How does verb aspect constrain event representations?

Abstract

We investigated the relative contribution of perfective and imperfective aspectual cues on situation models. In Experiment 1, participants were more likely to choose pictures showing completed events than pictures showing ongoing events when they had read perfective sentences, but chose either picture after reading imperfective sentences. In Experiment 2, only one picture was presented and participants were faster to respond to completed pictures than to ongoing pictures when they had read perfective sentences, but showed no latency differences after reading the imperfective sentences. In Experiment 3, participants were faster to read perfective sentences after having seen completed pictures rather than intermediate pictures, but there was no difference for imperfective sentences. The consistent pattern of results demonstrates that readers construct mental representations of completed events when the perfective aspect is used to describe an event. The lack of effect on imperfective sentences and pictures suggests that each reader represents an in-progress event at varying stages of completion.

Aspectual asymmetries in the mental representation of events: Role of lexical and grammatical aspect

“…Thus, we see slower responses in otherwise cross-matched combinations. This simple principle underlies the perfective facilitation observed in Madden and Zwaan's (2003) study on accomplishment verbs (which are telic) and similarly underlies the imperfective facilitation observed among activity verbs (which are atelic) in the present study on Cantonese.…”

“…In sum, these studies indicate that grammatical aspect contributes to our mental model of a situation in complex and often asymmetrical ways. Madden and Zwaan's (2003) participants matched perfective sentences with pictures depicting completed events more quickly than they matched them with pictures depicting ongoing events; however, no speed bias was observed for imperfective sentences in similar conditions. This finding points to a facilitative effect from perfectives, but not imperfectives, which we call perfective facilitation.…”

“…For the accomplishment sentences, the accuracy rates showed reverse facilitation, with matched perfectives being slightly higher than matched imperfectives, both in the subject ies, which focused on accomplishment verbs only, were that the human mind converges on a mental representation more readily in the presence of a perfective aspect marker-in large part, because perfective markers encode a telic (i.e., endpoint) interpretation. Following this line of thinking, noticeably longer RTs for imperfective accomplishment sentences could then be interpreted as slower simulations and slower convergence upon a mental representation of the event, attributed in part to the fact that imperfective markers typically allow internal access to events, which could then prolong cognitive processing due to their focus on other aspects of the event, such as location, agent, and instrument (Madden & Zwaan, 2003; see also Ferretti et al, 2007). However, although telicity may account for perfective facilitation with accomplishment verbs, it cannot explain why there is imperfective facilitation with activity verbs.…”

“…Asymmetrical effects of grammatical aspect on sentence processing have also been reported in Madden and Zwaan (2003). Using a series of sentence-picture matching tasks, they found that participants were significantly faster in matching perfective sentences (e.g., He made a fire) with pictures depicting completed situations, as opposed to pictures depicting ongoing situations.…”

“…As was noted in Ferretti et al (2007), imperfective sentences focus on the locus of ongoing action, whereas perfective sentences focus on the end result for an affected patient. Madden and Zwaan (2003) showed that choice of grammatical aspect (perfective vs. imperfective) can scribes a nondynamic situation that is viewed as continuing to exist unless some external force makes it change. An activity verb (e.g., run) describes a dynamic and durative situation that has an arbitrary endpoint (i.e., it can be terminated at any time).…”