A Tripartite Model of Verb Aspect: [transition] as a Key Feature

The four-way classification of verb aspect in Vendler (1957) or the five-way classification in Smith (1997) has been assumed in many theories of verb aspect, with [telic] and [durative] functioning as key features deciding aspect types. We argue that since [durative] poses conceptual and empirical problems, it needs to be discarded in the feature specification of verb aspect. Then we propose a tripartite model of verb aspect, where achievements and accomplishments can be merged. In our tripartite model, [telic] is replaced by [transition] in order to deal with inchoative verbs properly. Using [transition] as a key feature is also desirable in that semelfactives can naturally be grouped together with activities.