tailieunhanh - The grammar of the english verb phrase part 37

Part V (— sections — ) addresses the properties by which these latter semantic catego-ries (which we call 'situation-templates1) can be classified into different types. This section is concerned with 'ontological aspect1 (perhaps better known as 'lexical aspect1) | IV. More on the indefinite reading of the perfect 245 I have met I met him recently I lately . I have just seen I just saw him leave the house. I have only this minute arrived I only this minute arrived and Sue already wants to know when I m leaving Indefinite readings of negative present perfect sentences A clause triggering an indefinite perfect interpretation can be used not only to say that or to question whether a situation has actualized in a period leading up to now but also to say that it has not actualized in that period. The latter possibility is illustrated by the following I don t know that song. I ve never heard it in my life. We haven t met yet I before have we It is important to see that the interpretation given to such sentences is an indefinite rather than a continuative interpretation. Thus the correct interpretation of We haven t read that letter before is not Our not reading of that letter has lasted until now but It has not happened before that we read that letter . This is in keeping with the fact that the sentence can hardly be made progressive We haven t been reading that letter before. As noted in a continuative reading of a nonstatic sentence normally requires the progressive form unless the reference is to a repetitive habit . An example of a progressive perfect sentence referring to a single dynamic situation and yielding a continua-tive reading is We ve been playing cards since . This is not to say that negative present perfect sentences can never be interpreted as continuative. Under certain conditions minimally the negator must not be never and the situation referred to must be a state they can be It s three months now that I haven t had a car. The situation of my doing without a car started three months ago and is still continuing. However sentences like the following with a dynamic VP cannot be interpreted continuatively For the last three years I haven t driven a car. indefinite reading The situation of my .