Activity verb

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Activity verbs form a meaning class of verbs . They describe situations that are under the control of a conscious, u. U. deliberately acting causer ( agent ); consequently, in the active sentence, your grammatical subject denotes this agent. Verbs of this type can indicate a fixed end point of the event (telic verbs) or not (atelic verbs). Often the designation activity verb is restricted to atelic verbs, their telic counterparts can then be called action verbs .

Examples

  • Peter rides his bike.
  • Mom is learning english.
  • She brings me cake.
  • The father builds a tree house.

The first two examples above show atelic verbs, the last two telic (the situation is limited by the arrival of the cake or the existence of a finished hut).

Some verbs can be ambiguous about this classification:

  • Karl swims in the lake. Activity verb
  • The boat floats on the lake. Process verb

See also

swell

  • Duden - The grammar. 8th edition. Dudenverlag, Mannheim 2009, p. 411.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dudengrammatik 2009, p. 411.