Advances in Role and Reference Grammar

36 ROBERT D. VAN VALIN, JR.

state predicates, but in fact he fails to come up with a derivational scheme for
activities analogous to those for achievements and accomplishments. Hence
activities must be treated as primitives in their own right. They vary with
respect to whether the action is controlled by the subject or not, and, fol­
lowing Ross (1972), Dowty postulates an operator DO to represent agency,
e.g. cry' "cry (involuntarily)", DO cry' "cry (volitionally)". These decom-
positional representations of verbs are termed LOGICAL STRUCTURES [LS] by
Dowty, and the schemata for the four classes are given in Table 3.

Verb Class Logical Structure

STATE

ACHIEVEMENT

ACTIVITY (± Agentive)

ACCOMPLISHMENT

predicate' (x) or (x,y)

BECOME predicate' (x) or (x,y)

(DO (x)) [predicate' (x) or (x,y)])

φ CAUSE ψ, where φ is normally an activ­

ity predicate and ψ an achievement predicate.

Table 3

Although they are not included in the schemata in Table 3, there are
accomplishment verbs in which ψ is an activity verb and not an achieve­
ment, e.g. roll as in "JC roll y" (="x caused y to roll"), and walk as in "x
walk y" (="x caused y to walk"), intransitive roll and walk being activity
verbs.
Examples of some English verbs with their LS are presented in (20).
(20) a. STATES
Bob is a lawyer.
The watch is broken.
The magazine is on the desk.
Max is at the office.
Sam saw the painting.

be' (Bob, [lawyer'])^20

broken' (the watch)

be-on' (the desk, the magazine)

be-at' (the office, Max)

see' (Sam, the painting)

b. ACHIEVEMENTS

Bob became a lawyer. BECOME be' (Bob, [lawyer'])

The watch broke. BECOME broken' (the watch)

Max arrived at the office. BECOME be-at' (the office, Max)

The magazine fell on the floor. BECOME be-on' (the floor,the magazine)

Sam noticed the painting. BECOME see' (Sam, the painting)