perfect sentences, e.g., have a present orientation. They are allowed
to occur in their simple form, whereas other types of expressions must occur in the
progressive, in order to be acceptable in a sentence bearing present tense.
Still, the perfect applies to a verb that is already given, and it does not affect the lexical-
semantic structure of words. Therefore I do not discuss the perfect in what is to follow.
2.5.3 Adjectival passive
Another construction that qualifies as stative is the adjectival passive. A substantial

amount of work regarding the German Zustandspassiv (including, among others,
Haiden 2005, Helbig and Kemptner 1973, Kratzer 2000, Maienborn 2007a, Rapp 1997,
Rapp 1998) has dealt with the question if the verb form in sentences such as (72) is
lexically or syntactically derived.
(72) Das Bett ist zerwühlt.
The bed is ruffled.
‘The bed is ruffled.’
As it may be, the adjectival passive is not a base form of a verb. As the scope of this
book concentrates on the lexical-semantic structure of underived verb forms, I leave
aside the question of the adjectival passive.
chapter 3
Stative/eventive ambiguities
3.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses a number of verbs which display a stative/eventive reading, i.e.,
several types of verbs exist that allow for a stative reading as well as an eventive one. In
the following sections, this ambiguity will be discussed in detail, whereby the elements
that are responsible for the eventive reading will be identified. Thus, the questions that
guide this chapter are: what kind of grammatical mechanism is responsible for the
eventive / the stative reading? Does a systematic set of alternations exist and if so, why
should that be the case?
Verbs that display the stative/eventive ambiguity are verbs that undergo the in-
strumental alternation (e.g. surround, obstruct), object-experiencer verbs assigning
accusative case (e.g. depress, frighten), dispositional verbs (help), threaten-type verbs
and perception verbs (see, hear).
This chapter is organized as follows. A section is devoted to each of the verbs that
display the stative/eventive ambiguity. Within each section, I will first examine the verbs
with the help of the tests described in Section 2.4. Next, the event structure will be iden-
tified. Crucially, these verbs express a kind of result state that is created. Different kinds
of adverbials help to identify the presence of this state. Finally, I will suggest a lexical-
semantic structure for each of the verbs that display a stative/eventive ambiguity.
3.2 Ambiguity due to instrumental alternation
3.2.1 Introduction
One group of verbs that are ambiguous between a stative and an eventive reading are
verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation.
When Kratzer 2000 discusses different kinds of adjectival passives, she comes
across certain verbs which are ambiguous between a stative and an eventive reading.
These include obstruct, surround, cover, support and illuminate. Kratzer points out that
some psych verbs like depress and worry (object experiencer verbs) alternate between
these readings as well (Kratzer 2000: 9). In the following section, I will concentrate on
the former group; the latter one is discussed in a separate section.
Kratzer 2000 characterizes these verbs as having a Davidsonian event argument,
or – in case of the stative reading – a state argument, together with a target state
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
argument (like an obstructed blood vessel). Kratzer points out that verbs like obstruct
always denote a causal relationship. In case of the eventive variant, the verb expresses
a causal relation between the event and the resultant state. The stative variant is quite
similar, here the causal relation holds between two states.
This difference is illustrated with animate, agentive subjects (73a) and non-agen-
tive subjects (73b), respectively.
(73) a. The army surrounds the village.
b. The wall surrounds the village.
Several other verbs display the same ambiguity, a non-exhaustive list is given in (74).
(74) füllen (fill), schmücken (decorate), überdachen (roof), bedecken (cover),
verbinden (connect), stören (disturb), versperren (lock), blockieren (block)
All of these verbs undergo the instrumental alternation, i.e., they either have an agent
bearing nominative case together with a possible instrumental phrase introduced by a
PP, or there is only the instrument present, this time bearing nominative case. Most
important, the agentive version is eventive, whereas the instrumental counterpart cor-
responds to the stative causation verbs described by Kratzer. The pattern of the instru-
mental alternation is illustrated in (75) and (76).
(75) a. Die Irmi füllt die Vase mit Wasser.
The Irmi fills the vase with water.
‘Irmi is filling the vase with water.’
b. Wasser füllt die Vase.
Water fills the vase.
‘Water is filling the vase.’
(76) a. Der Poldi schmückt die Torte mit Kerzen.
The Poldi decorates the cake with candles.
‘Poldi is decorating the cake with candles.’
b. Kerzen schmücken die Torte.
Candles decorate the cake.
‘Candles are decorating the cake.’
Kratzer demonstrates that the instrument is independent from the agent. When dis-
cussing the case of The tissue obstructs the blood vessel, Kratzer points out that this state
could have been created without there being an agent, i.e., the blood vessel could have
been obstructed ever since the person’s birth. Still, even this case is part of the more
general pattern of instrumental alternation, since the verb obstruct takes part in the
instrumental alternation, even if that particular obstruction of the blood vessel is not
caused by an agent. The instrument and the agent are independent; any possible rela-
tion between them is due to world knowledge.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
A similar case regarding the stative/eventive ambiguity with respect to verbs with
a causative flavor is reported by Torrego 1998 and Pesetsky and Torrego 2004 for Span-
ish. Although the cases described do not involve the instrumental alternation explic-
itly, the pattern that emerges nevertheless fits into the current discussion.
As reported by Torrego, Spanish direct objects can be either marked with abstract
accusative (i.e., bare accusative) or with marked accusative. If marked accusative is as-
signed, the object is licensed via the preposition a. In general, the marked accusative is
used when the subject is agentive, i.e., if there is a dative preposition introducing the
accusative object, the subject must denote an agent. It is not grammatical to use the
marked accusative together with a non-agentive subject.
This ambiguity is demonstrated with the verb tapar (block). In (77a), only the sta-
tive reading is available where the police blocked the view of the speakers. In this case,
it is not neccessary that the police did an intentional action as to disturb the view. They
might be doing something else but happen to hide the speakers. However, there is no
action going on. In contrast, (77b) refers to the (intentional) action of the police which
results in the view being blocked. Only in this latter, eventive case, the object is intro-
duced via the preposition a.
(77) a marks non-stativity: tapar
a. La policía tapaba los oradores.
‘The police blocked the view of the speakers.’ [stative only]
b. La policía tapaba a los oradores.
‘The police moved so as to block the view of the speakers.’ [non-stative only]
[Pesetsky and Torrego 2004: (17ab)]
However, the alternation between marked and structural accusative case is intertwined
with some facts about definiteness. As Torrego 1998 discusses (Chapter 2.8), the case
alternation only appears with indefinites. As soon as definites come into play, the
marked accusative and therefore the active reading becomes obligatory.
(78) a. Escondieron *(a) su amigo.
pro hid to their friend
[Torrego 1998: 66 (59b)]
b. Llamaron *(a) los bomberos.
‘They called the firemen’
[Torrego 1998: p. 66(60a)]
Similarly, partitives require the marked accusative and count as definites in Spanish.
(79) Escondieron *(a) cinco de ellas.
pro hid (to) five of them
[Torrego 1998: 68 (64a)]
In sum, the Spanish data support the claim that two different readings of verbs with a
causative flavor exist: one where the agent is engaged in some kind of action causing
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
some kind of effect, the other where only the state of affairs is described, involving
neither an action of an agent nor an increasing development of the resultant state.
3.2.2 Tests for a Kimian stative reading
Whereas the agentive variant is clearly eventive (see (80)), the instrumental counter-
part has a Kimian stative reading, as indicated in the next few paragraphs. Passing the
tests for a Davidsonian reading, the agentive sentence in (80) is compatible with an
eventuality-related locative modifier, a manner adverbial and an instrumental phrase.
(80) Die Irmi schmückt die Torte in der Küche phantasievoll mit Kerzen.
The Irmi decorates the cake in the kitchen creatively with candles.
‘Irmi is decorating the cake creatively in the kitchen.’

Event-related manner adverbials are excluded with Kimian stative verbs. Nevertheless,
verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation seem to allow them freely. Consider
the examples in (81).
(81) a. Die Irmi schmückt die Torte auf eine phantasievolle Weise.
The Irmi decorates the cake in an imaginative way.
‘Irmi is decorating the cake in an imaginative way.’
b. Kerzen schmücken phantasievoll die Torte.
Candles decorate imaginatively the cake.
‘Candles are decorating the cake imaginatively.’
c. Die Kerzen schmücken auf phantasievolle Weise die Torte.
The candles decorate in imaginative way the cake.
‘The candles are decorating the cake in an imaginative way.’
d. * Die Kerzen schmücken auf bunte Weise die Torte.
The candles decorate in colorful way the cake.
‘The candles are decorating the cake in a colorful way.’
e. Das Spitzendeckerl schmückt den Tisch auf elegante Weise.
The lace cloth decorates the table in elegant way.
‘The lace cloth is decorating the table in an elegant way.’
It is not surprising that the agentive variant of the verb schmücken (decorate) in (81a)
allows for event-related manner modification. The adverbial auf phantasievolle Weise
(in an imaginative way) expresses that the way of decorating was imaginative, i.e., Irmi
had some good ideas about the arrangement of the candles which – in the end – caused
the cake to look beautiful.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
However, example (81d) suggests that the set of possible manner adverbials is re-
stricted. Although one can easily imagine a situation where a brown cake is decorated
with colorful candles, the corresponding sentence is nevertheless unacceptable.
Contrary to the expectation, the stative variants of verbs that undergo the instru-
mental alternation do not prohibit manner adverbials. Hence, (81c) and (81e) are not
ruled out. This fact is further illustrated in (82b).
(82) a. Die Glücksfee hat das Konto auf magische Weise gefüllt.
The fortune fairy has the account in a magical way filled.
‘The fortune fairy filled the account in a magical way.’
b. Das Geld hat das Konto auf magische Weise gefüllt.
The money has the account in a magical way filled.
‘Money filled the account in a magical way.’
However, I take these adverbials not to be event-related, but to specify the result of a
previous action. In particular, the examples in (81c), (81e) and (82b) do not contain
event-related manner adverbials, but adverbials thatspecify the resultant state. There-
fore, the judgment of these data does not count as evidence that verbs that undergo the
instrumental alternation describe an event that can happen in a certain way.
Resultative adverbs, like in the ones in (83), have been discussed by Geuder 2000
and Maienborn 2003. Crucially, these adverbs do not specify the way an event hap-
pened, but they express the way the resultant state was. So, in (83), the way of a created
resultant state is specified, i.e., the size of the opening and the amount of plants.
(83) a. Ein Fenster war weit offen.
A window was wide open.
[Maienborn 2003: 97 (93a); my translation]
b. Die Beete waren üppig bepflanzt.
The flower beds were amply planted.
[Maienborn 2003: 97 (93b); my translation]
Most important, result adverbs are only acceptable if there was an action that resulted
in the given state. Example (84) is odd because caves, unlike doors, never change their
state of being open.
(84) ?# Die Höhle war weit offen.
The cave was wide open.
[Maienborn 2003: 98 (96); my translation]
Hence, I take (81c) and (81e) to be resultative adverbials much like those in (83). In
particular, it is the decoration that is imaginative or elegant. Still, the question of the
exact nature of how resultative adverbials are licensed with verbs that undergo the in-
strumental alternation remains open.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
3.2.2.2 Event-related locative modifiers

When occurring with Kimian stative verbs, locative modifiers cannot be interpreted in
a way such that they modify the event. The only possible interpretation is that they are
understood as frame-setters, thus contrasting Davidsonian statives and eventive verbs,
which allow for event-related modification.
(85) a. * Auf dem Tisch haben Kerzen die Torte geschmückt.
On the table have candles the cake decorated.
‘On the table, candles decorated the cake.’
b. * Wasser hat die Vase neben dem Computer gefüllt.
Water has the vase next to the computer filled.
‘Water filled the vase next to the computer.’
Locative modifiers are not allowed. Note that (85a) and (85b) are grammatical if the
locative modifier is interpreted as specifying the location of the accusative object, i.e.,
the cake can be understood to be on the table and the vase to be next to the computer.
The locative modifiers cannot be interpreted in a way that the state of decorating or
filling holds at a particular location.
3.2.2.3 Degree readings

Next, consider the different readings a degree expression such as ein bisschen (a little)
may get. While Davidsonian (eventive) verbs allow for both a degree and a time-span
reading, Kimian stative verbs do not permit the latter. Hence, the ein bisschen-test indi-
cates that verbs that are part of the instrumental alternation do have a true Kimian
stative reading, as the time-span reading is not allowed for the examples given in (86).
(86) a. Kerzen haben die Torte ein bisschen geschmückt.
Candles have the cake a little decorated.
‘Candles decorated the cake a little.’
b. Wasser hat die Vase ein bisschen gefüllt.
Water has the vase a little filled.
‘Water filled the vase a little.’
Regarding (86a), the modifier expresses the fact that the degree of decoration was lit-
tle. Thus, the sentence is compatible in a situation where a pretty plain cake was deco-
rated with some candles, enhancing the over all look just a little bit. However, it is not
compatible with a situation where the candles decorated the cake only for a short pe-
riod of time (e.g. because they were burnt down soon).
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
3.3.3 Stative causation?
3.2.3.1 Counterfactual analysis of causation

After having established that verbs of causation can have a Kimian stative reading, I
would now like to take a closer look at the notion of “stative causer”. This section first
discusses the notion of “cause” as developed by David Lewis, and then goeson to de-
scribe how these insights are captured in Semantic Form.
Causation, as analyzed by Lewis 1973 corresponds to a counterfactual relation
between two propositions. In his terms, only the occurrence of an event c, expressed
as O(c), and the occurrence of an event e, labeled O(e), can stand in a causal relation.
The occurrence of an event such as O(c) is a proposition, i.e., it is either true or false
that the event c has occurred.
Lewis takes causation to be expressed directly by the English complementizer be-
cause, which relates two propositions by connecting two sentences explicitly. Verbs can
express causation as well, but they do it in a more indirect way than complementizers.
Crucially, only a proposition but not a noun or a person can stand in the causal relation,
excluding an “assignment” of causation to a particular theta role. The only thing that
causation allows, at least in the way it is defined by Lewis, is that two elements, i.e., two
propositions, can stand in relation to each other. Of course, this relation can be labeled
causation or causative relation, but that is only a metatheoretical term.
Lewis 1973 captures causation in terms of counterfactuals. Roughly speaking, the
idea embraces the following two conditions. The proposition expressing the result only
holds if the causing one holds, and if the causing proposition does not occur, the re-
sulting one doesn’t either. The two conditions can be rephrased in terms of events: a
proposition “s1 causes s2 if and only if both s1 and s2 occur but s2 would not have occured
if s1 had not occurred” (Wunderlich 1997: 35). Dowty 1979 illustrates the counterfac-
tual analysis of causation with the help of the following example.
(87) a.
John opened the door.
b.
The door was not open just before John acted.
c.
The door was open just after John acted.
d.
The door would not have become open on that particular occasion if John
had not acted and all else had remained the same.
[Dowty 1979: 99f. (116)-(117)]
Dowty points out that the cause relation may not only hold between two occurrences
of events, but also between two occurrences of states. He illustrates this non-eventive
causation in natural language with the sentence in (88), crediting Charles Fillmore.
(88) Mary’s living nearby causes John to prefer this neighborhood.
[Dowty 1979: 103 (122)]
Most important, Lewis “does not assume a relation of temporal priority between cause
and effect and can thus potentially deal with phenomena such as backwards causation
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
and closed causal loops.” (Dowty 1979: 109). Therefore, the possibility that the cause
and the effect hold simultaneously is allowed as well.
Of course, there is much more to say about causation. On the one hand, there is a
vast discussion on this topic within philosophy which I won’t go into here. On the
other hand, many open questions regarding the causation relation between events
(e.g., direct vs. indirect causation, the size of events that take part in causation etc.)
cannot be addressed at this point either. The aim of the previous section is only to re-
mind the reader of two things: first, only propositions but not individuals may stand
in the causation relation. Second, the causation relation is not limited to (occurrences
of) events, but includes relations among (occurrences of) states as well.
3.2.3.2 Causation and event structure: A note on Kaufmann and Wunderlich

While the philosophical view on causation converges on the claim that causation is a
relation between two propositions or two events, the linguistic perspective questions
how language expresses these relations. What kind of mechansims are there to ex-
pressa causative relation? In general, there exist different possibilities of expressing
such a relation. For example, one might use two clauses and a complementizer like
because. Other causative constructions that appear across languages include the usage
of an extra verb like make, or some special causative morphology (cf. Marantz 1984,
Baker 1988 among many others).
Of interest here are lexical causatives, i.e., verbs that describe a causative relation
but do not employ explicit syntactic or morphological means. Wunderlich 1997 dis-
cusses two mechanisms which underlie causative verbs. In particular, Wunderlich fo-
cuses on lexical causatives such as empty the bottle and resultative constructions such as
drink the bottle empty. It is the mechanism that he develops for lexical causatives which
provides useful insight for stative causers. First, consider lexical causatives as in (89).
(89) *Er leerte die Flasche.
he emptied the bottle
[Wunderlich 1997: 35 (8a)]
Wunderlich argues that constructions as the one in (89) describe relations between
individuals and propositions (Wunderlich 1997: 36). This contrasts with the standard
philosophical view which requires causation to be a relation between two proposi-
tions. But, as Wunderlich points out, it is not possible to have a sentential subject de-
noting the causing proposition with deadjectival verbs like to empty. Therefore,
Wunderlich concludes that the causing situation is not present in the underlying struc-
ture of lexical causative verbs. It is only a not further specified entity that is present in
the Semantic Form of lexical causatives. Hence, the structure of to empty is as in (90).
(90) to empty: cause(x, become(empty(y))) (s)
[Wunderlich 1997: 36 (11)]
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Cause, as characterized by Wunderlich 1997, “abstract[s] away from any properties of

the causing situation except the existence of an agent or causer entity.” (Wunderlich
1997: 36). Thus, cause does not provide any constraints on the first argument. It is
designed to accommodate all possible kinds of subjects.
Wunderlich contrasts lexical causatives with resultative constructions as in (91).
(91) Er trank die Flasche leer.
he drank the bottle empty
[Wunderlich 1997: 35 (8b)]
According to Wunderlich 1997, resultative constructions are “extensions of verbs”
(Wunderlich 1997: 36) that include a resultant state which is expressed by the addition
of the conjunct become(P(y)) in the representation at SF. Hence, (91) is assigned the
structure in (92).
(92) drink empty: {drink(x,z) & become(empty(y))}(s)
[Wunderlich 1997: 36 (12)]
Following Kaufmann 1995a and Kaufmann 1995b, Wunderlich postulates two princi-
ples that govern the well-formedness of complex lexical entries such as (92). These two
principles restrict the possible structures of complex predicates, i.e., of predicates that
consist of two conjuncts. Simple predicates such as activity verbs are not discussed by
Wunderlich, and are taken not to fall under those principles.
First, the Coherence principle given in (93) requires the propositions (or the con-
juncts) to be interpreted either causally or contemporaneously.
(93) Coherence
A lexical SF conjunction is contemporaneously or causally interpreted.
[Wunderlich 1997: 36 (13)]
Second, the Connexion principle in (94) governs the position of the become operator
within the structure of causatives. According to (94), the transition must be in the
second conjunct; it is not allowed to occur in the first conjunct. Therefore, a structure
which contains a become operator in its first conjunct is ruled out by (94).
(94) Connexion
The second member in a lexical SF representation specifies inferences about
the first member.
[Wunderlich 1997: 42 (31)]
Apart from the distinction between deadjectival verbs and resultative constructions,
Wunderlich 1997 does not make any further claims about the representation of lexical
causative verbs: it remains open whether the cause-operator or the structure consisting of
two conjuncts is best for representing causative relations in general. For example, Wunder-
lich offers both the structures in (95b) and (95c) when discussing three-place verbs.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(95) a. Sie gab ihm ein Wörterbuch.

she gave him dat a dictionary acc
b. λz λy λx λs cause(x, become poss(y,z))(s)
c. λz λy λx λs {act(x, ...) & become poss(y,z)}(s)
Of course, one could argue that the structure involving of two conjuncts should only
be used if sentential subjects are allowed, as the two conjuncts represent the two prop-
ositions which stand in the cause relation directly. This is clearly not the case with
(95a). Sentential subjects are not possible with three-place verbs such as give.
(96) *That Mary moved the book through the room, gave him the dictionary.
Although this is clearly a disadvantage of the structure in (95c), Wunderlich does
not exclude it.
Moreover, Kaufmann 1995a states that a structure such as (97) is ruled out if the
two conjuncts do not share an argument and are not causally related subsituations.
(97) *[P(x) & Q(y)]
[Kaufmann 1995a: 199 (2)]
(98) Coherence of Situations
The participants of a situation encoded by a verb must be meaningfully related.
[Kaufmann 1995b: 86 (P1)]
The principle of Coherence rules out possible verb structures like the one in (99),
where a certain thing (say a bomb) explodes and another thing (say the sky) lights up
at the same time.
(99) §[explode(x) & light-up(y)]
[Kaufmann 1995b: 85 (14a)]
Kaufmann concludes that it is not sufficient for two conjuncts to occur at the same time
to be able to form a verb structure. In order to form a representation that fulfills the
requirements of grammar, the two conjuncts must be related in a “meaningful” way, i.e.,
“a (more or less) immediate “manipulation” of the participant of the resulting situation by
the participant of the causing situation must be construable” (Kaufmann 1995b: 86).
In conclusion, I will follow Wunderlich and use the cause-operator to represent
causative relations within a single verb. Moreover, I take the structure consisting of
two conjuncts represent resultative constructions, which do not require such a tight a
relation between the arguments of the first conjunct and those of the second one.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
3.2.4 The structure of stative verbs of causation
3.2.4.1 The stative reading

According to the previous section, the lexical representation of a causative relation boils
down to a predicate that contains a cause-operator. Consider, for example, (100).
(100) a. Der Baum hat die Aussicht auf den See gestört.
The tree has the view to the lake disturbed.
‘The tree blocks the view of the lake.’
b. Die Haare verstopfen den Abfluß.
The hair obstruct the drain.
‘Hair obstruct the drain.’
(101) a. λy λx λs cause(x, disturb(y))(s) (tree) (view) =
= λs cause(tree, disturb(view))(s)
b. λy λx λs cause(x, obstruct(y))(s) (hair) (drain) =
= λs cause(hair, obstruct(drain))(s)
Note that it is possible to construct a paraphrase containing a sentential subject for
these cases. Example (102) shows the sentential subject in its base position; in example
(103) it is extraposed.
(102) a. Daß ein Baum vor dem Fenster steht, behindert die Aussicht.
That a tree in front of the window stands disturbs the view.
‘It is blocking the view that there is a tree in front of the window.’
b. Daß Haare im Abfluß sind, verstopft ihn.
That hair in the drain are obstructs it.
‘It obstructs the drain that there are hair in it.’
(103) a. Es behindert die Aussicht, daß ein Baum vor dem
It disturbs the view that a tree in front of the
Fenster steht.
window stands.
‘It is blocking the view that there is a tree in front of the window.’
b. Es verstopft den Abfluß, daß Haare drinnen sind.
It obstructs the drain that hair inside are.
‘It obstructs the drain that there are hair in it.’
The important point here is that stative causers do not contain an activity or a transition
operator. The cause-operator alone does not give rise to an eventive interpretation.
As far as the syntactic structure is concerned, I assume that the cause-operator is
hosted within a V-head. The stative causative verb, then, projects only a VP layer,
which expresses a resultant state. This state is subject to optional become-modification
(see below).
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(104) a. Die Haare verstopfen den Abfluß.

the hair obstruct the sink.
‘Hair obstruct the sink.’
b. VP
wo
DP V
6 wo
die Haare V V
cause wo
DP V
6 verstopfen
den Abfluß
3.2.4.2 Stative/eventive ambiguities

As pointed out in Section 3.2, certain verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation
are ambiguous between an eventive and a stative reading. While the agentive alternant
(Sue is obstructing the traffic with her car) is of course eventive, the instrumental reali-
zation (The tissue obstructed the blood vessel) is stative. This was shown in Section 3.2.2,
the structure is given in (105).
(105) Stative:
a. Das Gewebe verstopfte das Blutgefäß.
The tissue obstructed the blood vessel.
‘Tissue obstructed the blood vessel.’
b. λy λx λs cause(x, obstruct(y)) (s) (blood vessel) (tissue) =
= λs cause(tissue, obstruct(blood vessel))(s)
The agentive reading contains a subject which is intentionally doing a certain action in
order to bring about the resultant state. In the case of obstruction as in (107), the sub-
ject Irmi might park her truck in such a way that no other vehicle can pass. I take this
kind of agent, which renders the sentence eventive, to be licensed by a do-operator.
Do expresses the fact that a person is engaged in doing something. For example, Dow-
ty 1979 defines it in the following way: a certain proposition “is under the unmediated
control of the agent (individual denoted by α)” (Dowty 1979: 118).
(106) ☐[do(α,ϕ) ↔ ϕ ∧ u.t.u.c.o.a. (ϕ)]]
[Dowty 1979: 118 (152)]
Several possibilities of how to best capture the causer vs. agent distinction have been
made in the literature. For example, some recent analyses of the agentive/causative
alternation conclude that little v comes in different types (e.g. Harley 1995, Folli and
Harley 2005) depending on the kind of subject they license. According to this line of
thought, there could be a stative little v for the trigger argument and an agentive little
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
v that licenses the animate agent. In recent minimalist terms, this would mean that
there is a feature of the relevant type (or different sets of features) in the respective
verbal projection (see also Kallulli 2006 for this line of thought).
A slightly different solution has been offered in Arad 1998b. In this approach,
there is no little v layer in case of a trigger argument, whereas an agent argument re-
quires a full verbal projection including little v. In this way, the inventory of verbal
heads reflects the difference between an agent and a trigger argument.
As it may be, I do not prefer one particular solution. Regarding the question what
kind of mechanisms allow for a stative/eventive ambiguity, the aforementioned ap-
proaches differ only with respect to the name of the label or the feature. For now, I
leavethe question aside by which functional head or feature the subject is licensed, but
see Chapter 7 for a detailed discussion. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that an agen-
tive subject requires a do-operator, whereas a bare causer argument does not. Hence,
the nature of the distinction between agent and causer arguments is reflected in the
presence or absence of the well-known do-operator (cf. Dowty 1979 and followers).
For the sake of concreteness, I call the node hosting do little v.
In sum, the do-operator requires two arguments: an agent and a proposition. The
agentive reading of lexical-causative verbs incorporates the do-operator.
(107) Agentive:
a. Die Irmi verstopft die Straße mit ihrem Lastwagen.
The Irmi obstructs the street with her truck.
‘Irmi is obstructing the street with her truck.’
b. λz λy λx λs do(x, cause(y, obstruct(z))) (s) (Irmi) (truck) (street) =
= λs do(Irmi, cause(truck, obstruct(street))) (s)
As far as the phrase-structure representation is concerned, I take the do-operator to
occupy a functional projection which I label little v in order to distinguish it from the
stative part of the verbal projection (big VP).
(108) vP
wo
DP v
6 3
Irmi v VP
do wo
DP V
6 3
mit dem Lastwagen V V
cause 3
DP V
6 verstopft
die Straße
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Nevertheless, it is possible for the instrumental alternant (the one lacking an agent) to
receive an eventive interpretation as well. This eventive reading arises if an adverbial
expressing gradual change like nach und nach (bit by bit) is added.
(109) Das Gewebe hat nach und nach das Blutgefäß verstopft.
The tissue has bit by bit the blood vessel obstructed.
‘The tissue obstructed the blood vessel bit by bit.’
For example, (109) has an eventive causative reading. During the course of time, the
obstruction of the blood vessel increases bit by bit. In contrast to other eventive verbs,
the subject of this non-stative variant of instrumental verbs receivesa particular inter-
pretation. Regarding (109), the subject is undergoing a change, i.e., the tissue is under-
stood to be growing. As a result of its increasing size, the tissue obstructs the blood
vessel more and more. In this way, the htissue is delimiting the event of increasing
obstruction. The tissue, together with the blood vessel, “measure out” (in the sense of
Tenny 1994) the event. In other words, there is a maximum amount of tissue such that
the bloodvessel is obstructed completely.
The reinterpretation of the subject can also be observed in (110): in the first sen-
tence, the amount of leaves is increasing until there are so many leaves that the floor is
completely covered. In the second sentence, the curtain is being moved such that the
amount of the stage that is visible decreases. In both examples, the amount of covering
or hiding is limited by the accusative object. Once every piece of the floor is covered,
there can be no further covering. Once every piece of the stage is hidden, there can be
no further hiding.
(110) a. Die Blätter haben nach und nach den Boden bedeckt.
The leaves have bit by bit the floor covered.
‘Leaves were covering the floor bit by bit.’
b. Der Vorhang hat nach und nach die Bühne verdeckt.
The curtain has bit by bit the stage hidden.
‘The curtain was hiding the stage bit by bit.’
Note that the obligatory reinterpretation of the subject is special to verbs of causation
that display the stative/eventive ambiguity. Other verbs that take an instrumental ar-
gument, such as wipe, do not allow for such a reinterpretation. While the subject in
(111c) has the property of increasing gradually, the subject of the corresponding ex-
ample in (111b) does not. In (111b), the broom is not undergoing any change during
the wiping-event.
(111) a. Der Poldi hat den Boden mit einem Staubsauger gereinigt.
The Poldi has the floor with a hoover cleaned.
‘Poldi hoovered the floor with a vacuum cleaner.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
b. Der Staubsauger hat den Boden nach und nach gereinigt.

The hoover has the floor bit by bit cleaned.
‘The hoover was cleaning the floor bit by bit.’
c. Die Blätter haben nach und nach den Boden bedeckt.
‘The leaves were covering the floor bit by bit.’
Whereas in the construction in (111a) there is an activity of hoovering followed by a
state of cleanliness, in the eventive example in (111c) the leaf-falling takes place while
the floor gets covered.
The obligatory reinterpretation of the subject in the eventive cases can now be ac-
counted for. The adverbial nach und nach (bit by bit) indicates the presence of a be-
come-operator, stating that the resultant state of being obstructed is achieved gradu-
ally. Hence, the change itself is modified by this adverbial. (112) incorporates the
become-operator.
(112) Eventive (no agent):
a. Das Gewebe hat nach und nach das Blutgefäß verstopft.
‘The tissue was obstructing the blood vessel bit by bit.’
b. λs become (cause(tissue, obstruct(blood vessel)))(s)
(113) VP
wo
V VP
become wo
DP V
6 3
das Gewebe V V
cause 3
DP V
6 verstopft
das Blutgefäß
3.2.5 Conclusion
In conclusion, the discussion of the stative/eventive ambiguitiy regarding verbs that un-
dergo the instrumental alternation has revealed that there are two possible mechanisms
for rendering a sentence eventive: the insertion of a do-operator for agentive subjects,
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
and the insertion of a become-operator which expresses the gradual onset of the result-
ant state. Thus, we have found evidence that these two operators occur independently:
– The stative case lacks both the do and the become-operator.
– The agentive case contains a do-operator which expresses that the agent is acting
actively and intentionally.
– The case of gradual onset contains a become but no do-operator. Most important, the
subject is included in the resultant state and therefore undergoes a change as well.
3.3 Object-experiencer verbs assigning accusative
3.3.1 Introduction
This section discusses the stative/eventive ambiguity of object-experiencer verbs that

assign accusative case to their object. In addition to the previous section, these verbs
provide evidence for the existence of a stative causer relation as well, since the stative
reading involves a cause (the stimulus argument) and an effect (experienced by the
object). Some German examples are given in (114).
(114) deprimieren (depress), ärgern (annoy), erinnern (remind), amüsieren (amuse),
erschrecken (frighten), beeindrucken (impress), anwidern (disgust)
(115) Das Buch hat die Irmi beeindruckt.
The book has the Irmi impressed.
‘The book impressed Irmi.’
First, I will give a brief overview of the treatment of object-experiencers in the litera-
ture. Second, I will present cases of the stative/eventive ambiguity that have been ob-
served in different languages. After applying the tests for the detection of a Kimian
stative reading, I conclude with a possible analysis of object-experiencer verbs in terms
of Semantic Form.
3.3.2 Object-experiencer verbs in previous work
Before turning to the tests for the existence of a Kimian stative reading, this section
provides a short overview of the analyses of object-experiencer verbs that have been
proposed up to now. As there exists a vast amount of research on these verbs, I will
focus on the discussion of stative/eventive ambiguities within this verb class. It was
first noted by Postal 1971 and Dowty 1991, among others, that object-experiencer
verbs have peculiar properties when they are stative. In the following, I will present
cases of this kind of ambiguity in Italian, Spanish and Finnish.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
3.3.2.1 A note on terminology

Before turning to the stative/eventive ambiguity that arises with object-experiencer
verbs, I would like to make a short note on the terminology regarding psych verbs.
Over the years there has been a vast discussion of the different kinds of psychological-
predicates (e.g. Abraham 1995, Arad 1998a, Belletti and Rizzi 1988, Bennis 2004, Bou-
chard 1995, Croft 1993, Dowty 1991, Grimshaw 1990, Landau 2005, Pesetsky 1995,
Reinhart 2001a and Wechsler 1995). I will present a rough summary regarding the
stative/eventive ambiguity in the next section.
The accounts that have been put forward in the literature converge on the claim
that there are three different types of experiencer verbs: one subject-experiencer verb
(SubjExp) and two different object-experiencer verbs (ObjExp). In German, these two
types assign different cases to their experiencer object. On the one hand, verbs like
those in (117), which are known as the preoccupare or worry-class, assign accusative
case to their object, whereas the verbs in (118), which are referred to as piacere or ap-
peal to-class, assign dative case. It is the former group that is ambiguous between a
stative and an eventive reading. The object-experiencer verbs in (118) and the subject-
experiencer verbs in (116) allow for a stative interpretation only (see Chapter 4 for
further discussion).
(116) subject-experiencer verbs temere/fear-class
a. Der Poldi fürchtet Unwetter. (German)
b. John fears storms.
c. Gianni teme questo. (Italian)
‘John fears this.’
[Belletti and Rizzi 1988: 291 (1); my translation]
(117) object-experiencer verbs acc preoccupare/worry-class
a. Die Nachricht beunruhigt den Poldi. (German)
b. The message worries John.
c. Questo preoccupa Gianni. (Italian)
‘This worries John.’
[Belletti and Rizzi 1988: 291 (2); my translation]
(118) object-experiencer verbs dat piacere/appeal to-class
a. Das Lied gefällt dem Poldi. (German)
b. The song appeals to John.
c. A Gianni piace questo. (Italian)
‘This appeals to John.’
[Belletti and Rizzi 1988: 291 (3a); my translation]
3.3.2.2 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Italian

Arad 1998a and Arad 1998b discusses the different readings of object experiencer
verbs regarding the stative/eventive distinction. First of all, Arad distinguishes three
different readings of object experiencer verbs: the agentive reading, the eventive reading
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
and the stative reading. In the agentive reading, there is an agent who “deliberately does
something in order to bring about a mental state in the experiencer” (Arad 1998b: 181).
(119) Nina frightened Laura deliberately / to make her go away.
[Arad 1998b: 181 (2)]
The eventive reading differs from the agentive reading in that the event is not brought
about on purpose. Similar to the agentive reading, there is a change of state in the ex-
periencer. See (120) for an illustration.
(120) a. Nina frightened Laura unintentionally / accidentially.
b. The explosion / the noise / the thunderstorm frightened Laura.
[Arad 1998b: 182 (3)]
The stative reading, as defined by Arad, “has neither an agent nor any change of mental
state in the object” (Arad 1998b: 182). However, there is still some perception of the
stimulus in the experiencer. The stative reading holds as long as the perception trigger
is exposed to the experiencer. As soon as the two are separated, the described state
ceases to exist.1
(121) a. John / John’s haircut annoys Nina.
b. John / John’s behavior / nuclear war frightened Nina.
c. This problem concerned Nina.
d. Blood sausage disgusts Nina.
[Arad 1998b: 182 (4)]
This insight is illustrated in the diagram in (122), where the mental state holds as long
as the perception of stimulus lasts. Of course, the perception is only possible if the trig-
ger is present.
(122) stative:
perception of stimulus ...................stop
mental state ...................stop
[Arad 1998b: 185 (7a)]
Arad goes on to show that the stative and the eventive readings of psych verbs can be
seen overtly in Italian. Evidence that this distinction is reflected in the grammar comes
from data regarding reflexivization through cliticization, from the causative construc-
tion and from restrictions of the extraction from the object. These criteria have been
already discussed in Belletti and Rizzi 1988. However, the authors did not point out
1. Arad 1998b:185f. points out that some object-experiencer verbs allow only for the stative
reading (e.g. concern and worry), others such as surprise permit only the eventive interpretation.
Moreover, verbs like frighten may receive the agentive, the eventive and the stative reading.
Thus, it is the idiosyncratic information of the verb that restricts the availability of the different
interpretations of object-experiencer verbs.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
that there is a systematical relationship between the stative psych verbs and their even-
tive counterparts.
The reflexive clitic si in Italian can only be bound by an external argument. There-
fore, passives, unaccusatives and raising verbs do not allow for the reflexive clitic to
show up. As the stative reading of object experiencer verbs does not include an agent,
it does not allow for the subject clitic si to appear.
(123) a. ?? Gianni si spaventa. (on the reflexive reading)
Gianni self frightens
b. Gli studenti si spaventano prima degli esami per indursi a studiare di più.
‘The students frighten themselves before exams in order to urge them-
selves to study harder.’
[Arad 1998b: 188 (13)]
(124) a. ?? Gianni si diverte.
Gianni si amuses
b. Gianni si diverte facendosi le bocacci allo specchio.
‘G. amuses himself by making funny faces in the mirror.’
[Arad 1998b: 188 (14)]
Next, the causative construction in Italian provides further evidence that there is a
grammatical distinction between eventive and stative psych verbs. The causative con-
struction in Italian is not grammatical with derived subjects. Hence, Arad shows that
agentive psych verbs, which include an underived subject, may take part in the causa-
tive construction.
(125) Gli ho fatto spaventare il candidato per farlo lavorare di più.
‘I made him frighten the candidatei to make himi work harder.’
[Arad 1998b: 189 (16)]
On the other hand, stative psych verbs contain a derived subject. This prevents them
from taking part in the causative construction.
(126) * Questo lo ha fatto preoccupare/commuovere/attrare ancora di più a Mario.
‘This made Mario worry / move / attract him even more.’
[Arad 1998b: 189 (15)]
Finally, extraction from the object is not allowed with stative object experiencer verbs
(c.f. Belletti and Rizzi 1988), but as Arad shows, as soon as there is an agent, extrac-
tion is possible.
(127) * La ragazza di cui Gianni preoccupa il padre
the girl of which Gianni worries the father
[Arad 1998b: 190 (17a)]
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(128) La ragazza di cui Gianni ha divertito / impressionato / spaventato i genitori

perchè gliela facessero sposare.
‘The girl whose parents G. amused / impressed / frightened so that they will
allow him to marry her.’
[Arad 1998b: 190 (18)]
In sum, the Italian data show that in the stative readings, there is no external argu-
ment, and that the object is non-canonical (as it does not allow for extraction). In the
eventive readings, on the other hand, there is an external argument and a canonical
object present.
3.3.2.3 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Spanish

Spanish object-experiencer verbs exhibit a stative/eventive ambiguity as well. Arad
1998b shows that these verbs differ with respect to the case they assign to their object,
depending on the interpretation of the subject. In cases where the subject performs an
intentional act, such as (129a), the object bears accusative case, contrasting examples
such as (129b), where the subject does not engage in any action. The latter cases assign
dative to their object.
(129) a. el niño la molestó.
the boy her(acc) bothered (accusative pronoun)
[Arad 1998b: 197 (30a)]
b. el niño / la musica le molestó.
the boy / the music her-dat bothered (dative pronoun)
[Arad 1998b: 197 (29a)]
Arad concludes that “the object case marking [...] in Spanish ObjExp verbs depends not
on the change of state in the experiencer, but on the agentivity of the subject” (Arad
1998b: 198). I take these data to show that the eventivity is due to the action of the
agent. In Spanish this is reflected morphologically. On the other hand, eventivity can
be due to the gradual onset of the resultant state. In Spanish, this option is subsumed
together with its purely stative counterpart under a single morphological marking
(both require dative case on the object). In this way, Spanish contrasts Finnish, where
this difference is reflected in the morphology overtly.
3.3.2.4 Stative and eventive object-experiencer verbs in Finnish

Pylkkänen 2000 discusses various experiencer verbs in Finnish. She reports that Finn-
ish object-experiencer verbs are derived from their subject-experiencer correspond-
ents via the overt causative morpheme -tta.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(130) Subject-experiencer:
a. inhoa (find disgusting)
b. sääli (pity)
[adapted from Pylkkänen 2000: 419]
(131) Object-experiencer:
a. inho-tta (disgust)
b. sääli-ttä (cause to pitty)
This type of object-experiencer verb always assigns partitive case to its object, indicat-
ing that verbs like those in (131) cannot be telic. Consider (132) for an illustration.
(132) a. Mikko inhoa-a hyttysi-ä.
Mikko.nom findDisgusting-3sg mosquitos-par
‘Mikko finds mosquitos disgusting’
b. Hyttyset inho- tta- vat Mikko-a
mosquitos.nom findDisguisting-caus-3pl Mikko-par
‘Mosquitos disgust Mikko’
[Pylkkänen 2000: 418 (1)]
Both the subject-experiencer verb and its derived object-experiencer counterpart are
stative. With the help of the inchoative suffix -stu, the corresponding eventive variants
can be generated. Example (133) expresses that a process of Mikko getting angry was
going on which terminated in the state of Mikko being angry.
(133) Uutiset viha-stu-tti-vat Mikko-a
news.nom anger-inchoative-cause.past-3pl Mikko-par
‘The news made Mikko become angry’
[Pylkkänen 2000: 418 (2b)]
This group of eventive object-experiencer verbs assigns the common pattern of either
accusative or partitive case to its object, depending on whether the object is definite or
not. The fact that accusative is possible shows that the verbs including -stu are telic.
Whereas subject-experiencers in Finnish refer to unbounded states (Pylkkänen
associates them with individual-level predicates), the causative statives are more lim-
ited: the state of experience is always interpreted to hold simultaneously to the state
ofperception. For example, (134) can only be understood in such a way that some
mosquitoes are around Mikko while the sentence is uttered.
(134) Hyttyset inho- tta- vat Mikko-a.
mosquitoes.nom findDisgusting-caus-3pl Mikko-par
‘Moskitoes disgust Mikko (now)’
[Pylkkänen 2000: 431 (30b)]
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Similarly, the episodic context in (135) can only be continued with the stative object-
experiencer verb. The subject-experiencer is unacceptable, because it can not refer to
a clear-cut episode of disgust (at least in Finnish).
(135) a. Menin eilen kalatorille, mutta en ostanut mitään. Kalaa käsiteltiin paljain
käsin ja...
‘Yesterday I went to the fish market, but I didn’t buy anything. They han-
dled the fish with bare hands and...’
b. ... se inho -tti minu-a.
that.nom findDisgusting-caus.past I-par
‘... that disgusted me’
c. ... ?? minä inho- si- n sitä.
I-nom findDisgusting-past-1sg that.par
‘... I found that disgusting’
[Pylkkänen 2000: 432 (22)]
In sum, the stative object-experiencer verbs in Finnish require the trigger to be present.
Moreover, the stative/eventive ambiguity regarding this group of verbs is reflected in
Finnish morphology overtly. The eventive version is derived from the stative one via
an inchoative suffix. Thus, the Finnish data support the view that object-experiencer
verbs may either express a state of experience (a stative causation) or the gradual onset
of such an effect in the experiencer.
3.3.2.5 Previous accounts of object-experiencer verbs

In their seminal paper, Belletti and Rizzi 1988 posit an unaccusative analysis for ob-
ject-experiencer verbs. In particular, the structure assumed for those that assign ac-
cusative case to their object is given in (136).
(136) S
wo
NP VP
ec 3
V’ NP
3 Gianni
V NP
preoccupa questo
[Belletti and Rizzi 1988: 293 (6)]
According to this analysis, both the experiencer and the trigger argument are base-
generated within VP. In other words, this type of verb does not have an external argu-
ment. The authors implement this idea with the “assignment” of an empty category
(ec) to the position of the external argument. In the course of the derivation, the trig-
ger argument questo (this) moves out of its base position in order to receive nominative
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
case. Hence, object-experiencer verbs assigning accusative case have an underlying

unaccusative structure.
The main argument for the unaccusative analysis comes from binding data.
Whereas a non-experiencer verb does not allow for the bindee to occur before the
binder, psych verbs permit this configuration. Note the difference between the psych-
verb example and the ungrammatical non-psych counterpart.
(137) a. Questi pettegolezzi su di sé preoccupano Gianni più di ogni altra cosa.
‘These gossips about himself worry Gianni more than anything else.’
b. * Q uesti pettegolezzi su di sé descrivono Gianni meglio di ogni biogra-
fia ufficiale.
‘These gossips about himself describe Gianni better than any official
biography.’
[Belletti and Rizzi 1988: 312 (57)]
In order to fulfill the binding requirements, the bindee must at some point in the
derivation be c-commanded by the binder. Thus, it is the initial configuration of the
arguments (D-structure at the time of Belletti and Rizzi) where the binder c-com-
mands the bindee. Therefore, object-experiencer verbs have an unaccusative structure,
whereas “common” verbs don’t.
Pesetsky 1995 discusses the arguments of Belletti and Rizzi in detail, and incorpo-
rates the unaccusative analysis into his own one. Nevertheless, the two accounts differ
in many respects. In particular, Pesetsky argues that the two kinds of object-experienc-
er verbs (those that assign dative versus those that assign accusative case to their ob-
ject) do not share a common set of theta roles. Still, both Pesetsky and Belletti & Rizzi
essentially agree on the unaccusative analysis.
Arad 1998b does not follow this tradition and rejects the unaccusative analysis.
Besides refuting the arguments put forward by Belletti and Rizzi 1988, Arad points out
that the trigger argument, which is assumed to undergo movement from an initial
object position, is functioning as the cause argument in object-experiencer verbs. Fol-
lowing the assumption that syntactic structure reflects event structure, causer argu-
ments must occupy a higher position than their results. Therefore, Arad’s account has
an advantage from a theoretical point of view.
Arad argues that the structures of the stative and the eventive version of object-
experiencer verbs differ with respect to the functional category that licenses the sub-
ject. In case of stative verbs, the subject is licensed within the big VP projection.2
2. Arad takes a verb such as frighten to incorporate the noun fright, thus corresponding
roughly to a construction such as to put fright on somebody. This is reflected in the decomposi-
tion of fright-en in the phrase marker.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(138) incorporated, stative

VP
3
stimulus V
3
V VP
3
NP V
Exp. 3
V NP
<-en fright->
[Arad 1998b: 212 (58b)]
In case of eventive verbs, little v licenses the subject. This head is responsible for the even-
tive reading and expresses the fact that the subject is an agent who is acting intentionally.
(139) vP
3
NP v
Nina 3
v VP
3
NP V
Lily 2
V NP
<-en fright->
‘Nina frightened Lily’
[Arad 1998b: 213 (60)]
In sum, Arad shows that the event structure is reflected in the syntactic behavior of
object-experiencer verbs. She claims that the peculiarities associated with verbs of the
preoccupare-group are due to their stative reading. Assuming a tight correspondence
between event structure and the syntactic structure of the verb phrase, the stative
reading differs from the eventive one in terms of the complexity of v/VP.
In this section, I will show that object-experiencer verbs possess a Kimian stative read-
ing. This is done by applying the usual set of tests which discriminate between David-
sonian and Kimian statives.

Manner adverbials are allowed for the examples containing a non-animate nominal
subject. Consider (140b). The joke may be of such a kind, that it makes fun of Poldi in
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
an inappropriate way. For example, the joke could refer to Poldi’s dead family member
or it could contain swear-words. Similarly, it could annoy Poldi in an elegant way, by
making fun of him without referring to anything that makes Poldi feel uncomfortable.
(140) a. Das Grinsen ärgerte den Poldi auf eine elegante /
The grinning annoyed the Poldi in an elegant /
unpassende / zynische / raffinierte Weise.
inappropriate / cynical / sophisticated way.
‘The grin annoyed Poldi in an elegant / inappropriate / cynical / sophisti-
cated way.’
b. Der Witz ärgerte den Poldi auf eine elegante / dreiste /
The joke annoyed the Poldi in an elegant / impudent /
unpassende / brutale / spöttische / zynische / raffinierte Weise.
inappropriate / brutal / quizzical / cynical / sophisticated way.
‘The joke annoyed Poldi in an elegant / impudent / inappropriate / brutal
/ quizzical / cynical / sophisticated way.’
These adverbials clearly refer to the event that is denoted by the noun. In (141), the subject
is not an event nominal, hence the manner adverbials are odd, if not even ungrammatical.
(141) ?? Der Stau ärgerte den Poldi auf eine unpassende / zynische Weise.
The traffic jam annoyed the Poldi in an inappropriate / cynical way.
‘The traffic jam annoyed Poldi in an inappropriate / cynical way.’
Sentential subjects do not allow for manner modification with object-experiencer
verbs, as demonstrated in (142). No adverbial in the main clause can modify an event
that is refered to by the subordinate clause.
(142) ?*Daß die Irmi im Lotto gewonnen hatte, ärgerte den Poldi
That the Irmi in lottery won had, annoyed the Poldi
auf eine elegante / dreiste / unpassende / brutale /
in an elegant / impudently / inappropriate / brutal /
spöttische / zynische / raffinierte Weise.
quizzical / cynical / sophisticated way.
‘It annoyed Poldi in an elegant / impudently / inappropriate / brutal / quiz-
zical / cynical / sophisticated way that Irmi had won in the lottery.’
As soon as there is an animate subject, object-experiencer verbs can be interpreted in
an eventive way. In (143), Irmi clearly does some action on purpose to annoy Poldi.
(143) Die Irmi ärgerte den Poldi vorsichtig / zärtlich / langsam /
The Irmi annoyed the Poldi carefully / tenderly / slowly /
lauthals / direkt / stumm.
loudly / directly / dumbly.
‘Irmi annoyed Poldi carefully / tenderly / slowly / loudly / directly / dumbly.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
To sum up, if manner adverbials can be used at all, they modify the trigger event de-
noted by the subject. However, this is only possible with nominal but not with senten-
tial subjects. Thus, manner adverbials show that object-experiencer verbs with senten-
tial subjects have Kimian stative readings.

Object-experiencer verbs do not allow for locative modification at all. All kinds of sub-
jects, even non-animate causers, are ungrammatical with locative adverbials, as in (144).
(144) a. *Das Grinsen ärgerte die Irmi unter einem Baum.
The grinning annoyed the Irmi under a tree.
‘The grin annoyed Irmi under a tree.’
b. *Der Witz ärgerte die Irmi unter einem Baum.
The joke annoyed the Irmi under a tree.
‘The joke annoyed Irmi under a tree.’
c. *Daß der Poldi im Lotto gewonnen hatte, ärgerte
That the Poldi in the lottery won had, annoyed
die Irmi unter einem Baum.
the Irmi under a tree.
‘It annoyed Irmi under a tree that Poldi had won in the lottery.’
In order to allow for a locative adverbial, object-experiencer verbs must take an ani-
mate subject. In (145), Irmi does something (for example, she might tickle Poldi). This
action can take place at a particular location.
(145) Die Irmi ärgerte den Poldi unter einem Baum.
The Irmi annoyed the Poldi under a tree.
‘Irmi annoyed Poldi under a tree.’
In sum, event-related locative modification is not acceptable with object-experiencer
verbs. If such adverbials are possible at all, they must be interpreted as frame-setting ad-
verbials. This indicates that object-experiencer verbs do have Kimian stative readings.

The third test is how degree phrases such as ein bisschen (a little) are interpreted. They
receive a time-span reading only with eventive, but not with Kimian stative verbs.
(146) a. Der Witz deprimierte die Irmi ein bisschen.
The joke depressed the Irmi a little.
‘The joke depressed Irmi a little.’
b. Daß der Poldi abgesagt hatte, deprimierte die Irmi ein bisschen.
That the Poldi not accepted had, depressed the Irmi a little.
‘It depressed Irmi a little that Poldi had not accepted the invitation.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Example (146a) cannot mean that that Irmi was annoyed by the joke for a short period
of time. Hence, object-experiencer verbs do not allow for the running-time reading of
modifiers such as ein bisschen.
In conclusion, all three tests indicate that object-experiencer verbs have a Kimian
stative reading.
3.3.4 Properties particular to this verb class
Next, I take a look a some properties that are related to the target state of object-expe-
riencer verbs. In the eventive variants, there is clearly a state of experience that is ob-
tained, i.e., a kind of target or resultant state. Crucially, this state holds within the ex-
periencer, contrasting verbs like helfen (help), to be discussed in the next chapter.
While the target state is not expressed overtly with verbs of the helfen-type, this section
questions whether the accusative marking of theexperiencer is an overt realization of
the target state.
3.3.4.1 Temporal modification

Temporal modification with object-experiencer verbs affects the target state of the
emotion. In other words, temporal adverbials such as drei Wochen lang (for three
weeks) determine the length of the experience.
(147) a. Der Witz, der auf dem Fest erzählt worden ist, ärgerte
The joke that at the party told been is, annoyed
die Irmi drei Wochen lang.
the Irmi three weeks long.
‘The joke that was told at the party annoyed Irmi for three weeks.’
b. Die täglichen Witze ärgerten die Irmi die ersten drei Wochen lang.
The daily jokes annoyed the Irmi the first three weeks long.
‘The daily jokes annoyed Irmi for the first three weeks.’
3.3.4.2 Modifiers that express the start of the target state

Object-experiencer verbs do not behave in a unified way when combined with time-
span adverbials. Pesetsky 1995 already observed that these verbs vary with respect to
how quick the experiencer feels the emotion. Emotions which appear instantaneous
do not allow for the time-span adverbials. Such experiencer verbs include ärgern (an-
noy) as in (148). Emotions that may grow over time like deprimieren (depress), in
contrast, are compatible with time-span adverbials as in (149).
(148) a. *Der Witz ärgerte den Poldi innerhalb von fünf Minuten.
The joke annoyed the Poldi within of five minutes.
‘The joke annoyed Poldi within five minutes.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. *Daß die Irmi im Lotto gewonnen hatte, ärgerte

That the Irmi in the lottery won has, annoyed
den Poldi innerhalb von fünf Minuten.
the Poldi within of five minutes.
‘It annoyed Poldi within five minutes that Irmi had won in the lottery.’
(149) a. Die Umstände deprimierten die Irmi innerhalb von
The conditions depressed the Irmi within of
wenigen Monaten.
few months.
‘The conditions depressed Irmi within a few months.’
b. ?Daß die Umstände so ungünstig waren, deprimierte die
That the conditions so bad were, depressed the
Irmi innerhalb weniger Monate.
Irmi within few months.
‘It depressed Irmi within few months that the conditions were so bad.’
To sum up, time-span adverbials express how long it takes until the emotion starts to
hold. This indicates that the structure of eventive object-experiencer verbs contains
therefore a kind of “effect”, caused by the trigger or agent argument, that allows – at
least with some verbs – for a gradual onset.
3.3.4.3 Modification of domains

Compared to helfen-type verbs (help), object-experiencer verbs lack the evaluative
component and hence the domain specification. Therefore, they do not allow for the
modification of that domain, as illustrated in (150). So, (150a) cannot be interpreted in
such a way that the joke made fun of Poldi’s health or profession.
(150) a. *Der Witz ärgerte den Poldi gesundheitlich / finanziell
The joke annoyed the Poldi sanitary / financially
/ beruflich.
/ professionally.
‘The joke annoyed Poldi sanitary / financially / professionally.’
b. *Daß der Poldi gestern ein Bier getrunken hat,
That the Poldi yesterday a beer drunken has,
ärgerte die Irmi gesundheitlich / finanziell /
annoyed the Irmi sanitary / financially /
beruflich / emotional.
professionally / emotionally.
‘It annoyed Irmi sanitary / financially / professionally / emotionally that
Poldi drank a beer yesterday.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
This indicates that there is no “hidden” state of effect with object-experiencer verbs.
Rather, the effect holds within the experiencer itself. Note that experiencers of this
verb class are marked accusative. Accusative case more often than not expresses that
the noun is part of a resultant or target state.
3.3.5. The structure of object-experiencer verbs
Following the discussion of stative causers in Section 3.2.3, I take a cause-operator to

be present in all object-experiencer verbs. The structure of the stative reading, which
is exemplified with a sentential subject in (151), contains only this operator.
3.3.5.1 The lexical-semantic structure

The basic structure of an object-experiencer verb that assigns accusative case is shown
in (151). This representation contains neither a do nor a become-operator. There is
only a cause operator that relates two separate situations.
(151) a. Daß die Irmi im Lotto gewonnen hat, ärgert den Poldi.
That the Irmi in the lottery won has annoyes the Poldi.
‘It annoyed Poldi that Irmi had won in the lottery.’
b. λy λx λs cause(x, annoyed(y))(s) (Irmi-wins-in-lottery) (Poldi)
= λs cause(Irmi-wins-in-lottery, annoyed(Poldi))(s)
Those verbs that allow for a gradual onset of the psychical effect (e.g. as noted in Peset-
sky1995) like deprimieren (depress), may contain a become-operator. This reading is
illustrated in (149a) above. If this operator is present, the verb is no longer stative.
(152) a. Die Umstände deprimieren den Poldi.
The circumstances depress the Poldi.
‘The circumstances depress Poldi.’
b. λs cause(circumstances, become (depressed(Poldi)))(s)
Finally, the presence of an agent requires a do-operator in the lexical-semantic struc-
ture of the verb.
(153) a. Die Irmi ärgert den Poldi.
The Irmi annoys the Poldi.
‘Irmi is annoying Poldi.’
b. λy λx λs do(x, cause(x, become (annoyed(y)))) (s)(Irmi) (Poldi) =
= λs do(Irmi, cause(Irmi, become (annoyed(Poldi)))) (s)
3.3.5.2 The syntactic structure

Regarding the syntatic structure of object-experiencer verbs, I follow Arad 1998b and
take the causer argument to occupy a high position within the structure. This allows
for a direct correspondence between event structure and syntax. The experiencer,
which carries accusative case in the eventive variant, is part of the resultant state, i.e.,
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
it is part of the experiencing effect that is caused by the stimulus or the agent. The ac-
tive version including the do-operator is depicted in (154).
(154) The active reading, eventive
a. Die Irmi ärgert den Poldi (mit einem Lied).
The Irmi annoys the Poldi (with a song).
‘Irmi is annoying Poldi (with a song).’
b. vP
wo
DP v’
5 3
die Irmi v VP
do wo
(PP) V
6 3
(mit einem Lied) V V
cause 3
V V
become 3
DP V
6 ärgert
den Poldi
Note that it is possible to add an instrumental phrase like mit einem Lied (with a song)
to the active reading. This instrumental phrase functions as the core trigger of the
stimulus. Regarding (154), the agent causes the presence of the instrument, in this case
the presence of the song. The song, then, is the trigger of the experience in the object.
In the stative case, the state of experience holds only as long as Irmi is singing the song,
as pointed out by Arad 1998b. As soon as she stops singing, Poldi is no longer annoyed.
(155) The stative reading (nominal subject)
a. Das Lied ärgert den Poldi.
The song annoys the Poldi.
‘The song annoys Poldi.’
b. VP
wo
DP V
6 3
das Lied V V
cause 3
DP V
6 ärgert
den Poldi
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
The same configuration arises with a sentential subject.

(156) The stative reading (sentential subject)
a. Daß die Irmi im Lotto gewonnen hat, ärgert den Poldi.
That the Irmi in the lottery won has, annoys the Poldi.
‘It annoys Poldi that Irmi has won in the lottery.’
b. VP
wo
CP V
6 3
daß die Irmi im V V
Lotto gewonnen cause 3
hat DP V
6 ärgert
den Poldi
Finally, the eventive reading incorporates the become-operator.
(157) The eventive reading (non-agentive)
a. Die Umstände deprimierten die Irmi (innerhalb von wenigen
The conditions depressed the Irmi (within of few
Monaten).
months).
‘The conditions depressed Irmi (within a few months).’
b. VP
wo
DP V
6 3
Die Umstände V V
cause 3
V V
become 3
DP V
6 deprimierten
die Irmi
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
3.3.6 Conclusion
As with verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation in Section 3.2, the stative/
eventive ambiguities that arise with object-experiencer verbs are due to the same
mechanisms: the do and the become-operator.
– The stative case lacks both the do and the become-operator.
– The agentive case contains a do-operator which expresses that the agent is acting
actively and intentionally.
– The case of gradual onset contains a become but no do-operator.
– The experiencer object is included in the state of experience. This is indicated by
accusative marking in the eventive case.
3.4 The threaten-class
3.4.1 Introduction
A further case of the stative/eventive ambiguity is exemplified by the verbs of the

threaten class. Johnson 1985, Prinzhorn 1990 and Arad 1998b show that verbs like
threaten or require are ambiguous between a stative and an eventive reading. As illus-
trated in (158), the eventive reading contains an active agent who is doing something.
(158) Nina threatens to kiss Paul.
[Arad 1998b: 155 (21b)]
In the stative reading, there is no agent who is acting intentional.
(159) a. The rock threatens to fall.
b. Paul’s bag threatens to break open.
[Arad 1998b: 115 (22ab)]
This ambiguity can be further clarified by looking at the German example and its two
distinct interpretations, given by Prinzhorn 1990.
(160) weil Hans dem Kind die Sandburg zu zerstören drohte
because Hans the child the sand-castle to destroy threatened
[Prinzhorn 1990: 211 (43)]
(161) a. Hans drohte, daß er dem Kind die Sandburg zerstören würde
Hans threatened that he the child the sand-castle destroy would
b. Es drohte, daß Hans dem Kind die Sandburg zerstören würde
It threatened, that Hans the child the sand-castle destroy would
[Prinzhorn 1990: 211 (44)]
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
The interpretation in (161a) corresponds to the active variant of drohen (threaten).

Here, Hans does a particular act of threatening the child, e.g. he is shouting. The non-
active interpretation, given in (161b), expresses that incidentially Hans is threatening
to destroy the sand-castle. For example, he might be stumbling and almost fall into it.
Prinzhorn captures the difference between the two variants of drohen along the fol-
lowing lines. He assumes that there are two different lexical entries for drohen. The first
one has a control structure, where both the matrix and the embedded verb assign a full
theta-role to their subject. This corresponds to the eventive variant, where the subject
engages in an intentional act of threatening, say via a certain speech act. The stative
reading, in contrast, contains verb-complex formation, i.e., the matrix and the embed-
ded verb together form a complex verb. In this case, Prinzhorn takes the matrix verb to
assign no real theta role to its subject.3 Therefore, stative drohen may occur together
with an expletive, as in (161b). Only if verb-complex formation has taken place, raising
is possible, thus explaining the stative reading of structures such as (160). In (162), the
corresponding trees are given, the varying theta-roles printed in bold face.
(162) CP CP
3 3
weil IP weil IP
3 3
NP I’ NP I’
| 2 | 2
Hans VP I e VP I
3 3
CP V CP V
2 | 2 |
C IP droh- C IP droh-
3 3
NP I’ NP I’
| 2 | 2
PRO VP I Hans VP I
3 3
NP V’ NP V’
| 3 | 3
dem Kind NP V dem Kind NP V
| | | |
die zu die zu
Sandburg zerstören Sandburg zerstören
[Prinzhorn 1990: 212 (45); my emphasis]
3. Following Zubizarreta 1982, the author terms this an adjunct theta role.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Moreover, Prinzhorn 1990 shows that verb-complex formation prohibits the extrapo-
sition of the infinitival complement. In other words, only the active reading allows for
the complement clause to be extraposed.
(163) a. *weil der Orkan t drohte, [die Häuser zu zerstören]t
because the thunderstorm t threatened the house to destroy
[Prinzhorn 1990: 201 (5c); my annotation]
b. weil der Otto t drohte, [die Häuser zu zerstören]t
because the Otto t threatened the house to destroy
[Martin Prinzhorn, p.c.]
Maya Arad independently comes to a similar conclusion. Following Johnson 1985,
Arad takes the stative reading to be due to reanalysis, i.e., “the matrix verb and its com-
plement form a complex predicate” (Arad 1998b: 116). The possible complement of
threaten on the reanalysis reading is restricted to unaccusatives or verbs with a causer.
Unergatives and agentive transitives, on the other hand, may not take part in the rea-
nalysis reading. Thus, an agentive complement such as dance in (164c) can only have
the control reading.
(164) a. The ice-cream threatens to melt. (unaccusative)
b. The sun threatens to melt the ice-cream. (causer)
c. *Paul threatens to dance.
[Arad 1998b: 117 (25ab), (26a)]
The difference between the control and the reanalysis reading is, according to Arad,
reflected in the possible complements of threaten. They are listed in (165).
(165) a. threaten [v, CP] (control)
b. threaten [TP] (reanalysis)
[Arad 1998b: 131 (48)]
Arad 1998b concludes that in the reanalysis version of threaten there is no little v head
present in the complement verb. According to her view, little v is responsible for licens-
ing the agent or the external argument. Therefore, the stative or reanalysis version of
threaten requires its complement to consist only of a layered VP structure. As shown
in (166a), there is no little v-projection present for the embedded verb melt, since it
does not allow for an agentive reading. The sun, in this case, is not understood as an
intentional agent. Rather, it serves as a stative causer which is licensed as the specifier
of the whole complex threaten to melt.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(166) a. vP
3
the sun v
3
v V
3
V TP
threaten 3
T VP
to 3
V NP
melt the ice
b. The sun threatened to melt the ice.
[Arad 1998b: 133 (52)]
In contrast, the control reading of threaten requires the complement to contain a little
v-projection, since the embedded verb has an agent argument. This is illustrated in
(167a), where Mary is the agent of the embedded verb paint. It is the lower little v-
projection which prohibits reanalysis.
(167) a. VP
3
V TP
threaten 3
T vP
to 3
Mary v
3
v VP
3
V NP
paint the wall
b. Mary threatens to paint the wall.
[Arad 1998b: 133 (53); my emphasis]
This way of capturing the different versions of threaten is rephrased in Arad 1999 with-
in the Distributed Morphology framework, where the author assumes that all verbal
projections consist of a category-neutral root and a vP layer. Apart from the com-
monly known little v there exists a different type of little v which hosts stative causers.
In this way, the distinction between agentive and stative variants of the threaten-class
is implemented in the different variants of little v.4
4. The different variants of little v are also discussed in Folli and Harley 2005. However, these
authors do not talk about stative v.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Arad 1998b reports that threaten is incompatible with an expletive in both English
(see 168) and French. This fact indicates that threaten does not have the structure of a
raising verb such as seem, which occurs together with an expletive freely. Hence, it is
the reanalysis mechanism that is underlying the stative variant of threaten and not a
raising construction.
(168) *It threatens that the book will fall off the shelf.
[Arad 1998b: 116]
The same pattern emerges for German versprechen (promise), which cannot occur
with an expletive either.
(169) a. This young boy promises to become a good musician.
[Ruwet 1991; cited after Arad 1998b: 115 (22c)]
b. Der Bub verspricht ein guter Musiker zu werden.
The boy promises a good musician to get.
‘The boy promises to become a good musician.’
c. *Es verspricht der Bub ein guter Musiker zu werden.
It promises the boy a good musician to get.
‘There promises the boy to become a good musician.’
d. *Es verspricht, daß der Bub ein guter Musiker wird.
It promises that the boy a good musician gets.
‘There / It promises that the boy will become a good musician.’
Nevertheless, as Prinzhorn 1990 has shown, the stative variant of drohen is perfectly
acceptable with an expletive subject in German. It may occur as a raising construction
(see (170a)) or with an expletive and a finite clause (see (170b)).
(170) a. Die Kekse drohten schlecht zu werden.
The cookies threatened rotten to get.
‘The cookies threatened to go bad.’
b. Es drohte, daß die Kekse schlecht würden.
It threatened that the cookies rotten would get.
‘It was likely that the cookies would go bad.’
In sum, verb-complex formation seems to be underlying the stative variant of threaten.
Moreover, it serves as a necessary condition for raising and the occurrence of an exple-
tive. As we have seen, there are more cases of verb-complex formation (English,
French, certain German cases) than there are of raising constructions. Raising and
expletives are therefore only allowed if there is verb-complex formation as well. Nev-
ertheless, I leave the question of the exact syntactic mechanism of allowing or disal-
lowing the expletive for future research.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
In the next section, I will go through the tests for the existence of a Kimian stative
reading of verbs of the threaten-class.

Manner modification, at a first glance, is hard to construct with verbs of the threaten-
class. The most prominent reading a manner adverbial can get is one where it modifies
the embedded verb. For example, the answer to the question in (171a) could be “by
hanging”. Likewise, a possible answer to the question in (171b) is “slowly”, meaning the
breaking will be slowly. As far as (171c) is concerned, the question itself is odd, pre-
cluding any possible answer.
(171) a. Auf welche weise droht die Irmi sich umzubringen?
In what way threatens the Irmi herself to kill?
‘In what way is Irmi threatening to kill herself?’
b. Auf welche Weise droht die Tasche aufzubrechen?
In what way threatens the bag to break open?
‘In what way is the bag threatening to break open?’
c. ??Auf welche Weise droht das Weinen die Nachtruhe zu stören?
In what way threatens the crying the sleep to disturb?
‘In what way is the crying threatening to disturb the sleep?’
If the way of threatening is modified, the question in (171a) could be answered with
hysterisch (hysterical), meaning that Irmi was screaming hysterically that she was go-
ing to commit suicide. Regarding the question in (171b), it is hard to construct a man-
ner adverbial, since all possible adverbs that come to mind refer to the way of express-
ing the speech act of threatening. Needless to say, a non-animate subject like a bag
does not allow for the speech act reading. Consider (172).
(172) a. Der Ballon drohte mit einem lauten Knall zu zerplatzen.
The balloon threatened with a loud bang to burst.
‘The balloon threatened to burst with a loud bang.’
b. ?Das Haus drohte gefährlich in Flammen aufzugehen.
The house threatened dangerously in flames up to go.
‘The house threatened to dangerously burst into in flames.’
Example (172a) shows that the instrumental phrase can only belong to the embedded verb,
i.e., it is the burst that happens with a loud bang, not the threatening. The manner adverbial
in (172b) is even ungrammatical. Although it might be a dangerous situation when a house
almost burns, neither the threatening nor the burning can be modified by gefährlich.
I conclude that there is no manner modification possible for the stative variants of
threaten-type verbs.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs

Locative modifiers, if possible at all, again hint towards the presence of a Davidsonian
state/event reading. In predicates which have only Kimian state reading, eventuality-
related locative modifiers are not possible.
(173) a. Die Irmi drohte im Badezimmer die Sandburg zu zerstören.
The Irmi threatened in the bathroom the sand-castle to destroy.
‘In the bathroom, Irmi threatened to destroy the sand-castle.’
b. *Die Welle drohte im Meer die Sandburg zu zerstören.
The wave threatened in the sea the sand-castle to destroy.
‘In the sea, the wave threatened to destroy the sand-castle.’
c. *Das Weinen drohte im Bett die Nachtruhe zu stören.
The crying threatened in the bed the sleep to destroy.
‘In bed, the crying threatened to disrupt the sleep.’
The agentive version of drohen (threaten) is able to license an eventuality-related loca-
tive modifier. In (173a), the act of threatening happens in the bathroom, i.e., while
Irmi is standing in the bathroom, she says that she is going to jump into the sand-
castle later that day.
The stative variants in (173b) and (173c) cannot be modified by event-related
locative adverbials. For example, (173b) cannot mean that a certain wave is going to
destroy the sand-castle soon, and that this state of threatening is located in the sea.
This lack of event-related locative modifiers with verbs of the threaten-class suggests
that stative variants of drohen have a Kimian stative reading.

The interpretation of degree modifiers such as ein bisschen (a little) serves as another
test for the existence of a Kimian stative reading. While these modifiers are usually
ambiguous between a time-span reading and a degree reading, Kimian statives do not
allow for the latter.
(174) a. Die Irmi drohte ein bisschen die Sandburg zu zerstören.
The Irmi threatened a little the sand-castle to destroy.
‘Irmi threatened to destroy the sand-castle a little.’
b. Die Welle drohte ein bisschen die Sandburg zu zerstören.
The wave threatened a little the sand-castle to destroy.
‘The wave threatened to destroy the sand-castle a little.’
Both examples in (174) are two-way ambiguous. First, the degree modifier ein bisschen
may refer to the degree of the threatening, i.e., there was little danger that the sand-castle
got destroyed. Second, it may refer to the degree of the damage, i.e., there was a threat-
ening (not specified to which degree) that the sand-castle got destroyed only a little bit
(e.g. only its outer wall will be damaged).
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
The time-span reading of the degree modifier, indicating the presence of a David-
sonian event argument, can be can be associated with the active version, i.e., Irmi was
only threatening for a short period of time. Example (174b) and its correspondent
with an infinitive subject in (175) do not allow for the time-span reading.
(175) Das Weinen drohte ein bisschen die Nachtruhe zu stören.
The crying threatened a little the sleep to distrub.
‘The crying threatened to disrupt the sleep a little.’
Likewise, the stative version together with a sentential complement prohibits the pres-
ence of the degree modifier.
(176) *Die Welle drohte ein bisschen, daß sie die Sandburg zerstören würde.
The wave threatened a little that she the sand-castle destroy would.
‘The wave threatened a little that it would destroy the sand-castle.’
3.4.2.4 Summary
In sum, verbs of the threaten-class may have a Kimian stative reading. All three tests
(manner modification, event-related locative adverbials, and the interpretation of de-
gree modifiers) indicate that the Kimian stative reading exists.
3.4.3 The modal component of threaten
In this section, I will discuss the underlying modal component of threaten-type verbs.
First, I will show that the stative reading has a modal flavor which is preserved in the
eventive reading. Second, I will take a brief look at the type of modality involved.
3.4.3.1 The DO/MOD alternation

In the eventive variant of threaten, there is an activity and a proposition as its comple-
ment. This proposition can be expressed with the help of an infinitive including sub-
ject control, as in (177). In addition to that, the same meaning can be conveyed with a
finite clause, as in (178). Avoiding the distractions of a control structure, it is particu-
larly apparent in the latter case that the embedded clause refers to a proposition which
does not have a fixed truth value, but which is likely or possible to occur.
(177) Die Irmii drohte, proi die Kekse aufzuessen.
The Irmi threatened pro the cookies up-to-eat.
‘Irmi threatened to finish the cookies.’
(178) Die Irmi drohte, daß sie die Kekse aufessen würde.
The Irmi threatened that she the cookies up-eat would.
‘Irmi threatened that she would finish the cookies.’
Thus, the proposition that Irmi would eat the cookies is evaluated with respect to a
modal operator which is part of the matrix verb drohen (threaten). In other words, it is
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
neither true or false that Irmi ate the cookies. Rather, this proposition is likely to occur.
In the stative case, this likelihood is even more transparent. Consider (179).
(179) Es drohte, daß die Kekse schlecht würden.
It threatened that the cookies rotten got.
‘It threatened that the cookies would go bad.’
In order to utter a sentence like (179) feliciously, the fact that the cookies get rotten must be
quite likely to happen soon. Hence, it is the verb drohen that modalizes this proposition.
3.4.3.2 The modality of drohen

A further question to which I cannot go into here in detail is how drohen (threaten)
relates to other modal verbs. In particular, German modal verbs always select bare
infinitives, but drohen subcategorizes for a larger constituent involving the infinitival
marker zu.5 Thus, German modal verbs are sometimes called “modal auxiliaries”.
Drohen, in contrast, is more like a full verb than an auxiliary.
After having established in the previous section that drohen (threaten) contains a
modal operator, the question arises what kind of modality it expresses. In order to do
this, let’s look at the hierarchy of modal expressions by Kratzer 1981. Table 3.1 lists four
types of modality. Both of the modal verbs can and must occur in raising constructions
as well as in control contexts. The raising variant, often called the epistemic reading, is
taken to be the “higher” modality, i.e., the modal operator scopes over the whole prop-
osition. The control variant, known as the root reading, expresses a particular possibil-
ity or obligation of the subject. Hence, it has a lower scope than the epistemic modal.
The distinction between root and epistemic modality is illustrated by Stechow
2004 with the help of an example like (180).
(180) Poldi muß zu Hause sein.
Poldi must at home be.
[adopted from von Stechow 2004]
The root modality reading says that according to some law (e.g. according to the rules
of Poldi’s parents), it is required that Poldi is at home. The epistemic modality reading,
in contrast, expresses that according to what we (the speaker/hearer) know, it has to be
the case that Poldi is at home.
Table 3.1 Types of modality

epistemic necessity must, raising
⇒ epistemic possibility can, raising
root necessity must, control
root possibility can, control
5. Thanks to Martin Prinzhorn, p.c., for pointing this out.

Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Regarding drohen, the proposition in question may or may not take place (e.g. the
cookies may or may not get rotten). Therefore, the kind of modality we have here is a
possibility. Moreover, it is epistemic modality, because the whole proposition is mo-
dalized. Root modality, on the other hand, would relate the subject of the sentence to
a particular obligation (in the case of root necessity). In the stative drohen case, it is not
the subject that is modalized, but the whole proposition.
The modality of drohen can be analyzed in the spirit of Kratzer 1981. According to
her, modals take a conversational background and an ordering source. In the case of
drohen, the conversational background consists of the situations that may occur or that
are likely to occur. The ordering source provides an ordering between these situations.
A formal definition of human possibility (“it is likely that”) is given by Stechow 2004:
(181) Modal component of “drohen”:
λHλOλpλs [¬∀u[u∈H(s)] ¬∃v[v∈H(s)] (v<O(s)u) → (u∈¬ p)] (s)
[modelled after von Stechow 2004: 12]
The formula in (181) captures the idea that p is not false in all of the possible worlds,
i.e., it is true in at least one possible world. H refers to the conversational background
(i.e., only the situations which are threatened to happen), O to the ordering source
(i.e., only the closest possible worlds are considered).
3.4.4 The structure of threaten-type verbs

The Semantic Form of stative threaten-type verbs is simple: it contains a single modal
operator, which expresses an epistemic possibility. This operator scopes over the whole
proposition, including the subject. In contrast, the active variant of drohen (threaten)
contains a do-operator. As there are different ways of doing a threat, e.g. by saying,
screaming or writing it, or even by consulting a lawyer, I restrict the Semantic Form to
the presence of the do-operator. Of course, it is possible that there is a predicate like
say involved, but this is subject to the concrete instantiation of the act of threatening.
The lexical-semantic structure of the stative version of drohen is given in (182); the one
for the eventive variant in (183). For the sake of readability, I have added an abbrevia-
tion in the (a) examples.
(182) a. stative: modal(proposition)
b. λHλOλpλs [¬∀u[u∈H(s)] ¬∃v[v∈H(s)] (v<O(s)u) → (u∈¬ p)] (s)
(proposition)
(183) a. eventive: do(x, modal(proposition))
b. λHλOλpλxλs do(x, [¬∀u[u∈H(s)] ¬∃v[v∈H(s)] (v<O(s)u) → (u∈¬ p)]
(s) (proposition)
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Drawing on the simplification modal that stands for the structure in (181), the lexical-
semantic structures for the different realization patterns are as follows.
(184) a. Es droht, daß die Kekse schlecht werden.
It threatens that the cookies rotten get.
‘It is threatening that the cookies get bad.’
b. λx λs modal(become(rotten(x))) (s) (cookies) =
= modal(become(rotten(cookies)))
Note that the eventiveness of the complement does not influence the overall aspect of
the sentence. Although a process of getting rotten is eventive, the modal renders the
whole predicate stative.
(185) a. Die Irmi drohte die Kekse aufzuessen.
The Irmi threatened the cookies up-to-eat.
‘Irmi threatened to finish the cookies.’
b. do(x, modal(eat(x, y) & become(gone(y)))) (s) (cookies) (Irmi) =
= do(Irmi, modal(eat(Irmi, cookies) & become(gone(cookies)))) (s)
The structure for the active version of drohen in (185) contains a conjunct eat &
become(rotten) rather than a cause-operator, because aufessen corresponds to a resulta-
tive construction like Wunderlich’s example leer trinken, which he analyses as resultative.

The structure for both the finite and the infinite stative variant is given in (186). In the
infinite case, the subject cookies are raised to subject position. Moreover, I use the label
“CP” as a shorthand for “propositional complement”, i.e., it is only for the sake of con-
creteness that I take the complement of the modal operator to be CP. I leave the ques-
tion aside whether this should rather be analyzed as TP or AgrP.6
(186) a. Es droht, daß die Kekse verschimmeln.
It threatens that the cookies get rotten.
‘It is threatening that the cookies go moldy.’
b. Die Kekse drohen zu verschimmeln.
The cookies threaten to get rotten.
‘The cookies are threatening to go moldy.’
6. Of course, the complement verb verschimmeln can be decomposed into become rotten,
as in (184b) For the sake of clarity, the structure is simplified in (186).
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
c. VP
wo
es V
wo
CP V
| modal
... droht
|
VP
wo
DP V
6 verschimmeln
die Kekse
In contrast to Arad 1998b, I do not assume that drohen contains a (stative) cause op-
erator. Rather, I take drohen, apart from the optional do-operator, to host a modal
operator only. The active reading, given in (187), contains the do-operator, which I
assume to be hosted in the little v projection.
(187) a. Die Irmi drohte, daß sie die Kekse essen würde.
The Irmi threatened that she the cookies eat would.
‘Irmi threatened that she would eat the cookies.’
b. vP
3
DP v
5 2
die Irmi v VP
do 2
CP V
| modal
... droht
|
vP
3
DP v
5 2
die Irmi/ v VP
PRO do 2
DP V
5 essen
die Kekse
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
3.4.5 Conclusion
In conclusion, the stative/eventive ambiguity of the threaten class can be pinned down
to the presence or absence of the do operator. In both cases, a modal operator is there.
In the stative case, the modal operator is the only thing that is left for drohen (threat-
en). As all modals are inherently stative, the pure modal version of threaten is stative
too, independent of the kind of verb that is in the complement.
3.5 Dispositional verbs
3.5.1 Introduction
This section focuses on dispositional verbs, a term introduced by Engelberg 2005 for
verbs like help. These verbs have two arguments, whereby one carries dative case in
German. Some examples are given in (188).
(188) a. Die Tablette hilft der Irmi.
The pill helps the Irmi dat.
‘The pill helps Irmi.’
b. helfen (help), schaden (harm), nutzen (be of use), dienen (serve)
After discussing the account of Engelberg, I will go through the tests for a Kimian
reading in detail. Next, the state of effect that is expressed by these verbs will be identi-
fied via adverbial modification. Finally, a possible lexical-semantic structurefor dispo-
sitional verbs is laid out.
As with the verbs that have been discussed before, the stative/eventive ambiguity
is due to the presence or absence of the two aspectual operators do and become.
Moreover, I will put forward the claim that dative case assignment of helfen-type verbs
is not inherent. Based on the insights of Brandt 2003, I will show that this kind of Case
assignment follows a regular grammatical rule that parallels the dative assignment in
German zu-comparatives.
3.5.2 Stative/eventive ambiguities noted in previous work
Engelberg 2005 discusses two different readings of the verb helfen (help). In the first
and common reading, helfen takes a DP-subject which performs an activity. In the
second reading, there is a sentential subject which gives rise to a stative reading.
(189) Rebecca half Jamaal in der Küche.
‘Rebecca helped Jamaal in the kitchen’
[Engelberg 2005: (1a)]
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(190) Dass Rebecca sein Motorrad repariert hatte, half Jamaal sehr.
‘That Rebecca had fixed his motorbike helped Jamaal a lot.’
[Engelberg 2005: (2a)]
Engelberg claims that verbs which show this stative/eventive ambiguity include ge-
fährden (endanger), verbessern (improve), erleichtern (ease) and verschlechtern (get
worse). He calls these the dispositional verbs. Note that Engelberg does not examine
verschlechtern in great detail. I will argue below that verbs like verschlechtern never have
stative readings. Moreover, Engelberg argues that object-experiencer verbs like worry
show the stative/eventive ambiguity as well. Let’s review Engelberg’s work onthe stative/
eventive ambiguity with dispositional verbs.
The following properties distinguish stative from non-stative uses of dispositional
verbs. First, agent-oriented adverbials must not occur together with the stative variant.
Engelberg claims that they are excluded because stative expressions do not refer to events.
(191) * Dass Rebecca das Geschirr abgetrocknet hat, hat Jamaal mit dem neuen
Trockentuch / fröhlich geholfen.
‘That Rebecca dried off the dishes helped Jamaal with the new dish towel /
happily.’
[Engelberg 2005: (4b)]
Second, locative modifiers function as frame-setters in the stative variant (see Maien-
born 2003 for a discussion), they do not provide a location where the event is happen-
ing. Rather, locative modifiers can only specifiy where the helping-effect takes place, as
in example (192).
(192) Dass Rebecca die Wasserrohre repariert hatte, half Jamaal in der Küche.
‘That Rebecca had fixed the water pipes helped Jamaal in the kitchen’.
Similarly, temporal adverbials modify the length of the helping effect and not the ac-
tion time with stative dispositional verbs, as shown in (193).
(193) Dass Rebecca so gut Gadakhisch gelernt hatte, half ihr eine Zeitlang.
‘That Rebecca had learned Gadakhian so well helped her for some time’
Third, degree modifiers (again see Maienborn 2003) are ambiguous between modify-
ing the duration of the event and the degree to which the property holds. With statives,
only the latter reading is available.
(194) Dass sie seinen Computer repariert hat, hat ihm ein bisschen geholfen.
‘That she fixed his computer (has) helped him a bit.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Engelberg concludes that dispositional verbs which take a sentential subject are clearly
stative. But as I will show below, it is not the syntactic category CP which renders the
sentences stative. The phenomenon Engelberg describes is of a more general nature:
not only does it involve different kinds of subjects, but also different kinds of verbs,
affecting much more than the class of dispositional verbs.
The next thing to do is to check whether the stative verbs are true Kimian statives as
described in Section 2.4. The tests developed by Maienborn 2003 will be used to deter-
mine their exact status regarding eventiveness.

If there is a genuine stative variant of helfen, it should behave like Kimian statives, i.e.,
manner modification is expected to be disallowed in general and not only with respect
to agent-oriented manner adverbials. Kimian statives, as analyzed by Maienborn 2003,
do not contain a Davidsonian event argument, hence there is no place where manner
adverbials can anchor to the structure. However, Engelberg 2005 only discusses agent-
oriented manner adverbials. Of course, these adverbs are excluded as soon as there is a
non-animate subject present. Thus, agent-oriented manner adverbials do not provide a
significant evidence that helfen (help) and similar verbs allow for a true stative reading
at all. Therefore, let’s look at the non-agentive manner modification of dispositional
verbs. As discussed in Section 2.4.5.1, Kimian statives disallow for manner adverbials.
First, let’s look at how helfen (help) behaves with respect to non-agent oriented man-
ner adverbials. As illustrated in (195) and (196), manner adverbials are not completely
excluded. Manner adverbs as in (195c) are quite bad, but once they are paraphrased with
auf eine ... Weise (in a ... way), the examples improve considerably. The examples in (195)
show different non-agentive subjects. Infinitives like inhalieren (inhale) and non-even-
tive nouns like Schmerzmittel (anesthetic drug) are equally fine.
(195) a. Das Inhalieren hat dem Poldi auf eine sanfte/bekömmliche
The inhaling has the Poldi in a soft/salubrious
Weise geholfen.
way helped.
‘Inhaling helped Poldi in a soft / salubrious way.’
b. Das Schmerzmittel hat dem Poldi auf eine bekömmliche /
The pain killer has the Poldi in a salubrious /
magenschonende Weise geholfen.
stomach-saving way helped.
‘The pain killer helped Poldi in a salubrious / stomach-saving way.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
c. *Die Alternativmedizin hat dem Poldi sanft/bekömmlich geholfen.

The alternative medicine has the Poldi soft/salubrious helped.
‘The alternative medicine helped Poldi softly / salubriously.’
Note that even the corresponding examples with sentential subjects allow for this kind
of manner modification, contrary to the expectations of Engelberg 2005. Again, Engel-
berg did not look at non-agentive manner adverbials.
(196) a. Daß sie ein Homöopath behandelt hat, hat der Irmi auf
That her a homeopath treated has, has the Irmi in
eine sanfte/bekömmliche Weise geholfen.
a soft/salubrious way helped.
‘It helped Irmi softly / salubriously that a homeopath had treated her.’
b. Daß der Poldi sich von einem Homöopathen hat
That the Poldi himself by a homeopath has
behandeln lassen, hat ihm auf eine sanfte/bekömmliche
treated let, has him in a soft/salubrious
Weise geholfen.
way helped.
‘It helped Poldi in a soft / salubrious way that he sought treatment by a
homeopath.’
As shown by the facts of temporal modification, to be discussed below, helfen-type
verbs contain a helping-effect that occurs as a resultant state of the helping-action. But
even without there being a helping-action, there is a helping-effect. The manner adver-
bials above do not modify the helping action, as there is no action going on. In par-
ticular, there is no action going on in the examples containing sentential subjects in
(196). Moreover, the manner adverbials do not modify the cause of the helping-effect.
Regarding our examples, this cause could either be a previous action, e.g. a treatment
from a homeopath, a particular drug, or even an action carried out by the affected in-
dividual (inhaling). Neither of these is required to be particularly soft or salubrious.
The thing which is modified by manner adverbials is the change from a bad state
to a better state, i.e., the change from a state of no helping-effect to the state of a maxi-
mum helping-effect. For example, if a pain-killer helped Irmi softly, it is the change
from a state of pain to a state of no pain that happens softly. It could also be that this
change happened in a way that Irmi’s stomach was harmed (e.g. because of the nature
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
of the drug). Again, it is not the drug itself nor the helping-action that happens in a
stomach-harming way.
Let’s look at the other groups of verbs that belong – according to Engelberg – to
the class of dispositional verbs.7
One example Engelberg mentions is gefährden (endanger). As shown in (197), these
verbs do not allow for manner modification, pointing towards a true stative reading.
(197) a. *Das Verbrennen von Chemikalien gefährdete die
The burning of chemicals endangered the
Umwelt auf giftige / schädliche / dampfende Weise.
environment in poisonous / harmful / steaming way.
‘The burning of chemicals endangered the environment in a poisonous /
harmful / steaming way.’
b. *Die Entsorgung von Chemikalien gefährdete die
The disposal of chemicals endangered the
‘The disposal of chemicals endangered the environment in a poisonous /
harmful / steaming way.’
c. *Daß die Chemikalien verbrannt worden waren, gefährdete die
That the chemicals burnt been were, endangered the
‘It endangered the environment in a poisonous / harmful / steaming way
that the chemicals were burnt.’
Summary: Manner adverbials show that helfen verbs have stative uses. If manner ad-
verbials can be used at all, they modify the change until the helping-effect is reached.

Locative modifiers serve as a test for a Davidsonian (stative) reading. Thus, either these
modifiers are excluded with Kimian statives, or they must be interpreted as a frame-
setting adverbial. Because of the complex structure of the helfen-verbs, locative modi-
fiers may either refer to the location where the trigger-event takes place, or they may
specify the location where the helping-effect holds.
7. Engelberg (ex. (3)) includes verbs like verbessern (improve), erleichtern (facilitate) and ver-
schlechtern (make worse) and argues that these allow for a Kimian stative reading as well. How-
ever, all of the mentioned verbs include a comparative. Hence, their core meaning expresses a
change of state: the degree to which a property (denoted by the underlying adjective) holds is
increased, never allowing for a Kimian stative interpretation. Therefore, I concentrate in ge-
fährden (endanger).
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(198) a. Das Beten half der Irmi in der Küche.

The praying helped the Irmi in the kitchen.
‘Praying helped Irmi in the kitchen.’
b. Das Kochbuch half der Irmi in der Küche.
The cookbook helped the Irmi in the kitchen.
‘The cookbook helped Irmi in the kitchen.’
c. Die Reparatur (von dem Herd) half der Irmi in der Küche.
The repair (of the stove) helped the Irmi in the kitchen.
The repair (of the stove) helped Irmi in the kitchen.’
The examples in (198) demonstrate that local modification in the stative variant of
helfen only specifies the location of the helping-effect. It is always the case that Irmi
experiences a helping-effect that is related to the kitchen. Neither of the locative adver-
bials in (198) specify where the helping-action takes place.
This fact is repeated in (199). Here, the map is useful to Irmi only when she is walking
around in Siebenhirten. In contrast, the agentive correspondent in (199c) is interpreted in
such a way that the helping-action carried out by Irmi took place in Siebenhirten.
(199) a. Daß sie einen Stadtplan mitgenommen hatte, half der
That she a map brought has, helped the
Irmi in Siebenhirten.
Irmi in Siebenhirten.
‘It helped Irmi in Siebenhirten that she had brought a map.’
b. Der Stadtplan half der Irmi in Siebenhirten.
The map helped the Irmi in Siebenhirten.
‘The map helped Irmi in Siebenhirten.’
c. Die Irmi half dem Poldi in Siebenhirten.
The Irmi helped the Poldi in Siebenhirten.
‘Irmi helped Poldi in Siebenhirten.’
Finally, the stative version in (200a) seems quite strange. The locative adverbial can
only recieve the frame-setter interpretation: Poldi experienced a helping-effect while
he was under a tree. This frame-setter interpretation is pragmatically odd, because it
implies that the helping-effect ceases as soon as Poldi leaves the space next to the tree.
Note that the eventive counterpart in (200b) is perfectly fine.
200 a. ?Der Stadtplan hat dem Poldi neben einem Baum geholfen.
The map has the Poldi next to a tree helped.
‘The map helped Poldi next to a tree.’
b. ?Die Irmi hat dem Poldi neben einem Baum geholfen.
The Irmi has the Poldi next to a tree helped.
‘Irmi helped Poldi next to a tree.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Engelberg 2005 notes this fact as well. He argues that the locative adverbial in (201)
must be interpreted as a frame-setter: the action of Rebecca helped Jamaal when he
was in the kitchen.
(201) Dass Rebecca die Wasserrohre repariert hatte, half Jamaal in der Küche
‘That Rebecca had fixed the water pipes helped Jamaal in the kitchen’
In sum, the tests with locative modification do not provide evidence for a Davidsonian
stative reading with non-agentive helfen-verbs. Therefore, the stative variants of helfen-
type verbs belong to the group of Kimian statives.
This picture is replicated with gefährden (endanger). Only the agentive variant al-
lows for an event-related local modification. The examples in (202) are of course gram-
matical if the locative adverbials refer to the location of the event,e.g. (202a) is accept-
able if the locative modifier determines the location where the emission happened.
However, the locative adverbials in (202) cannot express the location where the event
of endangering takes place, as there is no such event.
(202) a. *Das Freisetzen von Giftgas gefährdete hinter der
The releasing of poisonous gas endangered behind the
Fabrik die Umwelt.
factory the environment.
‘The emission of poisonous gas endangered the environment behind
the factory.’
b. *Der Ausstoß von Giftgas gefährdete hinter der
The releasing of poisonous gas endangered behind the
Fabrik die Umwelt.
‘The emisson of poisonous gas endangered the environment behind
the factory.’
c. *Daß Giftgas freigesetzt wurde, gefährdete hinter der
That poisonous gas was emitted, endangered behind the
Fabrik die Umwelt.
‘It endangered the environment behind the factory that poisonous gas
was emitted.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(203) Der Poldi gefährdete hinter der Fabrik die Umwelt. (Er
The Poldi endangered behind the factory the environment. (He
hat dort einen Eiskasten weggeworfen.)
has there a refrigerator away-thrown).
‘Poldi endangered the environment behind the factory. (He threw away a re-
frigerator there.)’
Summary: none of the “verbs with an effect” allow for event-related locative modifica-
tion. If locative adverbials are permitted at all, they receive a frame-setter interpreta-
tion (cf. Maienborn 2001), which can be pragmatically quiteodd. In sum, these data
indicate strongly that “verbs with an effect” belong to the group of Kimian statives.

Finally, Engelberg looks at degree modifiers (see Maienborn 2003 for the original de-
scription of this test). In the stative variant, degree modifiers only specify the degree to
which a certain predicate holds. In the non-stative variant, these modifiers are ambigu-
ous between this degree reading and a reading which modifies the running time of the
event. The stative uses of helfen should therefore disallow the running-time reading.
(204) a. Das Beten half der Irmi ein bisschen.
The praying helped the Irmi a little.
‘Praying helped Irmi a little.’
b. Das Kochbuch half der Irmi ein bisschen.
The cookbook helped the Irmi a little.
‘The cookbook helped Irmi a little.’
c. Die Reparatur (von dem Herd) half der Irmi ein bisschen.
The repair (of the stove) helped the Irmi a little.
‘The repair (of the stove) helped Irmi a little.’
Clearly, all the examples in (204) allow for the degree reading. In (204a), some priest
may have said a prayer which healed Irmi’s pain but not her illness. Therefore, the
helping degree of the praying was little. Similarly, (204b) may refer to a reading where
the cookbook contained none of the information Irmi needed. So, Irmi, who has no
idea at all about cooking, might have found the information provided by the cookbook
useless. Therefore, the helping effect was little. Finally, example (204c) describes the
degree of the helping effect in a similar fashion.
The crucial point regarding these examples is whether the running-time reading
is available. Undoubtedly, examples (204b) and (204c) do not allow for the running-
time reading. Nevertheless, the infinitival subject of (204a) allows a reading where the
praying is carried out by Irmi. However, the modification affects the helping-effect, not
the praying event itself. Thus, it could have been either a long and intensive act of pray-
ing or a sloppy spoken prayer which had the enormoushelping-effect.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Again, the degree modifier in the example containing a sentential subject as in

(205a) cannot only be understood to specify the running-time of the helping-event.
An agentive subject, of course, can do the helping action only for a short time, as il-
lustrated in (205c).
(205) a. Daß er die Tablette geschluckt hat, hat dem Poldi ein
That he the pill taken has has the Poldi a
bisschen geholfen.
little helped.
‘It helped Poldi a little that he had swallowed the pill.’
[after Engelberg (2005)]
b. Die Tablette hat dem Poldi ein bisschen geholfen.
The pill has the Poldi a little helped.
‘The pill helped Poldi a little.’
c. Die Irmi hat dem Poldi ein bisschen geholfen.
The Irmi has the Poldi a little helped.
‘Irmi helped Poldi a little.’
Only the degree reading but not the time-span reading is available with gefährden
(endanger).
(206) a. Die Freisetzung von Chemikalien gefährdete die Umwelt
The release of chemicals endangered the environment
ein bisschen.
a little.
‘The release of chemicals endangered the environment a little.’
b. Daß Chemikalien freigesetzt worden waren, gefährdete die
That chemicals released been were, endangered the
Umwelt ein bisschen.
environment a little.
‘It endangered the environment a little that chemicals were released.’
Summary: the ein bisschen-test shows that only a degree-reading is available for non-
active uses of helfen-verbs, diagnosing them as Kimian statives.
3.5.4 Properties particular to this verb class
Now that we have seen how verbs like helfen behave with respect to the main linguistic
tests for stativity, some other comments on the event structure are in order, since these
provide a clue how helfen-type verbs should be analyzed. First, different temporal
modifiers allow us to draw a more thorough distinction between the helping-event
and the helping-effect. Second, a note is due on the status of the dative argument. This
argument has received particular attention by Engelberg. Whereas he derived the
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
status of the dative argument with some non-compositional semantic mechanisms, I

would like to conclude that a grammatical rule is involved.
3.5.4.1 Temporal modification

Certain temporal adverbials refer to the length of the helping-effect in stative uses. In
active uses, such adverbials denote how long the action of helping lasted.
(207) a. Das Beten half der Irmi eine Zeit lang.
The praying helped the Irmi a time long.
‘Praying helped Irmi for some time.’
b. Das Kochbuch half der Irmi eine Zeit lang.
The cookbook helped the Irmi a time long.
‘The cookbook helped Irmi for some time.’
c. Die Reparatur (von dem Herd) half der Irmi eine Zeit lang.
The repair (of the stove) helped the Irmi a time long.
‘The repair (of the stove) helped Irmi for some time.’
Sentence (207a) is ambiguous: it can mean that Irmi kept praying, e.g. over a couple of
months, and that it was a helpful activity for her. It can also have a reading where
somebody else prayed once for Irmi. This prayer was so powerful that ithad a helping
effect for a couple of months. This second reading clearly corresponds to the stative
reading. Similarly, (207b) can mean that the cookbook was helpful to Irmi in the first
months of her marriage, when her husband expected her to cook a pleasant dinner
every night. Therefore, it is the helping-effect that is modified by the adverbial. Exam-
ple (207c) allows for a similar interpretation.
Temporal adverbials which denote a time-span modify only the target state of
dispositional verbs. Although the target state may overlap with the cause of the helping
effect, this happens only by accident. Hence, the adverbial modifies the target state,
regardless whether the triggering event is punctual or stretched out in time. Examples
(208a) and (208b) illustrate that the helping effect lasts for the given time period, in
case of a single trigger-event or an iterated one, respectively.
(208) a. Daß sie eine Spritze bekommen hatte, half der Irmi
That she an injection got had, helped the Irmi
drei Stunden lang / während der Behandlung.
three hours long / during the treatment.
‘It helped Irmi for three hours / during the treatment that she had got an
injection.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Daß sie monatlich eine Spritze bekommen hatte, half

That she monthly an injection got has, helped
der Irmi während der Wechseljahre.
the Irmi during the menopause.
‘It helped Irmi during the menopause that she got an injection each month.’
The same effect holds for sentences with a nominal subject. This can be observed in the
following examples:
(209) a. Die schmerzstillende Spritze half der Irmi während der
The painkilling injection helped the Irmi during the
Behandlung.
treatment.
‘The painkilling injection helped Irmi during the treatment.’
b. Die monatliche Hormonspritze half der Irmi während
The monthly hormone injection helped the Irmi during
der Wechseljahre.
the menopause.
‘The monthly hormone-injection helped Irmi during the menopause.’
(210) Das einmalige / tägliche Beten half der Irmi während ihrer Scheidung.
The single / daily praying helped the Irmi during her divorce.
‘The single prayer / daily praying helped Irmi during her divorce.’
Hence, the time-span adverbial specifies the length of the helping effect, not the dura-
tion of the trigger event.
Other dispositional verbs such as gefährden (endanger) exhibit the same proper-
ties with respect to temporal modification.
(211) a. Die wöchentliche Verbrennung von Chemikalien
The weekly burning of chemicals
gefährdete die Umwelt drei Monate lang.
endangered the environment three months long.
‘The weekly burning of chemicals endangered the environments for
three months.’
b. Die Verbrennung von Chemikalien am Faschingsdienstag
The burning of chemicals on carnival tuesday
gefährdete die Umwelt drei Monate lang.
endangered the environment three months long.
‘The borning of chemicals on carnival tuesday endangered the environ-
ment for three months.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Action/trigger
Effect
Figure 3.1
Moreover, the target state may even be temporally included in the trigger event, i.e., the end
of the target state (the danger) may precede the end of the trigger event. Consider (212).
(212) Die sechs Monate lange Verbrennung von Chemikalien
The six months long burning of chemicals
gefährdete die Umwelt eine Woche lang.
endangered the environment one week long.
‘The burning of chemicals which lasted six months endangered the environ-
ment for one week.’
Although the burning of chemicals in (212) goes on for six months, the sentence is
compatible with a situation where an antidote was found after one week and the en-
dangerment therefore ceased.8 This example shows that the end of the target state is
not affected by the duration of the trigger state.
Summary: temporal adverbials modify the length of the helping-effect, clearly
indicating the complex event structure of helfen-type verbs. Time-span adverbials do
not restrict the length of the action/trigger in any way. In Figure 3.1, the temporal ad-
verbial specifies the amount of time beween the two dotted lines.
3.5.4.2 Modifiers that express the start of the target state

Certain adverbs of speed such as rasch (rapidly) or langsam (slowly) can occur to-
gether with stative uses of dispositional verbs. In this context, they do not modify the
event. For example, in (213) it is not the act of helping that happens in a quick way,
rather, the time that goes by until the improved state is achieved is short. In other
words, these adverbs modify the time span until the target state, i.e. the improved state
after the helping event, is reached.
(213) a. Die Therapie hat dem Poldi rasch / schnell geholfen.
The therapy has the Poldi rapidly / quickly helped.
‘The therapy helped Poldi rapidly / quickly.’
8. Thanks to Wolfgang U. Dressler for pointing this out.

 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Daß Irmi die Rohre repariert hatte, hat dem

That Irmi the pipes fixed had, has the
Poldi rasch / schnell geholfen.
Poldi rapidly / quickly helped.
‘It helped Poldi rapidly / quickly that Irmi had fixed the pipes.’
This fact can be furthermore illustrated with the help of time-span adverbials, such as
innerhalb (within) and nach (after) as in (214).
(214) a. Das Auftragen der Selbstbräunungscreme hat der Irmi
The use of self-tanning lotion has the Irmi
innerhalb von zwei Stunden geholfen.
within of two hours helped.
‘The use of self-tanning lotion helped Irmi within two hours.’
b. Das Auftragen der Selbstbräunungscreme hat der Irmi nach
The use of self-tanning lotion has the Irmi after
zwei Stunden geholfen.
two hours helped.
‘The use of self-tanning lotion helped Irmi after two hours.’
In (214), someone (probably Irmi herself) has put tanning-lotion onto Irmi’s skin.
Within two hours she got tanned, thus the helping-effect of Irmi’s skin getting tanned
was reached within two hours. Therefore, the time-span adverbial specifies the time-
span until the helping-effect starts. Compare the agentive variant of helfen in (215).
(215) Die Ärztin hat der Irmi rasch / innerhalb von zwei Stunden geholfen.
The doctor has the Irmi quickly / within of two hours helped.
‘The doctor helped Irmi quickly / within two hours.’
In the active reading of (215), the manner adverbial rasch (quickly) modifies the ac-
tions of the doctor. Thus, the doctor may have acted very quickly in order to help Irmi.
The time-span adverbial innerhalb von zwei Stunden (within two hours), on the other
hand, means that whatever the act of helping was, it was over after two hours.
In contrast, gefährden does not allow this kind of temporal modification, indicat-
ing that there is no resultant state or effect present. Neither innerhalb (within) nor nach
(after) can occur together with gefährden.
(216) a. ??Die Verbrennung von Chemikalien hat die Umwelt
The burning of chemicals has the environment
innerhalb von zwei Stunden gefährdet.
within of two hours endangered.
‘The burning of chemicals endangered the environment within two hours.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
b. ??Daß die Chemikalien verbrannt worden sind, hat die Umwelt

That the chemicals burnt been are, has the environment
innerhalb von zwei Stunden gefährdet.
within of two hours endangered.
‘It endangered the environment within two hours that the chemicals
had been burnt.’
(217) *Die Verbrennung von Chemikalien hat die Umwelt
The burning of chemicals has the environment
nach zwei Stunden gefährdet.
after two hours endangered.
‘The burning of chemicals endangered the environment after two hours.’
Summary: time-span adverbials express the time-span until the helping-effect starts,
filtering out gefährden-type verbs. Thus, only the structure of helfen-type verbs con-
tains this kind of “effect”. The time-span in question is shown in Figure 3.2. It is the
interval between the two dotted lines.
3.5.4.3 Modification of domains

Engelberg argues that dispositional verbs are always interpreted with respect to a par-
ticular domain. In the case of helfen (help), the target state is always “better” regarding
this domain. For example, something might help with respect to one’s financial status
or one’s health.
(218) Das hat ihr finanziell / gesundheitlich / akademisch / beruflich
This has her financially / sanitary / academically / professionally
/ persönlich / emotional / gesanglich / musikalisch geholfen.
/ personally / emotionally / with respect to singing / musically helped.
‘This helped her financially / sanitary / academically / professionally / person-
ally / emotionally / with respect to singing / musically helped.’
Also gefährden (endanger) can be modified in this way.
Action/trigger
Effect
Figure 3.2
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(219) Daß die Irmi gestern ein Bier getrunken hat, gefährdet sie
That the Irmi yesterday a beer drunken has, endangers her
gesundheitlich / finanziell / beruflich.
sanitary / financially / professionally.
‘It helped Irmi sanitary / financially / professionally that she drank a beer yesterday.’
Note that this kind of modification is not possible with object-experiencer verbs (see
Section 3.3.4.3). Engelberg 2005 argues that, although object experiencer verbs take
sentential subjects, they differ from dispositional verbs in that the former do not have
an evaluative component. The evaluative component, according to Engelberg, is re-
sponsible for interpreting the target state with respect to a given domain.
3.5.4.4 Evaluation
Engelberg 2005 points out that verbs like helfen always contain an evaluative compo-
nent, i.e., the helping-trigger must cause a state that is “better” than it would be with-
out the helping-action have taken place. In particular, the degree to which the helping-
effect is “better” is evaluated with respect to the benefactive. In other words, the object
carrying dative case in German helfen-constructions functions as a scale which meas-
ures the degree of “goodness”. Engelberg develops a technical solution to capture this
fact. His solution relies on the Lexical Supervenience and the Lexical evaluation rule.
This solution makes use of a philosophical mechanism that goes clearly beyond the
usual mechanisms of compositional semantics. Engelberg defines supervenience as
follows: “If α supervenes on β, then any change in α correlates with a change in β, but not
vice versa” (Engelberg 2005: 63). The purpose of Lexical Supervenience is to relate the
helping-effect to the helping action. Lexical Evaluation, then, allows to evaluate the
“goodness” of the helping-effect with respect to the mentioned benefactive (dative)
argument. In other words, it is the underlying mechanism that governs the interpreta-
tion of the dative argument.
In the following, I will show that it is possible to capture all these properties of
dispositional verbs within the genuine semantic mechanisms, once the syntactic struc-
ture of those constructions is taken into consideration.
3.5.4.5 Semantic properties of dispositional verbs

A summary of the findings is given in Table 3.2.
In general, both kinds of verbs have a Kimian stative reading. They pass the tests
for Kimian statives. However, with helfen-type verbs, the picture is not straightfor-
ward. These verbs include a helping-effect which licenses manner and locative adver-
bials. That the helping-effect is independent of the helping-action is shown by tempo-
ral intervals and time-span adverbials. In sum, helfen is ambiguous between an active,
eventive version and a stative one.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Table 3.2 Semantic properties of dispositional verbs
helfen gefährden
Manner adverbials (Section 3.5.3.1) yes no

modify the increase of the helping-
effect
Locative modifiers (Section 3.5.3.2) yes no
location of helping-effect
no run-time readings (Section 3.5.3.3) yes yes
Temporal intervals (Section 3.5.4.1) helping-effect state of danger
Time-span adverbials (Section 3.5.4.2) length until start of helping-effect no
Domain specification (Section 3.5.4.3) yes yes
Evaluation (Section 3.5.4.4) yes
3.5.5 The structure of dispositional verbs
In this section, I want to suggest a lexical-semantic structure for helfen-type verbs.

Helfen-type verbs differ from the usual accomplishment verbs in several respects. First,
there is dative case with helfen, but accusative case with accomplishment verbs. Sec-
ond, the object of accomplishment verbs is usually part of the resultant state. In par-
ticular, the accusative object is affected by the action directly, whereas the dative object
of helfen is not. Still, both accomplishment and helfen-verbs express a kind of resultant
state that comes into existence. For example, the resultant state of an accomplishment
verb could be a house that has been built or a beer that has been drunken; the resultant
state of a helfen-type verb is always the helping-effect.
3.5.5.1 Dative assignment

The structure of helfen verbs must accommodate the following properties:
– the alternation between an animate agent and a trigger as the subject
– the scale by which the degree of the helping effect is measured (i.e. the dative argument)
– the domain of the helping-effect
The structure of helfen-type verbs has to accommodate the dative argument. The da-
tive is interpreted as a scale to which the helping-effect is relativized. In other words,
the insight of Engelberg 2005 that the helping-effect must be “good” to the affected
person in order to count as such can be captured with the common linguistic mecha-
nism of scalar interpretation, rendering the rules of Lexical Supervenience and Lexical
Evaluation superfluous. This scalar interpretationfor dative arguments has been devel-
oped by Brandt 2003 and extended by Brandt 2005a for too-comparatives with datives
in German. According to this view, constructions involving a dative and a too-compar-
ative as in (220) are interpreted in such a way that the degree of the comparative is
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
evaluated with respect to a structure that is introduced by the dative argument. Thus,
the book in (220) may not be too heavy in general, it might just be too heavyfor this
particular man.
(220) Einem Mann war das Buch zu schwer.
A man was the book to heavy.
‘the book was too heavy for a man’
[Brandt 2005a:18 (65)]
This idea is directly applicable to helfen-verbs. As Engelberg 2005 points out, the help-
ing-effect is always relativized to the benefactive. He proposes a function δgood/val that
maps individuals onto degrees. So, a certain helping-effect must be “good” with re-
spect to some benefactive individual. A fact or a helping-trigger is therefore judged as
“good” if the helping-effect is on a high degree of a personal scale.
Brandt argues that datives, cipients in his terms, are located in a special temporal
projection, tP, which is in the middle of the layered verbal projection. Thus, in the case
of helfen-verbs, these datives are licensed in the specifier of tP as well. In Brandt 2005a,
a uniform semantics for all kinds of cipients (including double object constructions,
too-comparatives and existential constructions) is given:
(221) ¬AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i) & AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i’) & i < i’
[Brandt 2005a: 18 (69)]
The formula in (221) captures that ploc/deg a particular (location or) degree, does not
hold of xtheme at i, but it does at i’. Regarding helfen, the degree of goodness must be
higher in worlds (i’) where the helpingtrigger has taken place than in worlds (i) where
it didn’t occur. Brandt sketches the general function of cipients as follows: “...cipients
can be interpreted as their ‘spatiotemporal history’ and as their ‘quality space’ respec-
tively: under this view, dative marking signals the application of a function that takes
individuals onto locations (in quality space) at particular indices” (Brandt 2005a: 19).
The similarity between events and degrees is summarized in (222) and (223).
(222) Events
– ¬AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i)
– Presupposition
– State of affairs before the event has taken place
– AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i’)
– Assertion
– State of affairs after the event has taken place
[after Brandt (2003)]
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(223) Degrees
– ¬AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i)
– No helping-trigger
– Lower degree of helping-effect (or of heaviness)
– AT(x xtheme,ploc/deg,i’)
– Helping-trigger
– Higher degree of helping-effect (or of heaviness)
– The cipient provides the scale
[adapted from Brandt 2005a]
In order for the cipient to provide the scale, it must be introduced into the formula. In
other words, the degree p in the state after the helping-trigger has happened
AT(xtheme,ploc/deg,i’) must be related to the dative argument. Brandt argues that this is
done via the relation R(p,w), which “is a relation of (at least) inclusion” (Brandt 2005a:
p. 14). In other words, the degree p is included in the degree w. In the case of events, p
and w are locations, as before. The argument w is then substituted by the dative NP via
lambda conversion. In this way, w refers to the personal degree of the dative-marked
noun. The degree p after the helping-trigger has taken place, therefore, is included in
the degree scale of the dative NP.
3.5.5.2 Lexical-semantic structure

According to the decompositional approach (cf. Dowty 1979, Kaufmann, 1995b, Levin
and Rappaport Hovav 1995, Wunderlich 1997), the lexical-semantic structure of verbs
may host different aspectual operators. In particular, I take the lexical-semantic structure
of helfen-type verbs to be made up of an obligatory cause-operator and the two optional
operators do and become. In the stative variant, there is only the cause-operator; the
presence of the do and/or the become-operator gives rise to an eventive interpretation.
(224) Stative:
a. Die Tablette hat dem Poldi geholfen.
The pill has the Poldi helped.
‘The pill helped Poldi.’
b. λx λw λs ∃y cause(x, at(y, p, i) & r(p, w)) (s) (Poldi) (Tablette) =
= λs ∃y cause(Tablette, at(y, p, i) & r(p, Poldi)) (s)
The formula in (224b) combines the structure assumed by Brandt with the aspectual
operators, in the stative case only cause. The variable w is satisfied by the argument
that bears dative case. It is introduced in the sublocation relation r that Brandt uses to
relate the degree argument p to individuals w. The predicate at captures the fact that a
certain helping-effect y holds to the degree p at worlds i. The helping effect is existen-
tially closed, because it cannot be expressed by an explicit argument.
It is possible to coerce a reading where the helping-effect sets on gradually. In such
a case, a become-operator is present and the sentence is no longer stative.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(225) Eventive:
a. Die Tablette hat dem Poldi nach und nach geholfen.
The pill has the Poldi bit by bit helped.
‘The pill helped Poldi bit by bit.’
b. λx λw λs ∃y cause(x, become(at(y, p, i) & r(p, w))) (s) (Poldi) (Tablette) =
= λs ∃y cause(Tablette, become(at(y, p, i) & r(p, Poldi))) (s)
Moreover, the agentive reading of helfen, which is clearly eventive, contains a do operator.
(226) Eventive:
a. Die Irmi hat dem Poldi geholfen.
The Irmi has the Poldi dat helped.
‘Irmi helped Poldi.’
b. λx λw λs ∃y do(x, cause(x, at(y, p, i) & r(p, w))) (s) (Poldi) (Tablette) =
= λs ∃y do(Irmi, cause(Irmi, at(y, p, i) & r(p, Poldi))) (s)
The helping-effect is present in the structure of helfen, as it clearly can be detected by
adverbial modification. In particular, the (delayed) onset of the helping-effect is appar-
ent. I take the helping effect to occupy the same position as incremental themes do,
because the resultant state of accomplishment verbs (such as eat an apple) is directly
dependent on its direct object. Helping-effects, too, may develop over time until they
reach a certain level that cannot be improved further. Similarly, an apple reaches a cer-
tain level such that the apple cannot be eaten further (i.e. it is gone already). I take re-
sultant states/incremental themes to be licensed in the specifier of VP, following much
recent work (Kratzer 2002, Ramchand 2008 and many others). Helping-effects, how-
ever, are not phonologically realized. The lexical operator become, which is responsible
for an the gradual onset of the helping-effect, is hosted in the lexical V head.
In sum, agentive helfen-verbs have a structure as illustrated in (227). This phrase
marker, originally developed by Brandt 2003, consists of vP for the trigger/agent, tP for
the licensing of the cipient, and VP for the resultant state/helping effect. The PP-argu-
ment is not present with helfen-verbs.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(227) TP
|
tP
wo
DP t’
6 3
cipient t vP
dative λw 3
DP v
6 2
agent / v VP
trigger do 3
V V
cause ≈ AT(x, p, i’)
& R(p, w)
3
theme V
helping-effect helfen
x (become)
The structure of stative helfen-verbs has a structure as depicted in (228). Compared to
the agentive (227), the do-projection is missing here.
(228) TP
|
tP
wo
DP t’
6 3
cipient t VP
dative λw 3
DP/CP V
6 2
trigger V V
cause ≈ AT(x, p, i’)
& R(p, w)
3
theme V
helping-effect helfen
x (become)
The little t projection,which hosts the cipient (dative) argument,closes the open vari-
able w. As shown in (227), the head t functions as a lambda-abstractor over w.In this
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
way, the variable w, which is a degree, is assigned the personal degree of the dative
argument. Thereby the cipient provides the scale which includes the degree p of the
resultant state via the relation R. Pulling parts together, VP denotes a degree or loca-
tion which is a subdegree or a sublocation of w. The value of w is assigned to the deno-
tation of the dative DP, as this is the point where lambda conversion applies. In this
way, the dative provides the degree where the denotaion of the VP is located in.
Note that helfen-verbs have always posed a major problem for all analyses that
related dative arguments to applicative structure (e.g. Marantz 1984 and subsequent
work). As applicative structures may be compatible with double object constructions
(but see Brandt 2003 for an alternative), they cannot capture the dative marking with
helfen-verbs. Thus, it is commonly assumed that helfen-verbs assign case to their object
by some extra information specified in the lexical entry. Extending the proposal of
Brandt 2003, this lexical stipulation becomes obsolete. The dative case assigned by
helfen is not due to some special information in the lexicon, but comes from the regu-
lar syntactic mechanism of cipient licensing.
3.5.5.3 Summary: Helfen-verbs

In sum, helfen-type verbs are three-way ambiguous with respect to their event struc-
ture. They may have eventive readings, either due to some helping-activity done by an
agent, or due to the helping-effect developing over time. In addition, these verbs also
have stative interpretations which are particularly salient when in combination with
sentential subjects. Furthermore, Engelberg’s insights regarding the semantics of
helfen, together with the more general proposal of Brandt, helfen-type verbs can be
analyzed as having a regular syntactic structure, thus providing an argument against
applicative-based analyses of dative assignment.
3.6. Perception verbs
Common perception verbs such as see or hear pass the tests for Kimian statives, al-
though most of them have Davidsonian counterparts. This ambiguity is already men-
tioned in Dowty 1979 (p. 113) where he discusses the typology of Rogers 1971 regard-
ing perception verbs. Two classes of perception verbs form very close counterparts: on
the one hand, there are cognitive perception verbs (i.e. see, hear), which are stative and
do not involve the intention of the subject. On the other hand, active perception verbs
like watch and listen correspond directly to their respective cognitive counterparts, but
they involve a certain intention or activity of the subject. Dowty thus analyses the ac-
tive perception verbs as consisting of the cognitive ones plus a do-operator. Hence,
this group of perception verbs is not stative. A list of cognitive and active correspond-
ents is given in Table 3.3 below.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
Table 3.3 Ambiguity of perception verbs
Cognitive Active
see look at, watch

hear listen to
feel feel
smell smell
taste taste
[Dowty 1979: 113 (142)]
Moreover, Dowty notes (p. 132, fn. 20) that cognitive perception verbs in English are
ambiguous between a pure stative and an “inchoative” reading. Thus, a perception
verb like see is either stative as in (229a) or “inchoative” as in (229b). Dowty notes that
as soon as the stative reading holds (i.e. the speaker sees something), also the “inchoa-
tive” reading holds (i.e. the perception event has taken place).9
(229) a. I see it. (stative)
b. I have seen it. (inchoative)
[Dowty 1979: p. 132, fn. 20]
Russian displays this ambiguity in morphology overtly. Despite the fact that almost all
verbs form a perfective/imperfective pair, Smith 1997 reports that stative verbs, and
perception verbs in particular, behave differently: “stative verbs have only imperfective
forms” (Smith 1997: 249). Although there seem to be aspectual pairs with some of the
perception verbs, e.g. as given in (230), these pairs “are not lexically or aspectually
identical. The members of each pair belong to different situation types: the imperfectives
are Stative, the perfective forms are inchoative Achievements” (Smith 1997: 249).
(230) a. videt’ : uvidet’
seeimperfective : seeperfective
b. ponjat’ : ponimat’
understandimperfective : understandperfective
[Smith 1997: 249]
Furthermore, the inchoative reading of perception verbs is overtly expressed in Ger-
man: all of the verbs may combine with the prefix er- that expresses the development
towards the resultant state of full perception, i.e., the process of grasping the nature of
an object completely. Consider (231).
9. Note that Dowty uses the term inchoative in a slight non-standard way. Whereas in general
inchoative refers to a change of state, Dowty describes at this point that as soon as one sees an
object, one knows about its visual appearance. Nevertheless, the act of looking at it may go on.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(231) Inchoative
ersehen (see)
erhören (hear)
erspüren, erfühlen (feel)
erriechen (smell)
erschmecken (taste)
Example (232a) refers to the event where Irmi, who has a strong dislike of mushrooms,
ate a soup very carefully. She tasted it in such a slow and careful way that she could
identify a slight taste of mushrooms after the fourth spoon. In this way, she was able to
perceive by tasting that a tiny mushroom was cooked within the soup. The examples in
(233) illustrate the usage of these verbs once more.
(232) a. Die Irmi hat ein winziges Schwammerl in der Suppe erschmeckt.
The Irmi has a tiny mushroom in the soup er-tastes.
‘Irmi found out by tasting that a tiny mushroom was in the soup.’
b. Süß wird sofort auf der Zungenspitze erschmeckt
Sweet is immediately on the tip of tongue er-tasted
(ohne Verzögerung).
(without delay).
‘Sweetness is recognized immediately at the tip of the tongue.’
[http://www.swr.de/kaffee-oder-tee/tipps-tricks/wein/2003/10/09/]
(233) a. Die Irmi erhört das Flehen.
The Irmi er-hears the begging.
‘Irmi answered the begging.’
b. Die Irmi erfühlt die Verspannung im Rücken.
The Irmi er-touches the tension in the back.
‘Irmi felt the tension in the back.’
3.6.1 Evidence for a Kimian stative reading

Manner adverbials serve as a test to distinguish the stative from the eventive version of
perception verbs. Take, for example, see. In German, see has two correspondents: an
active version betrachten and a stative one, sehen. The active one may host a manner
adverbial as in (234a), whereas the stative counterpart does not; see (234b).
(234) a. Die Irmi betrachtet eingehend das Bild.
The Irmi looks at closely the picture.
‘Irmi is looking closely at the picture.’
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
b. *Die Irmi sieht eingehend das Bild.

The Irmi perceives closely the picture.
‘Irmi percieves the picture closely.’

Data from locative modifiers again discriminate between the Kimian stative reading
and the eventive one. While the eventive version of perception can take place at a par-
ticular location as in (235a), this is not the case with the stative one.
(235) a. Die Irmi betrachtet das Bild im Garten.
The Irmi looks at the picture in the garden.
‘Irmi is looking at the picture in the garden.’
b. Possible inferences:
⇒ Irmi is in the house, looking at a picture in the garden.
⇒ I rmi is in the garden, looking at a picture in the house (e.g. through a
window).
⇒ Irmi went deliberately to the garden, in order to look at the picture.
(236) a. Die Irmi sieht das Bild im Garten.
The Irmi sees the picture in the garden.
‘Irmi sees the picture in the garden.’
b. Possible inferences:
⇒ I rmi (her position not being specified) sees a picture that is in the garden.
⇒ I rmi sees a picture that is in the garden, and accidentally, she is there, too.
c. Impossible inference:
⇒/ Irmi is in the garden and sees a picture in the house.
(236a) cannot mean that Irmi was in the garden while she saw the picture through a win-
dow in the house. It can only mean that the picture which Irmi saw was in the garden.
In sum, the eventive reading allows for both the subject and the object to be spec-
ified by the locative adverbial. In contrast, the locative adverbial that modifies Kimian
statives specifies only the location of the object. Since an event of perception always
takes place within the experiencer, and the location of the experiencer cannot be de-
termined with Kimian stative verbs, the location of the perception event itself cannot
be specified. Hence, Kimian stative perception verbs do not allow for the locative
modification of their event. This fact indicates that there is indeed no event with this
group of verbs.

That there are eventive and stative versions of perception verbs can be illustrated with
the ein bisschen test as well. As described above, ein bisschen cannot be interpreted as
denoting a time-span with Kimian statives. These allow for degree reading only. Even-
tive verbs, in contrast, allow for both readings.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Thus, (237a) can mean that Irmi was gazing at the picture for a short period of
time. The Kimian stative sehen (see), on the other hand, does not allow for the time-
span reading. As illustrated in (237b), as soon as Irmi sees the picture, even if she only
spots a small part of it, she perceives that there is a picture. This cannot happen to a
certain degree. On the other hand, (237b) can refer to the fact that Irmi sees only the
left half of the picture, the right one being hidden.
(237) a. Die Irmi betrachtet das Bild ein bisschen.
The Irmi looks at the picture a bit.
‘Irmi is looking a bit at the picture.’
b. Die Irmi sieht das Bild ein bisschen.
The Irmi sees the picture a bit.
‘Irmi sees the picture a bit.’
Nevertheless, the example in (238) suggests, on the first sight, that it is possible to in-
terpret ein bisschen as a time-span adverbial.
(238) Letzten Monat hat die Irmi ein bisschen schlecht gehört, jetzt ist es
Last month has the Irmi a little bad heard now is it
wieder gut.
again good.
‘Irmi couldn’t hear quite well last month, but now she’s fine again.’
[Claudia Maienborn, p.c.; my gloss, my translation]
The adverbial in (238) does not necessarily receive a time-span reading. Compare the
following constructions where ein bisschen has been replaced by other adverbials.
(239) a. Gestern hat die Irmi sehr schlecht gesehen. (Sie hatte
Yesterday has the Irmi very bad seen. (She had
ein geschwollenes Auge.)
a swollen eye.)
‘Yesterday Irmi couldn’t see very well. (Her eye was swollen.)’
b. Gestern hat die Irmi besonders gut gesehen. (Sie hatte
Yesterday has the Irmi particularly good seen. (She had
eine neue Brille.)
a new glasses.)
‘Yesterday Irmi could see very well. (She had new glasses.)’
The adverbials that replace ein bisschen are sehr (very) and besonders (particularly),
which are degree adverbials. This indicates that the most prominent reading of ein biss-
chen is the degree reading. But in order to pass this stativity test, the time-span reading
must be excluded. It is difficult to do this with examples like (238), because this type of
sentence is even grammatical with measure verbs or copular constructions.
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
(240) a. Letzten Monat hat die Irmi 50 Kilo gewogen, jetzt hat sie
Last month has the Irmi 50 kilos weigh now has she
wieder zugenommen.
again gained weight.
‘Last month Irmi had 50 kilos, now she has gained weight again.’
b. Letzten Monat ist die Irmi krank gewesen,
Last month is the Irmi sick was
jetzt ist sie wieder gesund.
now is she again healthy.
‘Last month Irmi was sick but now she’s fine again.’
Hence, I take examples such as (238) not as evidence for a time-span reading of the
degree modifiers ein bisschen.
In sum, perception verbs pass all of the tests for a Kimian stative reading.
3.6.2 The structure of perception verbs
As in the sections before, the stative reading is a simple predicate of perception:

(241) a. Die Irmi sieht eine Spinne.
The Irmi sees a spider.
‘Irmi sees a spider.’
b. λy λx λs [see(x, y)] (s) (Irmi) (spider) =
= λs [see(Irmi, spider)] (s)
(242) VP
wo
DP V
6 3
die Irmi DP V
6 sieht
eine Spinne
Following the analysis of Dowty 1979 (p. 114), I take the eventive reading to be gener-
ated by the insertion of the do-operator, indicating an activity of perception.
(243) a. Die Irmi betrachtet ein Bild.
The Irmi looks at a picture.
‘Irmi is looking at a picture.’
b. λy λx λs [do (x, see(x, y))] (s) (Irmi) (picture) = λs [do (Irmi, see(Irmi,
picture))] (s)
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(244) vP
wo
DP v
6 wo
die Irmi v VP
do wo
DP V
6 3
die Irmi DP V
6 betrachtet
ein Bild
In order to capture the inchoative reading that is overtly marked in German and Russian,
but not in English (see (230) and (231)), a become-operator takes the resultant state as
its argument. Thus, it is again possible for the VP to be the complement of become.
(245) a. Die Irmi erschmeckt ein Schwammerl.
The Irmi er-tastes a mushroom.
‘Irmi is tasing a mushroom.’
b. λy λx λs [do (x, become(taste(x, y)))] (s) (Irmi) (mushroom) = λs [do
(Irmi, become(taste(Irmi, mushroom)))] (s)
(246) vP
wo
DP v
6 wo
die Irmi v VP
do wo
V V
become wo
er- DP V
6 wo
die Irmi DP V
6 -schmeckt
ein Schwammerl
The tree in (246) shows that it is possible to associate the German prefix er- the
become-operator.
3.6.3. Conclusion
The discussion of perception verbs supports the view that the eventive reading is due to
the presence of a do and/or a become-operator. Again there are cases where a do-oper-
ator is added (the active variants), and there exist other examples which provide evidence
Chapter 3. Stative/eventive ambiguities 
for an optional become-operator (the inchoative readings). The insertion of the be-
come-operator is morphologically expressed in German but not in English. The Kimian
stative reading of perception verbsarises when both aspectual operators are absent.
3.7 Conclusion
This chapter has investigated the stative/eventive ambiguities that arise within several
classes of verbs. Along the way, two grammatical mechansims were identified that are
responsible for the eventive reading of a verb: the do and the become-operator. Thus,
the common factor of an eventive reading is the presence of one or both of these aspec-
tual operators. The stative reading, in contrast, differs greatly with respect to what kind
of predicates are possible. Thus, we have seen stativereadings for the following verbs:
– A subclass of verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation: the stative variant
expresses a stative causal relation. It is therefore assumed that a cause-operator is
present in the lexical-semantic structure.
– Stative object-experiencer verbs that assign accusative case (the preoccupare-
group): these verbs are quite similar to the stative causers. Some trigger argument
may cause a state of experience within the object. The only difference between the
two is that in one case, the object is in a certain state (e.g. it is obstructed), where-
as in the other one, the object experiences a certain feeling (e.g. disgust).
– Verbs of the threaten-class express a modal operator. Modal operators have no
aspectual impact, therefore, a stative reading is possible.
– Dispositional verbs like helfen (help) again express a stative causal relation, although
the mechanism for the licensing of the object are somewhat more complex.
– Perception verbs express a state of perception.
In sum, there exist several different classes of verbs that display a systematic stative/
eventive ambiguity. All of the verbs discussed in this section have an eventive reading
if do and/or become is present in their lexical-semantic structure. They receive a sta-
tive interpretation if these two operators are absent; cause alone does not render a
verb eventive. Although many of the aforementioned verbs contain cause, this opera-
tor is not a necessary prerequisite for a stative/eventive ambiguity. Verbs of the threat-
en-class and perception verbs allow for do to be inserted freely, without cause being
part of their lexical-semantic representation.
chapter 4
Non-ambiguous statives
In this chapter, I will discuss verbs which display a stative reading only. Among them
are subject-experiencer verbs, dative-experiencer verbs, verbs with a PP-complement
and measure verbs. Interestingly, it is not possible to force an eventive reading onto
these verbs. Therefore, the two options of creating an eventive reading, namely the
insertion of a do and/or a become-operator are excluded.
4.1 Subject-experiencer/possessor verbs
4.1.1 Introduction
This section takes a closer look on subject-experiencer verbs. These verbs have two ar-
guments, whereby the object bearing nominative case expresses the experiencer theta-
role. Some examples are listed in(247).
(247) a. Die Irmi kennt die Antwort.
The Irmi nom knows the answer acc.
‘Irmi knows the answer.’
b. bewundern (admire), begehren (desire), verehren (adore), lieben
(love), hassen (hate), achten (respect), verachten (disregard),
fürchten (fear), beneiden (envy), kennen (know), hwissen (know),
glauben (believe), verstehen (comprehend), besitzen (own)
Intuitively, there are two kinds of verbs that involve a subject-experiencer: subject-
experiencer verbs like love and know and structurally related to them subject-posses-
sor verbs like own.
Kratzer 1996 has grouped these verbs of possession together with the subject ex-
periencer verbs. According to her analysis, both verbs have a stative little v projection,
which licenses the subject via the operation of Event Identification (see also the discus-
sion in Section 2.3.2.4). The subject is understood to be the possessor either of an ob-
ject or an emotion. Note that it is not the case that all stative verbs involve the same
stative little v projection, since not all statives have this kind of possessor subject.
But this picture is too simple. Case-assignment facts from Finnish show that there are
at least two kinds of subject-experiencer verbs that clearly form two separate classes.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
4.1.1.1 Case assignment in Finnish

Kiparsky 1998 discusses case alternations in Finnish. Finnish verbs, in general, either
assign accusative or partitive case to their objects. This distinction, according to Kipar-
sky, is sensitive to aspectual boundedness. As a first approximation, achievements and
accomplishments, which denote an endpoint, are bounded and assign accusative case.
Verbs which don’t have an endpoint (e.g. activities) assign partitive case to their ob-
jects. This behavior can be observed with the different variants of the verb shoot as in
(248): to shoot at sg assigns partitive, whereas to shoot, implying that the target died,
assigns accusative case.
(248) a. Ammu-i-n karhu-a / kah-ta karhu-a / karhu-j-a
shoot-Pst-1Sg bear-Part / two-Part bear-Part / bear-Pl-Part
‘I shot at the (a) bear / at (the) two bears / at (the) bears’
b. Ammu-i-n karhu-n / kaksi karhu-a / karhu-t
shoot-Pst-1Sg bear-Acc / two-Acc bear-Part / bear-PlAcc
‘I shot the (a) bear / two bears / the bears’
[Kiparsky 1998: (1)]
In addition, the type of the determiner has effects on case assignment. Indefinites,
mass nouns, (bare) plurals and generic expressions are assigned partitive case, whereas
definites are assigned accusative case.
Kiparsky illustrates the sensitivity regarding the type of DP with the Finnish ex-
ample I’ll get the bear in (249). In case the bear expresses a bare plural, it is marked
partitive. If it is a definite one bear introduced by acorrespondent of English the, or a
cardinal like two, it is assigned accusative case.
(249) a. saa-n #karhu-a / #kah-ta karhu-a / karhu-j-a
get-1Sg bear-Part / two-Part bear-Part / bear-Pl-Part
‘I’ll get the (a) bear / (the) two bears / bears’
b. saa-n karhu-n / kaksi karhu-a / karhu-t
get-1Sg bear-Acc / two-Acc bear-Part / bear-PlAcc
‘I’ll get the (a) bear / two bears / the bears’
[Kiparsky 1998: (2)]1
Regarding stative verbs, Kiparsky discusses those with an external argument. Some of
the Finnish verbs always assign partitive case to their objects, independent of the type
of determiner. Crucially, subject experiencer verbs are among those partitive assign-
ing predicates.
1. # is the marker for unacceptability / ungrammaticality in Kiparsky’s paper.

Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
(250) Finnish psychological subject experiencer verbs with partitive

halveksia (despise), ihailla (admire), ikävöidä (yearn for), harrastaa (be inter-
ested in (as a hobby)), huvittaa (amuse), ikävystyttää (bore), inhota (feel revul-
sion towards), kadehtia (envy), kartaa (avoid), ylistää (praise), kiinnostaa (inter-
est), kiittää (thank), kunnioittaa (honor), moittia (blame, reprimand), onnitella
(congratulate), pelätä (fear), rakastaa (love), sietää (tolerate), siunata (bless),
toivoa (hope for), valittaa (complain about), vihata (hate), väsyttää (tire)
[Kiparsky 1998: (25a)]
Kiparsky argues that this group must be separated from another group of stative verbs
which have an external argument as well, but which assign accusative case to their
complement. He calls those bounded irresultative verbs.
(251) Finnish verbs with external argument and accusative
omistaa (own), sisältää (contain), käsittää (comprise), muistaa (remember),
tuntea (know, ‘connaître’), ymmärtää (understand (something)), myöntää
(acknowledge), katsoa (regard, consider), oivaltaa (realize), uskoa (believe
(something)), nähdä (see), kuulla (hear), huomata, havaita, keksiä (notice)
[Kiparsky 1998: (30)]
In general, the verbs in (251) assign accusative case to their complements. But it is pos-
sible to use them with partitive case as well. While the accusative version triggers a defi-
nite reading of the complement, the partitive version has an indefinite complement.
(252) a. Omist-i-t nämä talo-t vuode-n (*vuode-ssa).
own-2Sg theseAcc house-PlAcc year-Acc (year-Iness)
‘You owned these houses for a year (*in a year)’
b. Omista-t talo-j-a.
Own-2Sg house-Pl-Part.
‘You own houses.’
[Kiparsky 1998: (31ab)]
Kiparsky takes the difference in case assignment to reflect the difference between states
and emotions (in his terms), i.e. he claims that subject experiencer verbs and the other
stative verbs with an external argument form two distinct classes. Case assignment
properties in Finish count as one kind of evidence. In addition, Kiparsky points out
that these two classes also diverge with respect to gradability. Subject experiencer verbs
of the emotion-type may be modified by an adverb of gradability (253), but the pure
statives (254) may not.
(253) a. Trump likes New York a lot.
b. Fred admires Mary very much.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(254) a. #Trump owns New York a lot.

b. #John knows Mary very much.
In sum, this evidence from Finnish points towards the direction that emotional sub-
ject-experiencer verbs like love are distinct from cognitive subject-experiencer verbs
(including know and verbs of possession like own).
Kratzer 2002 picks up the distinction drawn by Kiparsky and argues that Finnish
stative verbs which take accusative case (know, own) are compatible with a [telic] fea-
ture. For Kratzer, the [telic] feature corresponds directly to structural accusative case.
Although there is no real “event” or action going on with these verbs, they still fulfill
the requirement that all parts of the object are affected by the predicate. As Kratzer
puts it: “If you own a house, that ownership includes ownership of the parts of the house.
If you know your field, that knowledge includes knowledge of its subfields. In contrast,
loving your neighbor doesn’t include loving his relevant parts.” (Kratzer 2002: 9). There-
fore, the structure of the object does play a role in verbs like know and own, which
mark their object accusative in Finnish. The internal makeup, however, is irrelevant for
verbs like love, hence they receive partitive case in Finnish.
Kiparsky 2005 rejects Kratzer’s argument. According to his view, the accusative
case of verbs like own and know is not due to a [telic] feature. Kiparsky argues that the
claim “if you own something, you own all its subparts” (Kiparsky 2005: 7) is wrong. In
particular, it does not extend to perception verbs, since one can also see only parts of
an object and still see it. Again, Kiparsky emphasizes that it is gradability that makes
the right distinction between accusative and partitive case.
(255) a. Mary wanted this copy very much. (gradable)
b. #Mary owned this copy very much. (ungradable)
[Kiparsky 2005: 7]
(256) a. John fears the outcome greatly. (gradable)
b. #John knows the outcome greatly. (ungradable)
[Kiparsky 2005: 7]
Finnish subject-experiencer verbs display another interesting property. As Pylkkänen
2000 shows, there exists another group of subject-experiencer verbs that contain the
inchoative suffix -stu, besides the class discussed above.
(257) a. inhoa ‘find disgusting’ (stative)
b. raivo-stu ‘become furious’ (inchoative)
Crucially, the experiencer is in subject position and carries nominative case in both
groups of verbs, but, needles to say, the inchoative verb is no longer stative.
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
4.1.1.2 Inchoative subject-experiencers in Spanish

Pesetsky and Torrego 2004, extending the work of Torrego 1998, discuss Spanish alter-
nations. In Spanish, animate accusative DPs either occur in their bare form or are in-
troduced by the preposition a. For example, Isenberg 1968 discusses the marking of
the object in detail and concludes that the preposition is obligatory – among others –
in the following contexts:2
(258) Prepositional marking of Spanish direct objects occurs with
– human objects (old information)
– objects that belong to an aforementioned contrastive set
– non-human proper names (old information)
– common nouns (old information)
[adapted from Isenberg 1968]
Some verbs allow for both the bare and the prepositional form, crucially distinguish-
ing stative and non-stative uses of otherwise ambiguous verbs. Conocer (to know) is
ambiguous between the stative ‘know’ and the non-stative ‘get to know’.
(259) a. Conocen bien un vecino suyo.
‘They know a neighbor of theirs well.’
b. Conocen bien a un vecino suyo.
‘They got to know a neighbor of theirs well.’
[Pesetsky and Torrego 2004: (18ab)]
Torrego 1998 describes the possible accusative markings of stative verbs. According to
her, statives are divided into two classes: one group assigns abstract accusative (i.e. bare
accusative), and the other one marked accusative (i.e. including the preposition a).
Torrego discusses these two kinds of statives: odiar (hate) type statives only allow for
the marked accusative case, conocer (know) type statives allow for both versions of
case marking.
Additionally, Torrego mentions the use of the progressive with stative verbs. For
her, verbs like hate appear more easily in the progressive than verbs like know. Notice
that this is a split within the class of subject experiencer verbs. Torrego furthermore
refers to Pesetsky 1995, who claims that notions such as hate refer to active or transi-
tory emotions.
Regarding conocer (know), Torrego 1998 (p. 32f.) illustrates the differences be-
tween the stative and the active readings as follows. The stative version of conocer as-
signs the structural accusative without the preposition. This variant of conocer is not
allowed to occur in the progressive, it may not be used in the imperative, and it cannot
be used as the complement of forcer, which is a kind of a causative construction. More-
over, manner adverbials and pseudo-cleft constructions do not occur with the stative
version of conocer.
2. Due to the lack of space, I have to omit a full discussion of Isenberg.

 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(260) a. * Estoy conociendo un vecino.

pro am knowing a neighbor
[Torrego 1998: p. 32(17b)]
b. * Conoce tu vecino / la respuesta!
know your neighbor / the answer
[Torrego 1998: p. 33(18b)]
c. * Juan forzó a su hijo a conocer la respuesta.
Juan forced to his son to know the answer
[Torrego 1998: p. 33(19b)]
d. * Juan conoció un vecino / la respuesta deliberadamente.
Juan knew a neighbor / the answer deliberately
[Torrego 1998: p. 34(20b)]
e. * Lo que Juan hizo es conocer un vecino / la respuesta.
what Juan did is to know a neighbor / the answer
[Torrego 1998: p. 34(21b)]
In contrast, the corresponding active variants, containing the marked accusative a, of all
these sentences are perfectly grammatical. Most important, many of the tests Maienborn
proposed to separate Davidsonian from Kimian statives are replicated here. In Spanish,
therefore, subject experiencer verbs are genuinely ambiguous between an eventive and a
Kimian stative reading. The eventive reading arises because an inchoative interpretation
(“get to know”) is associated with the assignment of the preposition a.
4.1.2 Tests for an underlying Kimian state
In the following paragraphs it is shown that subject-experiencer verbs pass all the tests
which indicate the presence of a Kimian state argument.

Non-agentive manner adverbials are not allowed with subject experiencer verbs,
pointing towards a Kimian stative reading.
(261) a. * Die Irmi liebt “Die Strudlhofstiege” sanft / literarisch.
The Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” softly / literary.
‘Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” softly / with respect to its literary quality.’
b. * Die Irmi liebt “Die Strudlhofstiege” auf inhaltliche Weise.
The Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” in related to content way.
‘Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” with respect to its content.’
c. * Die Irmi glaubt die Geschichte sentimental / naiv / gutgläubig.
The Irmi believes the story sentimentally / naive / trustfully.
‘Irmi believes the story sentimentally / naively / trustfully.’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
An apparent counterexample is given in (262). It seems as if manner adverbials

were not completely excluded from occurring together with subject-experiencer verbs.
(262) Die Irmi liebt Mozart leidenschaftlich / heiß / innig / heftig /
The Irmi loves Mozart passionately / hot / dearly / vigorously /
auf unglaubliche Weise.
in incredible way.
‘Irmi loves Mozart passionately / hot / dearly / vigorously / unbelievably.’
[Wolfgang U. Dressler, p.c]
However, the modifiers in (262) are not true manner adverbials. On the one hand,
some of them are really intensifiers, thus expressing the degree and not the way of the
love. On the other hand, modifiers like leidenschaftlich (passionately) refer to the kind
of love that Irmi feels towards Mozart.
The contrast between the adverbials in (261) and (262) reflects a deeper distinc-
tion between two classes of adverbials. Frey and Pittner 1998 discuss various adverbi-
als in the German Mittelfeld. Crucially, they distinguish prozeßbezogene (process-ori-
ented from ereignisinterne (event-internal) adverbials. Both of these classes are
base-generated closely to the verb. While the first group c-commands the predicate,
the second group is m-commanded by therelevant argument. In other words, process-
oriented adverbials, according to Frey and Pittner, are closest to the verb, whereas
event-internal adverbials allow for one argument to be base-generated between the
adverbial and the verb.
Those adverbials that are compatible with subject-experiencer verbs belong to the
lowest class in Frey and Pittner’s hierarchy. Consider the following example:
(263) a. Ich habe den Mann abgrundtief verachtet.
I have the man profoundly disregarded.
b. * Ich habe abgrundtief den Mann verachtet.
I have profoundly the man disregarded.
[Frey and Pittner 1998: (36aa’); my translation]
Process-oriented adverbials are only grammatical if they occur in the base position
close to the verb. If the direct object intervenes between the adverbial and the verb as
in (263b), the sentence is rendered ungrammatical. Note that Frey and Pittner use the
stative subject-experiencer verb verachten (disregard) to illustrate this point.
Those adverbials that are ungrammatical with subject-experiencer verbs allow for
both word orders, hence they belong to a different class of adverbials.
(264) a. Die Irmi hat auf literarische Weise die Geschichte erzählt.
The Irmi has in literary way the story told.
‘Irmi told the story in a literary way.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Die Irmi hat die Geschichte auf literarische Weise erzählt.

The Irmi has the story in literary way told.
‘Irmi told the story in a literary way.’
In sum, I consider the ungrammatical examples in (261) to contain manner adverbials
(what Frey and Pittner call ereignisintern). These adverbials are sensitive to the pres-
ence or absence of the Davidsonian eventuality. In contrast, the grammatical adverbi-
als in (262) do not belong to the same class of adverbials, in particular, they are not
event-related manner adverbials. They correspond to Frey and Pittner’s class of proc-
ess-oriented adverbials, which modify only the verb without its arguments. When
combined with subject-experiencer verbs, these adverbials specify the degree to which
the subject experiences her feelings.
Despite the fact that there is a single general term Liebe (love) in German, other
languages such as Latin allow for a more fine-grained distinction:
(265) caritas (dearness, affection)
amor (love, passion)
pietas (dutifulness, piety)
agape (charity)
libido (whim, caprice)
[Latin]
4.1.2 Locative modifiers
Locative modifiers, prohibited with Kimian statives, cannot combine with subject-ex-
periencer verbs. This fact supports the claim that subject-experiencer verbs are stative.
(266) a. * Die Irmi liebt “Die Strudlhofstiege” im 9. Bezirk.
The Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” in the 9th district.
‘In the 9th district, Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege.”’
b. * Die Irmi glaubt die Geschichte auf der Strudlhofstiege.
The Irmi believes the story on the Strudlhofstiege.
‘Irmi believes the story on the Strudlhofstiege.’
c. * Die Irmi traut dem Poldi auf der Strudlhofstiege.
The Irmi trusts the Poldi on the Strudlhofstiege.
‘Irmi trusts Poldi on the Strudlhofstiege.’
The modifiers in (266) can be interpreted as frame-setting adverbials, though. For ex-
ample, they can be understood as a condition: whenever Irmi is at the Strudlhofstiege,
she believes the story. Clearly, this is not an eventuality-related use of the adverbial.
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 

That subject-experiencer verbs are not eventive can be shown furthermore by looking
at ein bisschen. If there were any eventive interpretation at all, this modifier would be
interpreted as a time-span adverbial. The sentences in (267) can only have a degree
reading. To illustrate, (267a) describes the degree to which Irmi loves “Die Strudlhof-
stiege” is not very high.
(267) a. Die Irmi liebt “Die Strudlhofstiege” ein bisschen.
The Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” a bit.
‘Irmi loves “Die Strudlhofstiege” to a little degree.’
b. Die Irmi glaubt die Geschichte ein bisschen.
The Irmi believes the story a bit.
‘Irmi believes the story to a little degree.’
c. Die Irmi traut dem Poldi ein bisschen.
The Irmi trusts the Poldi a bit.
‘Irmi trusts Poldi to a little degree.’
Whereas love and hate only allow for the degree reading, bewundern (adore) allows for
the time-span reading as well. In this case, Irmi does some action of admiration, e.g.,
she might express her feelings by talking about Poldi. It is this talking/admiration
event that recieves the time-span reading.
(268) Die Irmi hat den Poldi ein bisschen bewundert.
The Irmi has the Poldi a little admired.
‘Irmi admired Poldi a little.’
Other subject-experiencer verbs like achten (respect), begehren (desire) or respektieren
(respect) again allow for the degree reading only.
4.1.3 Are subject-experiencer verbs really stative? A comment on Rapp
Rapp 1997 claims that subject-experiencer verbs like love, hate and admire have an
active component. She analyzes them as consisting of a psych-do type predicate. The
second type of subject-experiencer verbs, termed cognitive experiencer verbs by Rapp,
do not contain an agentive process. They include wissen and kennen (know) and are
described by the psych-be predicate.
The tests developed by Maienborn clearly indicate that both psych-be and psych-
do verbs are Kimian statives. Rapp discriminates between those two classes because of
two criteria: only psych-do predicates allow for inchoative variants and imperatives.
First, Rapp claims that only psych-do verbs allow that parts of the eventuality may
be picked out. In other words, psych-do predicates take part in an inchoative construc-
tion. It is possible to refer to the starting-phase of a psych-do predicate explicitly.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(269) In diesem Moment fing ich an, ihn zu hassen.

In this moment started I prt him to hate.
‘In this moment I started to hate him.’
[Rapp 1997: 43 (24a); my gloss, my translation]
psych-be predicates, in contrast, do not allow this. It is not possible to refer to the
starting-point of a psych-be verb.
(270) * Er begann, die Antwort zu kennen.
He started the answer to know.
‘He started to know the answer.’
[Rapp 1997: 43 (26); my gloss, my translation]
Möller 2004 shows that emotional subject-experiencer verbs like love always contain a
phase of beginning and a phase of end. Cognitive verbs like know may also have a
gradual phase of beginning. Möller illustrates this (fn. 59) with (271).
(271) Wir fangen erst langsam an, uns zu kennen.
We begin only slowly prt us to know.
‘We are slowly starting to get to know each other.’
[Möller 2004, 23 fn. 59, my translation]
Note that exactly this alternation of stative and inchoative pairs of verbs like know is
present in Romance languages (see (272)); moreover, there are morphologically de-
rived inchoative counterparts of psych-be verbs in German.
(272) a. cognosco Latin
I get to know (present form)
b. cognovi Latin
I know (perfect form, present meaning)
Similarly, this kind of alternation is also present in Ancient Greek: the present tense
form refers to the act of perception (see). The perfect form of the same verbs is usually
translated as know. Hence, know is the resultant state of see.
(273) a. οράω (horáō)
‘I see’ (1p.present)
b. οἷδα (’oida)
‘I know’ (1p.perfect)
An inchoative alternant for kennen could be either erkennen (spot/ realize) or kennen
lernen (get to know). Whereas erkennen refers to the act of seeing, of being able to spot
something, a verb like verstehen (understand) would be used for a more delayed way
of realizing. Erkennen can only denote an instantaneous act of insight. Erkennen con-
tains the inchoative prefix er-, a kind of prefixation that is common with perception
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
verbs (see Section 3.6). In contrast, subject-experiencer verbs that express an emo-
tional state do not undergo this morphological process:
(274) a. * er-lieben (love)
b. * er-hassen (hate)
c. * er-fürchten (fear)
Note that it is not possible to test for the availability of er-prefixation with verbs that
already have another prefix like be-wundern (admire). In sum, I take kennen (know) to
belong to the group of perception verbs, both sharing the possibility of inchoative er-
prefixation. Emotional subject-experiencer verbs, in contrast, constitute their own class.
They do not have an inchoative counterpart that is derived by a grammatical process.
Furthermore, kennen (know) together with an object that is different from answer
is better in the gradual sense of insight, contrasting (270).
(275) Die Irmi begann, Berlin zu kennen.
The Irmi began Berlin to know.
‘Irmi began to know Berlin.’
In (275), Irmi knows already so many things about Berlin that one can say she starts to
know this city. But starting to know Berlin is different from knowing Berlin, since the
latter would express that Irmi knows everything about this city. Similarly, one can start
to know the way to Siebenhirten if one can get there with – say – asking for a direction
once or twice, but not being completely lost. One knows the way to Siebenhirten if one
does not need any help getting there. Knowing, in this context, is a gradable predicate
which allows for its start to be referred to.
To wrap up, there are numerous counterexamples to Rapp’s claim that it is not pos-
sible to pick out the starting phase of a psych-be predicate (in particular, know). Re-
garding inchoativity, a closer look reveals the distinction between psych-do and
psych-be is irrelevant in this respect.
The second test Rapp employs are imperatives. psych-do but not psych-be pred-
icates may form imperatives.
(276) a. Liebe deinen Nächsten!
Love your next!
‘Love Thy Neighbor!’
b. * Kenne die Antwort!
Know the answer!
‘Know the answer!’
However, imperatives do not test for Kimian statives directly. Note that another epis-
temic verb, glauben (believe), which is often considered as a minimal pair to know,
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
does form an imperative. The difference between glauben and wissen affects only the
possible inferences. The proposition of believe is not necessarily true, whereas the thing
that is known is necessarily true.
(277) Glaube mir!
Believe me!
‘Believe me!’
The imperative of glauben with dative in (277) is perfectly grammatical. However, there
is no counterpart of wissen with a dative object. But the minimal pairs in (278) and (279)
show that even with a propositional complement there is a difference in grammaticality.
(278) a. Glaub (doch), daß die Erde eine Scheibe ist!
Believe (even) that the earth a disc is!
‘(If you are so stubborn, then go on and) believe that the earth is a disc!’
b. * Wisse (doch), daß die Erde rund ist!
Know (even) that the earth round is!
‘Know that the earth is round!’
(279) a. Glaub, was du willst!
Believe what you want!
‘Believe whatever you want!’
b. Vermute, was du willst!
Suspect what you want!
‘Suspect whatever you want!
c. * Wisse, was du willst!
Know what you want!
‘Know whatever you want!’
Wolfgang U. Dressler (p.c.) points out that it is possible to use the imperative of wissen
in contrast to the one of glauben:
(280) Glaube nicht, sondern wisse!
Believe not, but know!
‘Don’t believe, know!’ [Wolfgang U. Dressler, p.c.]
Moreover, Härtl 2001 shows that subjects of subject-experiencer verbs do not act in-
tentionally, again hinting towards the absence of the do-operator. Intentional subjects
may license a purpose clause. This is excluded with subject-experiencer verbs as in
(281b). Compare:
(281) a. Maria begeistert Hans, weil sie/??er klug ist.
Maria enthuses Hans because she/he clever is.
‘Maria enthuses Hans because she/he is clever.’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
b. Hans bewundert Maria, weil sie/??er klug ist.

Hans adores Maria because she/he clever is.
‘Hans adores Maria because she/he is clever.’
[Härtl 2001: 160 (141ab); my gloss, my translation]
Note that bewundern (adore) forms an imperative:
(282) Bewundere mich!
Adore me!
‘Adore me!’
In sum, it is some peculiarity with know that blocks imperatives. Thus, I consider the
imperative test not to be sufficient to justify the distinction between psych-do and
psych-be. Therefore, imperativesdo not serve as an argument regarding the kind of
eventuality denoted by subject-experiencer verbs. I conclude with Möller 2004 that
both psych-do and psych-be are inherently (Kimian) stative.
This section asked whether the distinction between psych-do and psych-be that
has been put forward by Rapp 1997 is relevant for the eventuality status of subject-
experiencer verbs. It was shown that the two criteria Rapp employed – inchoative al-
ternants and imperatives – do not capture the intended distinction. It is possible to
refer to the starting-phase of verbs that are to psych-be predicates explicitely, contrary
to Rapp’s prediction. Additionally, the ban on imperatives with psych-be predicates
could not be replicated. Therefore, Rapp’s claim that some subject-experiencer verbs
contain an active component and are therefore eventive could not be verified. With
respect to their event structure status, subject-experiencer verbs are Kimian states.
4.1.4 Argument structure
Subject-experiencer verbs have a simple argument structure in German. They pattern

completely with eventive transitive verbs. Both eventive transitives and stative subject-
experiencer verbs contain an external argument and assign structural case to their com-
plement. Evidence for the presence of an external argument comes from the fact that
subject-experiencer verbs undergo passive formation and allow for er-nominalization.3
3. Haiden 2005 claims that both (283b) and (285a) are ungrammatical. I do not think this is
the case. Compare (1).
(1) Die Antwort wurde schon wieder von keinem gewußt.
The answer was yet again by nobody known.
‘Again, the answer wasn’t known by anyone.’
Although (285a) is a little odd, it is way better than other passive constructions. For example, the
passive from measure verbs is completely out.
(2) * Zehn Euro wurden von dem Buch gekostet.
Ten euro were by the book cost.
‘Ten euros were cost by the book.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(283) a. Der Franzi wird (von der Irmi) geliebt.

The Franzi is (by the Irmi) loved.
‘Franzi is loved (by Irmi).’
b. Die Antwort wird (von der Irmi) gewußt.
The answer is (by the Irmi) known.
‘The answer is known (by Irmi).’
Er-nominalization forms a synthetic compound (cf. Grimshaw 1990), i.e. the thematic ar-
gument appears internal to the compound, whereas the agent is realized as the er-suffix.
(284) a. Hunde hass + er + in
dog hate suff fem
‘dog-hater’
b. Katzen kenn er
cat know suff
‘cat-knower’
This picture is repeated with besitzen (possess).
(285) a. ? Das Haus wird (von der Irmi) besessen.
The house is (by the Irmi) possessed.
‘The house is possessed (by Irmi).’
b. Katzen besitz + er + in
cat own suff fem
‘cat-owner’
Hence, passivization and therefore assignment of structural Case is not tied to a non-
stative eventuality.
4.1.5 The structure of subject-experiencer verbs
The Semantic Form of subject-experiencer verbs is simple. It consists of a single predi-

cate only, as illustrated in (286b). As there is no mechanism that renders a subject-ex-
periencer verb eventive, none of the aspectual operators are present in the structure.
(286) a. Die Irmi liebt dieses Buch.
The Irmi loves this book.
‘Irmi loves this book.’
b. λy λx λs love(x, y) (s) (Irmi) (book) =
= λs love(Irmi, book) (s)
Verbs that undergo the inchoative alternation (know vs. getting to know), have an op-
tional become operator in their structure. Note that it is not the case that there are cor-
responding inchoative counterparts for all members of the subject-experiencer class.
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
The phrase strucutre associated with subject-experiencer verbs is simple as well.

Assuming that event structure is read off from syntactic structure directly, the number
of verbal layers reflects the number of subevents associated with a certain verb. As
there are no subevents but only one state with subject-experiencer verbs, the phrase
structure consists only of a single VP.
(287) VP
wo
DP V’
6 3
die Irmi DP V
6 liebt
dieses Buch
The fact that subject-experiencer verbs may be passivized shows that the passive op-
eration is not related to the event structure of verbs. Rather, I take this fact to support
the view of Haiden 2005, who claims that the restriction on the passive operation is a
thematic constraint. Predicates which select for an object that has no “mental experi-
ence” do not undergo the passive alternation. “Mental experience” or “mental involve-
ment” is a theta feature ([±m]) that captures the fact that an argument is animate, i.e.,
that it acts intentionally or is able to experience emotions. The original definition of
this constraint is given in (288).
(288) Condition on saturation in syntax
[/-m] cannot be saturated.
[Haiden 2005: 262 (151)]
This condition captures the fact that an argument which is specified for being [/-m]
cannot be implicit in the verbal passive. In other words, those arguments that may be
demoted by the passive operation must be specified as “mental.” In this way, Haiden
rejects those proposals that relate passive to events (e.g. Rapp 1997).
4.1.6 Conclusion
To sum up, this section discussed the behavior of subject-experiencer verbs. It was
shown that all of these verbs have a Kimian stative reading. Moreover, these verbs do
not show a systematic stative/eventive ambiguity. In particular, apparent subject-expe-
riencer verbs like kennen (know) turned out to behave more like perception verbs, in
that they allow for an eventive reading when combined with the prefix er- in German.
Verbs like kennen, therefore, express the resultant state of a previous process of getting
to know (or of seeing, as in Ancient Greek) something. In contrast, “true” subject-expe-
riencer verbs are not the result of a previous process, at least in a grammatical sense.
Subject-experiencer verbs, then, were analyzed as consisting of a simple represen-
tational structure, neither including any of the aspectual operators do or become, nor
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
involving the causative operator. As there is no cause-operator present in the represen-

tation of subject-experiencer verbs, they never involve two situations or two events.
Furthermore, it turned out that the relation between the little v projection, which
licenses the external argument, and eventivity is not valid. Subject-experiencer verbs
are the prime case of a verb containing an external argument and having a stative inter-
pretation, thus pointing strongly towards the independence of eventivity and the exter-
nal argument. In particular, this fact questions the assumption that the verbal passive is
tied to eventivity, since subject-experiencer verbs, although being stative, allow for pas-
sive formation freely. In this way, the insight of Haiden 2005 was confirmed that passive
formation is not due to an eventive interpretation, contra Rapp 1997.
4.2 Dative-experiencer / possessor verbs
Object-experiencer verbs which assign dative case to the experiencer are referred to as
piacere-class by Belletti and Rizzi 1988 and as appeal to-class by Pesetsky 1995 and
Arad 1998a. Some examples are listed in (289).
(289) schmecken (taste), gefallen (appeal to), passen (fit), stinken (smell bad), genü-
gen (to be enough), behagen (suit)
Furthermore, some verbs do not assign an experiencer but a possessor theta role to the
dative object.
(290) fehlen (be missing), gehören (belong to)
Both the experiencer and the possessor variant have Kimian stative readings only.
There is no way of making them eventive.
Dative experiencer/possessor verbs all pass the tests for an underlying Kimian stative
reading. In the following paragraphs, I will go through one test after the other in order
to substantiate this claim.

Event-oriented manner adverbials are excluded with dative-experiencer verbs, al-
though examples like (291) seem to contradict this. However, the adverbials which are
allowed are not manner but degree adverbials.
(291) Die Hose hat dem Poldi hauteng gepaßt.
The pants have the Poldi dat skin-tight fitted.
‘The pants fitted Poldi tightly.’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
In (291), hauteng (skin-tight) is not a manner adverbial. Rather, it expresses to what

degree the pants fitted. Compare:
(292) Die Hose hat der Irmi knapp / locker / perfekt /
The pants have the Irmi dat tightly / loosely / perfectly /
vortrefflich gepaßt.
terrifically fitted.
‘The pants fitted Irmi tightly / loosely / perfectly / terrifically.’
Thus, passen (fit) is a gradable predicate. For example, pants can fit to various degrees:
either they can be very tight (i.e. hauteng), so tight that one can hardly breathe. Or they
can fit tightly, so that they are just uncomfortable to wear. Pants can fit even loosely, so
that they are very comfortable to wear, but one may look not very elegant. Finally, if
pants fit perfectly, they have just the ideal degree of fitting.
Real event-oriented manner adverbials are excluded, as shown in (293) and (294).
(293) a. * Die Hose hat dem Poldi auf eine enge Weise gepaßt.
The pants have the Poldi dat in a tight way fitted.
‘The pants fitted Poldi in a tight way.’
b. * Das Kleid hat der Irmi auf eine elegante Weise gepaßt.
The dress has the Irmi dat in an elegant way fitted.
‘The dress fitted Irmi in an elegant way.’
(294) a. * Das Lied hat der Irmi melodiös / rhythmisch /
The song has the Irmi dat melodically / rhythmically /
unterhaltsam gefallen.
entertainingly appealed.
‘The song appealed to Irmi melodically / rhythmically / entertainingly.’
b. * Das Lied hat der Irmi auf eine melodiöse / rhythmische /
The song has the Irmi dat in a melodic / rhythmic /
unterhaltsame Weise gefallen.
entertaining way appealed.
‘The song appealed to Irmi in a melodic / rhythmic / entertaining way.’
Again, some more apparent counterexamples exist. Cases as (295) seem to involve
manner adverbials with a dative-experiencer verb.
(295) Das Konzert hat der Irmi aufführungstechnisch gefallen.
The concert has the Irmi dat with respect to the show appealed.
‘The performance of the concert appealed to Irmi.’
However, aufführungstechnisch (with respect to the show) does not specify the way the
appealing event happened. It specifies that what Irmi liked about the concert was the
way the show was set up. It could have been that this was the only thing Irmi liked
about it, because the songs and the musicians didn’t perform well. Therefore, cases like
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(295) specify what about the concert appealed to the experiencer. They do not make a
claim about in what way the appealing happened.
Finally, event-related manner adverbials are excluded with dative-possessor
verbs as well.
(296) a. * Der Zahn hat dem Kind schmerzhaft / häßlich gefehlt.
The tooth has the child dat painfully / ugly missed.
‘The child missed the tooth painfully / ugly.’
b. * Der Zahn hat dem Kind auf eine schmerzhafte / häßliche
The tooth has the child dat in a painful / ugly
Weise gefehlt.
way missed.
‘The child missed the tooth in a painful / ugly way.’
(297) * Das Buch hat dem Poldi auf eine günstige / nützliche Weise
The book has the Poldi dat in a cheap / useful way
gehört.
belonged.
‘The book belonged to Poldi in a cheap / useful way.’
In sum, there are no event-related manner adverbials that can co-occur with dative-
experiencer verbs, pointing towards the fact that there are no Davidsonian stative
readings or eventive readings with these verbs.

The next test to look at is whether event-related locative modifiers are possible with
dative-experiencer/possessor verbs. The locatives in the examples in (298), if accepta-
ble at all, must receive a frame-setter interpretation. The sentences cannot be under-
stood in a way where the event is taking place at a particular location.
(298) a. Die Hose hat dem Poldi vor dem Spiegel
The pants have the Poldi dat in front of the mirror
gepaßt. (frame-setter only)
fitted.
‘In front of the mirror, the pants fitted Poldi.’
b. Das Lied hat der Irmi in der Disco gefallen. (frame-setter only)
The song has the Irmi dat at the disco appealed.
‘At the disco, the song appealed to Irmi.’
Regarding (298a), the sentence can only mean that at the moment when Poldi was in
front of the mirror the pants fitted him (e.g. when he tried them on in a shop). Later,
after he had eaten a huge dinner, they didn’t. In (298b), Irmi liked the song when she
was dancing in the disco, but she didn’t like it anymore when she heard it on the radio.
In sum, both locative adverbials of (298) receive a temporal interpretation. They
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
describe under what circumstances the predicate holds. This is clearly the frame-setter
interpretation and not the event-related locative specification.
Examples as those given in (299) provide further evidence that locatives are ex-
cluded with dative-experiencer verbs. Compared to (298), the verbs in these examples
denote rather “permanent” properties. Therefore, the frame-setter reading of the loca-
tives is pragmatically excluded, rendering the sentences ungrammatical.
(299) a. * Der Zahn hat dem Kind vor dem Spiegel gefehlt.
The tooth has the child dat in front of the mirror missed.
‘In front of the mirror, the child missed the tooth.’
b. * Das Buch hat dem Poldi zu Hause gehört.
The book has the Poldi dat at home belonged.
‘At home, the book belonged to Poldi.’
A more intricate example is given in (300). The locative modifier specifies where the
skirt fits. It fits around the waist, but it may not fit with respect to the length (it may be
too short). This locative adverbial specifies a part of the experiencer/possessor, rather
than a location where the event of fitting occurs.
(300) Der Rock hat der Irmi um die Taille gepaßt.
The skirt has the Irmi dat around the waist fitted.
‘The skirt fitted Irmi around the waist.’
In sum, event-related locative adverbials are not allowed together with dative-experi-
encer verbs. Therefore, this test shows that dative-experiencer verbs have only a Kim-
ian stative reading.

That dative-experiencer verbs do not allow for eventive readings can be further detect-
ed with the help of ein bisschen (a little) modification. As discussed earlier, only degree
readings but not temporal readings of ein bisschen are allowed with Kimian statives.
To illustrate, look at the examples in (301). The two sentences are marginal, as the
degree modifier for passen (fit) is usually expressed with other words (see Section
4.2.1.1). The verb in (301b) expresses a non-gradable predicate, since a tooth can only
be there or not. Therefore, the sentence is ungrammatical on this “possessor” interpre-
tation, which corresponds to the English lack. However, there is a second reading
which focuses on the feelings of the dative-marked argument, i.e., the miss interpreta-
tion. In this “experiencer” reading, a gradable interpretation is acceptable, describing
the degree how much someone was missing a certain object.
(301) a. ? Die Hose hat dem Poldi ein bisschen gepaßt.
The pants have the Poldi dat a little fitted.
‘The pants fitted Poldi a little.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Der Zahn hat dem Kind ein bisschen

The tooth has the child dat a little
gefehlt. degree reading only
*lacked / okmissed.
‘The child lacked / missed the tooth a little.’
Verbs which strongly prefer an experiencer reading, as (302) and (303), allow for a
temporal interpretation of ein bisschen. The implications given in the b. sentences hold
for these verbs, indicating that the state of experiencing or the state of having a certain
emotion is not stable.
(302) a. Das Lied hat der Irmi ein bisschen gefallen.
The song has the Irmi dat a little appealed.
‘The song appealed to Irmi a little.’
b. ⇒ Dann hat sie es nicht mehr hören können.
⇒ Then has she it not more hear can.
‘Then she couldn’t stand it anymore.’
(303) a. Das Stofftier hat dem Kind ein bisschen gefehlt.
The stuffed animal has the child dat a little missed.
‘The child missed the stuffed animal a little.’
b. ⇒ Doch sehr bald hat das Kind diesen Verlust überwunden.
⇒ But very soon has the child this loss overcome.
‘Soon the child overcame the loss.’
[W.U. Dressler, p.c.]
In contrast, other verbs such as schmecken (taste) and gehören (belong) do not allow
for the time-span reading of ein bisschen. This is clarified when looking at the infer-
ences in the (b) sentences. Neither in (304) nor in (305) the implication is valid that ein
bisschen denotes a time-interval.
(304) a. Der Kuchen hat dem Poldi ein bisschen geschmeckt.
The cake has the Poldi dat a little tasted.
‘Poldi liked the cake a little.’
b. ⇒
/ Etwas später hat er ihn grauslich gefunden.
⇒ / A bit later has he him disgusting thought of.
‘Later he found it disgusting.’
(305) a. ?? Das Pferd hat dem Kind ein bisschen gehört.
The horse has the child dat a little belonged.
‘The horse belonged to the child a little.’
b. ⇒
/ Dann ist es verkauft worden.
⇒
/ Then has it sold were.
‘Then it was sold.’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
In sum, the results of the ein bisschen-test supports the claim that dative-experiencer/
possessor verbs do not have a Davidsonian stative reading nor an eventive one. In
most cases, the degree reading is the only available one for ein bisschen. Those cases
which allow for a time-span reading are always experiencer verbs. In this context, it is
not an event that lasts for a short period of time; rather, the emotion is unstable, such
that the state of experiencing it may cease after some time.
4.2.1.4 Complement of perception verbs

In order to further clarify the status of dative-experiencer/possessor verbs, I want to
examine whether they are possible complements of perception verbs. As noted by
Maienborn 2003, it is not possible for Kimian statives to function as non-sentential
complements of perception verbs. Dative possessor/experiencer verbs are unaccepta-
ble as complements of perception verbs:
(306) a. * Ich sehe die Hose der Irmi passen.
I see the pants the Irmi dat fit.
‘I see the pants fitting Irmi.’
b. Ich sehe, daß die Hose der Irmi paßt.
I see that the pants the Irmi dat fit.
‘I see that the pants fit Irmi.’
(307) a. ?? Der Poldi sieht den Käse der Irmi schmecken.
The Poldi sees the cheese the Irmi dat taste.
‘Poldi sees Irmi liking the cheese.’
b. Der Poldi sieht, daß der Käse der Irmi schmeckt.
The Poldi sees that the cheese the Irmi dat tastes.
‘Poldi sees that Irmi likes the cheese.’
(308) a. * Der Poldi sieht das Lied der Irmi gefallen.
The Poldi sees the song the Irmi dat appeal.
‘Poldi sees the song appealing to Irmi.’
b. Der Poldi sieht, daß das Lied der Irmi gefällt.
The Poldi sees that the song the Irmi dat appeals.
‘Poldi sees that the song appeals to Irmi.’
These examples show that the sentential complements given in the (b) examples are
considerably more acceptable than their non-sentential counterparts in (a). These
data, therefore, support the claim that verbs of the dative-experiencer/possessor type
do not allow for a Davidsonian stative reading.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
4.2.2 The structure of dative-experiencer/possessor verbs
The structure of dative possessor/experiencer verbs, as far as their event structure is

concerned, is simple. These verbs do not show a stative/eventive ambiguity; they al-
ways have a Kimian stative reading.
(309) a. Das Lied gefällt der Irmi.
The song appeals to the Irmi.
‘The song appeals to Irmi.’
b. λy λx λs appeals-to(x, y) (s) (song) (Irmi) =
= λs appeals-to(song, Irmi)(s)
It is possible to associate an unaccusative structure with these verbs (e.g. as suggested by
Belletti and Rizzi 1988 and others): the experiencer argument occupies a higher posi-
tion, whereas the trigger argument originates adjacent to the verb. The trigger argu-
ment moves to a higher position within the IP, thus agreeing with the verb in number.
The main point is, however, that both the experiencer/possessor argument and the
subject originate within the same, single-layered verbal projection. In this way, the fact
that these verbs have a Kimian stative reading only is reflected in the lexical structure.
(310) a. Das Lied gefällt der Irmi.
The song appeals to the Irmi.
‘The song appeals to Irmi.’
b. VP
wo
DP V
6 3
der Irmi DP V
6 gefällt
das Lied
4.2.3 Conclusion
In sum, this section has discussed the behavior of dative-experiencer/possessor verbs.

It was shown that these verbs allow for a Kimian stative interpretation only, not dis-
playing a systematic stative/eventive ambiguity. In particular, it is not possible to insert
neither the do nor the become-operator into the lexical structure of dative-experienc-
er verbs. Hence, these verbs always express a state, but never an event. Moreover, verbs
of this class do not express a causal structure, so there are no two states or events
present. Therefore, the underlying structure is simple.
The distinction between dative-experiencers and dative-possessors does not influ-
ence the aspectual behavior. Hence, the investigation of these verbs regarding their
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
aspectual interpretation does not provide any hints as to whether experiencers should
be distinguished from possessors.
4.3 Measure verbs
Measure verbs are verbs that express the degree of a certain property such as length or
duration. Some examples of German measure verbs are given in (311).
(311) messen (measure), wiegen (weigh), dauern (last), kosten (cost), enthalten (con-
tain), überwiegen (weigh more), umfassen (consist of)
(312) Das Buch kostet 10 Euro.
The book costs 10 euro.
‘The book costs ten euros.’
In addition to that, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005 report that certain activity verbs
such as sleep or buy may be used to host a measure phrase as well.
(313) a. This room sleeps five people.
b. This edition of the text book had added a new chapter.
c. A dollar won’t buy a cup of coffee anymore.
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 2005: 25 (26)]
(314) This tent houses 10 people.
[Ruprecht 2005: 163]
For example, the verb sleep in (313a) does no longer refer to the activity of sleeping, but
expresses the fact that up to five people may sleep in the room. In this way, sleep is used
as a measure verb to refer to the quantity of people that fit into the room.
In this section, the tests for a Kimian stative reading are applied to measure verbs. To
anticipate the result: measure verbs allow for a Kimian stative reading only.

Event-oriented manner adverbials are not acceptable when they occur together with
measure verbs. This is shown in (315).
(315) a. * Der Film dauert episch / gemächlich zwei Stunden.
The film lasts epic / easygoing two hours.
‘The film lasts epically / easygoing two hours.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. * Das Buch kostet auf eine billige Weise 5 Euro.

The book costs in a cheap way 5 euro.
‘The book costs five euros in a cheap way.’

Next, event-related locative modifiers must not occur together with measure verbs,
hinting towards the fact that they cannot have a Davidsonian stative or an eventive
reading. Examples are given in (316).
(316) a. Der Film dauert im Garten zwei Stunden.
The film lasts in the garden two hours.
‘In the garden, the film lasts two hours.’
b. Das Buch kostet im Versandhaus 10 Euro.
The book costs in the mailing order 10 Euro.
‘If it is ordered by mail, the book costs ten euros.’
However, the sentences in (316) are not ungrammatical. But the locative modifiers are
not event-related. Rather, they are coerced into a frame-setter reading: in a., it could be
the case that the wind kept disturbing the setting of the projector and the canvas, such
that it took longer to watch the whole film that it would under other circumstances.
Similarly, b. receives the frame-setter interpretation as well: when sold by mail-order,
the book costs 10 euro. Under other circumstances, for example, when sold in a book
store, the book may have another price. This type of example regarding kosten (cost)
was first discussed in Maienborn 2001, see also Section 2.4.5.2.
In sum, locative modifiers can only appear as frame-setters with measure verbs,
indicating their status as Kimian statives.

The third test that discriminates Kimian states from Davidsonian event arguments is
the interpretation of the degree modifier ein bisschen.
(317) a. * Der Film dauert ein bisschen zwei Stunden.
The film lasts a little two hours.
‘The film lasts two hours a little.’
b. * Das Buch kostet ein bisschen 5 Euro.
The book costs a little 5 euro.
‘The book costs five euros a little.’
The test regarding the time-span reading of ein bisschen (a little) is not applicable with
measure verbs, since sentences such as (317) are ungrammatical, disallowing the in-
vestigation of different readings. The only measure verb which allows ein bisschen is
dauern (last). With dauern, the degree adverbial specifies the length how long the sub-
ject lasted, as in (318). To be more precise, the meaning is that the film is perceived as
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
being a little bit long (and maybe a little bit boring). Of course, it is not possible to have
two degree expressions at the same time, hence (317a) is ruled out.
(318) Der Film dauert ein bisschen.
The film lasts a little.
‘The film lasts some time.’
Other measure verbs do not allow for ein bisschen at all. Either, they are completely
ungrammatical, as in (319a), or they are reinterpreted as a partitive construction. The
partitive reading is illustrated in (319b), where ein bisschen (a little) is understood to
be a little bit of something.
(319) a. * Tante Erna wiegt ein bisschen.
Aunt Erna weighs a little.
‘Aunt Erna is quite heavy.’
b. Das Vergnügen kostet ein bisschen (was).
The fun costs a little (something).
‘The fun is not for free.’
Moreover, measure verbs without a measure phrase like those under (320) denote a
high degree. For example, the German correspondent of “a film lasts” means that the
film is perceived as being very long (and probably boring); similarly, “a book costs”
means that the book is very expensive (probably too expensive to buy).
(320) a. Der Film dauert.
The film lasts.
‘The film lasts.’
b. Das Buch kostet.
The book costs.
‘The book costs.’
Bierwisch 1987: 129 states that measure verbs like cost, last and weigh are interpreted
in a way that the degree is understood to be high if the complement is omitted.
(321) Das kostet. → Das kostet viel.
This costs. → This costs much.
‘This costs. → This is expensive.’
[Bierwisch 1987: 129 (102); my gloss, my translation]
In sum, there is no time-span reading available for ein bisschen, indicating that there is no
event going on for a particular time. Rather, measure verbs have a Kimian stative reading.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
4.3.2 Further properties of measure verbs
Verbs of this group subcategorize for a measure phrase as their complement. But not
all kinds of DPs may serve as a measure phrase; in particular, strong determiners are
not allowed in object position of measure verbs.4 As already noted in Section 2.3.2.3,
the difference between weak and strong determiners goes back to the seminal work of
Milsark 1974. According to him, weak determiners are allowed in the existential con-
struction, whereas strong ones are not.
(322) a. Weak determiners
There is a unicorn in the garden.
There are three/several/few unicorns in the garden.
b. Strong determiners
??There is the/every unicorn in the garden.
??There are most unicorns in the garden.
This difference is replicated with the complement of measure verbs. As illustrated in
(323), strong determiners are unacceptable within measure phrases.
(323) a. * Der Film dauert jede Stunde.
The film lasts every hour.
‘The film lasts every hour.’
b. * Der Film dauert die Stunde.
The film lasts the hour.
‘The film lasts the hour.’
c. * Der Film dauert sie (=eine Stunde).
The film lasts her (=an hour).
‘The film lasts it.’
Apart from the choice of the determiner, there is another interesting fact about the
complements of measure phrase verbs. Koopman Sportiche 1988 and Rizzi 1990
(crediting David Feldman) show that extraction from wh-islands is not possible with
measure phrases. It is only possible if the verb refers to an activity, where the comple-
ment functions as the patient of the action.
(324) ? What did John wonder how to weigh t?
[Rizzi 1990: 78 (11)]
⇒ potatoes
⇒ *200 lbs
Likewise, the corresponding German question in (325) can only be answered with
potatoes, but not with 100 kg.
4. See Adger 1996 for a description of Gaelic measure phrases.

Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
(325) Was hat die Irmi wie zu wiegen vergessen?

What has the Irmi how to weigh forgot?
‘What did Irmi forget to weigh how?’
Rizzi 1990 attributes this behavior to the fact that there is no proper theta role assigned
to the measure phrase. Only the eventive verb may assign a real theta role. Extraction
is ruled out, because the trace of the measure phrase would not be properly governed,
due to the lack of theta government. Hence, the ECP (cf. Chomsky 1981) is violated,
rendering the sentence ungrammatical.
4.3.3 The lack of an eventive reading
Measure verbs cannot be interpreted in an eventive way. Even if there is an animate

subject, it cannot be understood as performing an action.
(326) * Der Poldi dauert zwei Stunden.
The Poldi lasts two hours.
‘Poldi lasts two hours.’
Neither can measure verbs be used in a lexical causative construction, i.e., (327) can-
not be interpreted in a way that Poldi, who is the director, brought it about that the film
lasted two hours.
(327) * Der Poldi dauert den Film zwei Stunden.
The Poldi lasts the film two hours.
‘Poldi is lasting the film two hours.’
4.3.4 The structure of measure verbs
4.3.4.1 The lexical structure of measure verbs

The discussion above revealed that measure verbs have a very simple eventuality struc-
ture: the eventuality is not complex. Therefore, the lexical structure is simple; it con-
sists only of a single predicate which corresponds to the measure verb. This predicate
takes two arguments: the subject, which corresponds to the variable x, and the degree,
which is referred to by d in (328b).
(328) a. Das Buch kostet 10 Euro.
b. λd λx λs cost(x, d)(s) (book) (10 euro)
λs cost(book, 10 euro) (s)
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(329) a. Der Film dauert zwei Stunden.

The film lasts two hours.
‘The film lasts two hours.’
b. λd λx λs last(x, d)(s) (film) (two hours)
λs last(film, two hours) (s)
The fact that measure phrases do not allow for extraction from wh-island can be re-
phrased in terms of the kind of argument selected. As Rizzi 1990 has noted, it is not a
theme theta role that is assigned to the measure phrase. I suggest that the measure phrase
realizes a degree argument of the measure verb. Therefore, it is part of the whole measure
predicate, differing strongly from thematic arguments like themes or patients.
Needless to say, the degree argument d must be realized by a measure phrase.
Measure phrases, or cardinal predicates, correspond to weak determiners. Since the
complement of the measure verb is not an argument of the type e (entities), but of
degrees, all other types of DPs, in particular strong determiners, are excluded.
Because the relationship between the measure phrase and the verb is so tight, the
question arises if the measure phrase might be semantically incorporated into the verb
(cf. van Geenhoven 1998a, van Geenhoven 1998b). Semantic Incorporation is a mecha-
nism that has been proposed to account for the behavior of direct objects in West
Greenlandic. Certain arguments are incorporated into the verb, whereas their modi-
fiers, such as adjectives or cardinal expressions, appear outside the verb and bear in-
strumental case. Consider (330).
(330) Suulut qisum-mik timmisartu-liur-p-u-q.
S.abs wood-inst.sg airplane-make-ind-[-tr]-3sg
‘Suulut made a wooden airplane.’
[van Geenhoven 1998a: 228 (5)]
Semantic Incorporation, then, captures the fact that the direct object is incorporated into
the verb, while leaving its modificators outside. A possible representation is given in (331).
(331) a. Nuka iipili-tur-p-u-q.
N.abs apple-eat-ind-[-tr]-3sg
‘Nuka ate an apple / apples.’
[van Geenhoven 1998a: 232 (15a)]
b. ∃y [eat(nuka,y) ∧ apple(y)]
Van Geenhoven captures the fact that the apple is incorporated into the verb along the
following lines. In (331b), the predicate eat has two arguments, the agent and the pa-
tient. The patient, expressed by the variable y, is not directly assigned its value within
the predicate. Rather, the variable y is existentially bound. It can only be specified by
the conjunct apple (y), which forms part of the verb meaning. The predicate apple(y)
specifies the emphproperty of the incorporated argument.
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
Of course, it is possible to abstract over the direct object, in order to be able to

specify other complements than apples. This is done via λ-abstraction over properties.
(332) λP<e,t>λxe∃y [eat(x,y) ∧ P(y)]
Measure phrases, which are always weak DPs that are of type < e, t > like all indefinites,
therefore act as a property that is incorporated into the verb. In this way, the degree
argument of the verb is specified along the lines of Semantic Incorporation.Therefore,
I take a the measure phrase to be occupy a similar position as the incorporated argu-
ment in the verb structure. The measure phrase does not occupy the direct argument
position as in (328b) and (329b), but specifies the degree argument in a separate con-
junct. In this way it is distinguished from thematic arguments such as patients or
themes. Moreover, this structure accounts for the “incorporation”-flavor of the meas-
ure phrase. In this way, the measure phrase functions as a further specification of the
predicate. The measure phrase counts as a plural indefinite that may be represented as
a predicate and a quantity, following the spirit of Partee 1987.
(333) ten euros: euro (x) ∧ |x| = 10]
The lexical-semantic representation of measure verbs is thus as follows:
(334) λs ∃d [cost(book,d) ∧ d= euro (d) ∧|d| = 10] (s)
After lambda-abstraction, the general form is as shown in (335).
(335) λP λx λs ∃d [cost(x,d) ∧ P(d)] (s) (book) (10 euro)
A potential counterexample to the claim that the complement of measure verbs must
not contain a definite determiner is given in (336).5
(336) Das Buch kostet die / diese zehn Euro, die
The book costs the demonstr. / these demonstr. then euro which
ich verdient habe.
I earned have.
‘The book costs those ten euros which I have earned.’
Measure verbs are compatible with definite complements as well, although the con-
struction must involve a restrictive relative clause. A definite complement without the
relative clause is ungrammatical.
(337) * Das Buch kostet die zehn Euro.
The book costs the ten euro.
‘The book costs the ten euros.’
5. Thanks to Werner Abraham for pointing out this problem.

 The Structure of Stative Verbs
As measure phrases refer to predicates and not to entities, they cannot be modified by
a relative clause (as seen in (338)).
(338) * Das Buch kostet zehn Euro, die ich verdient habe.
The book costs ten euro that I earned have.
‘The book costs ten euros which I have earned.’
However, what looks like a definite determiner in (336) is a demonstrative pronoun, as
it bears phonological stress. Therefore, (336) does not count as a counterexample, for
it does not contain a definite determiner but a demonstrative pronoun. In order to
keep the idea that the measure phrase incorporates into the main predicate, the de-
monstrative pronoun must provide an escape hatch that allows the DP to be of the type
< e, t >. Crucially, this escape hatch is not available for definite determiners. According
to Elbourne 2007, demonstratives consist of a referential index i and a function R that
relates the index to a predicate:
(339) [DP[[that i ] R ] NP]
[Elbourne 2007: 25 (91)]
For example, the LF in (339) can be illustrated as follows.
(340) a. That cat [gesture at Felix] laughs.
b. [[[[that i1 ] R2 ] cat] laughs]
[Elbourne 2007: 29 (97a),(98)]
The index i1 refers to Felix and the relation R2 is the identity relation.
(341) a. [[i]] = Felix
b. [[R]] = λx.λu<s,e>.λs.u(s) = x
[Elbourne 2007: 29 (99)]
Regarding the example in (336), the relation R is not the identity relation, but the iden-
tification of the index i with the relative clause.
(342) [[[these i1 ] R2 ] 10 euros]
In other words, it is the relation R that is part of the meaning of the demonstrative
pronoun that requires the restrictive relative clause in cases such as (336). The NP part
10 euros is of type < e, t > and therefore open to Semantic Incorporation. The meaning
of (336) is given in (343).
(343) ∃y[cost(book, y) ∧ euro(y) ∧ |y| = 10 ∧ earn(I, z) ∧ ιz.(z = y)]
Earn(I, z) refers to the relative clause which I have earned, and ιz.(z = y) introduces the
uniqueness constraint required by the demonstrative.
Note that the DPs that can be semantically incorporated correspond to those DPs
that qualify as having weak Case in the sense of Hoop 1996. Very roughly, the idea
behind the distinction between weak and strong Case is that DPs with weak readings
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
receive weak Case and stay within the VP. DPs that have strong readings receive strong
Case and move out of the VP. For example, the partitive/accusative distinction that
arises with Finnish telic verbs is an instance of the weak/strong distinction. Measure
phrases, containing only weak determiners, therefore, are compatible with the group
of DPs that receive weak case.
4.3.4.2 The syntactic structure of measure verbs

A possible structure that is compatible with the lexical semantics of measure verbs is
given in (344b).
(344) a. Das Buch kostet 10 Euro.
b. VP
wo
DP V’
6 3
das Buch NP V
6 kostet
10 Euro
4.3.5 Conclusion
In this section, the structure of measure verbs was discussed. It turned out that meas-
ure verbs, always expressing a property of their subject, never allow for a systematic
stative/eventive ambiguity. Hence, there is no way of creating an eventive reading out
of a measure verb. The two core mechanisms that are responsible for an eventive read-
ing, the do and the become-operator, may not be inserted into the structure of meas-
ure verbs. In addition, these verbs do not express a causal relation, hence, there is no
cause-operator present. Therefore, the structure of measure verbs is simple: it consists
only of a single-layered verbal projection.
Moreover, the complement of measure verbs displays an interesting property. The
measure phrase only allows for weak determiners; measure phrases that contain a
strong determiner are unacceptable. This fact was accounted for by assuming that
measure verbs contain a degree argument that must be specified. In this way, measure
phrases specify the property that is predicated of the subject, and they do not take part
in a measure event.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
4.4 PP-complement verbs
Several verbs selecting for a PP-complement are stative only. Some examples are listed
under (345).
(345) schmecken nach (taste of), bestehen aus (consist of), grenzen an (border with),
vorkommen in (appear in), beruhen auf / fußen auf / basieren auf (be based on),
folgen aus (follow from), hervorgehen aus (come from), stinken nach (smell of)
(346) Das Grundstück grenzt an den Fluß.
The property borders to the river.
‘The property borders to the river.’
4.4.1 Remark
A further example of this group is stinken, which is often thought of as a one-place

verb. However, I would like to argue that the underlying form comes with a PP com-
plement nach as in (347a). The frequently used one-place variant, exemplified in
(347b), has a generic object that means something like bad smell. Moreover, there is
also a dative variant of stinken, which has an idiomatic meaning; see (347c). It belongs
to the group of dative experiencer verbs.
(347) a. Der Fußballer stinkt nach Schweiß.
The soccer player smells of sweat.
‘The soccer player smells of sweat.’
b. Der Fußballer stinkt.
The soccer player smells.
‘The soccer player is smelly.’
c. Das stinkt mir. (Idiom)
This nom stinks me dat
‘To me, this sucks.’

Event-oriented manner adverbials are not possible together with PP-complement
verbs. Neither the question in (348) nor the modifiers in (349) are acceptable.
(348) a. * Auf welche Weise grenzt das Grundstück an einen Fluß?
In what way borders the property to a river?
‘In what way does the property border to a river?’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
b. * Auf welche Weise stinken die Socken nach Käse?

In what way smell the socks of cheese?
‘In what way do the socks smell of cheese?’
(349) * Das Grundstück grenzt auf geradlinige / legale /
The property borders in straight / legal /
baubedingte Weise an einen Fluß.
due to the way of building way to a river.
‘The property borders in a straight way / legally / by the way how it was built
to a river.’
Since manner adverbials are not compatible with these verbs, this test shows that verbs
which select for a PP-complement have a Kimian stative reading. They do not allow for
a Davidsonian stative nor for an eventive reading.

Event-related locative modifiers are not licensed by the PP-complement verbs, point-
ing towards the lack of an eventive reading.
(350) a. * Das Grundstück grenzt im Salzkammergut an einen Fluß.
The property borders in the Salzkammergut to a river.
‘The property borders to a river in the Salzkammergut.’
b. Die Socken stinken neben den Schuhen nach Käse.
The socks smell next to the shoes of cheese.
‘The socks smell of cheese next to the shoes.’
Both examples in (350) can be interpreted. However, in this case the locative aderbials
are interpreted as frame-setters. For example, the property can be so large that it is
located in different regions. Only in the region Salzkammergut, it borders with a river.
Similarly, neben den Schuhen can be understood as a condition: whenever the socks are
next to the shoes, they smell of cheese (because both the socks and the shoes were used
for sports). In sum, these locative modifiers indicate that the (Davidsonian) eventive
reading is excluded for verbs with a PP-complement.

Next, consider the test of the interpretation of ein bisschen. As shown in (351), this
modifier can only receive a degree reading. It cannot be interpreted as a time-span,
again hinting towards the fact that verbs with PP-complements allowfor a Kimian sta-
tive reading only.
(351) a. Das Grundstück hat ein bisschen an einen Fluß gegrenzt.
The property has a little to a river bordered.
‘The property bordered to a river a little.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Die Socken haben ein bisschen nach Käse gestunken.

The socks have a little of cheese smelled.
‘The socks smelled of cheese a little.’
4.4.2.4 Complement of perception verbs

In order to serve as a complement of a perception verb, a predicate not only has to
contain a Davidsonian event variable, but it also has to have some visible property.
Verbs of cognitive activity like think or grief are difficult in this respect, but the stative
PP-complement constructions denote properties that are possible to perceive.
(352) a. ?? Die Irmi sieht das Grundstück an einen Fluß grenzen.
The Irmi sees the property with a river border.
‘Irmi sees the property bordering to a river.’
b. ? Die Irmi sieht das Werk aus drei Bänden bestehen.
The Irmi sees the book of three volumes consist.
‘Irmi sees the book consisting of three volumes.’
Note that the correspondents with sentential complements improve remarkably in
grammatical status.
(353) a. Die Irmi sieht, daß das Grundstück an einen Fluß grenzt.
The Irmi sees that the property to a river borders.
‘Irmi sees that the property borders to a river.’
b. Die Irmi sieht, daß das Werk aus drei Bänden besteht.
The Irmi sees that the book of three volumes consists.
‘Irmi sees that the book consists of three volumes.’
The perception verb test shows that there is no Davidsonian eventive reading with PP-
complement verbs listed in (15).
4.4.3 The structure of verbs with a PP-complement

Similar to measure verbs, the PP-complement is interpreted as a specification of the
property that is expressed by the verb. The analysis proposed for measure verbs in Sec-
tion 4.3.4 cannot be carried over to verbs that select for a PP-complement, since the
DP can be definite as in (354), contrasting the complements of measure verbs.
(354) Das Grundstück grenzt an den Fluß / an die Donau.
The land borders to the river / to the Danube.
‘The property borders to a river / to the Danube.’
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
Note that definite DPs are only compatible with locative verbs in this context. Non-
locative PP-complement verbs disallow the definite determiner as expected, even when
the noun refers to (an indefinite number of) atoms such as boys:
(355) Der Chor besteht aus (*den) Buben.
The choir consists of (*the) boys.
‘The choir consists of (*the) boys.’
The definite DP in (354) has a mereological structure that is relevant for locative pred-
icates, allowing for the PP-complement to get the right type for Semantic Incorpora-
tion. The locative extension of a river (and even the Danube) consists of various sub-
parts that are also locations of this river. As it is unspecified in (354) which part of the
river is part of the complex predicate border-to, we get an indefinite amount of river
parts. This indefinite amount boils down to a non-existential reading of the indefinite
which may take place in Semantic Incorporation.
Following the account of Mador-Haim and Winter 2007 for incorporated PP-locatives,
the meaning of a PP-complement verb can be derived as follows. First, objects are mapped
to their eigenspaces, i.e., to the space they occupy. Then the preposition is applied.
(356) P(loc(x))
Thereafter the result space is mapped to the objects contained in that space.
(357) loc-1 (P(loc(x)))
[Mador-Haim and Winter 2007: 8 (15)]
The meaning of a river makes direct reference to its part-whole structure (≤). While y
in (358) refers the Danube as such, singled out by the iota-operator, some unspecified
part x is available for further processing. Thisis the unspecified, non-existential part
that allows Semantic Incorporation.
(358) λxιy(x ≤ y) ∧ danube(y)
The structure of the PP to the Danube is shown in (359b), x being an indefinite of the
type < e, t >.
(359) a. to the Danube
b. λx.loc-1 (to(loc(ιy[(x ≤ y) ∧ danube(y)])))
With the lexical-semantic structure of a verb that selects a PP-complement as in (360)
and the meaning of the PP in (359b), the meaning of the whole sentence results in the
structre in (361).
(360) border to: λP∃y[border (x, y) ∧ P(y)]
(361) ∃y[border (land, y) ∧ [loc-1 (to(loc(ιz[(y ≤ z) ∧ danube(z)])))]]
 The Structure of Stative Verbs

The lexical-semantic representation which was developed above, is compatible with
the following structure of the verb phrase:
(362) a. Das Grundstück grenzt an einen Fluß.
The property borders to a river.
‘The property borders to a river.’
b. VP
wo
DP V’
6 3
das Grundstück PP V
6 grenzt
an einen fluß
4.4.4 Conclusion
To sum up, this section has discussed verbs that select a PP-complement. It was shown
that all of these verbs receive a Kimian stative interpretation only. There is no gram-
matical means to create an eventive reading from verbs that require a PP-complement.
Thus, like the verbs discussed above (measure verbs, dative-experiencer/possessor
verbs and subject-experiencer verbs), the structure of PP-complement verbs does not
contain any of the aspectual operators. In addition, the structure does not express a
causal relation and does therefore not consist of a relation between two states or two
events. Thus, the underlying structure of PP-complement verbs is simple, expressing a
property that is predicated of the subject.
Moreover, the PP-complement was analyzed similar to the measure phrase in the
previous section: there is an implicit argument within the lexical-semantic structure of
the verb that must be specified by the prepositional phrase. Whereas this implicit argu-
ment is a degree argument that is restricted to weak DPs with measure verbs, the PP-
argument further specifies the property that is predicated of the subject. The restric-
tion that the PP may only contain weak DPs holds not only with measure phrases but
also with non-locative PP-complements. In the case of locative PP-complements, a
non-specific subpart of the DP is selected due to its mereological structure, resulting
in an indefinite that may be semantically incorporated. In sum, the PP-complement as
well as the measure phrases are licensed via a different mechanism, namely Semantic
Incorporation, compared to run-of-the-mill arguments.
Chapter 4. Non-ambiguous statives 
4.5 Conclusion
In this chapter, I have discussed several different types of verbs that express a Kimian
stative reading only. These verbs do not share a single underlying structure, but have
different lexical-semantic representations.
– Experiencer verbs: both subject and dative-object experiencer (the piacere-group)
verbs allow for a stative interpretation only.
– Subject-experiencer/possessor verbs contain no aspectual operators, their
lexical-semantic structure is therefore simple. However, they have an external
argument which is clearly not an agent and therefore not licensed by the do-
operator.
– Dative-experiencer/possessor verbs again do not contain any of the aspec-
tual operators. Thus, their lexical-semantic structure is simple.
– Verbs that have a “semantically incorporated”-like argument are predicates that
hold of the subject. Their object-like argument is licensed via a variable that is
existentially bound within the lexical-semantic structure of the verb. This variable
may be specified via Semantic Incorporation (i.e., it is a predicate and not an en-
tity that the verb subcategorizes for). This mechanism accounts for the fact that
the objects are either restricted with respect to the possible determiners (measure
phrases) or must be licensed via prepositions.
– Measure verbs contain a degree argument that is specified via the measure
phrase.
– Verbs with a PP complement contain a further specification of the predicate
that is licensed via the same mechanism as the measure phrase.
It is not possible to insert a become-operator into the lexical-semantic structure of
these verbs. Nevertheless, it is possible to coerce these verbs into a reading that ex-
presses a gradual onset, as this is possible with any expression via an operation that
takes place outside of the verb itself (e.g., it is possible to refer to the beginning of an
action like run, to the start of a state like be sick etc.).
Moreover, none of the verbs expresses a causal relation, i.e., the verbs that do
not display a stative/eventive ambiguity never express a relation between two situa-
tions or two events. Therefore, the operator cause is not present in their lexical-
semantic structure.
chapter 5
Verbs of position
Davidsonian statives, which seem to form a distinct class that lies between Kimian
statives and eventive verbs, consist of several subgroups of verbs. This chapter focuses
on verbs of position, which select for an obligatory locative argument. There are two
major classes of verbs of position that display a distinct behavior in terms of event
structure: stative verbs of position (Section 5.1) and verbs of body posture (Section 5.2).
After discussing the status of the eventuality that they refer to I will suggest a structure
for each of them in turn.
5.1 Stative verbs of position
Stative verbs of position like the German examples in (363) pose an interesting ques-
tion regarding their event structure status: do they refer to an eventive eventuality, to
a Kimian state, or is it necessary to introduce a third type of eventuality, the Davidso-
nian stative, into the ontology?
(363) hängen (hang), sitzen (sit), stehen (stand), lehnen (lean), liegen (lie)
According to Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995, verbs of simple position as in (364) are
non-agentive and have an obligatory locative phrase. Levin 1993 and Levin and Rap-
paport Hovav 1995 argue that these verbs are in fact verbs of existence, much like exist
and remain.1
1. Other verbs that probably belong to the class of verbs of existence include those listed
in (1) and (2).
(1) stimmen (be correct), zählen (count), dafürstehen (stand for), genügen (suffice),
währen (last)
(2) a. Die Antwort stimmt.
The answer is right.
‘The answer is correct.’
b. Nur die Liebe zählt.
Only the love counts.
‘Only love counts.’
c. Ein kleines Präsent genügt.
A small present suffices.
‘A small present suffices.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(364) The papers lay on the desk.

The authors assume that verbs of existence have an unaccusative structure with two
internal arguments, as they do not form causative transitive counterparts.
( 365) a. A star appeared in the sky.
b. * The darkness appeared a star in the sky.
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 122 (99a)]
(366) a. A solution exists.
b. * The mathematician existed a solution.
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 122 (99c)]
The apparent counterparts that exist within verbs of spatial configuration (such as
transitive and intransitive hang) are not derived from one another. Levin and Rappa-
port Hovav conclude that these apparent pairs only “happen to involve the same con-
stant and therefore may have the same name” (Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 132).
Verbs of existence, then, do not have an unergative structure like the verbs of internal
causation. Their structure is given in (367).
(367) [x be at z / hang]
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 132 (119a)]
The next section takes a look at the tests for a Kimian stative reading in order to deter-
mine the event structure of stative verbs of position.

Although many of the stative verbs of position seem to allow manner adverbials, a
closer look reveals that these are not adverbials that specify the way in which the event
happened. The first group of adverbials resembling manner adverbials describe in
which direction the object is positioned.
(368) a. Der Pflock steckt gerade / schief in der Erde.
The picket is inserted straight / bent in the ground.
‘The picket is straight / bent in the ground.’
b. Das Bild hängt gerade / schief an der Wand.
The painting hangs straight / askew on the wall.
‘The painting hangs straight / askew on the wall.’
For example, it is the main axis of the picket that is straight in (368a), and it is the
frame of the painting in (368b) that is not parallel to the floor. Note that all of these
examples can be paraphrased by a copular construction, which never refers to a Dav-
idsonian eventuality.
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 
(369) a. Der Pflock ist gerade in der Erde.

The picket is straight in the ground.
‘The picket is straight in the ground.’
b. Das Bild ist schief an der Wand.
The painting is askew on the wall.
‘The painting is askew on the wall.’
The fact that these adverbials are compatible with copular constructions, supports the
idea that they are predicated of the subject.
The second group of adverbials that might be manner adverbials again refer to a
property of the subject, not of the event. This time it is not the orientation but the cur-
rent condition of the subject that is specified.
(370) a. Das Buch liegt aufgeblättert / zugeschlagen auf dem Tisch.
The book lies opened / closed on the table.
‘The book lies opened / closed on the table.’
b. Die Decke liegt zerknittert / gefaltet auf dem Bett.
The blanket lies crumpled / folded on the bed.
‘The blanket lies crumpled / folded on the bed.’
c. Der Mantel hängt schlampig / auf unordentliche Weise
The coat hangs sloppily / in messily way
über dem Sessel.
over the chair.
‘The coat is sloppily / messily hanging over the chair.’
Third, some adverbials that look like manner adverbials specify the way the situation
is experienced by the hearer.
(371) Der Ziegel ragt alarmierend / gefährlich über die Kante.
The brick looms alarming / dangerously over the edge.
‘The brick is alarmingly / dangerously looming over the edge.’
The situation described in (371) is dangerous for the people standing below that par-
ticular brick.
The examples in (372) show that manner adverbials are ungrammatical when
combined with stative verbs of position.
(372) a. * Das Buch liegt auf unordentliche Weise auf dem Tisch.
The book lies in sloppily way on the table.
‘The book is sloppily lying on the table.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. * Der Pflock steckt auf verbotene / erlaubte Weise in

The picket is inserted in prohibited / allowed way in
der Erde.
the ground.
‘The picket is sticking in the ground in a prohibited / allowed way.’
In sum, we do not find manner adverbials that go with stative verbs of position.

Stative verbs of position are more often than not combined with a locative PP. What is
the status of this PP? If it is an adverbial, the verb does not select for it. If it is an argu-
ment, it should not be optional. Crucially to the current discussion: if it is an event-re-
lated locative adverbial, the eventuality the verb refers to must be a Davidsonian one.
From a syntactic point of view, the main property of adverbials is that they are
never obligatory. However, the distinction between locative arguments and locative
adverbials in the case of stative verbs of position is not straightforward to see, since the
locative PP may be omitted in certain contexts. Maienborn 1996 argues that it is pos-
sible to omit locative adjuncts in general, whereas locative arguments can only be
dropped under certain conditions: it is possible to omit locative arguments if the mode
of position is more prominent than the specification of the location. In other words, in
order to omit a locative argument the mode of position must be focussed and the loca-
tive component defocussed.
Maienborn illustrates this idea with the help of the following example: the sen-
tence in (373) is only acceptable if Julius is a toddler who is about to learn how to
stand, the manner of position therefore being focussed.
(373) Julius steht.
Julius stands.
[Maienborn 1996: 62, my translation]
In contrast, the activity Julius schläft (Julius is sleeping) does not require a compara-
ble context.
Maienborn argues that the process of defocussing boils down to the fact that the loca-
tive argument is existentially bound. Only under this condition it is allowed for the argu-
ment to remain silent. The locative PP is therefore obligatory and bears argument status.
Moreover, Maienborn 2003 points out that there is a clear parallelism between
stative verbs of position and locative copular constructions as in (374a) and (374b).
(374) a. Heidi liegt auf dem Sofa.
Heidi lies on the sofa.
b. Heidi ist liegenderweise auf dem Sofa.
Heidi is lying-way on the sofa.
[Maienborn 2003: 86 (60), my translation]
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 
Copular constructions, referring to a Kimian state, may contain a locative PP as in

(374b). Since copular sentences never refer to a Davidsonian event, the PP cannot lo-
cate that event. So what the PP does is locate the subject of the copular clause. This
parallelism sugests that the locative PPs that come with stative verbs of position, there-
fore, do not count as evidence that these verbs are eventive. It is important, therefore,
to carefully separate two modes of localization: event localization, which may be re-
ferred to by event-related locative adverbials, and object localization which is carried
out by locative arguments.
Czinglar 1997 substantiates the claim that locative PPs denote object localization.
She points out that the three German verbs sein (to be) and geben (to give) differ with
respect to a single property: The verb geben (give) as in (375) expresses the existence of
its subjects, the locative PP being optional, whereas the copula sein as in (376) denotes
the localization of the subject.
(375) Es gibt Elefanten (in Afrika).
It gives sg elefants (in Africa).
‘There are elefants (in Africa).’
[Czinglar 1997: 48 (23a); my gloss, my translation]
(376) Es sind Elefanten *(in Afrika).
It are pl elefants (in Africa).
‘There are elefants (in Africa).’
[Czinglar 1997: 48 (23c), my gloss, my translation]
Although the constructions look similar on the first glance, the locative PP is obliga-
tory in (376), contrasting (375).
To sum up, in contrast to verbs of body posture, stative verbs of position merely
express the localization of an object, not of a situation. The locative PP has the status
of an argument and not of an adjunct. I conclude that the locative PP in stative locative
verbs does not express event-related locative modification (since there is no event, as
corroborated by the tests on manner modification), but expresses object localization.
In other words, the PP refersto the location of the subject, not to the location of the
event expressed by the verb of position.
5.1.2 The structure of stative verbs of position
Contrasting verbs of body posture, stative verbs of position do not express an action
that is deliberately carried out by the agent. The discussion in Section 5.1.1 shows that
the eventuality stative verbs of position refer to is a Kimian state. Stative verbs of posi-
tion, therefore, express that an object is located at a particular position in space. Build-
ing on ideas put forward in Bierwisch 1988, Wunderlich and Kaufmann 1990 and
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Wunderlich and Herweg 1991, among others, Maienborn suggests the following struc-
ture for verbs of position in general:
(377) (λP[–Dir]) λo λs [s inst [pos-mod(o) & P(o) ] ]
[Maienborn 1996: 56 (16)]
The lexical-semantic structure in (377) captures the fact that the locative PP is an argu-
ment. Its licensing position is within the lexical entry of the verb, it predicates of the
relevant object, not of the situation. The predicate pos-mod specifies the mode of posi-
tion, e.g. if the object is aligned relative to its horizontal or its vertical axis. Note that
pos-mod does not refer to any activity or change-of-state, nor does it specify the man-
ner of a possible locative event. Due to he absence of all aspectual operators the even-
tuality is a Kimian state. The brackets around λP capture the fact that the locative argu-
ment is optional if the context requires that the manner of position is focused.
Again pushing on the similarity between locative copular constructions and sta-
tive verbs of position, I take those constructions to have a similar syntactic structure.
The structure for the locative copular construction is given in (378).
(378) a. Das Buch ist am Tisch.
The book is on the table.
‘The book is on the table.’
b. predP
wo
DP pred’
6 3
Das Buch pred0 PP
ist 6
am Tisch
Apart from the label of the predicative/verbal head, the structure for stative locative
verbs is the same:
(379) a. Das Buch liegt am Tisch.
The book lies on the table.
‘The book is lying on the table.’
b. VP
wo
DP V’
6 3
Das Buch V0 PP
liegt 6
am Tisch
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 
The locative PP is the sister of the lowest verbal head v0, contrasting verbs of body
posture. The predicative head pred0 introduces the situation argument that is later
bound at infl. I do not attempt to tackle the question where morphological insertion
of the copula sein takes place – either at pred0 or at i0 – both answers are compatible
with the theory spread out here.
5.2 Verbs of body posture
Next, consider verbs of body posture as in (380).

(380) hocken (crouch), kauern (squat), knien (kneel), lümmeln (loll), thronen (to be
enthroned)
According to Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995, the verbs in (380) can be classified asa-
gentive verbs which express that the subject is maintaining a position. The subject of these
verbs is intentionally remaining at a given position, although she is not executing any
particular action. The authors report that these verbs have an optional locative phrase.
(381) Yvonne stood alone (in the hallway) for six hours.
Kaufmann 1995a, who suggests that verbs of body posture specify the orientation of
the object being localized, i.e., it is the location of the object and not the situation that
is relevant. Kaufmann does not examine whether there is a difference between verbs of
body posture and stative verbs of position. In particular, the author does not assume
that there is an agentive or an eventive component within the structure of verbs of
body posture. To illustrate, consider Kaufmann’s analysis of hocken (crouch):
(382) a. hocken: λP λx [hock(x) & P(x)]
b. Int (hock(x)) = ∃y (supportƒ (d-os(y), us(x)) & & angezogen(beine(x)))
[Kaufmann 1995a: 103:(11ab)]
The interpretation (Int) of the predicate hock is given in (382b): it involves the sup-
port relation supportƒ specifying that the upper surface of the object y (d-os(y)) sup-
ports the bottom side of the located object x (us(x)). In addition to that, verbs of body
posture contain a specification of the posture of relevant body parts. The predicate
angezogen(beine(x)) requires x’s legs (beine) to be bent (angezogen).
5.2.1 Tests for an eventive reading
In order to determine the exact status of the eventuality, I will consider manner modi-
fication and the status of the locative PP in turn.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs

To start with, the examples in (383) show that event-related manner adverbials com-
bine with verbs of body posture.
(383) a. Der Frosch hockt verzweifelt / mit angezogenen
The frog crouches desparately / with bent
Beinen im Tümpel.
legs in the pond.
‘The frog is desperately crouching in the pond with bent legs.’
b. Das Küken hockt bewegungslos / auf reglose Weise
The chick crouches motionless / in motionless way
im Gras.
in.the grass.
‘The chick is motionlessly / in a motionless way crouching in the grass.’
c. Die Prinzessin thront majestätisch / auf anmutige
The princess is enthroned majestetically / in graceful
Weise auf der Erbse.
way on the pea.
‘The princess is majestetically / in a graceful way sitting enthroned on the pea.’
While the examples in (383) contain verbs that have a posture reading only, other
verbs like stehen (stand) and liegen (lie) are ambiguous between a posture reading and
a stative-verb-of-position reading. On their posture reading, they are compatible with
a manner adverbial as well:
(384) Yvonne steht sechs Stunden lang auf anmutige / unruhige /
Yvonne stands six hours long in graceful / moving /
bewegungslose Weise (am Gang).
motionless way (in.the hallway).
‘Yvonne is gracefully / moving / motionlessly standing in the hallway for six hours.’
[modelled after Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 19]
Maienborn 2003 and Maienborn 2005b, when discussing Davidsonian statives, points
out that verbs like sitzen (sit) in (385) allows for manner modification, Maienborn
concludes that all verbs of position refer to a Davidsonian eventuality.
(385) Carol saß reglos / kerzengerade am Tisch.
Carol sat motionless / straight.as.a.die at.the table.
D-state verbs
However, I want to stress that verbs of position are only eventive on their posture reading.
Hence, sitzen in (385) is used as a posture verb, not as a stative verb of position. In sum,
the examples above show that verbs of body posture allow for a manner modification.
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 

Regarding the status of the locative PP that comes with verbs of body posture, the
question arises whether these PPs are event-related locative modifiers. If these verbs
refer to a Davidsonian eventuality, event-related locative modifiers are expected to be
acceptable. If, on the other hand, the locative PPs turn out to have argument status,
they cannot serve as a test for the status of the eventuality.
To start with, lets determine the status of the PP with respect to the argument/adjunct
distinction. If no further further context is given, the examples in (386) are odd.
(386) a. ?? Der Poldi hockt.
The Poldi crouches.
‘Poldi is crouching.’
b. ?? Die Irmi kauert.
The Irmi squats.
‘Irmi is squatting.’
c. ?? Die Irmi thront.
The Irmi is enthroned.
‘Irmi is enthroned.’
Note that I could not find an example containing a German posture verb without a
locative PP on a google search. In order to be fully acceptable in an out-of-the-blue
context, there has to be a locative PP:
(387) a. Der Poldi hockt am Boden.
The Poldi crouches on the floor.
‘Poldi is crouching on the floor.’
b. Die Irmi kauert in einer Ecke.
The Irmi squats in a corner.
‘Irmi is squatting in a corner.’
c. Die Irmi thront auf dem Sessel.
The Irmi is enthroned on the chair.
‘Irmi is sitting enthroned on the chair.’
In order for the sentences in (386) to be fully acceptable, the discourse context has to
provide a reason for contrasting the current posture with an alternative one (see also
the discussion in Section 5.1.1.2).
(388) a. A: Der Poldi sitzt am Boden, mitten im Dreck!
A: The Poldi sits on the floor, in the middle of the dirt!
‘A: Poldi is sitting on the floor, in the dirt!’
b. B: Nein, er hockt, seine Hose bleibt sauber.
B: No, he crouches, his pants stay clean.
‘B: No, he is crouching, so his pants will stay clean.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Thus, the locative PP that comes with verbs of body posture does not have adjunct
status. Rather, it has the status of a facultative argument that can be omitted only if a
reasonable contrast can be inferred from the context. In particular, the locative PP is
not an event-related locative adverbial. Therefore, it cannot help to determine the ex-
act ontological status of the eventuality expressed by posture verbs.
5.2.2 The structure of posture verbs
When an animal or a human deliberately remains at a location and holds its body in a
particular position, then this is similar to more prototypical activities such as jumping
or clapping that involve the movement of the body. In other words, from the event-
structure perspective, prototypical activity verbs and verbs of body posture share their
lexical-semantic structure: the aspectual operator involved in both verb classes is do,
allowing for intentionality to be attributed to thesubject. The lexical-semantic struc-
ture of posture verbs is therefore as follows.
(389) a. Der Poldi kniet in der Ecke.
The Poldi kneels in the corner.
‘Poldi is kneeling in the corner.’
b. λx λs [do(x, kneel(x)) & loc(x, corner)] (s) (Poldi) =
= λs [do(Poldi, kneel(Poldi)) & loc(Poldi, corner)] (s)
Posture verbs consist of the structure of stative verbs of position plus the do-operator.
The stative part, then, expresses that the subject is located at a certain position. The
do-operator adds to this that the subject is under the active control of remaining at
that particular position. Thus, the general lexical-semantic structure of posture verbs
is as shown in (390).
(390) (λP)λx λs [do(x, pos-mod(x)) & P(o)] (s) (x) (P)
Note that mod-pos refers to the mode of position, i.e., the orientation of the object that
is located. With respect to the verb knien (kneel) as in (389a), mod-pos would refer to
something like “on one’s knees”. As with stative verbs of position, mod-pos is not an
aspectual operator, hence it does not render a verb eventive.
The syntactic structure of posture verbs consists of the one proposed for stative
verbs of position combined with a do-head. The locative PP originates as a sister of v0
in an argument position.
(391) a. Der Poldi hockt am Boden.
The Poldi crouches on the floor.
‘Poldi is crouching on the floor.’
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 
b. doP
wo
DP do’
6 3
Der Poldi do0 VP
|
V’
3
V0 PP
liegt 6
am Boden
5.3 PP-argument versus PP-incorporation
Stative verbs of position and verbs of body posture resemble the group of verbs I have
termed PP-complement verbs in Section 4.4, since all of them select for a PP-argument.
However, the PP-argument is licensed via two different mechanisms. Whereas the PP in
PP-complement verbs incorporates and forms a complex predicate with the basic ver-
bal predicate, the PP in stative verbs of position and in verbs of body posture fills the
argument slot directly. For convenience, I repeat the lexical-semantic structures below.
(392) a. Stative verbs of position
b. (λP[–Dir]) λx λs [s inst [pos-mod(x) & P(x) ] ]
(393) a. Verbs of body posture
b. (λP) λx λs [do(x, pos-mod(x)) & P(o)] (s) (x) (P)
(394) a. PP-complement verbs
b. λ P ∃ y [border(x, y) ∧ P(y)]
Remember from Section 4.3 and 4.4 that definites are not compatible with PP-comple-
ment verbs. Verbs of body posture and stative verbs of position, in contrast, are per-
fectly acceptable if the PP contains a definite noun phrase.
(395) Das Buch liegt auf der roten Mappe.
The book lies on the red folder.
‘The book is lying on top of the red folder.’
The complement of stative verbs of position and of posture verbs is therefore an entity
of type < e >, whereas the complement of PP-complement verbs is an indefinite of type
< e, t > that is licensed via Semantic Incorporation.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
5.4 Evidence from Tibeto-Burman
Evidence for the distinction between verbs of body posture and stative verbs of posi-
tion comes from Chantyal, a Tibeto-Burman language. In Chantyal, the distinction
between these two verb classes can be seen overtly. Following the work of Noonan and
Grunow-Hårsta 2002, this section presents a rough summary of the relevant data.
Posture verbs in Chantyal can be expressed by simplex verbs or by complex expres-
sions. The latter consist of an orientational word and one of the three light verbs la-
(do), ta- (become) or pәri- (happen). The first two light verbs correspond nicely to two
of the aspectual operators: do and become. The third one, pәri- (happen) refers to a
resultant state: “it contributes the sense that the state of affairs thus described is the result
of an event [...] mentioned [...] earlier” (Noonan and Grunow-Hårsta 2002: 84).
There are three main posture verbs in Chantyal which correspond roughly to the
English verbs stand, sit and lie. To start with, the translation of lie can only be a com-
plex expression, a simplex verb does not exist. All three light verbs combine with the
orientational word:
(396) a. terso la- ‘maintain a horizontal position’ (literally: ‘horizontal/flat do’)
b. terso ta- ‘assume a horizontal position’ (literally: ‘horizontal/flat become’)
c. terso pәri- ‘come to be in a horizontal position’ (literally: ‘horizontal/
flat happen’)
[Noonan and Grunow-Hårsta 2002: 81 (4)]
Only Example (396a) is of interest with respect to the analysis of stative locative verbs.
Although this verb takes animate as well as inanimate subjects, the authors stress that
an inanimate “subject is presented as a volitional actor” (p. 84). This fact provides evi-
dence for the idea that verbs of body posture contain the do-operator that expresses
the fact that the subjects deliberately hold their body in a particular posture.
The second verb, the English stand, can be expressed by a simplex verb or by a
complex expression in Chantyal. The simplex verbs yep- (maintain a standing posi-
tion) and yes- (assume a standing position), as well as the complex expression formed
with la- (do) are incompatible with inanimate subjects. This substantiates the claim
that the light verb la- (do) refers to an active, intentional eventuality.
Third, the English verb sit can only be translated into the simplex verb ci-, which
allows for animate subjects only.
In sum, complex expressions involving la- (do) in Chantyal require the subject to
be actively involved in the eventuality. In this way, these data substantiate the claim
that verbs of body posture always contain the aspectual operator do. Note that the
expression of manner is only possible with complex expressions. The authors claim
that there is a “lack of simplex verbs encoding posture + manner [...;] manner is most
frequently encoded by expressive vocabulary, often with la- ‘do’ functioning as an anterior
coverb” (p. 86f.).
Chapter 5. Verbs of position 
In Chantyal, the location of inanimate objects is typically expressed with the help
of copular constructions:
(397) pBara-ye tawko-ri tBim mu-õ
mountain-gen edge-loc house be-impf
‘The house was/stood on the edge of a cliff.’
[Noonan and Grunow-Hårsta 2002: 86 (20)]
Stative verbs of position, therefore, do not exist in Chantyal. What seem to be stative
locative verbs form two classes:
– animate, volitional posture verbs involving la- (do) and an orientational word
– locative expressions involving a copular verb
In this way, the data from Chantyal provide empirical evidence for the distinction be-
tween posture verbs and stative verbs of position.
5.5 Conclusion
This chapter focused on verbs of position. Maienborn 2003 argued that verbs of position
belong to the group of Davidsonian statives that differ from Kimian statives with respect
to the nature of their eventuality argument. Davidsonian statives, although they do not
describe an action of any sort, still fail the tests for Kimian stativity. For this reason,
Maienborn assumed that Davidsonian statives express a third type of eventuality.
A closer look on the nature of verbs of position revealed that this class of verbs
must be split into two: stative verbs of position and posture verbs. Section 5.1 showed
that the former refer to a Kimian state, contrary to the assumption in Maienborn 2003.
Section 5.2 revealed that the latter are eventive, although nothing seems to happen in
these verbs. Nevertheless, their lexical-semantic structure contains the do-operator,
rendering posture verbs eventive.
Consequently, there is no reason to assume a third type of eventuality, as far as
verbs of position are concerned. The next chapter questions if this type of eventuality
is necessary for verbs of internal causation.
chapter 6
Verbs of internal causation
This chapter investigates the nature of verbs of internal causation. Despite verbs of
position, the behavior of these verbs pose the second reason for assuming a stative
Davidsonian eventuality. In what is to follow, I will show that the lexical-semantic
structure of verbs of internal causation consists of the same building-blocks as the
other eventive verbs addressed so far: a basic predicate and some of the aspetual op-
erators. Therefore, verbs of internal causation refer to an eventive Davidsonian even-
tuality, rendering the stative Davidsonian eventuality redundant.
6.1 Non-agentive verbs of internal causation
Non-agentive verbs of internal causation such as verbs of emission denote an “action”

that is invoked by the subject without any intentional component. For example, a piece
of gold may shimmer in the sun because its surface reflects the light. It is easy to see
that the subject of such verbs does not contribute intentionally to what is happening,
as the piece of gold does not have the necessary prerequisites for intentionality – in
fact, it has no cognitive capacity at all. On the other hand, it is not straightforward to
acknowledge that verbs of internal causation refer to an “action” or to “something that
is happening”. In the case of the shimmering gold, there is nothing really going on,
except from the colors that the gold exhibits.
Extending the work of Perlmutter 1978, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995 distin-
guish four types of verbs of emission, according to what kind of substance is emitted.
(398) a. Sound: burble, buzz, clang, crackle, hoot, hum, jingle, moan, ring, roar,
whir, whistle,...
b. Light: flash, flicker, gleam, glitter, shimmer, shine, sparkle, twinkle, ...
c. Smell: reek, smell, stink
d. Substance: bubble, gush, ooze, puff, spew, spout, squirt, ...
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 91 (19)]
Following Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995 (p. 90f.), verbs of (involuntary) emotion-
al reactions such as blush and tremble, verbs of emission and activity verbs constitute
the group of verbs of internal causation. Since activity verbs are clearly eventive, only
non-agentive verbs of internal causation are relevant to the discussion of Davidsonian
statives. Davidsonian statives (cf. Maienborn 2007b) contain an event argument but
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
differ form run-of-the-mill eventive verbs like activities in that they cannot be fol-
lowed by it happened.
(399) Die Schuhe glänzten. *Das geschah während ...
The shoes gleamed. This happened while...
[Maienborn 2005b:(12c)]
In contrast to Kimian statives, it is possible to combine verbs of internal causation with
event-related locative modifiers and with manner adverbials.
(400) Die Perlen glänzen in ihrem Haar.
The pearls gleam in her hair.
(401) Die Perlen glänzen matt / rötlich / feucht.
The pearls gleam dully / reddishly / moistly.
In addition, modification with ein bisschen allows for the time-span interpretation
with verbs of emission:
(402) Diese Hose glänzt nach dem Bügeln ein bisschen (aber das
These trousers gleams after the ironing a little (but this
geht schnell vorbei).
goes quick away).
[Maienborn 2003: 101 (103f), my translation]
Finally, verbs of emission may function as the complement of perception verbs, thus
qualifying them again as Davidsonian statives.
(403) Die Konquistadoren sahen überall Gold glänzen.
The conquistadors saw everywhere gold gleam.
[Maienborn 2003: 66 (7c), my translation]
Now that it is clear that non-agentive verbs of internal causation belong to the group
of Davidsonian statives, the question arises what their lexical-semantic structure is. To
start with, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995 claim that verbs of emission and verbs of
internal causation have an unergative structure. These verbs are characterized by the
fact that some internal property of the argument causes the eventuality, contrasting
verbs of external causation. This distinction is due to the fact that verbs of external
causation show causative transitives, whereas verbs of internal causation do not.
(404) a. The jewels glittered/sparkled.
b. * The queen glittered/sparkled the jewels.
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995:p 92 (20)]
Chapter 6. Verbs of internal causation 
( 405) a. The stream burbled/roared.

b. * The rocks burbled/roared the stream.
Furthermore, the fact that verbs of emission cannot have an external cause is illus-
trated in (406). The use of the reflexive stresses that some external cause is equal to the
undergoing object, which cannot be the case with verbs of internalcausation.
(406) a. * The diamond glowed by itself.
b. * Jane trembled by herself.
In sum, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995 assume the representation in (407) to be
the underlying structure of verbs of internal causation. In addition, the authors takte
those verbs to have an unergative structure, blocking the derivation of a causative
transitive couterpart.
(407) [x predicate]
[Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995: 94 (27b)]
Verbs of emission or verbs of inner causation have been discussed in the following works.
6.1.1 The instrument role
However, it is not straightforward to assign a thematic role to the subject of verbs of

emission, which refer to an internal cause of an eventuality. Although these verbs share
certain properties with activity verbs, the subject of verbs of emission clearly lacks in-
tentionality. This idea has been fleshed out by Haiden 2005, who argues that the instru-
ment cluster of theta features is assigned to subjects that “are interpreted as non-inten-
tional emitters of force” (Haiden 2005: 73). Following Reinhart 2000 / Reinhart 2001b,
Haiden takes theta roles to be composed of two theta features /±c/ (for “cause”) and
/±m/ (for “mental involvement”). The instrument role corresponds to the feature clus-
ter [+c-m], i.e., it acts as a cause to the eventuality, but it does not bear any mental in-
volvement. Haiden discusses verbs of sound emission and verbs of light emission.
First, some of these verbs permit an agentive reading, where the emitting source
appears as the instrument in addition to the agentive subject.
(408) a. Hans leuchtet (absichtlich/gern) mit seiner Taschenlampe.
Hans lights on-purpose/happily with his torch
‘Hans lights the way with his torch (on purpose/happily)’.
[Haiden 2005: p. 73 (107a)]
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
b. Hans klappert (absichtlich/gern) mit seinen Zähnen.

Hans rattles on-purpose/happily with his teeth
‘Hans rattles his teeth (on purpose/happily).’
[Haiden 2005: p. 74 (108a)]
Of course, it is possible for these two verbs to have the emitting source as the subject.
(409) a. Die Lampe leuchtet.
the torch lights
‘The torch is on.’
[Haiden 2005: p. 74 (109a)]
b. Seine Zähne klapperten.
his teeth rattled rather loudly
‘His teeth were rattling.’
[Haiden 2005: p. 74 (108b)]
Still, it is not the case that all verbs of emission systematically undergo the instrumen-
tal alternation, contrasting the group of verbs that were discussed in Section 3.1.
For some verbs of emission it can be shown that the emitting source bears the in-
strument role, as these verbs allow for an agentive counterpart that requires an instru-
ment role. In German, quite a few verbs of light emission and almost all verbs of sound
emission have these agentive uses.
(410) Verbs of light emission: strahlen (beam), blitzen (flash), blinken (blink)
(411) Verbs of sound emission: quieken (squeak), quietschen (squeal), piepsen
(beep), läuten (ring), dröhnen (drone), summen (buzz), surren (whir), brum-
men (buzz), knattern (crackle), knistern (crackle), rascheln (rustle), klappern
(rattle), tuten (toot), pfeifen (whistle)
6.1.1.1 Verbs of sound emission

With verbs of sound emission, the agenitve reading is possible if the agent uses a de-
vice to create the sound which must not have any intentionality itself. So, one can cre-
ate a sound with a rubber duck, as in (412a), but not with a real duck, as in (413a).
(412) a. Bert quietschte mit der Gummiente.
Bert squealed with the rubber duck.
‘Bert squealed with the rubber duck.’
b. Die Gummiente quietschte.
The rubber duck squealed.
‘The rubber duck squealed.’
(413) a. * Bert quietschte mit der Ente, die auf der Wiese saß.
Bert squealed with the duck which on the meadow sat.
‘Bert squealed with the duck that was sitting on the meadow.’
Chapter 6. Verbs of internal causation 
b. * Die Ente, die auf der Wiese saß, quietschte.

The duck that on the meadow sat squealed.
‘The duck that was sitting on the meadow squealed.’
(414) a. Ernie dröhnte mit dem Preßlufthammer.
Ernie droned with the jackhammer.
‘Ernie droned with the jackhammer.’
b. Der Preßlufthammer dröhnte.
The jackhammer droned.
‘The jackhammer droned.’
(415) a. Bert knatterte mit seiner kleinen Dampflokomotive.
Bert crackled with his small steam locomotive.
‘Bert crackled with his small steam locomotive.’
b. Die kleine Dampflokomotive knatterte.
The little steam locomotive crackled.
‘The little steam locomotive crackled.’
(416) a. Ernie raschelte mit der Zeitung.
Ernie rustled with the newspaper.
‘Ernie rustled with the newspaper.’
b. Die Zeitung raschelte.
The newspaper rustled.
‘The newspaper rustled.’
The systematic alternations from (412) to (416) show that the subjects in the (b) exam-
ples bear the instrument role. This fact substantiates the claim that the subjects of
verbs of sound emission are instruments. However, not all verbs of sound emission
undergo the instrumental alternation. Consider the following examples which pro-
hibit the agentive counterpart.
(417) a. * Der Poldi knisterte mit dem Feuer.
The Poldi crackled with the fire.
‘Poldi crackled with the fire.’
b. Das Feuer knisterte.
The fire crackled.
‘The fire crackled.’
(418) a. * Die Irmi zwitscherte mit den Vögeln.
The Irmi tweeted with the birds.
‘Irmi tweeted with the birds.’
b. Die Vögel zwitscherten.
The birds tweeted.
‘The birds tweeted.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
This restriction is due to the fact that certain objects such as birds or fire cannot be
controlled by humans. It is not possible to act upon a fire such that it emits a crackling
sound. Likewise, it is impossible to force a bird to tweet.
Consider the next example. The sentences in (419) show that the acceptability of
the agentive alternant is dependent on the specific lexical item used: even though one
cannot elicit thunders at will, it is possible to do so when using a sound machine, e.g.
as it is used to create sound effects in television shows.
(419) a. Der Sturm toste.
The storm roared.
‘The storm roared.’
b. * Die Irmi toste mit dem Sturm.
The Irmi roared with the storm.
‘Irmi roared with the storm.’
c. Die Irmi toste mit der Gewittermaschine.
The Irmi roared with the storm machine.
‘Irmi roared with the storm machine.’
Also, (417a) is acceptable if the instrument noun is substituted. This fact backs up the
claim that the verb knistern (crackle) undergoes the instrumental alternation, limita-
tions being due to the world knowledge about the nouns involved.
(420) a. Der Poldi knisterte mit dem Papier.
The Poldi crackled with the paper.
‘Poldi crackled with the paper.’
b. Das Papier knisterte.
The paper crackled.
‘The paper crackled.’
The idea that the subject of verbs of emission is an instrument can be further substan-
tiated with the help of the following examples. Nowadays, cell phones are capable of
producing all kinds of sounds, and humans can elicit all of them by simply pushing a
button on the dial of the phone. So even sounds that could not be generated on pur-
pose before the technical revolution are now compatible with agentive readings:
(421) Die Irmi piepste / zwitscherte / zischte mit ihrem Handy.
The Irmi beeped / tweeted / whooshed with her cell phone.
‘Irmi beeped / tweeted / whooshed with her cell phone.’
In sum, verbs of sound emission undergo the instrumental alternation systematically.
The subject of the non-agentive variant, therefore, bears the instrument role. Those
examples that do not allow for the agentive version do not count as counterexamples,
since their failure to alternate is due to world knowledge regarding the noun that real-
izes the instrument role.
Chapter 6. Verbs of internal causation 
6.1.1.2 Verbs of light emission

Verbs of light emission undergo the instrumental alternation as well. Like verbs of
sound emission, verbs of light emission show restrictions on this alternation. While
the former group of verbs allows the agentive variant rather freely, the latter seems to
restrict the agentive variant to a small number of verbs. In other words, there are only
few verbs of light emission that permit the agentive variant. Assuming that all verbs of
emission have the same underlying grammatical structure, the restriction with respect
to verbs of light emission must come from world knowledge about the instrument
noun: there are more objects in the world that allow for a controlled sound emission
than there are objects that do so for light emission.
Objects such as flashlights or turn lights that allow for controlled light emission
are acceptable in the agentive variant.
(422) a. Die Irmi blitzte mit dem Fotoapparat.
The Irmi flashed with the camera.
‘Irmi flashed with the camera.’
b. Der Fotoapparat blitzte.
The camera flashed.
‘The camera flashed.’
(423) a. Der Poldi blinkte mit dem rechten Blinker.
The Poldi blinked with the right turn light.
‘Poldi blinked with the red turn light.’
b. Der rechte Blinker blinkte.
The right turn light blinked.
‘The right turn light blinked.’
However, the majority of verbs of light emission do not allow for the agentive altern-
ant, as the typical subjects of these verbs do not allow for their light emission to be
brought about by humans. Hence, this restriction is due to world knowledge.
(424) a. ?? Das Auto schimmerte mit der Kühlerhaube im Mondlicht.
The car gleamed with the rooster in the moonlight.
‘The car gleamed with the rooster in the moonlight.’
b. Die Kühlerhaube schimmerte im Mondlicht.
The rooster gleamed in the moonlight.
‘The rooster gleamed in the moonlight.’
(425) a. * Die Irmi schimmerte mit dem Metall im Mondlicht.
The Irmi gleamed with the metal in the moonlight.
‘Irmi gleamed with the metal in the moonlight.’
b. Das Metall schimmerte im Mondlicht.
The metal gleamed in the moonlight.
‘The metal gleamed in the moonlight.’
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(426) a. * Die Irmi glitzerte mit den Augen.

The Irmi glittered with the eyes.
‘Irmi glittered with her eyes.’
b. Die Augen glitzerten.
The eyes glittered.
‘The eyes glittered.’
Consider (425). The verb schimmern (gleam) does not allow for an agentive alternant,
since neither the rooster of a car nor a piece of metal can be forced to gleam by a hu-
man. The only way a verb like gleam could be used agentively would be to use a lamp
as the instrument:
(427) a. Die Irmi schimmerte mit der Lampe durch das Fenster.
The Irmi gleamed with the lamp through the window.
‘Irmi gleamed through the window with the lamp.’
b. Die Lampe schimmerte durch das Fenster.
The lamp gleamed through the window.
‘The lamp gleamed through the window.’
The sentence in (427a) refers to the following state of affairs: Irmi is deliberately hold-
ing down the switch of her lamp; she is doing something in order to keep the lamp
glowing. The light of the lamp can then be seen through the window.
The restriction on verbs of light emission can be captured as follows: A lamp, be-
ing an electrical device, can be forced to emit light, but a piece of metal cannot be
controlled in such a way. Verbs of light emission that take a non-electrical object
(which most of them do), are therefore not allowed in an agentive context. There is no
grammatical constraint that prohibits the agentive variant. The sentences in (422a),
(423a) and (427a) provide some of the rare examples.
6.1.1.3 Verbs of smell and substance emission

Verbs of smell emission and verbs of substance emission are almost completely unac-
ceptable in the agentive reading. Assuming that all verbs of emission, regardless of
their specific source, have the same grammatical structure, this lack must be attributed
to world knowledge. There are simply no objects that can be forced to emit a smell or
a substance.
(428) a. * Der Poldi duftete mit einem Parfum.
The Poldi smelled with a perfume.
‘Poldi smelled with a perfume.’
b. * Der Poldi duftete mit einem Raumspray.
The Poldi smelled with an air freshener
‘Poldi smelled with an air freshener.’
Chapter 6. Verbs of internal causation 
c. Der Raumspray duftete.

The air freshener smelled.
‘The air freshener smelled.’
(429) a. * Die Irmi blubberte mit dem Wasser.
The Irmi bubbled with the water.
‘Irmi bubbled with the water.’
b. Das Wasser blubberte.
The water bubbled.
‘The water bubbled.’
(430) a. ?? Die Hitze spritzte mit dem Öl.
The heat spattered with the oil.
‘The heat spattered with the oil.’
b. Das Öl spritzte.
The oil spattered.
‘The oil spattered.’
If one wants to express that a substance is emitted on purpose, one has to use a differ-
ent verb in German. For example, parfümieren (perfume) expresses the idea that a
substance (of perfume) is applied to the object. This verb structure corresponds like
bestreichen (spread) which express that a substance is applied to the surface of an ob-
ject. However, this verb cannot be used as a simple verb of smell emission:
(431) a. Der Poldi parfümierte das Zimmer mit einem Raumspray.
The Poldi perfumed the room with an air freshener.
‘Poldi perfuned the room with air freshener.’
b. * Der Raumspray parfümierte das Zimmer.
The air freshener perfumed the room.
‘The air freshener perfumed the room.’
This pattern is replicated with verbs of the spray/load-type. They disallow the sub-
stance to show up in subject position as well.
(432) a. Die Irmi bestreicht die Semmel mit Butter.
The Irmi be-spreads the roll with butter.
‘Irmi spreads butter on the roll.’
b. * Die Butter bestreicht die Semmel.
The butter spreads the roll.
‘Butter spreads the roll.’
Verbs of substance emission may be used in the agentive variant if a locative is added.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(433) a. Die Hitze spritzte das Öl aus der Pfanne.

The heat spattered the oil out the pan.
‘The heat spattered the oil out of the pan.’
b. Die Irmi spritzte das Wasser an die Wand.
The Irmi spattered the water onto the wall.
‘Irmi spattered the water onto the wall.’
6.1.1.4 Conclusion
In conclusion, this section has substantiated the idea of Haiden 2005 that the subject
of verbs of emission bears the instrument role. Although only verbs of sound emission
show the systematic instrumental alternation, I take all verbs of emission to consist of
the same underlying grammatical structure. Those verbs that block the agentive vari-
ant do so since the instrument cannot be forced to emit. Hence, it is a matter of world
knowledge and not a matter of grammatical knowledge that determines which verbs
and which instruments are acceptable in the agentive variant. As it was shown with
verbs of light emission, it is not the case that the substance of light can be emitted on
purpose. Some ways of emission and some sources can, others can not. Therefore, it is
not the case that the substance of emission determines whether the agentive variant is
possible or not; i.e., there is no grammatical feature like /±light/, /±sound/ or /±smell/
(comparable to /±animate/) that determines the lexical-semantic status of a verb class.
The discussion in the previous paragraphs has shown that there are clear differences
between the kind of substance emitted. Whereas verbs of sound emission alternate
freely, the possibility decreases until no agentive variant is allowed at all, as in verbs of
smell and substance emission.
6.1.2 The structure of verbs of emission
The study in Maienborn 2003 has revealed that verbs of emission pass all the tests that
indicate that a verb contains a Davidsonian eventuality. The discussion above has
shown that the subjects of verbs of emission bear the instrument role. I therefore con-
clude that verbs of emission are eventive and share their event structure with activity
verbs. The lexical-semantic structure of verbs of emission contains the do-operator
which renders the verb eventive. Die Gummiente quietschte.
(434) a. Die Gummiente quietschte.
b. do(rubber duck, (squeal(rubber duck)))
Within the syntactic structure of verbs of emission there is only a single argument li-
censed as the subject / external argument in the specifier of do.
Chapter 6. Verbs of internal causation 
(435) doP
wo
DP do’
6 3
die Gummiente do0 VP
|
V
quietscht
At this point, activity verbs and verbs of emission are treated alike. But how do they
differ from each other? Both of them are acceptable with a single argument, and both
types of verbs express some spontaneous activity that originates in or is initiated by its
subject. The intuition about the difference is that activity verbs involve a deliberate ac-
tion, i.e., the subject must intend the action that is carried out. In contrast, verbs of
emission are perfectly compatible with a non-animate subject, i.e., with a subject that
is not able to act intentionally.
The feature theory of theta structure developed by Reinhart 2000 and Haiden 2005
provides elegant means to draw this distinction: agents are intentional subjects, hence,
their feature structure is specified positively for cause and positively for mental involve-
ment (or intentionality). Instruments, in contrast, are only positive for cause but negative
for mental involvement. In other words, instruments are the same as agents apart from a
single difference: intentionality (or mental involvement). This is exactly the distinction
that comes into play when agentive verbs and verbs of emission are compared.
(436) a. agent: [+c+m]
b. instrument: [+c-m]
The lexical-semantic structure of verbs of emission, therefore, consists only of the do-
operator. Therefore, the structure is the same for activity verbs and for verbs of emission:
(437) a. Die Gummiente quietschte.
b. do(rubber duck[+c–m], (squeal (rubber duck)))
(438) a. Die Irmi hüpfte.
The Irmi jumped.
‘Irmi jumped.’
b. do(Irmi[+c+m], jump (Irmi))
Verbs of emission, then, have the same status with respect to the structure of eventu-
alities as activity verbs have. Both refer to an eventive eventuality, which is due to the
presence of the do-operator in their lexical-semantic structure. It has been tempting
to analyze verbs of emission as statives, since some of their prototypical members do
not refer to a straightforward “action”. For example, the expression “pearls gleaming in
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
the hair” seems to describe a static situation. Still, it was observed by Maienborn 2007b
that verbs of emission belong to the group of Davidsonian statives. It was acknowl-
edged that, in a way, these verbs are like “real” eventive verbs, although the intuitive
idea of eventiveness as “something happens” is not met by most of them. This idea is
fleshed out here by arguing that Davidsonian verbs may contain aspectual operators,
in particular, certain Davidsonian verbs contain the do-operator.
6.1.3 Conclusion
In this chapter verbs of emission were analyzed. It turned out that their lexical-semantic
structure contains the do-operator. This analysis captures the fact that verbs of emis-
sion are eventive in that they pass the tests for the presence of a Davidsonian eventual-
ity. In addition, the nature of the subject was examined: it bears the instrument role.
In the next chapter, I am going to flesh out the details between instruments and
agents in combination with a general theory of argument licensing.
chapter 7
Event structure and theta features
The result from the analysis of verbs of emission leads to a broader conclusion regard-
ing the relationship between theta features and event structure. The pattern that
emerges is that certain combinations of theta features are compatible with specific as-
pectual operators. The comparison between activity verbs and verbs of emission has
revealed that the do-operator is compatible with both the agent ([+c+m]) and the in-
strument ([+c-m]) role.
7.1 Features within the vP
The idea that causers and actors compete for the subject position is by no means new.
In this section I will review previous accounts on the feature structure of intentional-
ity, activity and causation that have been put forward in the syntactic theory apart
from the model proposed by Reinhart 2000. Thereafter a semantic account that imple-
ments some of Dowty’s aspectual operators in Minimalist terms will be reviewed.
7.1.1 Features in v
To start with, Kallulli 2004, Kallulli 2006, Kallulli 2007, working in a purely syntactic
framework, argues that the subject is licensed via feature checking. According to her
analysis, little v may contain several features which license different types of subjects.
In case of subjects that carry out an agentive activity, little v contains two features:
[+intent] and [+act]. In contrast, subjects that are involved in a non-agentive activity
require a little v bearing only the [+act] feature (Kallulli 2006:(29) and (30)). This dif-
ference can be illustrated with the help of the following example. The sentence in (439)
is ambiguous between the intentional and the non-intentional reading.
(439) Rosa screamed. [Kallulli 2006: 288 (25)]
The intentional reading corresponds to the usual one: Rosa deliberately creates sounds,
she is aware of screaming and willing to carry it out. The non-intentional reading, on
the other hand, can be paraphrased as follows: “Rosa in (25) is an actor but not an agent
if she does not intend her screaming activity (for instance, if she has taken drugs that
make her scream)” (Kallulli 2006: 288, emphasis original). This analysis implies a gen-
eral treatment of verbs of sound emission. Whereas in the active reading there are both
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
the [+intent] and the [+act] features present, in the non-agentive reading there ap-
pears only the [+act] feature, the [+intent] feature being absent. What has been char-
acterized as instrument subjects in Section 6.1.2, which carry the features [+c-m] and
require the aspectual operator do in the lexical-semantic structure of the verb, is cap-
tured here by a single feature [+act]. Note that Kallulli does not claim that non-inten-
tional subjects of activity verbs are instruments, nor that there is a generalization from
her structures (29) and (30) to the class of verbs of emission.
According to Kallulli, the difference between activity verbs and causative verbs (or
roots, in Kallulli’s terms) is reflected in the feature structure that the root projects into little
v. Only activity verbs are able to project [+act], and only causative roots project [+cause].
This is the lexical and syntactic difference between build (activity) and break (causative).
Kallulli discusses the difference between her feature system and that of Reinhart
explicitly in Kallulli 2006: 287. Following Rivero and Savchenko 2004, she notes that
the system of theta features argued for in Reinhart 2000 is not sufficient, since it does
not capture the unintentional causer role. Although it is possible that a verb assigns
only [+c] to one of its arguments, leaving the /±m/ feature unspecified, the cluster [+c]
does not refer to unintentional causers, as the feature cluster [+c] is only an abbrevia-
tion for either [+c-m] (the instrument) or [+c+m] (the agent). Haiden 2005 questions
this perspective. He argues that verbs of consumption assign different feature bundles
to their subjects. For example, the German verb essen (eat) requires an animate, hu-
man subject. Hence, the verb selects for the fully specified bundle [+c+m]. The verb
fressen (eat with nonhuman subject), on the other hand, is compatible with various
kinds of subjects, including people, animals and machines (Haiden 2005: 62). Haiden
concludes that fressen assigns the underspecified cluster [+c] to its subject, allowing for
various instantiations of /±m/, such as agents ([+c+m]), instruments ([+c-m]) and
bare causers [+c]. In particular, he contends that the interpretation of [+c] is to a con-
siderable extent driven by world knowledge.
In sum, the analysis of verbs of emission boils down to the fact that these uninten-
tional causers can be analyzed as instruments. In addition, neither Reinhart’s nor
Kallulli’s system are able to explain the systematic stative/eventive ambuguity that has
been observed in Chapter 3. In order to capture the full range of data, a combination
of aspectual operators and theta features leads to a simple that serves the requirement
of explanatory adequacy to a greater amount.
7.1.2 Flavors of v
The idea that little v comes in different versions has been put forward by Harley 1995.
Although the author does not use features to implement the different types of v, her
account is in principle compatible with Kallulli’s. Apart from the general discussion of
this type of analysis in Section 2.3.2.5, the proposal of Foli and Harley 2005 is of inter-
est to the discussion regarding agentive and instrumental subjects. The authors discuss
several “flavors” of little v, attempting to capture the behavior of consumption verbs.
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
The main problem that the authors address is that consumption verbs that do not im-
ply a resultant state may only have agentive subjects, as exemplified in (440). In con-
trast, consumption verbs that take a small clause as their complement are compatible
with non-animate subjects as well. This fact is illustrated in (440a). Folli and Harley
term these non-animate subjects “causers”.
(440) a. The sea ate away the beach.
b. *The sea ate the beach.
[Folli and Harley 2005: (2a)]
(441) The groom ate the wedding cake. [Foli and Harley 2005: (1b)]
The authors argue that animate subjects are licensed by a special type of little v that is
labeled vDO. It is this type of little v that licenses the animate, agentive subject in (441).
In contrast, the subjects in (440) are licensed by vCAUS which does not impose the ani-
macy restriction. However, there has to be a resultant state expressed explictly in the
structure of the verb, in order for non-animate noun to function as the subject of a
verb of consumption.
“Causers” are characterized by having no intentional component in contrast to
agents. This definition is comparable to the idea of Kallulli, who claims that the [+in-
tentional] feature is missing in unintentional agents. It is also compatible with the
claim proposed here that unintentional agents are instruments which are made up of
the feature cluster [+c-m]. Furthermore, Folli and Harley define “causers” as initiating
a change-of-state (Foli and Harley 2005: 16). Note that by including the notion of
change-of-state, Folli and Harley rule out the idea that stative causers exist, since a
change-of-state is always eventive. In this respect, their notion of “causer” suffers from
a serious weakness.
Apart from verbs of consumption, the authors analyze Romance causative con-
structions in Foli and Harley 2007. Again, the inventory of flavors of v is vDO, vCAUSE,
vBECOME and vBE, of which only the first two license external arguments. In particular,
the authors argue that avere (have) contains vBE and does not have an external subjects
(Foli and Harley 2007: 19). Note that Section 4.1 challenges this claim by showing that
even stative verbs with a very simple lexical-semantic structure (for instance subject
experiencer/possessor verbs) have external arguments. Folli and Harley’s analysis of
Romance causatives leads up to the same structures that were assumed in Foli and
Harley 2005: vDO always assigns the agent theta role and is indefferent to its comple-
ment, wheras vCAUSE requires a small caluse complement, licensing both the causer
and the agent theta role.
7.1.3 Dowty’s calculus from a minimalist perspective
The idea that verbs should be decomposed into aspectual operators has been argued
for by Arnim von Stechow (e.g. von Stechow 1995, von Stechow 1996). More recently,
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
the mechanism of aspectual decomposition has been rephrased in more minimalist

terms (von Stechow 2007). The verb carries uninterpretable features that come with its
lexical entry. These features must be checked against the aspectual heads that carry
their interpretable counterparts. In other words, the decompositional analysis is im-
plemented in terms of features that are part of the lexical entry. In syntax, these fea-
tures must be checked in the same way as tense features on the verb (e.g. [u-past])
must be checked against T (or the relevant interpretable features on T). The two aspec-
tual heads discussed in von Stechow 2007 are cause and become; do is not dealt with.
Contrasting the various syntactic accounts, von Stechow offers a detailed semantic
analysis of the various features.
To illustrate, consider the inchoative verb aufwachen ‘wake up’ and the causative
verb aufwecken ’awaken’. These two verbs share the same basic predicate, but differ
with respect to their lexical features.
(442) [[ aufwachte ]] = λw. λx. λt. x is awake in w at t.
[after: von Stechow 2007: (7-2),(7-3)]
The inchoative verb comes with an uninterpretable become feature [u-become],
whereas the causative variant carries the uninterpretable cause feature [u-cause].
(443) a. The inchoative aufwachte ‘woke up’: type e(it)
Features: [u-become], ...
[[ aufwachte ]]
b. The causative aufweckte ‘waked up’: type e(it)
Features: [u-cause], ...
[[ aufwachte ]]
[after: von Stechow 2007: (7-2),(7-3)]
The decompositional analysis put forward by von Stechow does not address the ques-
tion of argument realization. In other words, it is not implied that the covert aspectual
heads check some of their features against features of the nominal arguments of the
verb. It is merely the verb that checks its uninterpretable features against their inter-
pretable counterparts within the functional structure of the sentence. Being not con-
cerned with intentional agents, von Stechow does not make explicit whether a differ-
ent bundle of features is needed regarding animate (e.g. John) and inanimate (e.g. the
alarm clock) subjects with causative verbs such as (443b).
7.2 Theta checking
In the next section, I will outline an alternative account on argument realization and
the architecture of the verb phrase.
A verb consists of the aspectual operators do, cause and become (I disagree here-
by with Jackendoff 1990 who uses several locative predicates such as go or path). The
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
structures which are made up of these operators specify the types of eventualities that
can be expressed in natural language. In other words, there exists a linguistic restric-
tion on the possible structure of eventualities in human language. Of course it is pos-
sible that humans can comprehend and process events (and causation, in particular) in
ways extending the liminations of language.
Each layout of the aspectual structure is compatible with certain argument realiza-
tion patterns. The feature clusters of arguments (in terms of /±c/, /±m/) are checked
against the aspectual operators, which are equivalent to functional heads. Checking
functions along the same lines as it does in the domain of Case, person and so on (cf.
Chomsky 1995, Chomsky 2001 and subsequent work). This approach to argument re-
alization and eventuality structure generalizes Checking Theory from the A and A-bar
domain to the domain of lexical structure. In this way, the general mechanisms that
underlie the Minimalist Program are extended to an additional level of grammar.
This section proceeds as follows. First, I will explore the possible configurations of
the aspectual operators from a type-theoretic perspective. It will turn out that not all
theoretically possible combinations are found in natural language. There exists an un-
expected restriction that leads to a new insight about the architecture of grammar.
Second, several example verb structures and their argument realization patterns are
examined, leading to a systematic compatibility relation between theta features and
aspectual heads detailed in Section 7.2.3. Finally, I will outline the notion of the situa-
tion argument that is implied within the current theory of verb structure.
7.2.1 Aspectual layout
What is traditionally termed verb phrase consists only of the aspectual operators. They
determine the overall layout of the eventuality that is expressed, and they license the
arguments of the verb. It has become clear from the preceeding discussion that the
only available operators are do, cause and become, in addition to the basic lexical
predicate predicate. This section investigates what possible orders exist among these
three operators. These possible orders are the only eventuality structures that occur in
natural language. Starting from a type-theoretic perspective (von Stechow 2007 (and
preceeding work)), I will examine the type-theoretic status and the possible comple-
ments of each aspecutal operator. Second, I will check which orders correspond to
which verb classes in natural language. It will turn out that certain realization patterns
of the aspectual operators are not ruled out for type-theoretic reasons, but are still not
found in natural language. I will propose a theory that rules out those combinations in
the third step.
Before turning to the aspectual heads, consider the basic predicate predicate.
This predicate forms the heart of a verb. In contrast to non-verbal predication, basic
verbal predication amounts not only to the application of a predicate to an argument,
it also introduces the situation argument. Verbal and only verbal predication boils
down to property exemplification at a particular time. Whereas non-verbal predication
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
does not need any further machinery, verbal predication is enabled via the “aspectual”
operator predicate. The head pred0 has the same function as the copula in copular
constructions: it allows a property (a lexical, referential predicate) to be exemplified at
the individual (the argument) at a particular pred0 is therefore the source of the situ-
ation argument. Note that this idea is compatible with the theory put forward in Baker
2003. Baker argues that the defining property of the category “verb” is that verbs have
a specifier. In contrast to this syntactic perspective, I take the defining property of
verbs to be the obligatory presence of predicate.
For example, in (444), the property of being obstructed is exemplified at the indi-
vidual street.
(444) Agentive:
a. Die Irmi verstopft die Straße mit ihrem Lastwagen.
The Irmi obstructs the street with her truck.
‘Irmi is obstructing the street with her truck.’
b. λs do(Irmi, cause(truck, become(obstruct(street)))) (s)
The fundamental part of the verb in (444) is the resultant state obstruct (street) that
the street is obstructed. As more and more aspectual operators are added to the basic
predicate, the structure of the verb becomes increasingly complex, such that addi-
tional arguments can be licensed. The tree in (446) provides a detailed view of the
structure of the predicate phrase:
(445) predP<i,t>
wo
(Argument) <e> pred’ <e, <i,t>>
the street wo
pred0<<e,t>,<e,<i,t>>> referential
“noun” <e,t>
obstructed
The predicative head pred0 is merged with lexical predicate (obstructed, in the case
at hand). pred0 is a functional head that takes this lexical predicate and adds the situ-
ation argument. In the next step, the argument (in our case street), which is of type e
(referring to an individual), is added. The whole phrase then is a function that maps
situation arguments to truth values. In the case at hand, this phrase would mean some-
thing like the street is obstructed.
Pred varies with respect to the number of arguments it may take. With verbs that
undergo the instrumental alternation as in (444), pred selects for a single argument.
In contrast, subject experiencer verbs (as discussed in Section 4.1) and stative verbs of
perception (see the analysis in Section 3.6) as well as object-experiencer verbs that as-
sign dative case contain two arguments that are licensed within predP. In their stative
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
reading, the lexical-semantic structure of these verbs contains neither of the aspectual
operators. In this case, pred looks as follows:
(446) predP with two arguments: Poldi loves Irmi.
predP<i,t>
wo
(Argument) <e> pred’ <e, <i,t>>
Poldi wo
(Argument) <e> pred’ <e, <e <i,t>>>
Irmi wo
pred0<<e,t>,<e,<i,t>>> referential
“noun” <e,t>
love
Note that it is not a property of the verbal predicate as such that it is able two license two
arguments, since there exist adjectives which are able to do so as well. Consider (447):
(447) stolz auf (proud of), zufrieden mit (satisfied with)
In addition, predP also occurs with zero arguments. For example, activity verbs re-
quire a single argument, the agent, which is licensed by the do-operator. PredP, there-
fore, does not license any arguments in this verb class, it merely hosts the lexical infor-
mation that distinguishes e.g. jump from hop. This line of thought has been put forward
by Hale and Keyser 1993: 54, who aim to derive argument structure patterns with the
help of structural and categorial information within the lexical syntax of verbs (see the
discussion in Section 2.3.1.1). They argue that activity verbs consist of a single verbal
projection that selects a noun as its complement. Other verb classes have a more com-
plex structure, including several layers of V and/or PP-complements. Hale and Key-
ser’s analysis of activity verbs fits nicely the idea that predP does not license any argu-
ments, but contains solely the specific lexical information (which Kayne 2008 takes to
be nominal) in this case.
The difference between a copular construction as in (448b) and the corresponding
stative verb as in (448a) is therefore the bundling of morphological realization. In cop-
ular constructions, the lexical predicate and the copula are two separate morphologi-
cal entities. In verbal constructions, pred0, which introduces the situation argument,
and the lexical predicate form a single morphological entity.
(448) a. this cheese smells
b. this cheese is smelly
[Pustet 2003: 91, cited from Maienborn 2007c: (4)]
The predicative head pred0 and the copula, therefore, have the same meaning: a prop-
erty exemplification at a particular time (a Kimian state). The meaning according to
Maienborn 2005b is give in (449).
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(449) be / sein / ser...: λP λx λz [z ≈[P(x)]]

The relation ≈ conveys the idea that a property exemplification at a particular time intro-
duces a referential situation argument (a discourse referent in drt terms) into the lexical-
semantic representation. This argument refers to a Kimian state. The purpose of pred0 is
therefore to introduce this situation argument into the representation of a verb.
Now that we have a clear picture about predP, let’s consider the aspectual opera-
tors. To start with, become expresses the transition from a predicate not holding of its
argument to a predicate holding of its argument (as defined by Dowty 1979). The type,
therefore, is << i, t >, < i, t >> if one takes into consideration that the predicate still
needs a tense argument at this point in the derivation, as argued for by von Stechow
2007. In the current theory, the type < i > does not refer to a mere temporal argument,
but to the situation argument referring to the Kimian state that is introduced by the
predicative head pred0 . Although similar, it is not enough to think of < i > as mere
tense; rather, it is a property exemplification at a time. Similar to bare tense, this situa-
tion argument is then existentially bound within the infl projection. In sum, become,
maps an untensed predicate onto another one of the same type.
(450) become : type (it)(it)
[[become]] = λw. λPit.λt:¬P(beg(t)).P(end(t))
[von Stechow 2007: 6(7-5), further feature omitted]
The phrase structure for the become-head is as follows:
(451) becomeP <i,t>
wo
become0<i,t>,<i,t> predP<i,t>
Second, cause is defined by von Stechow as taking an individual (the causer) and a
proposition (the causee). He notes that this operator “can be further analysed in the
style of Lewis and Dowty” (von Stechow 2007: 6, fn.3). However, the Lewis-style coun-
terfactual analysis of causation requires that two propositions, two situations or two
events stand in the causal relation. In its basic counterfactual definition, the cause-
operator excludes a relation between an individual and a proposition, requiring that
the two objects be of the same type. Contrary to this philosophical definition of causa-
tion, the linguistic version of cause, the one that comes into play when a verbal struc-
ture is created, relates an individual (of type < e >) with a proposition (that may need
a tense argument in the course of the derivation, hence of type < i, t >). Cause is de-
fined as follows:
(452) cause: type (s(it))(e(it))
[[cause]] = λw.λPs(it).λt.x causes in w at t [λs’.P(s’)(end(t))]
[von Stechow 2007: 6 (7-6), further feature omitted]
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
According to von Stechow, the cause-head is combined with its complement via inten-
sional functional application. This is necessary, since cause sees not the truth value but
the proposition in its complement. Extensional functional application does not provide
means to take a proposition as a complement. The additional type s that is part of the
type < s, < i,t >>, < e, < i,t >> in the structure depicted in (453) refers to the type of the
world argument that is needed in intensional functional application. In particular, this
world argument is not part of the situation argument that is introuduced by pred0, since
not only predicates but also individuals can have intensional meanings. For example, the
intensional meaning of Joe is a function from worlds to individuals. Given a world, this
function then returns that individual that is characterzied as Joe in the given world.
(453) causeP<i,t>
wo
Irmi<e> cause’ <e,<i,t>>
wo
cause0<s,<i,t>>,<e,<i,t>> predP<i,t>
Note that a structure like the one in (453) requires the subject of cause to refer to an
individual. This excludes sentential subjects, as they never refer to an individual of
type < e > but rather to an intensionalized proposition of type <s, <t>>. The question
how to accommodate sentential subjects in spite of the obvious type mismatch is ad-
dressed in Section 7.2.3.
The third operator, do, expresses that an agent has a proposition under her im-
mediate control (cf. Dowty 1979 and the discussion in Section 3.2.4.2). The do-oper-
ator must therefore relate an individual (of type< e >) with a proposition, in the case at
hand a proposition that still needs its temporal/situational argument to be bound (type
<i, t>). The type of the do-head is therefore equivalent to the type of cause as put
forward by von Stechow 2007: < s, <i, t>>,<e,<i,t>>. To illustrate, a typed tree struc-
ture for the do-projection looks as follows:
(454) doP<i, t>
wo
Irmi<e> do’<e,<i, t>>
wo
do0 <s,<i, t>>,<e,<i, t>> predP <i, t>
As cause and do work along the same lines, I take do to require intensional func-
tional application as well.
Now that I have clarified the type-theoretic properties of the aspectual operators,
the next question to address is what possible combinations of the aspectual operators
occur in natural language.
The become-operator requires its complement to be of type < i,t >. In principle,
this is compatible with predP, causeP and doP, all of them being of type <i,t>.
Become0 takes predP as its complement in change-of-state verbs such as einschlafen
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(to fall asleep). These verbs simply express the transition from a state in which the
predicate is not holding to a state in which it is.
(455) a. fall asleep
b. λx λs [become(asleep(x))] (s)
Become0 takes causeP as its complement in verbs of the instrumental alternation
where the instrument increases in size (see also the discussion in Section 3.2.4.2)
(456) a. Das Gewebe hat nach und nach das Blutgefäß verstopft.
‘The tissue was obstructing the blood vessel bit by bit.’
b. λs become (cause(tissue, obstruct(blood vessel)))(s)
(repeated from (112))
In examples like (456), the instrument noun Gewebe (tissue) is the subject argument of
cause, but occupies a position below become. This accounts for the fact that the
amount of tissue is increaing bit by bit until the blood vessel is completely obstructed.
Therefore, become0 has scope over cause0.
However, become cannot take a structure as its complement that contains the do-
operator, although the type of the do-phrase is the same as the type of the cause-
phrase, namely <i, t>. Therefore, this order is not excluded because of a type mismatch.
I will return to the question what prohibits this disribution below.
Turning to do, we find that this operator embeds all three aspectual heads: the
basic predicate predP, a basic predicate that is headed by become, as well as causeP.
All three of these formations are of type <i, t>, thus it is expected that each of them can
be the complement of do. This prediction is borne out. Consider the following verb
types: in activity verbs, the basic predicate is the complement of do.
(457) a. sing
b. λx λs [do(x,sing)] (s)
Verbs of consumption consist of do0 that embeds becomeP. Note that there is only a
single sub-eventuality expressed in verbs of consumption, i.e., the process of eating and
the process of being eaten must always be simulataneous, Since the structure in (458b)
does not include cause, there cannot be two temporally distinct sub-eventualities.
(458) a. eat
b. λy λx λs [do(x, become(eaten(y)))] (s)
Verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation, object-experiencer verbs that assign
accusative case, and verbs of emission are realizations of a structure that consists of
do and cause. An example is given in (459), but see Sections 3.2, 3.3 and 6.1 for a
detailed discussion.
(459) a. annoy (active reading)
b. λy λx λs do(x, cause(x, become (annoyed(y)))) (s)
(repeated from (153))
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
Third, cause requires its complement to be of type <i, t> as well. Again, this fact allows
in principle all aspectual heads to occupy the complement position. The combination
of cause0 and predP is found in stative verbs that undergo the instrumental alterna-
tion, as well as in the stative variants of object-experiencer verbs assigning accusative
case. For example:
(460) a. decorate (stative reading)
b. λy λx λs cause(x, decorate(y))(s)
The combination of cause0 and becomeP is found in non-stative, no-agentive variants
of verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation. These are similar to (461), but the
eventive reading is usually forced by adverbials that require a gradual onset of the re-
sultant predicate. See also Section 3.2.4.2 for a more detailed discussion.
(461) a. obstruct (non-active, incremental reading)
b. λy λx λs cause(x, become(obstruct(y)))(s)
There is no corresponding verb class for the combination of cause0 and doP. As be-
fore, the do-operator cannot function as the complement of an aspectual head.
Note that it is commonly assumed in the literature that cause takes do as its com-
plement. Usually this is found when causative verbs are discussed, e.g., causative con-
structions such as feed (“to make someone eat”) or causative light verbs that take a full
verb as its complement as in Japanese or Korean, or causative constructions in lan-
guages that mark the causative component overtly in morphology. The discussion in
this work does not treat such constructions. Rather, I take the structure of main lexical
verbs to consist of the aspectual operators. Of course it is possible that such a main
verb functions as the complement of a causative light verb.
To wrap up: although it is possible from a type-theoretic perspective that all aspec-
tual operators take each of them as their complement, we never find that doP occurs
in this position. In other words, doP must always be the highest aspectual layer within
a verb structure.
This view is compatible with the perspective of Kayne 2008, who argues that nouns
but not verbs are open-class elements. The only lexical category that allows for new
members to be added freely is therefore noun. In particular, verbs are closed-class ele-
ments. Following the tradition of Hale and Keyser 1993, Kayne argues that there are
only a finite number of possible verb structures. What seems to render verbs an open
class is the referential part that is included in verbs. Kayne puts forward the idea that
this referential part is nominal, hence belonging to the open class. For example, whis-
per, shout and yell seem to be completely different words on the first glance. However,
they differ only with respect to their nominal (referential) part that determines the
particular way of speaking, while sharing the eventuality structure. Hence, what is a
verb and what belongs to the closed class is the eventuality structure: there exist only
finite possible structures. I want to strengthen this claim: only those structures that are
made up of the aspectual operators, and therefore only those verbs, exist.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
7.2.2 Example verb structures
After inspecting the aspectual layout of the verb, let’s now turn to the relationship be-
tween aspectual heads and thematic features in detail.
To start with, the subject of activity verbs like laugh carries two features which are
relevant to the current discussion: [+c] and [+m]. This feature structure expresses that
the subject of an activity verb is an intentional agent. The aspectual operator within
this verb structure is do, which is able to check the [+c] feature of the subject. [+m] is
interpretable on the noun phrase – it encodes intentionality.
(462) a. Irmi laughed.
b. doP
wo
DPAgent do’
[+c+m] wo
Irmi do0 predP
[+c] |
pred’
3
pred0 laugh
Verbs of emission come in two forms: the subject is either an agent or the instrument
that is emitting. In the agentive variant, the subject is licensed in the same way as in
activity verbs. Thus, the mechanisms regarding the do-projection are the same as in
(462b). The noun referring to the emitting source is specified as an instrument, bearing
the feature cluster [+c-m]. This instrument is licensed via the cause-head that checks
the [+c] feature. Again, [-m] is not checked since it is interpretable on the noun.
(463) a. Bert squealed with his rubber duck.
b. doP
wo
DPAgent do’
[+c+m] wo
Bert do0 causeP
[+c] wo
dpInstr cause’
[+c-m] wo
rubber duck cause0 predP
[+c] |
pred’
3
pred0 squeal
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
In the non-agentive variant, the instrument and the do-operator remain. This is a legal
structure, sine the resulting layout of the tree is not excluded by any grammatical means.
It is the same as in activity verbs. In addition, it is possible for the instrument to be li-
censed by the do-head, since it needs to check the [+c] feature. do carries this feature.
(464) a. The rubber duck squealed.
b. doP
wo
dpInstr do’
[+c-m] 3
rubber duck do0 predP
[+c] |
pred’
3
pred0 squeal
Verbs of consumption are similar to verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation.
However, the “instrument” in verbs of consumption (e.g. to eat with a spoon) does not
bear the instrument role. What appears to be an instrument is an adverbial that modifies
the way the consumption event happens, pretty much like a manner adverbial modifies
the way an event takes place. Therefore, only the agentive subject and the object (the
thing that is consumed) are licensed via checking by the aspectual operators. As before,
the agentive subject is licensed by the do-head via checking of the [+c] feature, and the
object is licensed by pred-head, either via the [-c] (or the absence of [+c]) feature.
(465) a. Irmi ate an apple.
b. doP
wo
dpAgent do’
[+c+m] wo
Irmi do0 becomeP
[+c] wo
become0 predP
3
dpObj pred’
[-c-m] 3
apple pred0 eaten
[-c]
Verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation are the most complex verbs that exist,
since their aspectual structure involves all three operators. These verbs select for three
arguments. In the agentive form, the subject refers to an intentional agent, which is li-
censed by the mechanisms that were observed for the subject of activity verbs, the agen-
tive subject of verbs of emission and the subject of consumption verbs: the [+c] feature
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
of the noun is checked against the [+c] feature of the do-head, the [+m] feature is inter-
petable on the noun. The instrument is licensed in the same way as it is in agentive verbs
of emission. The noun carries the feature bundle [+c-m]. The [+c] feature is checked
against its correspondent on the cause-head, and [-m] stays on the noun where it is
interpretable. Finally, the object is specified as [-c-m]. It is licensed by the pred-head
via checking of [-c], [-m] is again interpretable on the noun and must not be checked.
(466) a. Irmi obstructed the street with her truck.
b. doP
wo
DPAgent do’
[+c+m] wo
Irmi do0 causeP
[+c] wo
dpInstr cause’
[+c-m] wo
truck cause0 becomeP
[+c-m] wo
truck become0 predP
3
dpObj pred’
[-c-m] 3
street pred0 obstr.
[-c]
In the non-agentive variant of verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation, the struc-
ture lacks the do-operator and the agentive subject. Metaphorically speaking, the tree is the
same as in (466b), but truncated above the cause-head. The remaining instrumental argu-
ment is promoted to subject status and receives nominative case in the further derivation.
(467) a. The truck obstructed the street.
b. causeP
wo
DPInstr cause’
[+c-m] wo
truck cause0 becomeP
[+c] wo
become0 predP
wo
dpObj pred’
[-c-m] 3
street pred0 obstructed
[-c]
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
7.2.3 Checking and verb phases
There are three types of features that must be considered when dealing with the mech-
anisms of argument realization: the causative feature and the feature expressing men-
tal involvement. However, it is not clear what happens to these features in the course
of the derivation. In what follows, I will argue that these features, like all other features
that play a role in syntax, must either be interpretable at some point, or must be checked
against a suitable counterpart. In other words, lexical-syntactic features are subject to
the same mechanisms as other features like [agree], [epp], [wh] or [Case]. Lexical-
syntactic features and core syntactic features, therefore, are processed by the same syn-
tactic machinery, following the spirit of the Minimalist Program. Lexical features are
checked against their counterparts in functional heads, which I take to be the aspec-
tual operators. In this way, the grammatical system links aspectual operators (i.e. ver-
bal event structures) with their arguments (i.e. argument realization patterns).
The causative feature comes in two forms, [+c] and [-c]. It is uninterpretable on
noun phrases, hence it must be checked in order to be invisible in the rest of the deri-
vation. The results from Section 7.2.2 show that arguments carrying the [+c]-feature
are licensed by either the do-operator (e.g. in activity verbs, verbs of emission, con-
sumption verbs) or by the basic predicate.
Both do and cause, therefore, check the [+c]-feature. The negatively specified
cause feature [-c], on the other hand, can only be checked by the basic predicate as
evidenced in Section 7.2.2.
At this point, a simplification of the system is feasible.1 Instead of having a two
valued feature system [+c] and [-c], it is possible to encode the same distinction simply
by the presence or absence of [+c]. In other words, the argument that was said to carry
[-c] is not licensed via this feature. Rather, it is the positively specifed [+c] feature that
is checked against the two aspectual heads do and cause. In contrast, the patient or
Table 7.1 Arguments licensed by do / cause
Verb type licensing head argument example
activity verb do intentional agent [+c+m] laugh

verb of emission (agentive) do intentional agent [+c+m] squeal
verb of emission (non-agentive) do instrument [+c-m] squeal
verb of consumption do intentional agent [+c+m] eat
instrumental alternation (agentive) do intentional agent [+c+m] obstruct
verb of emission (agentive) cause instrument [+c-m] squeal
instrumental alternation cause instrument [+c-m] obstruct
(non-agentive)
1. Thanks to Edwin Williams for pointing this out.

 The Structure of Stative Verbs
the experiencer argument is distinguished from agents and instruments by the lack of
the [+c]-feature (instead of having a negative feature [-c]). The resulting system is sim-
pler: there exists a relation between the feature [+c] and the aspectual heads do and
cause. Arguments lacking this feature are licensed by pred as an elsewhere condition.
The cause features function as ordering devices. With the help of these features it
is possible to distinguish two otherwise alike nouns in terms of their causer and causee
role: one of the nouns is associated with the causing eventuality, whereas the other
takes part in the caused eventuality. In this sense, the cause feature is semantically
uninterpretable on a noun. It merely functions as a syntactic ordering device. The
cause features contrast the feature that specifies mental involvement. The latter is se-
mantically interpretable and, although visible at the lexical-syntactic level, not of a
purely syntactic nature.
Second, the feature expressing mental involvement ([±m]), which is again either
speicified positively or negatively, is not checked against a head and eliminated. On the
contrary, the feature is interpretable on the noun phrase. This indicates that mental
involvement is an interpretable category comparable to number or gender on the
noun. Both do and cause as well as the basic predicate are compatible with [+m]
and [-m]. The overview in Section 7.2.2 and data in Table 7.1 summarize the patterns
for do and cause. In particular, the do-operator is compatible with both [+m] (as in
activity verbs) and [-m] (as in verbs of emission). The compatibility of predicate with
the[±m] feature is summarized in Table 7.2 below.
The relation between cause and [+m] is not included in Table 7.1. Example (468)
shows that this is a legitimate checking relation.
(468) Hänsel und Gretel verstopfen mit der Hexe den Ofen.
Hänsel and Gretel obstruct with the witch the oven.
‘Hänsel and Gretel are obstructing the oven with the witch.’
Verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation like verstopfen (obstruct) can take an
agent (Hänsel und Gretel) and an instrument (the witch). Regarding (468), Hänsel and
Gretel could as well have obstructed the oven with stones (which are of course [-m]).
This suggests that the specification of [m] is irrelevant for instruments: both [+m] (the
Table 7.2 Arguments licensed by predicate
Verb type licensing head argument example
verb of consumption pred patient [-c-m] eat

instrumental alternation (agentive and pred patient [-c-m] obstruct
non-agentive)
object-experiencer ACC (agentve and pred experiencer [-c+m] annoy
non-agentive)
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
witch) and [-m] (stones) are compatible with the cause-head. In other words, the
[±m]-feature is invisible to cause.
Additional evidence for the claim that [±m] is interpretable comes from studies
on the interpretation of metaphor. Prinzhorn 2005 argues that metaphorical use is the
systematic reinterpretation of the lexical features [±c] and [±m]. The examples in (469)
illustrate this idea.
(469) a. Robert is a bulldozer.
b. The fog comes on little cat feet.
[Carston 2002: (3), (6a)]
Prinzhorn argues that the matching between the human bearing the cluster [+c+m]
and the bulldozer carrying [+c-m] in (469a) runs into a feature mismatch. In order to
interpret the sentence, the non-animate word must be shifted from [-m] to [+m]. In
this way, some properties of the bulldozer are transferred to the animate subject. For
instance, Robert is understood to act like a bulldozer in that he does not pay respect to
people. Prinzhorn purports that people who suffer from autism have severe difficulties
in shifting [-m] to [+m]: they cannot comprehend examples like those in (469). Hence,
there exists a specific breakdown of the interpretation of the [m]-feature. This finding
substantiates the idea that [m] is an interpretable feature on the noun.
Moreover, the distinction between the purely grammatical, uninterpretable feature
[c] and the interpretable [m] is confirmed by the fact that on a noun [c] but not [m]
needs a verb to be interpretable at all. Take a noun without any further context like
child, cat, book. It is always clear whether this noun refers to an animate/intentional
entity or not. In contrast, one cannot tell from the noun alone if it is specified as [+c] or
[-c]. In order to do so, one must take into consideration the verb that “assigns the theta
role” to the word. For instance, book is specified as [+c] in (470a), but as [-c] in (470b).
(470) a. The book scares Irmi.
b. Irmi destroyed the book.
Does the system proposed so far over-generate? An anonymous reviewer points out
that the system predicts that verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation, in their
non-agentive variant, might receive an episodic reading. For example, decorate con-
tains the do-operator which is in principle compatible with the [+c]-feature of the
instrument noun candles, incorrectly predicting that the example in (471) should al-
low for an eventive reading.
(471) Candles decorated the cake.
If a verb lice decorate that undergoes the instrumental alternation contains the do-
operator, it contains the cause-operator as well. Hence, we only find the two eventual-
ity structures in (472) with verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(472) a. agentive: do(cause (decorated (cake)))

b. non-agentive: cause (decorated (cake))
Note that the eventuality structure containing merely do and the basic predicate exists
(e.g. in activity verbs and verbs of emission), but is not available for verbs that undergo
the instrumental alternation.
Taking the structures in (472) to be the only ones available for verbs that undergo
the instrumental alternation (modulo, of course, the optional insertion of become
which is irrelevant to the point here), only (472a) receives an eventive reading, (472b),
lacking both do and become, being stative. The stative variant in (472b) may take
both animate and inanimate nouns as its subject. Since [+m] is not interpretable at
cause, this distinction does not have any consequences. Apart from the run-of-the-
mill instrumental subject candles, consider the example in (473).
(473) Ein Mädchen schmückte die Torte.
A girl decorated the cake.
‘A girl decorated the cake.’
Think of a bachelor party: on top of a huge cake there sits a girl. In this context, the girl
is decorating the cake pretty much like candles do. It is possible, therefore, that this
example receives a stative reading. This example indicates that a subject containing
[+m] does not automatically trigger an episodic reading.
Returning to (472b), this structure always requires two arguments, one that is li-
censed by do, and one that is licensed by cause. Imagine the instrument subject
([+c-m]) being licensed by the do head. In this case, the agent ([+c+m]) must be li-
censed by cause. Since only do is sensitive to the presence of [+m], in this case, there
is no [+m], the instrument not bearing a positive feature value. As cause is insensitive
to the specification of [+m], both arguments are only characterized by their [+c] fea-
ture. Therefore, they are indistinguishable from the point of view of grammar. For this
reason I take it to be the case that an argument bearing [+m] must be licensed by do if
both do and cause are present. Therefore, it is not possible for an instrument like
candles to be licensed by do in verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation.
This leaves us with the question why it is not possible for verbs that undergo the instru-
mental alternation to have a structure consisting solely of do and a predicate, as in (474).
(474) do(decorated(cake))
Of course, it is exactly this structure that licenses an instrumental subject in verbs of
emission. I take it to be that there exist all possible combinations. In particular, there
exists an agentive variant of verbs of emission, and an agentive variant of verbs that
undergo the instrumental alternation, sharing their event structure. From this struc-
ture it is possible to drop the cause head in verbs of emission, and it is possible to drop
the do-head in non-agentive verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation. At this
point, I cannot say more than that.
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
After having clarified the core difference between the two lexical features, I will
now turn to the two aspectual heads do and cause, focusing on the following ques-
tions: why must do not be dominated by another aspectual head? How is it possible that
sentential subjects are licensed by the cause operator, given the type-mismatch (cause
requiring an individual as its argument)? As discussed in Section 7.2.1, do and cause
have the sametype-theoretic status, and both license arguments that bear the [+m] or
the [-m]-feature. Yet, they differ with respect to whether they license sentential argu-
ments (only cause does), and whether they have to be the topmost aspectual operator
(only do has to be). So, what is the exact difference between do and cause? The answers
to these questions address directly the nature of the verb phrase as a phase.
A clear picture emerges from a phase-theoretic perspective on syntactic deriva-
tion (cf. Chomsky 2001 and subsequent work). Although do and cause work along
the same lines with respect to their type-theoretic argument selection properties, they
differ when it comes to their phase-theoretic status. The hypothesis is that only do0 but
not cause0 marks the end of the phase. In other words, as soon as the aspectual head
do0 is inserted, the verbal phase is closed and transferred to spell out or to a higher
level of representation (depending on the exact version of Minimalism). In order to
substantiate this claim, I will employ two arguments: first, since do marks the end of
the phase, it must always occur as the topmost aspectual head within a verb. Second,
the distribution of sentential subjects underpins the difference between do and cause.
Again, this distinction can be captured in phase-theoretic terms.
In Section 7.2.1, the general aspectual layout of possible verb structures was exam-
ined. One major result was that do must be the highest aspectual head within event
structure. It is not possible that cause or become take do as their complement. This
fact indicates that do has a special status within the aspectual (or functional) strucutre
of the verb: it is always the topmost functional head, i.e., it closes the phase. Cause, in
contrast, may also be the highest aspectual head, but only if there is no do-head
present. In these cases, cause does not necessarily mark the end of the phase.
When it comes to licensing of sentential subjects, the following pattern emerges:
while cause may freely license sentences, do cannot do so. For instance, stative verbs that
involve a sentential subject like verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation or stative
object-experiencer verbs that assign accusative case are grammatical with sentential sub-
jects. The latter is given in (475). Both the stative and the eventive (gradual) reading are
grammatical, compare the lexical-semantic representations in (475b) and (475c).
(475) a. Daß die Irmi im Lotto gewonnen hat, ärgert den
That the Irmi in the lottery won has annoys the
Poldi (nach und nach).
Poldi (bit by bit).
‘It is nnoying Poldi (bit by bit) that Irmi has won in the lottery.’
b. λs cause(Irmi-wins-in-lottery, annoyed(Poldi))(s)
c. λs cause(Irmi-wins-in-lottery, become(annoyed(Poldi)))(s)
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Note that it is not the case that cause is always able to license sentential arguments.
Although it can do so when it is the highest aspectual operator as in (475), this possi-
bility ceases as soon as do is present, e.g. in verbs containing an agent (licensed by do)
and an instrument (licensed by cause). Hence, instruments can never be realized as
sentences, they always have to be nominal. Consider (476).
(476) * Die Irmi hat (mit), daß sie im Lotto gewonnen hat,
The Irmi has (with), that she in the lottery won has,
den Poldi geärgert.
the Poldi annoyed.
‘Irmi annoyed Poldi (with the fact) that she had won in the lottery.’
However, if a pronoun is added to the preposition mit (with) that refers to the instru-
mental clause, the sentence becomes grammatical.
(477) Die Irmi hat damit, daß sie im Lotto gewonnen
The Irmi has that-with, that she in the lottery won
hat, den Poldi geärgert.
has, the Poldi annoyed.
‘Irmi annoyed Poldi with it that she had won in the lottery.’
It is possible that sentential instruments are excluded on Case-theoretic grounds. For
example, sentences such as (476) could be illicit since the preposition needs a DP to
assign its Case to.
Moreover, cause can occur as the complement of become. In this case, cause
again cannot license sentential arguments. For example, the non-agentive, eventive
reading of verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation like cover forces that the
subject increases in its size. Consider (478), repeated from (110).
(478) a. Die Blätter haben nach und nach den Boden bedeckt.
‘Leaves were covering the floor bit by bit.’
b. Der Vorhang hat nach und nach die Bühne verdeckt.
The curtain has bit by bit the stage hidden.
‘The curtain was covering the stage bit by bit.’
Examples like (478) are rendered ungrammatical when they contain a sentential subject:
(479) *Daß es heruntergefallen ist, hat nach und nach den Boden bedeckt.
That it downfallen is, has bit by bit the floor covered.
‘It was covering the floor bit by bit that it fell.’
Contrasting cause, the operator do never licenses sentential subjects. Consider the activ-
ity verb in (480a), the verb of consumption in (481a), and the verb of emission in (482a).
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
(480) a. *Daß er lacht, lacht am längsten.

That he laughs, laughs the longest.
‘That he is laughing, is laughing the longest.’
b. Der Poldi lacht.
The Poldi laughs.
‘Poldi is laughing.’
(481) a. *Daß sie kaut, ißt einen Apfel.
That she chews eats an apple.
‘That she is chewing, is eating an apple.’
b. Die Irmi ißt einen Apfel.
The Irmi eats an apple.
‘Irmi is eating an apple.’
(482) a. * Daß es brennt, leuchtet.
That it burns, glows.
‘That it is burning is glowing.’
b. Das Feuer leuchtet.
The fire glows.
‘The fire is glowing.’
In sum, there is a clear distinction between do and cause regarding the licensing of
sentential subjects. Only if cause is the highest aspectual head, CP-arguments are
grammatical. Note that only subordinated clauses that are introduced by a comple-
mentizer exhibit this pattern. Relative clauses, in contrast, are perfectly acceptable in
all of the above constructions. In particular, relative clauses can be licensed by do and
by cause and they can act as an argument that is increasing in its size.
(483) a. Wer zuletzt lacht, lacht am längsten.
Who at last laughs, laughs the longest.
‘The one who is laughing at the end will be laughing for the longest time.’
b. Was der Irmi passiert ist, ärgert den Poldi.
What nom the Irmi dat happened is, annoys the Poldi.
‘The thing that happened to Irmi is annoying Poldi.’
c. Was heruntergefallen ist, hat nach und nach den Boden bedeckt.
What downfallen is, has bit by bit the floor covered.
‘The thing that had fallen was covering the floor bit by bit.’
Relative clauses denote predicates that act as modifiers of a noun (cf. Heim and Kratzer
1998, Chapter 5). In the cases at hand it is likely that there is a phonetically null noun
within the matrix clause, the relative clause acting as a modifier to this noun. Clauses
that are introduced by a complementizer, in contrast, do not refer to an entity; rather,
they express a proposition that has a truth value. This is a fundamental difference
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
between these two types of subordinated clauses. Therefore, the fact that relative claus-
es are always licit does not weaken the claim that only cause in the top position may
license sentential subjects.
The arguments that are licensed via the aspectual heads directly must be nominal
for two main reasons: recall from Section 7.2.1 that the type of the operators requires
them to refer to an entity. Only nouns (or, rather, DPs) are able to denote an entity.
Complement clauses always refer to a proposition and never to an entity.
First, the arguments must contain a bundle of thematic features that are checked
against the aspectual head; for example, the [+m]-feature of an agent noun is checked
against the aspectual do-head. A sentence introduced by a complementizer does not
have such features, as the complementizer closes off the complete clause, rendering any
unchecked features within it inaccessible from outside. In particular, the features of the
nouns within the complement clause are already checked and therefore invisible to the
verb of the matrix clause. Relative clauses, in contrast, always modify a noun in the
matrix clause, even if this noun is phonetically silent. Relative clauses, therefore, refer to
an entity and, therefore, are possible in both the agent and the instrument positions.
Second, in Representation Theory (Williams 2003), a general mechanism for em-
bedding is propsed: the Level Embedding Conjecture (LEC) (Williams 2003: 63f.) re-
quires that “an item can be embedded exactly at the level at which it is defined, and no
other” (p. 64). In other words, the embedding as well as the embedded structure must
be at the same level of representation when the embedding occurs. For instance, a verb
that is at Theta Structure embeds a noun (that is as well at Theta Structure). A verb that
is at Case Structure (it has tense features, or it projects a TP) embeds a noun at Case
Structure (e.g. a noun that bears accusative case). Hence, a VP cannot be merged with
a complete sentence until the verb phrase has been lifted to a higher level of represen-
tation. In particular, that-clause embedding occurs at Surface Structure (Williams
2003: 73). Therefore, the embedding of sentential subjects must occur at a later stage
in the derivation. While the do-head indicates the end of the verb phase, the cause-
head, if it occurs in top position, does not do so. Hence, in the latter case the subject
position of the verb stays open at least until Surface Structure, whereas in the former
case, it must be filled at Theta Structure.
Putting it all together, the system under development here works as follows: there
are two aspectual heads, do and cause, that are able to license arguments within their
specifier position. The two heads differ with respect to two properties: do, if present,
has to be the highest head (therefore indicating the end of the verbal phase and trans-
ferring the verb into the next level of representation). In contrast, there is no such re-
quirement on cause. This head can appear as the highest head and as the complement
of do. If it occupies the highest position, it does not indicate the end of the verbal
phase, leaving its features open to be checked by a sentential subject at a later stage of
the derivation. The feature [±m] is only checked or, rather, interpreted at the do-head.
So only do but not cause is sensitive to this distinction, the specification of [m] not
being interpreted at the cause-head.
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
7.2.4 The situation argument
This section discusses the nature of the situation argument. The theory of verb structure
put forward here makes specific claims about the situation argument. In essence, a verb
contains a situation argument that refers to a Kimian state. With the help of the aspec-
tual operators, this situation argument can be turned into an eventive eventuality. Hence,
the notion of Davidsonian event argument is superfluous. It is an epiphenomenon.
Regarding the treatment of the situation argument at the level of lexical-semantic
representation within Semantic Form as it is employed here, Wunderlich 1997 argues
that the situation argument is not a temporal index alone; rather, it consists at least of
a temporal component and a component handling possible worlds, since a situation
may be true only with respect to some worlds.
According to Wunderlich, both nouns and verbs carry referential arguments.
These arguments must be combined with contextual information in order to be able to
refer to a particular entity. This combination functions as a constraint on the referen-
tial argument; it is carried out by functional categories: determiners in the case of
nouns, and aspect, tense, mode, among others, in the case of verbs. In other words, it
is always the same type of situation argument that is combined with functional catego-
ries that gives rise to different types of eventualities. Extending this claim to the situa-
tion arguments of verbs, I take it that there is no need for a fundamental distinction
between stative and eventive arguments. It is possible that the latter are construed out
of the former by certain functional heads.
I will diverge from Wunderlich’s system in the following respects: first, Wunderlich
claims that the various kinds of adverbials are only compatible with different sorts of
the situation index. Impossible combinations of adverbs and verb types are therefore
ruled out on the basis of a simple type mismatch. According to the theory presented
here, adverbials must be anchored on one of the aspectual heads. It is therefore the ab-
sence of either do, cause or become that renders certain adverbials ungrammatical.
Second, Wunderlich does not give any reason why natural language allows the
cause relation to hold between an individual and a proposition (or situation), in con-
trast to the classical philosophical theory. The theory proposed here tries to derivethis
property in terms of more basic mechanisms of natural language (see Section 7.2.3).
Third, Wunderlich (Wunderlich 1997:(19)) proposes that the situation argument
is introduced into syntactic structure at the infl node. This contrasts the view of Mai-
enborn 2003 who claims that the situation argument is only existentially bound, but
not introduced at this position. a particular point of time. In her book, Maienborn
argues that copular constructions always refer to a Kimian state. She argues that every
verb contains a referential argument. For example, a verb like sleep can be represented
as in (484), where e indicates the referential argument (which is in this case presuma-
bly a Davidsonian event argument), and the theme argument is introduced in a neo-
Davidsonian way.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(484) schlafen λx λe [sleep(e), theme(e,x)]

This referential argument is then existentially bound at Infl. More precisely, Maien-
born contends that Infl introduces a discourse referent for the situation argument. In
other wordds, the situation argument is fully determined at Infl, much like a noun is
determined by its determiner. The semantic structure is given in (485), in DRT style
(in (a)) and in predicate logic (in (b)).
(485) a. Infl: λP [s | P(s)]
[Maienborn 2005b: (51c)]
b. Infl: λP ∃s [P(s)]
[Maienborn 2005b: fn. 23]
The application of infl to a verb existentially binds the situation argument, as can be
seen explicitely in (485b), where P is then the predicate referred to by the verb.
For the current theory this implies that as soon as infl binds the situation argu-
ment, it is no longer possible to add aspectual operators. The Kimian situation, which
is included in all types of eventualities, is a property exemplification at a particular
time. While also some nouns may have temporal indices, the situational index of verbs
is different. An event noun can be modified by temporal adverbs:
(486) a. yesterday’s explosion
b. die gestr-ige Entscheidung
the yesterday-aff decision
‘yesterday’s decision’
However, verbs but not nouns are sensitive to the possible world to which it is evalu-
ated. Moreover, it is the situation argument of verbs that may refer to an event: the
event is created out of the situation argument and the aspectual operators.
7.2.4.1 The elimination of the Davidsonian event argument

In order to show that a reduction to a situation argument and aspectual operators is
possible, I will go through the main arguments for having this variable, showing for
each of them how the same task can be modeled by the situation argument and the
aspectual operators alone.
First, Davidson 1967 and many authors after him have argued that the Davidsonian
event argument is necessary in the structure of verbs, since adverbials are anchored at
the event argument. In particular manner adverbials and local adverbials seem to need
this entity in a semantic representation. Statives, which do not allow for these adverbi-
als, were then said to lack the Davidsonian argument. Von Stechow (personal commu-
nication) points out that adverbials are modifiers that are anchored at the aspectual
heads. This allows for a fine grained distinction: certain adverbials select for a specific
type of head. For example, agent-oriented manner adverbials are only compatible with
Chapter 7. Event structure and theta features 
the do-head. They include a presupposition that the agent is about to do the action. This
is at least one step more explanatory than simply postulating that the event argument
comes in different types and that adverbials are compatible with one or the other type.
Second, according to Neo-Davidsonian theories of argument selection (cf. Par-
sons 1990), thematic roles are solely introduced via thematic predicates that anchor an
argument to the event. This type of theory does not restrict the number and type of
arguments, nor does it predict any systematic relation between the event structure that
is expressed and the type of arguments that are selected.
The third main argument for the existence of the Davidsonian argument is that
action sentences can be continued with it happened, where the pronoun it is said to
refer to the event (cf. Davidson 1967). Maienborn 2005b shows that this fact is not
restricted to action sentences, i.e., the pronoun does not refer to the (eventive) David-
sonian event argument. She gives examples of sentences expressing a Kimian state
which may be referred to by a following pronoun.
(487) Carol ist wütend. Das wird bald vorbei sein.
Carol is angry. This will soon over be.
Fourth, it is the case that only verbs referring to an (eventive) Davidsonian eventuality
may be the complements of perception verbs. Kimian statives may not occur in this
position. It is tempting to analyze this constraint in a way that perception verbs require
the event argument to be present in their complement. However, I put forward the idea
that it is not a selection restriction that goes for the event argument, but that only ac-
tions and changes are perceptible. Hence, at least one of the aspectual operators must
be included in the complement of perception verbs.
Finally, there is the question why there is only a single eventuality expressed by a
verb; if verbs contain more than one sub-eventuality, why is it always the case that they
are sub-eventualities of a single eventuality? Why is it impossible for a verb to refer to
two eventualities, for example, a causing and a causee eventuality? This is the case
since a single verb contains only a single lexical predicate that anchors the situation
argument. The other components of the eventuality which may be captured as sub-
eventualities are always the aspectual operators. They never introduce a situation into
the structure of the verb. This can only be done by the basic lexical verbal predicate.
7.3 Conclusion
This chapter proposed an architecture for the event structure of verbs and the linking
of arguments. The event structure of a verb is derived from its components, the aspec-
tual heads do, cause and become, as well as the basic predicate predicate which
introduces the situation argument that is characteristic for verbs. Although in principle
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
we expect to find any possible combination of these operators, we find that there exists
a substantial restriction: the do head must never be subordinated.
Agent and instrument arguments are licensed by the two heads do and cause; both
of them check the [+c] feature on the argument. This feature is a purely syntactic one, its
mere purpose is to distinguish causers from causees. The second feature, [±m] is only
interpreted on do. In other words, do has a specification for [m], and cause has no [m].
Arguments that bear the [-c] feature are licensed via predicate directly. All other
complements of verbs are not licensed via feature checking. Rather, they are anchored
to the predicate via different means, e.g. Semantic Incorporation in the case of meas-
ure verbs, or via cipient predication for dative aruments.
The difference between do and cause is furthermore replicated when sentential
subjects are considered. Only cause but not do is able to license them. This correlation
hints towards the fact that do with its [m]-feature closes the phase. All of its features
within its domain are sent to the interpretative component of language as soon as this
head enters the derivation. In contrast, cause, which is defined by the lack of [m], may
stay open until a later phase is ended, thereby being able to license sentential subjects.
In this way, the system proposed here extends the spirit of the Minimalist Program
to the lexical domain. In order to build a verb, the well-known ingredients “functional”
projections (the aspectual heads), uninterpretable features ([+c], [-c]), an interpretable
feature ([m]) and phases are employed.
chapter 8
Conclusion
This book closes with an outlook on two classes of verbs that have not been studied
within the framework proposed so far. After that a final conclusion is drawn.
8.1 Further verb classes
8.1.1 Modals
It is not reasonable to analyze modal verbs with respect to their event structure status,
since they differ greatly with respect to lexical verbs. Modal verbs and lexical verbs
come from two different domains of grammar: whereas lexical verbs select for argu-
ments to form a proposition (i.e., to become fully saturated), modal verbs are opera-
tors that act on these propositions. In other words, modals, in contrast to lexical verbs,
are propositional operators (as argued for by Lewis 1973, Kratzer 1981, Kratzer 1991,
von Stechow 2004 and e.g. Butler 2004). According to the standard semantic view,
modal verbs are quantifiers over possible worlds which are interpreted with respect to
two entities: a modal base or a conversational background that specifies what the rules
are and an ordering source that determines the order of the possible worlds.
Therefore, I will leave the question open whether it does make any sense at all to
ask if modals refer to a Kimian or to a Davidsonian eventuality. Likewise, I do not want
to make any claims about whether it is reasonable to investigate if some of the aspec-
tual operators are present in the structure of modals.
8.1.2 Sensation predicates
Very briefly, this section examines the status of sensation predicates as in (488). These
verbs are no longer productive in German, therefore I will leave the detailed analysis
of this verb class to future research.
(488) frieren (freeze), dürsten (thirst), hungern (hunger), frösteln (shiver), ekeln (nauseate)
Sensation predicates, in contrast to subject-experiencer verbs like love, may occur with
only a single argument. This argument bears nominative case as in (489a), but for most
of the verbs there exists a variant where the single argument carries accusative, as in
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
(489b). The latter cases are marked and have an outdated flavour, but are still used in
more formal registers.
(489) a. Der Poldi friert.
The Poldi nom freezes.
‘Poldi is freezing.’
b. Den Franzi friert (es).
The Franzi acc freezes (it).
‘Franzi is freezing.’
c. Den Sepp ekelt es.
The Sepp acc nauseates it.
‘It nauseates Sepp.’
(480) a. Es dürstet den Poldi nach Wissen.
It thirsts the Poldi acc after knowledge.
‘Poldi is thirsty for knowledge.’
b. Der Poldi dürstet nach Wissen.
The Poldi nom thirsts after knowledge.
‘Poldi is thirsty for knowledge.’
Some verbs like the one in (491) do not allow for the subject to carry accusative case.
Only the nominative, active variant is possible.
(491) * Den Poldi hungert.
The Poldi acc hungers.
‘Poldi is hungering.’
In turn, I will show that sensation predicates do not have a Kimian stative reading. As far as
the diagnostics for Kimian stative readings are concerned, these verbs pass none of them.

As illustrated in (492), all kinds of manner adverbials are acceptable with sensation
predicates. This contrasts strongly the behavior of Kimian stative verbs, which do not
allow for event-related manner modification.
(492) a. Die Irmi hungert auf eine ungesunde Weise.
The Irmi nom hungers in a unhealthy way.
‘Irmi is hungering in an unhealthy way.’
b. Die Irmi friert zähneklappernd.
The Irmi nom freezes teeth-rattling.
‘Irmi is freezing and rattling her teeth.’
c. Den Poldi fröstelt.
The Poldi acc shivers.
‘Poldi is shivering.’
Chapter 8. Conclusion 
Although the cases where the experiencer bears nominative are more natural and per-
mit adverbials more easily, there exist even cases with manner adverbials for those
verbs that select a non-nominative argument, as in (493).
(493) a. sie fröstelt unwillkürlich
She nom/acc shivers involuntarily.
‘She is shivering involuntarily.’
[from: http://www.literaturwerkstatt.at/texte2/2texte00/muel-s3.html;
my translation]
b. Wie kuschelig fröstelt’s einen, wenn [...]
How cosy shivers-it oneACC if [...]
‘How cosy is one shivering if ...’
[from: http://www.zeit.de/2003/04/KJ-Luchs2002; my gloss, my translation]
These data strongly suggest that there is a Davidsonian eventuality involved. True
Kimian statives do not allow for this kind of modification.

Event-related locative modifiers are only allowed if there is an event going on. With
sensation predicates, these types of locative modifiers are perfectly acceptable, as
shown in (494). Example (494a) indicates that even inner and outer event-related loc-
ative modifiers are possible with sensation predicates, whereas (494c) shows that these
adverbials are also grammatical together with non-nominative assigning verbs.
(494) a. Im Winter friert der Poldi auf dem Schulweg an
In winter freezes the Poldi nom on the way-to-school on
den Füßen.
the feet.
‘In winter Poldi’s feet are freezing on his way to school.’
b. Die Irmi hungert vor dem Parlament.
The Irmi nom hungers in front of the parliament.
‘Irmi is on hunger strike on front of the parliament.’
c. da fröstelt es manchen im Gemüt
there shivers it someone acc in the soul
‘It shivers in someone’s soul.’
[from: http://r.bluewin.ch/?id=58704; my translation]
Again, this test shows that sensation predicates cannot be interpreted as Kimian statives.
8.1.2 Degree readings
The degree adverbial ein bisschen (a little) allows for a temporal interpretation only, if
there is an event expressed by the verb. In Kimian stative cases, its interpretation is
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
restricted to degree readings. With sensation predicates, this degree adverbial allows
for a time-span problem easily.
(495) a. Die Irmi hungert ein bisschen.
The Irmi nom hungers a little.
‘Irmi is hungering a little.’
b. Den Poldi fröstelt ein bisschen.
The Poldi acc shivers a little.
‘Poldi is shivering a little.’
In sum, sensation predicates permit a temporal interpretation of the degree adverbial ein
bisschen (a little), indicating that these verbs have a Davidsonian (eventive) reading.
8.1.2.4 Conclusion
In the previous section, I took a brief look on sensation predicates. Although these
verbs are at the first glance very similar to subject-experiencer verbs, their aspectual
behavior is entirely different. Whereas subject-experiencer verbs were shown to ex-
press a Kimian state, sensation predicates fail all the test that predicates which allow
for a Kimian stative reading pass.
Moreover, sensation predicates do not behave in a uniform way. Those predicates
that assign nominative case to their subject behave similar to activity verbs like run.
Both allow for the experience to be controlled intentionally, e.g. as in Die Irmi hungert
absichtlich (Irmi hungers intentionally; she is on hunger-strike). The verbs that assign
accusative or dative to their subject do not pass the diagnostics for the presence of a
Kimian state so easily. This may be due to the fact that these forms are already obsolete.
Nevertheless, some rare cases of event-related modification were found.
As it may be, I leave the precise status and their underlying lexical-semantic rep-
resentation for future research.
8.2 Conclusion
Finally, I would like to recapitulate the goal of this book and summarize its main re-
sults. In addition, I will address what kind of implications my results have on the cur-
rent picture of grammar. I will conclude with some open questions that are left for
future research.
The core results regarding the stative/eventive distinction are summarized in the
following list:
– Several different types of verbs allow for a Kimian stative reading. It is not the case
that statives form a uniform class of verbs. In particular, stative verbs are not the
building blocks for verbs displaying a more complex event structure.
– A Kimian stative reading arises if both the do and the become-operator are absent.
Chapter 8. Conclusion 
– If a verb contains the cause-operator within its lexical-semantic structure, it is

able to receive a stative reading if both the causer and the causee sub-event are
stative. If cause is present, the verb always displays a systematic stative/eventive
ambiguity.
– Verbs that do not allow for the eventive reading contain one eventuality only.
The first goal of this thesis was to sketch a picture on how stative verbs are seen in cur-
rent linguistic theory. When reviewing the assumptions that have been made in the
literature it turned out that the work regarding argument structure contains a lot of
implicit assumptions on the nature of stative verbs.
The literature suggested that stative verbs should have one or all of the following
properties: first, it has been assumed that stative predicates are the smallest and sim-
plest building-blocks of event structure. However, it remained unclear whether this
assumption only holds of the building-blocks of event structure or if it may be carried
over to stative verbs as well. In particular, it has not been investigated whether or in
what way stative verbs are different from pure stative predicates or from the building-
blocks of event structure.
Next, it turned out that there is a persistent assumption that stative verbs have a
less complex structure than eventive verbs do. Moreover, several authors assume
(e.g. Hale and Keyser 2002) that stative verbs correspond directly to copular construc-
tions. As attractive as this may be, this generalization does not hold, since there are
certain stative verbs that are more complex than copular constructions. Related to the
assumption that stative verbs are like copular constructions is the view that stative
verbs contain only a single structural argument that is the holder of the state, as e.g. put
forward by Ramchand 2008.
Starting from the distinction between Kimian and Davidsonian statives
(cf. Maienborn 2003), which provides a good working definition of “stative verb”, this
thesis has shown that the common views about stative verbs have to be questioned.
Whereas stative predicates in the lexical-semantic structure of a verb might be the
smallest building-blocks of event structure, stative verbs by no means are. In particu-
lar, there exists a variety of different stative verbs, all having their distinct lexical-se-
mantic representation. Some of them may involve the cause-operator, thus containing
two events/states. In particular, there is no common property that all stative verbs
share. In contrast, there is a property that all eventive verbs have in common: they
contain a do and/or a become-operator. Thus, in order to display an eventive reading,
a verb must either contain an intentional activity by an agent, or it must express a
change of state. Of course, it is possible for a verb to express both of them. Therefore,
it is rather the eventive reading that is “simple”. It is “simple” in the sense that there are
only two grammatical mechanisms that are responsible for generating this meaning.
Chapter 3 discussed the systematic stative/eventive ambiguity that arises with cer-
tain verbs. In order to do this, the first step was to show that all of those verbs indeed
do allow for a stative reading (a Kimian stative reading in the sense of Maienborn
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
2003). The first class displaying this property are verbs that undergo the instrumental
alternation such as obstruct. Verbs like obstruct may either have an agentive reading,
which is, needless to say, eventive. In this reading, an agent is performing an action
intentionally which results in a certain state brought about. In contrast, the stative
reading expresses only this resultant state. However, it is not necessary that an action
by an agent led to this state, as pointed out by Kratzer 2000. Despite expressing only a
state like in the blood vessel is obstructed, these verbs may also express the gradual on-
set of this resultant state. The reason for the stative/eventive ambiguity is that the verbs
contain a cause-operator that relates two situations or two events to one another (the
causer and the causee). The stative interpretation arises when both sub-eventualities
are stative, hence the absence of the do (usually present in the causing event) and the
become (usually expressing the cange of state to the resultant event) operator. In ad-
dition to verbs that undergo the instrumental alternation, object-experiencer verbs
assigning accusative case like depress and perception verbs (hear vs. listen) are subject
to the same ambiguity.
Section 3.5 discussed the behavior of dispositional verbs (e.g. help). Following
Engelberg 2005, it was shown that these verbs display the systematic stative/eventive
ambiguity as well, again due to the fact that two states/events are related within the verb
meaning. Moreover, it was shown the dative assignment of dispositional verbs is not
specified in the lexical entry of the verb. In other words, the dative assignment of these
verbs is not an inherent property. On the contrary, it it turned out that the dative assign-
ment of dispositional verbs is related to the dative assignment of zu-comparatives in
German, and to double objects (cf. Brandt 2003, Brandt 2005b). Thus, the dative is li-
censed via a semantic mechanism that relates the degree of the comparative or the de-
gree of an effect (e.g. a helping-effect) to the personal scale of an affected person.
Finally, verbs like threaten display the stative/evenitve ambiguity as well. However,
verbs of the threaten-class does not express a causal realtion. The stative reading arises
because threaten is understood as a modal operator that scopes over its entire comple-
ment clause. The eventive reading, on the other hand, is due to the presence of the
do-operator, i.e., in the eventive reading an agent is doing an act of threatening (usu-
ally by performing the relevant speech act). Chapter 4 dealt with stative verbs that do
not alternate between a stative and an eventive reading in a systematic way. These
verbs show a Kimian stative reading only. Again, contrary to the assumptions in the
literature, the verbs that allow for a stative reading only do not form a single uniform
class. First, there are subject-experiencer and dative-experiencer/possessor verbs
which share the property of having an experiencer theta role. On the other hand,
measure verbs and verbs that selecta PP-complement express a single property, i.e.,
they do not relate two autonomous participants of an eventuality.
All of the verbs share the property that they express only a single eventuality.
Moreover, when discussing subject-experiencer verbs, it turned out that the relation
between the presence of an external argument and the presence of an agent does not
Chapter 8. Conclusion 
hold. Subject-experiencer verbs like love provide the prime example of a non-agentive,
stative verb that contains an external argument.
Furthermore, verbs that express a single property of their subject, i.e., measure
verbs and verbs that select for a PP-complement, have in common that their argument
is anchored not via the genuine argument licensing mechanism, but via Semantic In-
corporation. Evidence for this structure comes from the fact that measure phrases do
not allow for strong determiners. In contrast to genuine arguments, the degree variable
in measure verbs (and the corresponding one one for the PP-complement) are existen-
tially bound within the lexical-semantic structure.
Chapter 5 explored the nature of verbs of position, which were judged as Davidso-
nian statives by Maienborn 2003, thus constituting a separate class of stative verbs. It
turned out that verbs of position consist of two sub-classes: stative verbs of position and
verbs of body posture, the former referring to a Kimian eventuality, the latter denoteing
a Davidsonian event. Whereas stative verbs of position simply express the location of
their subject, verbs of body posture are in fact activity verbs.Therefore, the class of Dav-
idsonian statives turned out to be superfluous, at least for verbs of position.
Chapter 6 examined the next candidates for Davidsonian statives: verbs of internal
causation. A closer look revealed that they pass all the test for the presence of an even-
tive eventuality and that their subjects bear the instrument role. Their lexical-semantic
structure is therefore similar to the one of activity verbs. However, activity verbs and
verbs of internal causation differ with respect to the intentionality of their subject.
Chapter 7 offered a unified account on eventuality structure and argument licens-
ing. The aspectual operators do and cause as well as the basic predicate form the
skeleton of a lexical-semantic verb structure, become maybe optionally inserted.
predicate introduces the situation argument. This is the distinct feature of the lexical
category verb. When building this skeleton, the restriction that do, if present, must be
the topmost head has to be obeyed.This fact is due to the idea that do but not cause
fully close the (first) verb phase.
In the next step, the arguments, bearing the uninterpretable feautures [+c] or [-c]
and the interpretable feature [m] are checked against the aspectual heads. Do but not
cause is able to check [m], hence animacy/intentionality can only be interpreted at the
do-head, thereby excluding sentential subjects. The feature [-c] is checked by predi-
cate. All other arguments are not licensed via the checking of lexical features but are
anchored into the lexical-semantic structure via other mechanisms such as Semantic
Incorporation or cipient predication.
What do the results of the exploration of the nature of stative verbs tell us about
the nature of the human faculty of language? What do they say about the architecture
of grammar?
The investigation of the behavior of Kimian statives suggests strongly that event
structure is reflected in grammar. In particular, it seems as if human grammar is designed
to create discrete entities within the stative-eventive continuum. There is a distinct class of
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Kimian stative verbs, and another one for eventive predicates. It is a fundamental prop-
erty of grammar that there are no gradual transitions between these categories.
It turned out that the transition from a Kimian stative reading to an eventive read-
ing is due to two grammatical operators. Thus, it is their presence or their absence that
is responsible for the interpretation, not leaving any room for a gradual transition.
Finally, note that the difference between Kimian states and Davidsonian events is
a purely grammatical one and therefore not reflected in the real world: what should the
difference be between someone experiencing love and someone experiencing hunger?
In what way does the situation in which a picture is hanging on the wall differ from the
one in which a cup is filled with water? It is grammar that categorizes along the lines of
different situation types.
References
Abraham, W. 1995. Deutsche Syntax im Sprachenvergleich. Grundlegung einer typologischen Syn-

tax des Deutschen. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.
Adger, D. 1996. Aspect, agreement and measure phrases in scottish gaelic. In The Syntax of the
Celtic Languages, R. Borsley & I. Roberts (eds), 200–222. Cambridge: CUP.
Adger, D.& Ramchand, G. 2005. Merge and move: Wh-dependencies revisited. Linguistic Inquiry
36(2): 161–193.
Arad, M. 1998a. Psych-notes. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 10.
Arad, M. 1998b. VP-Structure and the Syntax-Lexicon Interface. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics.
Arad, M. 1999. On "little v". MIT Working Papers in Linguistics (Papers on Morphology and
Syntax, Cycle One) 33: 1–25.
Bach, E. 1986. The algebra of events. Linguistics and Philosophy 9(1): 5–16.
Baker, M. 1988. Incorporation: A Theory of Grammatical Function Changing. Chicago IL:
University of Chicago Press.
Baker, M. 1997. Thematic roles and syntactic structure. In Elements of Grammar: Handbook of
Generative Syntax, L. Haegeman (ed.), 73–137. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Baker, M. 2003. Lexical Cateogories. Verbs, Nouns and Adjectives. Cambridge: CUP.
Belletti, A. & Rizzi, L. 1988. Psych-verbs and theta-theory. Natural Language and Linguistic
Theory 6(3): 291–352.
Bennis, H. 2004. Unergative adjectives and psych verbs. In The Unaccusativity Puzzle, A.
Alexiadou, E. Anagnostopoulou & M. Everaert (eds), 84–113. Oxford: OUP.
Bierwisch, M. 1982. Formal and lexical semantics. Linguistische Berichte 80: 3–17.
Bierwisch, M. 1987. Semantik der Graduierung. In Grammatische und konzeptuelle Aspekte von
Dimensionsadjektiven, M. Bierwisch & E. Lang (eds), 91–286. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Bierwisch, M. 1988. On the grammar of local prepositions. In Syntax, Semantik und Lexikon, M.
Bierwisch, W. Motsch & I. Zimmermann (eds), 1–65. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Bierwisch, M. & Lang, E. 1987. Etwas länger – viel tiefer – immer weiter: Epilog zum Dimen-
sionsadjektiveprojekt. In Grammatische und konzeptuelle Aspekte von Dimensionsadjek-
tiven, M. Bierwisch & E. Lang (eds), 649–699. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Borer, H. 1994. The projection of arguments. In University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers
17: Functional Projections, E. Benedicto & J. Runner (eds). Amherst MA: GLSA.
Borer, H. 2005. Structuring Sense. Oxford: OUP.
Bouchard, D. 1995. The Semantics of Syntax: A Minimalist Approach to Grammar. Chicago IL:
Brandt, P. 2003. Cipient Predication: Unifying Double Object, Dative Experiencer and Existen-
tial/Presentational Constructions. PhD dissertation, Utrecht University. (LOT Dissertation
Series 74).
Brandt, P. 2005a. Conditioning cipient datives. Ms, Universität Frankfurt/Main.
Brandt, P. 2005b. (No) binding in (German) double object constructions. Generative Gramma-
tik des Südens.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Bresnan, J. 2001. Lexical-Functional Grammar. Oxford: Blackwell.

Butler, J. 2004. Phase Structure, Phrase Structure, and Quantifcation. PhD dissertation, Univer-
sity of York.
Carlson, G. 1977. Reference to Kinds in English. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst.
Carston, R. 2002. Metaphor, ad hoc concepts and word meaning – more questions than answers.
UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 14: 83–105.
Chomsky, N. 1981. Lectures on Government and Binding: The Pisa Lectures. Dordrecht: Foris.
Chomsky, N. 1995. The Minimalist Program. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Chomsky, N. 2001. Derivation by phase. In Ken Hale. A Life in Language, M. Kenstowicz (ed.),
1–52. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Croft, W. 1993. Case marking and the semantics of mental verbs. In Semantics and the Lexicon,
J. Pustejovsky (ed.), 255–272. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Czinglar, C. 1997. Bemerkungen zur Existenzbehauptung und Ortsbestimmung im Deutschen und
einer Alemannischen Variante. Groninger Arbeiten zur Germanistischen Linguistik 41: 39–59.
Davidson, D. 1967. The Logic of Decision and Action. Chapter: The logical form of action sen-
tences, 81–95. Pittsburgh PA: Pittsburgh University Press.
de Hoop, H. 1996. Case Configuration and NP Interpretation. New York NY: Garland.
Diesing, M. 1992. Indefinites. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Dowty, D.R. 1979. Word Meaning and Montague Grammar. The Semantics of Verbs and Times in
Generative Semantics and in Montague’s PTQ. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Dowty, D.R. 1991. Thematic proto-roles and argument selection. Language 67(3): 547–619.
Elbourne, P. 2007. Demonstratives as individual concepts. Ms, Queen Mary, University of London.
Engelberg, S. 2000. Verben, Ereignisse und das Lexikon. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Engelberg, S. 2005. Stativity, supervenience, and sentential subjects. In Event Arguments in Syntax,
Semantics, and Discourse, C. Maienborn & A. Wöllstein (eds), 45–68. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Fillmore, C.J. 1968. The case for case. In Universals in Linguistic Theory, E. Bach & R. T. Harms
(eds), 1–88. New York NY: Holt, Rinehard.
Folli, R. & Harley, H. 2005. Consuming results in Italian & English: Flavours of v. In Aspectual
Inquiries, P. Kempchinsky & R. Slabakova (eds), 95–120. Dordrecht: Springer.
Folli, R. & Harley, H. 2007. Causation, obligation, and argument structure: On the nature of lit-
tle v. Linguistic Inquiry 38: 197–238.
Frey, W.& Pittner, K. 1998. Zur Positionierung der Adverbiale im Deutschen Mittelfeld. Linguis-
tische Berichte 176: 489–534.
Geuder, W. 2000. Oriented Adverbs. Issues in the Lexical Semantics of Event Adverbs. PhD dis-
sertation, Universität Tübingen.
Goldberg, A. 1995. Constructions: A Construction Grammar Approach to Argument Structure.
Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.
Grimshaw, J. 1990. Argument Structure. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Gruber, J. S. 1976. Lexical Structures in Syntax and Semantics. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Haiden, M. 2005. Theta Theory. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Hale, K. 1995. Have and be: Linguistic diversity in the expression of simple relations. Presiden-
tial address, LSA Annual Meeting.
Hale, K. & Keyser, S.J. 1993. On argument structure and the lexical expression of syntactic rela-
tions. In The view from building 20, K. Hale & S.J. Keyser (eds), 53–109. Cambridge MA:
The MIT Press.
References 
Hale, K. & Keyser, S.J. 2002. Prolegomenon to a Theory of Argument Structure. Cambridge MA:
The MIT Press.
Halle, M. & Marantz, A. 1993. Distributed morphology. In The View from Building 20, K. Hale
& S.J. Keyser (eds), 111–176. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Hallman, P. 2004. NP-interpretation and the structure of predicates. Language 80(4): 707–747.
Harley, H. 1995. Subjects, Events and Licensing. PhD dissertation, MIT.
Heim, I. & Kratzer, A. 1998. Semantics in Generative Grammar. Oxford: Blackwell.
Helbig, G. & Kemptner, F. 1973. Das Zustandspasssiv. Zur Theorie und Praxis des Deutschunter-
richts für Ausländer. Leipzig: VEB Verlag Enzyklopädie.
Härtl, H. 2001. Cause und Change: Thematische Rollen und Ereignisstrukturen in Konzeptualis-
ierung und Grammatikalisierung. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Isenberg, H. 1968. Das direkte Objekt im Spanischen. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Jackendoff, R. 1990. Semantic Structures. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Johnson, K. 1985. A Case for Movement. PhD dissertation, MIT.
Kallulli, D. 2004. The syntactic visibility of intentionality: Evidence from dyadic unaccusatives.
In Proceedings of WECOL 2004.
Kallulli, D. 2006. Unaccusatives with dative causers and experiencers: A unified account. In Da-
tives and Similar Cases, D. Hole, A. Meinunger & W. Abraham (eds.), 271–301. Amsterdam:
John Benjamins.
Kallulli, D. 2007. Rethinking the passive/anticausative distinction. Linguistic Inquiry 38(4): 770–780.
Katz, G. 1995. Stativity, Genericity, and Temporal Reference. PhD dissertation, University of
Rochester.
Katz, G. 2003. On the stativity of the English perfect. In Perfect Explorations, M. Rathert, A.
Alexiadou & A. von Stechow (eds), 205–234. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Kaufmann, I. 1995a. Konzeptuelle Grundlagen semantischer Dekompositionsstrukturen. Die
Kombinatorik lokaler Verben und prädikativer Komplemente. Tübingen: Niemeyer.
Kaufmann, I. 1995b. What is an (im)possible verb? Restrictions on semantic form and their
consequences for argument structure. Folia Linguistica 29(1–2): 67–103.
Kayne, R. 2008. Antisymmetry and the lexicon. Ms, New York University.
Keenan, E. 1996. The semantics of determiners. In The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic
Theory, S. Lappin (ed.), 41–63. Oxford: Blackwell.
Kim, J. 1969. Events and their descriptions: Some considerations. In Essays in the Honor of Carl
G. Hempel, N. Rescher (Ed.), 198–215. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Kim, J. 1976. Events as property exemplifications. In Proceedings of the Winnipeg Conference on
Human Action, M. Brand & D. Walton (eds), 159–177. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Kiparsky, P. 1998. Partitive case and aspect. In The Projection of Arguments: Lexical and Compo-
sitional Factors, M. Butt & W. Geuder (eds), 265–307. Stanford CA: CSLI.
Kiparsky, P. 2005. Gradience and telicity: The semantics of structural case in Finnish. Workshop
zu Ehren von Manfred Bierwisch, Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
Koopman, H. & Sportiche, D. 1988. Subjects. Ms, UCLA.
Kratzer, A. 1981. The notional category of modality. In Words, Worlds, and Contexts, H. Eik-
meyer & H. Rieser (eds), 38–74. Berlin: de Gruyter.
Kratzer, A. 1991. Modality. In Semantik: Ein internationales Handbuch zeitgenössischer Forsc-
hung, A. von Stechow & D. Wunderlich (eds), 639–650. Berlin: de Gruyter.
Kratzer, A. 1995. Stage-level and individual-level predicates. In The Generic Book, N.G. Carlson
& J. Pelletier (Eds.). Chicago IL: Chicago University Press.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
Kratzer, A. 1996. Severing the external argument from its verb. In Phrase Structure and the
Lexicon, J. Rooryck & L. Zaring (eds), 109–138. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Kratzer, A. 2000. Building statives. Berkeley Linguistic Society 26.
Kratzer, A. 2002. Telicity and the meaning of objective case. Ms, University of Massachusetts at
Amherst.
Krifka, M. 1989. Nominalreferenz und Zeitkonstitution: Zur Semantik von Massentermen, Plural-
termen und Aktionsarten. München: Wilhelm Fink.
Krifka, M., Pelletier, F.J., Carlson, G.N., ter Meulen, A., Link, G. & Chierchia, G. 1995. Generic-
ity: An Introduction. In The Generic Book, N. G. Carlson & J. Pelletier (eds), 1–124. Chicago
IL: Chicago University Press.
Landau, I. 2005. The locative syntax of experiencers. Ms, Ben Gurion University.
Larson, R. 1988. On the double object construction. Linguistic Inquiry 19(3): 335–391.
Levin, B. 1993. English Verb Classes and Alternations: A Preliminary Investigation. Chicago IL:
Levin, B. 1999. Objecthood: An event structure perspective. CLS 35.
Levin, B. & Rappaport Hovav, M. 1995. Unaccusativity. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Levin, B. & Rappaport Hovav, M. 2005. Argument Realization. Cambridge: CUP.
Lewis, D. 1973. Counterfactuals. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Mador-Haim, S. & Winter, Y. 2007. Non-existential indefinites and semantic incorporation of
PP-complements. In Proceedings of SALT 17, M. Gibson & T. Friedman (eds).
Maienborn, C. 1996. Situation und Lokation. Die Bedeutung lokaler Adjunkte von Verbalprojek-
tionen. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Maienborn, C. 2001. On the position and interpretation of locative modifiers. Natural Language
Semantics 9: 191–240.
Maienborn, C. 2003. Die logische Form von Kopula-Sätzen. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Maienborn, C. 2005a. A discourse-based account of Spanish ser/estar. Linguistics 43(1): 155–180.
Maienborn, C. 2005b. On the limits of the Davidsonian approach: The case of copula sentences.
Theoretical Linguistics 31(3): 275–316.
Maienborn, C. 2007a. Das Zustandspassiv: Grammatische Einordnung – Bildungsbeschränkun-
gen – Interpretationsspielraum. Zeitschrift für Germanistische Linguistik 35(1): 83–114.
Maienborn, C. 2007b. On Davidsonian and Kimian states. In Existence: Semantics and Syntax, I.
Comorovski & K. von Heusinger (eds), 107–130. Dordrecht: Springer.
Maienborn, C. 2007c. Review of Regina Pustet. Copulas. Universals in the Categorization of the
Lexicon. Studies in Language 31(1): 232–244.
Marantz, A. 1984. On the Nature of Grammatical Relations. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Marantz, A. 1997. No escape from syntax: Don’t try morphological analysis in the privacy of
your own lexicon. UPenn Working Papers in Linguistics 4(2): 201–225.
Marantz, A. 2001. Words. Ms, MIT.
McClure, W. 1995. Aspect and direct objects in Japanese. In WECOL 94, 164–180.
Milsark, G. 1974. Existential Sentences in English. PhD dissertation, MIT.
Möller, M. 2004. Psychische Wirkungsverben des Deutschen. Diplomarbeit, Humboldt Univer-
sität zu Berlin.
Noonan, M. & Grunow-Härsta, K. 2002. Posture verbs in two Tibeto-Burman languages of Ne-
pal. In The Linguistics of Sitting, Standing, and Lying, J. Newman (ed.), 79–102. Amsterdam:
John Benjamins.
Parsons, T. 1990. Events in the Semantics of English. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
References 
Partee, B. 1987. Noun phrase interpretation and type-shifting principles. In Studies in Discourse
Representation Theory and The Theory of Generalized Quantifiers, J. Groenendijk, D. de
Jongh & M. Stokhof (eds), 115–143. Dordrecht: Foris.
Perlmutter, D. 1978. Impersonal passives and the unaccusative hypothesis. Berkeley Linguistics
Society 4: 157–189.
Pesetsky, D. 1995. Zero Syntax: Experiences and Cascades. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Pesetsky, D. & Torrego, E. 2004. Tense, Case, and the nature of syntactic categories. In The Syn-
tax of Time, J. Gueron & J. Lecarme (eds), 495–538. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Postal, P. 1971. Cross-Over Phenomena. New York NY: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Prinzhorn, M. 1990. Head movement and scrambling domains. In Scrambling and Barriers, G.
Grewendorf & W. Sternefeld (eds), 199–215. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Prinzhorn, M. 2005. Metaphern in der Grammatik. Presentation at Metapher in Alltag, Philoso-
phie und Wissenschaft, Wien.
Pustejovsky, J. 1991. The syntax of event structure. Cognition 41: 47–81.
Pustet, R. 2003. Copulas. Universals in the Categorization of the Lexicon. Oxford: OUP.
Pylkkänen, L. 2000. On stativity and causation. In Events as Grammatical Objects, C. Tenny & J.
Pustejovsky (eds), 417–444. Stanford CA: CSLI.
Ramchand, G. 2008. Verb Meaning and the Lexicon. A First Phase Syntax. Cambridge: CUP.
Rapp, I. 1997. Partizipien und semantische Struktur. Zu passivischen Konstruktionen mit dem
3. Status. Tübingen: Stauffenburg.
Rapp, I. 1998. Zustand? Passiv? – Überlegungen zum sogenannten “Zustandspassiv”. Zeitschrift
für Sprachwissenschaft 15(2): 231–265.
Rappaport Hovav, M. & Levin, B. 1998. Building verb meanings. In The Projection of
Arguments:Lexical and Compositional Factors, M. Butt & W. Geuder (eds), 97–134. Stan-
ford CA: CSLI.
Reinhart, T. 2000. The theta system: Syntactic realization of verbal concepts. Ms, Tel Aviv Uni-
versity/Utrecht University.
Reinhart, T. 2001a. Experiencing derivations. SALT 11.
Reinhart, T. 2001b. A synopsis of the theta system. Ms, Tel Aviv University/Utrecht University.
Ritter, E. & Rosen, S. 1998. Delimiting events in syntax. In The Projection of Arguments:Lexical
and Compositional Factors, M. Butt & W. Geuder (eds), 135–164. Stanford CA: CSLI.
Rivero, M.-L. & Savchenko, U. 2004. Russian anticausatives with oblique subjects. In Formal
Approaches to Slavic Linguistics 13, The South Carolina Meeting, S. Franks, F. Gladney & M.
Tasseva-Kurktchieva (eds), 276–288. Ann Arbor MI: Michigan Slavic Publications.
Rizzi, L. 1990. Relativized Minimality. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Rogers, A. 1971. Three kinds of physical perception verbs. CLS 7: 206–222.
Ruprecht, A. 2005. Grundfragen der Sprachwissenschaft. Nach Prof. Wolfgang U. Dressler vidiertes
Skriptum. Wien: WUV-Universitätsverlag.
Ruwet, N. 1991. Syntax and Human Experience. Chicago IL: University of Chicago Press.
Smith, C.S. 1997. The Parameter of Aspect, 2nd edn. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Tenny, C.L. 1994. Aspectual Roles and the Syntax-Semantics Interface. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Torrego, E. 1998. The Dependencies of Objects. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.
Travis, L. 1994. Event phrase and a theory of functional categories. Canadian Linguistics Asso-
ciation. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics, 559–570.
van Geenhoven, V. 1998a. On the argument structure of some noun incorporating verbs in West
Greenlandic. In The Projection of Arguments: Lexical and Compositional Factors, M. Butt
and W. Geuder (Eds.), 225–263. Stanford CA: CSLI.
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
van Geenhoven, V. 1998b. Semantic Incorporation and Indefinite Descriptions: Semantic and
Syntactic Aspects of West Greenlandic Noun Incorporation. Stanford CA: CSLI.
van Hout, A. 1998. Event Semantics of Verb Frame Alternations. New York NY: Garland.
van Valin Jr., R.D. 1990. Semantic patterns of split-intransitivity. Language 66(2): 221–260.
Vendler, Z. 1957. Verbs and times. The Philosophiocal Review 66(2): 143–160.
von Stechow, A. 1995. Lexical decomposition in syntax. In Lexical Knowledge in the Organiza-
tion of Language, U. Egli, P.E. Pause, C. Schwarze, A. von Stechow & G. Wienold (eds),
81–118. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
von Stechow, A. 1996. The different readings of Wieder “again”: A structural account. Journal of
Semantics 13(2): 87–138.
von Stechow, A. 2004. Modalität. Vorlesung, Universität Wien.
von Stechow, A. 2007. Syntactic and lexical causativization: BECOME and CAUSE again. Pres-
entation at ConSOLE XV, Brussels.
Wechsler, S. 1995. The Semantic Basis of Argument Structure. Stanford CA: CSLI.
Williams, E. 1981. Argument structure and morphology. The Linguistic Review 1: 81–114.
Williams, E. 2003. Representation Theory. Cambridge Ma: The MIT Press.
Wunderlich, D. 1997. Cause and the structure of verbs. Linguistic Inquiry 28(1): 27–68.
Wunderlich, D. & Herweg, M. 1991. Lokale und Direktionale. In Semantik: Ein internationale-
sHandbuch der zeitgenössischen Forschung, A. von Stechow & D. Wunderlich (eds), 758–785.
Berlin: de Gruyter.
Wunderlich, D. & Kaufmann, I. 1990. Lokale Verben und Präpositionen-semantische und
konzeptuelle Aspekte. In Sprache und Wissen. Studien zur kognitiven Linguistik, S. Felix, S.
Kanngießer & G. Rickkeit (eds), 222–252. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Zimmermann, T.E. 1993. On the proper treatment of opacity in certain verbs. Natural Language
Semantics 1(2): 149–179.
Zubizarreta, M.L. (1982). On the Relationship of the Lexicon to Syntax. PhD dissertation, MIT.
Author index
A Hale 5–6, 11–13, 25, 179 P

Adger 9 Hallman 19–21 Parsons 5
Arad 49, 53–60, 68–72 Harley 16, 22–23, 25, 48, 174–175 Pesetsky 39, 59, 63, 113
Härtl 120–121 Pittner 115–116
B Prinzhorn 68–70, 189
Bach 4 I Pustejovsky 6
Baker 178 Isenberg 113 Pustet 179
Belletti 53–54, 58–59, 124, 130 Pylkkänen 56–58, 112
Bierwisch 8, 133, 151 J
Borer 10, 23–25 Jackendoff 176 R
Brandt 95–100 K Ramchand 9, 25–27
Butler 9–10 Kallulli 173–175 Rapp 117–119, 121
Katz 36 Rappaport 10, 14–15, 27, 131,
C 147–148, 153–154, 161–163
Chomsky 177, 191 Kaufmann 44–46, 153
Kayne 183 Reinhart 163, 171, 174
Czinglar 151 Rizzi 53–54, 58–59, 124, 130,
Keyser 5–6, 11–13, 25, 179
D Kim 6–8 134–136
Davidson 4–5, 29, 196–197 Kiparsky 110–112 Ruprecht 131
de Hoop 138–139 Kratzer 7, 16–18, 21–22, 37–38, S
Diesing 19 76–77, 109, 112 Smith 101
Dowty 4, 43–44, 48–49, 100–101,
180–181 L T
Levin 10–11, 14–15, 27, 131, Tenny 50
E 147–148, 153–154, 161–163 Torrego 39, 113–114
Elbourne 138
Engelberg 80–84, 86–89, 93–96 M V
Mador-Haim 143 van Geenhoven 136–137
F Maienborn 7–8, 28–34, 41, 150, Vendler 3
Folli 22, 48–49, 175 152, 154, 161–162, 179–180, von Stechow 76–77, 175–177,
Frey 115–116 195–197 180–181
Marantz 16, 21
G Milsark 134 W
Grunow-Härsta 158–159 Möller 118 Williams 194
H Wunderlich 8, 43–46, 78, 195
N
Haiden 123–124, 163–164, 171, Noonan 158–159
174
Subject index
A change of state 6, 12–15, 54–56, head feature 23

accomplishment 3, 15, 110 152, 175 [+intent] feature 173 f.
accomplishment verb 95, 98 complex predicate 143, 157 lexical feature 176, 187–191
achievement 3, 15, 101, 110 conceptual structure, CS 8 [+m] feature 123, 163, 171,
activity 3, 14, 24, 30, 45, 47, 51, control 69–71, 75 f. 174 f., 184–198
75, 80, 89, 100, 131, 134, 150, copula 151, 153, 178 [telic] feature 112
152, 156, 161, 163, 170, 171, copular construction 7 f., 13, 27, tense feature 176, 194
173 f., 179, 182, 184, 187, 190 149–152, 159, 179, 195 theta feature 123, 163, 174–177
adjectival passive 35–37 counterfactual 43, 180 feature valuation 9
adjective 12, 16, 22, 24, 84, 136, culmination 4 Finnish 56–58, 110–112, 139
179 functional application 181
adverbial D functional head 10, 16, 21–23,
manner adverbial 5, 28, 31 f., Davidsonian argument 17, 24, 49, 177 f., 187, 191, 195
40 f., 60–62, 73, 82–84, 92, 31, 33, 196 f.
95, 102 f., 113–116, 124–126, Davidsonian stative (verb) 6–8, G
131 f., 140 f., 148–150, 154, 28–30, 32–33, 42, 154, 161 f. grammatical feature 170
162, 185, 196, 200 f. dative
dative case 27, 53, 56, 80, H
locative adverbial 33, 62, helfen 63 f., 80–107
74 f., 85–87, 103, 126 f., 94 f., 97, 100, 124, 178
150 f. dative causer 23 I
agent 3, 5, 11, 21, 38–40, 45, 48 f., dative experiencer 124–131 ILP
54, 65 f., 68, 70 f., 99, 122, 136, dative object 95, 120, 124 see also individual level
145, 164, 173, 175, 181, 184–188, dative possessor 17, 129 f. predicate 7
190, 192 194, 197 f. decomposition 11, 25, 176 imperfective 101
agentivity 56 drohen 69, 72, 74–80 individual level predicate
agree 9 dynamic 4 see also ILP 7 f., 16–21, 57
argument introduction 9 E inference 45, 103
aspect 11, 21, 78 event argument 5–7, 9, 21 f., Italian 53–56
atelic 24 24 f., 29, 31–34, 37, 75, 82, 132, K
B 161, 195–197 K-state 29
Bavarian 30 event semantics 4, 14 Kimian state 7 f., 29, 34, 180, 197
event structure 3, 6, 10 f., 14,
C 24–28, 44–48, 59 f., 65, 88–91, L
case assignment 13, 80, 110 f. 121, 123, 130, 147, 170, 187, lexical category 13, 16, 183
causation 43–47, 173, 180 197 f. little v 6, 9, 11, 16, 20–26, 48 f.,
external 163 experiencer verb 60, 70 f., 79, 109, 124, 173–175
internal 161–172 see object-experiencer verb logical form (LF) 8
stative 38, 43–47, 52, 58, 65, (ACC), object-experiencer
M
70 f., 107, 175 verb (DAT), subject-experi-
measure phrase 13, 131–139,
causer 25, 45, 48 f., 59, 65, 174, encer verb
minimalism 9 f., 49, 175–177,
188
stative F 187
feature Minimalist Program 177, 187,
see stative causation
[+act] feature 173 f. 198
[+c] feature 174, 184–190 modal operator 75–80
 The Structure of Stative Verbs
modal verb 76, 78, 199 resultant state 25, 38, 40 f., 45, see activity
modality 76 f. 47 f., 51 f., 56, 63, 65, 83, 92, 95, of body posture 153–159
98–101, 118, 158, 175–178 of cognitive activity 142
N Russian 101, 106 of consuption 174 f., 182–192
Neo-Davidsonian view 5, 197 dispositional verb 28, 80–100
nominalization 30–34, 121 f. S of external causation 162
Semantic Form 8–10, 43 f., 77, of light emission 163–168
O 122, 195
ontology 28 f. of location 143, 158 f.
sensation predicate 199–202 measure verb 27, 104, 131–139,
P sentential subject 44–47, 65, 80, 142
partitive case 57, 110–112 82, 88, 191, 194 object experiencer verb
partitive construction 39, 133 simple predicate 11, 45, 105 (ACC) 28, 52–68, 81, 94,
passive 10, 13, 22, 55, 121–124 situation argument 153, 177–181, 182, 188, 191
perfect 35 f. 195–197 object experiencer verb
perfect form 118 small clause 175 (DAT) 27, 53, 124–13, 178
perfect tense 35 Spanish 8, 39, 56, 113 f. perception verb 27, 29, 31,
phase 191, 198 stage level predicate (SLP) 7 f., 100–107, 112, 119, 129, 142,
possible world 77, 195 f. 16–21 162, 197
Post-Davidsonian view 5 f., starting phase 117–121 PP-complement verb 140–
25–27 stativity 13, 24 144
PP-complement 28, 140- 144 sub-event 5 f., 11 f., 182, 197 of possession 109–124,
predication 177 f. subinterval property 3 124–131, 175
presupposition 96, 197 T of smell emission 168 f.
Principle of Full Interpreta- target state 37, 63–65, 89–94 of sound emission 163–166
tion 17 telicity 24 subject experiencer verb 19,
process 4, 6, 25 f., 117, 182 tense argument 180 27 f., 53, 56–58, 109–124
process-oriented adverbial 115 theta role 11, 25, 43, 59, 6, 124, verb phase 187–194
progressive 4, 36, 113 135 f., 163, 176 verbal phase
property exemplification 177– Tibeto-Burman 158 f. see verb phase
180, 196 voice 21 f.
proposition 43–49, 75–78, 120, U vP 22, 25, 71, 98
180 f., 193–195 unaccusative 16 f., 22 f., 55, VP 5, 11, 17 f., 21 f., 24, 26, 47, 59,
58 f., 70, 130, 148 70, 98, 100, 106, 194
R
Representation Theory 194 V
verb
activity verb
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today
A complete list of titles in this series can be found on the publishers’ website, www.benjamins.com
146 Gelderen, Elly van (ed.): Cyclical Change. viii, 319 pp. + index. Expected July 2009
145 Westergaard, Marit: The Acquisition of Word Order. Micro-cues, information structure, and
economy. xii, 242 pp. + index. Expected July 2009
144 Putnam, Michael T. (ed.): Towards a Derivational Syntax. Survive-minimalism. x, 264 pp. + index.
Expected August 2009
143 Rothmayr, Antonia: The Structure of Stative Verbs. 2009. xv, 216 pp.
142 Nunes, Jairo (ed.): Minimalist Essays on Brazilian Portuguese Syntax. 2009. vi, 243 pp.
141 Alexiadou, Artemis, Jorge Hankamer, Thomas McFadden, Justin Nuger and Florian
Schäfer (eds.): Advances in Comparative Germanic Syntax. 2009. xv, 395 pp.
140 Roehrs, Dorian: Demonstratives and Definite Articles as Nominal Auxiliaries. 2009. xii, 196 pp.
139 Hicks, Glyn: The Derivation of Anaphoric Relations. 2009. xii, 309 pp.
138 Siddiqi, Daniel: Syntax within the Word. Economy, allomorphy, and argument selection in Distributed
Morphology. 2009. xii, 138 pp.
137 Pfau, Roland: Grammar as Processor. A Distributed Morphology account of spontaneous speech errors.
2009. xiii, 372 pp.
136 Kandybowicz, Jason: The Grammar of Repetition. Nupe grammar at the syntax–phonology interface.
2008. xiii, 168 pp.
135 Lewis, William D., Simin Karimi, Heidi Harley and Scott O. Farrar (eds.): Time and Again.
Theoretical perspectives on formal linguistics. In honor of D. Terence Langendoen. 2009. xiv, 265 pp.
134 Armon-Lotem, Sharon, Gabi Danon and Susan Rothstein (eds.): Current Issues in Generative
Hebrew Linguistics. 2008. vii, 393 pp.
133 MacDonald, Jonathan E.: The Syntactic Nature of Inner Aspect. A minimalist perspective. 2008.
xv, 241 pp.
132 Biberauer, Theresa (ed.): The Limits of Syntactic Variation. 2008. vii, 521 pp.
131 De Cat, Cécile and Katherine Demuth (eds.): The Bantu–Romance Connection. A comparative
investigation of verbal agreement, DPs, and information structure. 2008. xix, 355 pp.
130 Kallulli, Dalina and Liliane Tasmowski (eds.): Clitic Doubling in the Balkan Languages. 2008.
ix, 442 pp.
129 Sturgeon, Anne: The Left Periphery. The interaction of syntax, pragmatics and prosody in Czech. 2008.
xi, 143 pp.
128 Taleghani, Azita H.: Modality, Aspect and Negation in Persian. 2008. ix, 183 pp.
127 Durrleman-Tame, Stephanie: The Syntax of Jamaican Creole. A cartographic perspective. 2008.
xii, 190 pp.
126 Schäfer, Florian: The Syntax of (Anti-)Causatives. External arguments in change-of-state contexts. 2008.
xi, 324 pp.
125 Rothstein, Björn: The Perfect Time Span. On the present perfect in German, Swedish and English.
2008. xi, 171 pp.
124 Ihsane, Tabea: The Layered DP. Form and meaning of French indefinites. 2008. ix, 260 pp.
123 Stoyanova, Marina: Unique Focus. Languages without multiple wh-questions. 2008. xi, 184 pp.
122 Oosterhof, Albert: The Semantics of Generics in Dutch and Related Languages. 2008. xviii, 286 pp.
121 Tungseth, Mai Ellin: Verbal Prepositions and Argument Structure. Path, place and possession in
Norwegian. 2008. ix, 187 pp.
120 Asbury, Anna, Jakub Dotlačil, Berit Gehrke and Rick Nouwen (eds.): Syntax and Semantics of
Spatial P. 2008. vi, 416 pp.
119 Fortuny, Jordi: The Emergence of Order in Syntax. 2008. viii, 211 pp.
118 Jäger, Agnes: History of German Negation. 2008. ix, 350 pp.
117 Haugen, Jason D.: Morphology at the Interfaces. Reduplication and Noun Incorporation in Uto-Aztecan.
2008. xv, 257 pp.
116 Endo, Yoshio: Locality and Information Structure. A cartographic approach to Japanese. 2007. x, 235 pp.
115 Putnam, Michael T.: Scrambling and the Survive Principle. 2007. x, 216 pp.
114 Lee-Schoenfeld, Vera: Beyond Coherence. The syntax of opacity in German. 2007. viii, 206 pp.
113 Eythórsson, Thórhallur (ed.): Grammatical Change and Linguistic Theory. The Rosendal papers. 2008.
vi, 441 pp.
112 Axel, Katrin: Studies on Old High German Syntax. Left sentence periphery, verb placement and verb-
second. 2007. xii, 364 pp.
111 Eguren, Luis and Olga Fernández Soriano (eds.): Coreference, Modality, and Focus. Studies on
the syntax–semantics interface. 2007. xii, 239 pp.
110 Rothstein, Susan (ed.): Theoretical and Crosslinguistic Approaches to the Semantics of Aspect. 2008.
viii, 453 pp.
109 Chocano, Gema: Narrow Syntax and Phonological Form. Scrambling in the Germanic languages. 2007.
x, 333 pp.
108 Reuland, Eric, Tanmoy Bhattacharya and Giorgos Spathas (eds.): Argument Structure. 2007.
xviii, 243 pp.
107 Corver, Norbert and Jairo Nunes (eds.): The Copy Theory of Movement. 2007. vi, 388 pp.
106 Dehé, Nicole and Yordanka Kavalova (eds.): Parentheticals. 2007. xii, 314 pp.
105 Haumann, Dagmar: Adverb Licensing and Clause Structure in English. 2007. ix, 438 pp.
104 Jeong, Youngmi: Applicatives. Structure and interpretation from a minimalist perspective. 2007.
vii, 144 pp.
103 Wurff, Wim van der (ed.): Imperative Clauses in Generative Grammar. Studies in honour of Frits
Beukema. 2007. viii, 352 pp.
102 Bayer, Josef, Tanmoy Bhattacharya and M.T. Hany Babu (eds.): Linguistic Theory and South
Asian Languages. Essays in honour of K. A. Jayaseelan. 2007. x, 282 pp.
101 Karimi, Simin, Vida Samiian and Wendy K. Wilkins (eds.): Phrasal and Clausal Architecture.
Syntactic derivation and interpretation. In honor of Joseph E. Emonds. 2007. vi, 424 pp.
100 Schwabe, Kerstin and Susanne Winkler (eds.): On Information Structure, Meaning and Form.
Generalizations across languages. 2007. vii, 570 pp.
99 Martínez-Gil, Fernando and Sonia Colina (eds.): Optimality-Theoretic Studies in Spanish
Phonology. 2007. viii, 564 pp.
98 Pires, Acrisio: The Minimalist Syntax of Defective Domains. Gerunds and infinitives. 2006. xiv, 188 pp.
97 Hartmann, Jutta M. and László Molnárfi (eds.): Comparative Studies in Germanic Syntax. From
Afrikaans to Zurich German. 2006. vi, 332 pp.
96 Lyngfelt, Benjamin and Torgrim Solstad (eds.): Demoting the Agent. Passive, middle and other
voice phenomena. 2006. x, 333 pp.
95 Vogeleer, Svetlana and Liliane Tasmowski (eds.): Non-definiteness and Plurality. 2006. vi, 358 pp.
94 Arche, María J.: Individuals in Time. Tense, aspect and the individual/stage distinction. 2006. xiv, 281 pp.
93 Progovac, Ljiljana, Kate Paesani, Eugenia Casielles and Ellen Barton (eds.): The Syntax of
Nonsententials. Multidisciplinary perspectives. 2006. x, 372 pp.
92 Boeckx, Cedric (ed.): Agreement Systems. 2006. ix, 346 pp.
91 Boeckx, Cedric (ed.): Minimalist Essays. 2006. xvi, 399 pp.
90 Dalmi, Gréte: The Role of Agreement in Non-Finite Predication. 2005. xvi, 222 pp.
89 Velde, John R. te: Deriving Coordinate Symmetries. A phase-based approach integrating Select, Merge,
Copy and Match. 2006. x, 385 pp.
88 Mohr, Sabine: Clausal Architecture and Subject Positions. Impersonal constructions in the Germanic
languages. 2005. viii, 207 pp.
87 Julien, Marit: Nominal Phrases from a Scandinavian Perspective. 2005. xvi, 348 pp.
86 Costa, João and Maria Cristina Figueiredo Silva (eds.): Studies on Agreement. 2006. vi, 285 pp.
85 Mikkelsen, Line: Copular Clauses. Specification, predication and equation. 2005. viii, 210 pp.
84 Pafel, Jürgen: Quantifier Scope in German. 2006. xvi, 312 pp.
83 Schweikert, Walter: The Order of Prepositional Phrases in the Structure of the Clause. 2005.
xii, 338 pp.
82 Quinn, Heidi: The Distribution of Pronoun Case Forms in English. 2005. xii, 409 pp.
81 FuSS, Eric: The Rise of Agreement. A formal approach to the syntax and grammaticalization of verbal
inflection. 2005. xii, 336 pp.
80 Burkhardt, Petra: The Syntax–Discourse Interface. Representing and interpreting dependency. 2005.
xii, 259 pp.
79 Schmid, Tanja: Infinitival Syntax. Infinitivus Pro Participio as a repair strategy. 2005. xiv, 251 pp.
78 Dikken, Marcel den and Christina Tortora (eds.): The Function of Function Words and Functional
Categories. 2005. vii, 292 pp.
77 Öztürk, Balkız: Case, Referentiality and Phrase Structure. 2005. x, 268 pp.
76 Stavrou, Melita and Arhonto Terzi (eds.): Advances in Greek Generative Syntax. In honor of Dimitra
Theophanopoulou-Kontou. 2005. viii, 366 pp.
75 Di Sciullo, Anna Maria (ed.): UG and External Systems. Language, brain and computation. 2005.
xviii, 398 pp.
74 Heggie, Lorie and Francisco Ordóñez (eds.): Clitic and Affix Combinations. Theoretical perspectives.
2005. viii, 390 pp.
73 Carnie, Andrew, Heidi Harley and Sheila Ann Dooley (eds.): Verb First. On the syntax of verb-
initial languages. 2005. xiv, 434 pp.
72 FuSS, Eric and Carola Trips (eds.): Diachronic Clues to Synchronic Grammar. 2004. viii, 228 pp.
71 Gelderen, Elly van: Grammaticalization as Economy. 2004. xvi, 320 pp.
70 Austin, Jennifer R., Stefan Engelberg and Gisa Rauh (eds.): Adverbials. The interplay between
meaning, context, and syntactic structure. 2004. x, 346 pp.
69 Kiss, Katalin É. and Henk van Riemsdijk (eds.): Verb Clusters. A study of Hungarian, German and
Dutch. 2004. vi, 514 pp.
68 Breul, Carsten: Focus Structure in Generative Grammar. An integrated syntactic, semantic and
intonational approach. 2004. x, 432 pp.
67 Mišeska Tomić, Olga (ed.): Balkan Syntax and Semantics. 2004. xvi, 499 pp.
66 Grohmann, Kleanthes K.: Prolific Domains. On the Anti-Locality of movement dependencies. 2003.
xvi, 372 pp.
65 Manninen, Satu Helena: Small Phrase Layers. A study of Finnish Manner Adverbials. 2003. xii, 275 pp.
64 Boeckx, Cedric and Kleanthes K. Grohmann (eds.): Multiple Wh-Fronting. 2003. x, 292 pp.
63 Boeckx, Cedric: Islands and Chains. Resumption as stranding. 2003. xii, 224 pp.
62 Carnie, Andrew, Heidi Harley and MaryAnn Willie (eds.): Formal Approaches to Function in
Grammar. In honor of Eloise Jelinek. 2003. xii, 378 pp.
61 Schwabe, Kerstin and Susanne Winkler (eds.): The Interfaces. Deriving and interpreting omitted
structures. 2003. vi, 403 pp.
60 Trips, Carola: From OV to VO in Early Middle English. 2002. xiv, 359 pp.
59 Dehé, Nicole: Particle Verbs in English. Syntax, information structure and intonation. 2002. xii, 305 pp.
58 Di Sciullo, Anna Maria (ed.): Asymmetry in Grammar. Volume 2: Morphology, phonology, acquisition.
2003. vi, 309 pp.
57 Di Sciullo, Anna Maria (ed.): Asymmetry in Grammar. Volume 1: Syntax and semantics. 2003.
vi, 405 pp.
56 Coene, Martine and Yves D’hulst (eds.): From NP to DP. Volume 2: The expression of possession in
noun phrases. 2003. x, 295 pp.
55 Coene, Martine and Yves D’hulst (eds.): From NP to DP. Volume 1: The syntax and semantics of noun
phrases. 2003. vi, 362 pp.
54 Baptista, Marlyse: The Syntax of Cape Verdean Creole. The Sotavento varieties. 2003.
xxii, 294 pp. (incl. CD-rom).
53 Zwart, Jan-Wouter and Werner Abraham (eds.): Studies in Comparative Germanic Syntax.
Proceedings from the 15th Workshop on Comparative Germanic Syntax (Groningen, May 26–27, 2000).
2002. xiv, 407 pp.
52 Simon, Horst J. and Heike Wiese (eds.): Pronouns – Grammar and Representation. 2002. xii, 294 pp.
51 Gerlach, Birgit: Clitics between Syntax and Lexicon. 2002. xii, 282 pp.
50 Steinbach, Markus: Middle Voice. A comparative study in the syntax-semantics interface of German.
2002. xii, 340 pp.
49 Alexiadou, Artemis (ed.): Theoretical Approaches to Universals. 2002. viii, 319 pp.
48 Alexiadou, Artemis, Elena Anagnostopoulou, Sjef Barbiers and Hans-Martin Gärtner
(eds.): Dimensions of Movement. From features to remnants. 2002. vi, 345 pp.
47 Barbiers, Sjef, Frits Beukema and Wim van der Wurff (eds.): Modality and its Interaction with the
Verbal System. 2002. x, 290 pp.
46 Panagiotidis, E. Phoevos: Pronouns, Clitics and Empty Nouns. ‘Pronominality’ and licensing in syntax.
2002. x, 214 pp.
45 Abraham, Werner and Jan-Wouter Zwart (eds.): Issues in Formal German(ic) Typology. 2002.
xviii, 336 pp.
44 Taylan, Eser Erguvanlı (ed.): The Verb in Turkish. 2002. xviii, 267 pp.
43 Featherston, Sam: Empty Categories in Sentence Processing. 2001. xvi, 279 pp.
42 Alexiadou, Artemis: Functional Structure in Nominals. Nominalization and ergativity. 2001. x, 233 pp.
41 Zeller, Jochen: Particle Verbs and Local Domains. 2001. xii, 325 pp.
40 Hoeksema, Jack, Hotze Rullmann, Víctor Sánchez-Valencia and Ton van der Wouden
(eds.): Perspectives on Negation and Polarity Items. 2001. xii, 368 pp.
39 Gelderen, Elly van: A History of English Reflexive Pronouns. Person, Self, and Interpretability. 2000.
xiv, 279 pp.
38 Meinunger, André: Syntactic Aspects of Topic and Comment. 2000. xii, 247 pp.
37 Lutz, Uli, Gereon Müller and Arnim von Stechow (eds.): Wh-Scope Marking. 2000. vi, 483 pp.
36 Gerlach, Birgit and Janet Grijzenhout (eds.): Clitics in Phonology, Morphology and Syntax. 2001.
xii, 441 pp.
35 Hróarsdóttir, Thorbjörg: Word Order Change in Icelandic. From OV to VO. 2001. xiv, 385 pp.
34 Reuland, Eric (ed.): Arguments and Case. Explaining Burzio’s Generalization. 2000. xii, 255 pp.
33 Puskás, Genoveva: Word Order in Hungarian. The syntax of Ā-positions. 2000. xvi, 398 pp.
32 Alexiadou, Artemis, Paul Law, André Meinunger and Chris Wilder (eds.): The Syntax of
Relative Clauses. 2000. vi, 397 pp.
31 Svenonius, Peter (ed.): The Derivation of VO and OV. 2000. vi, 372 pp.
30 Beukema, Frits and Marcel den Dikken (eds.): Clitic Phenomena in European Languages. 2000.
x, 324 pp.
29 Miyamoto, Tadao: The Light Verb Construction in Japanese. The role of the verbal noun. 2000.
xiv, 232 pp.
28 Hermans, Ben and Marc van Oostendorp (eds.): The Derivational Residue in Phonological
Optimality Theory. 2000. viii, 322 pp.
27 Růžička, Rudolf: Control in Grammar and Pragmatics. A cross-linguistic study. 1999. x, 206 pp.
26 Ackema, Peter: Issues in Morphosyntax. 1999. viii, 310 pp.
25 Felser, Claudia: Verbal Complement Clauses. A minimalist study of direct perception constructions.
1999. xiv, 278 pp.
24 Rebuschi, Georges and Laurice Tuller (eds.): The Grammar of Focus. 1999. vi, 366 pp.
23 Giannakidou, Anastasia: Polarity Sensitivity as (Non)Veridical Dependency. 1998. xvi, 282 pp.
22 Alexiadou, Artemis and Chris Wilder (eds.): Possessors, Predicates and Movement in the
Determiner Phrase. 1998. vi, 388 pp.
21 Klein, Henny: Adverbs of Degree in Dutch and Related Languages. 1998. x, 232 pp.
20 Laenzlinger, Christopher: Comparative Studies in Word Order Variation. Adverbs, pronouns, and
clause structure in Romance and Germanic. 1998. x, 371 pp.
19 Josefsson, Gunlög: Minimal Words in a Minimal Syntax. Word formation in Swedish. 1998. ix, 199 pp.
18 Alexiadou, Artemis: Adverb Placement. A case study in antisymmetric syntax. 1997. x, 256 pp.
17 Beermann, Dorothee, David LeBlanc and Henk van Riemsdijk (eds.): Rightward Movement.
1997. vi, 410 pp.
16 Liu, Feng-hsi: Scope and Specificity. 1997. viii, 187 pp.
15 Rohrbacher, Bernhard Wolfgang: Morphology-Driven Syntax. A theory of V to I raising and pro-
drop. 1999. viii, 296 pp.
14 Anagnostopoulou, Elena, Henk van Riemsdijk and Frans Zwarts (eds.): Materials on Left
Dislocation. 1997. viii, 349 pp.
13 Alexiadou, Artemis and T. Alan Hall (eds.): Studies on Universal Grammar and Typological
Variation. 1997. viii, 252 pp.
12 Abraham, Werner, Samuel David Epstein, Höskuldur Thráinsson and Jan-Wouter Zwart
(eds.): Minimal Ideas. Syntactic studies in the minimalist framework. 1996. xii, 364 pp.

The Structure of Stative Verbs PDF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

The Structure of Stative Verbs PDF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

The Structure of Stative Verbs

Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today (LA)

Advisory Editorial Board

John Benjamins Publishing Company

American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

© 2009 – John Benjamins B.V.

Philosophieanfall: Die Zeit ist eine Zeit.

2.4.5.1 Manner adverbials 31

3.3.4.2 Modifiers that express the start of the target state 63

3.6.2 The structure of perception verbs 105

4.4.2.3 Degree readings 141

7.2 Theta checking 176

Author index 213

Subject index 215

Table 2.1 Aspectual classes 3

2.1 Background I: Event semantics and argument structure

2.1.1 Aspectual classes

Table 2.1 Aspectual classes

2.1.2 The Davidsonian view

2.1.3 The Neo-Davidsonian view

2.1.4 The Post-Davidsonian view

Contra to the assumptions of linguists following Davidson or Parsons, Post-Davidso-

Table 2.2 Analysis of event structure by Pustejovsky

State Process Transition

In sum, the common ground of Post-Davidsonian accounts on event structure is that

2.1.5 Kimian and Davidsonian statives

Table 2.3 Kimian and Davidsonian statives

Davidsonian statives Kimian statives

sit, stand, lie be intelligent, be tired

(8) Kimian states (K-states):

2.2 Background II: Semantic form

2.3 The stative verb in argument structure theory

2.3.1 Projectionist views

2.3.1.1 Hale and Keyser: Argument structure

2.3.1.2 Levin and Rappaport: Structure and constant participants

(20) a. The amaryllis blossomed for ten days.

2.3.2 Constructionist views

2.3.2.1 Marantz: Distributed Morphology

2.3.2.2 Kratzer I: Stage-level and individual-level predicates

2.3.2.3 Extension by Hallman

Table 2.4 Possible interpretations of AIVs

Possible interpretations of AIVs

nonspecific specific generic

(38) Stage-level subjects / objects of AIVs

Table 2.5 Possible interpretations of AIVs

Possible interpretations of SEVs

nonspecific specific generic

2.3.2.4 Kratzer II: Severing the external argument

2.3.2.5 Harley: Different types of v

2.3.2.6 Borer: Exoskeletal approach

Table 2.6 Eventuality structure by Borer

2.3.2.7 Ramchand: A Post-Davidsonian view

2.4 A semantic definition: Stative verb

2.4.1 The ontology of Kimian and Davidsonian states

statives. Furthermore, K-states can be detected via anaphorical reference. In other

2.4.2 A filter that groups together D- and K-states

2.4.3 Syntactic tests

6. The insertion of tun is one of the genuine focus constructions in Bavarian/Viennese.

(54) * Catherine tut diese Oper gut kennen.

2.4.4 Infinitival complements of perception verbs

2.4.5 Tests based on adverbial modification

2.4.5.1 Manner adverbials