The Research On The Dimension Of English Verb's Processual Predication

The verb is a kind of universal grammatical categories in English.Linguists have done many researches on the aspect of verb.Traditional analysis of verb is mainly static research,less attention has been paid in the temporal features of verbs. In traditional grammar, verbs are defined as the word to express behavior, change, or state of being in a sentence, Also the classification of verb is on the basis of the functions of verb in sentences,which has paid little attention on the expressed time features.The verb itself classification is based on its role in the sentence, the verb itself time expressed by the process features less involved. Langacker use the concept of cognitive domain in descriptive semantic. Cognitive domain was defined as the relative conceptual domain in describing a predication. The semantic pole of verb designates a complete process, which can be understood as a moving objects involved in the cognitive domain of space and time. Therefore, temporal process features of verb should be an important aspect of the verb and I hope this article can make up for the inadequacy of this research.The emergence of cognitive grammar provides a new perspective for word class.Defining some basic word categories by semantic function satisfies the descriptive sufficiency and explanatory sufficiency of language research. This paper taking processual predication theory of cognitive grammar as basis illustrates cognitive grammar defines and describes verbs by symbolic, schema and semantic function. Determined by profile, verb is defined as profiling a process. By schema and formula, this paper analyze the internal active state of verbs with combining the process in time domain and space domain to reveal the dynamic character of verb and obvious connection with time. According to the existence and absence of change in the process of verb, they can be classified into perfective verb and imperective verb. After analyzing the nature and differences of perfective and imperfective process, it should be emphasized that cognitive grammar only attempts to describe the character of them rather than define them. The classification does not amount to a rigid portioning of the verballexicon. Some verbs that normally belong to one are often shifted to the other in certain context by different construal ways.There are certain deficiencies for transient verb and durative verb of traditional grammar which classifying verb is based on time domain alone without considering the complex of the internal structure of verb. Through the study and analysis, the author points out that it is feasible that using dynamic cognitive theory to analyze transient verb and durative verb,which provides a cognitive linguistic perspective for similar study. There is no strictly division between durative verb and transient verb.They are just two ends of a continuum.The division between them is ambiguous.The transience and sustainability of a verb is transited gradually from one to another in a dynamic way.It is incorrect to dichotomize English verbs into durative verb and transient verb. Moreover, the internal structure of processual predication is complex in various ways merit brief consideration, so the simply dichotomy of transient verb and durative verb cannot reflect the complexity of processual predication. This research enriches the grammar theory research of English verb, enhance the explanatory power of language and guide English teaching.