Active vs. Stative verbs

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wakeagainstthefall
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Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by wakeagainstthefall »

My conlang distinguishes between active and stative verbs, and depending on whether it's active or stative it's conjugated a certain way. I really need help with some verbs though. I don't know whether they are active or stative. Help please!
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Xing
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by Xing »

wakeagainstthefall wrote:My conlang distinguishes between active and stative verbs, and depending on whether it's active or stative it's conjugated a certain way. I really need help with some verbs though. I don't know whether they are active or stative. Help please!
Which verbs?
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Micamo
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by Micamo »

Languages use different precise semantic divisions for these things. I can, however, give you a few ideas:

1. Does whatever the verb describes have a definite beginning and/or end? (reading vs. read a book)

2. Does the verb leave a large, visual change in the environment it operates over? (hugging vs. stabbing)

3. Does the verb involve relatively long-distance physical movement? (running to the store vs. running in place)
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by Hakaku »

You should also consider taking a look at Wikipedia's article on Active-stative languages. Though it describes alignment and not morphology, it does provide a few ideas you could use. For instance, when the line between active and stative is blurred, the one chosen could be based of the speaker's degree of volition or control. Thus, "I eat" could be stative if you're describing a situation of eating, but active if you're expressing that you yourself are eating or heading off to eat, or if others are enthusiastically eating. This could also be expressed as background information vs current information. On the other hand, your verbs could be lexically fixed, so that "I eat" is solely stative (or active) regardless of any other factors.
wakeagainstthefall
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by wakeagainstthefall »

I understand the basic difference, some verbs are just tricky to me for some reason. Like the verb "to carry on/keep going."
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Rainchild
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by Rainchild »

Hi, Wakeagainstthefall,

Here's a link that illustrates the stative vs. dynamic distinction in English.

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/ ... r/stat.htm

Hope this helps!

--Jim G.

P.S. I like the term "dynamic" verb better than "active" verb, because I'm less likely to confuse it with the "active" in "active language" (aka "Split-S" and "Fluid S" languages) or in "active voice."
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eldin raigmore
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by eldin raigmore »

Rainchild wrote:Hi, Wakeagainstthefall,
Here's a link that illustrates the stative vs. dynamic distinction in English.
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/ ... r/stat.htm
Hope this helps!
--Jim G.
P.S. I like the term "dynamic" verb better than "active" verb, because I'm less likely to confuse it with the "active" in "active language" (aka "Split-S" and "Fluid S" languages) or in "active voice."

JimG is probably going to be our next MVP.
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thaen
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Re: Active vs. Stative verbs

Post by thaen »

eldin raigmore wrote:JimG is probably going to be our next MVP.
[+1]

So, anyway, are there dynamic-static forms of each verb (is this the case in languages like Arabic, which explicitly mark dynamic-static-ness)?
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