SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MULTIPLICATIVE VERBS WITH THE SEME “ABRUPT CHANGE OF THE STATE OF EXISTENCE”

Abstract

The article examines the semantic and functional features of English verbs expressing semelfactive/multiplicative aspectual meaning that reflects the quantitative characteristics of the course of an action. Semelfactivity/multiplicativity are interpreted as aspectual categories that denote the bounded single or repeated occurrence of an action and are realized through two interrelated meanings: single occurrence and multiple occurrence. Special attention is paid to the distinction between multiplicativity and iterativity, where the key differential feature is the bounded nature of the action. The analysis identifies a lexical-semantic group of verbs united by the dominant semantic component «a sudden change in the state of existence». This group includes the verbs break, smash, shatter, snap, crumble, crack, fracture, rupture, burst, explode, erupt, splinter, and split. The study demonstrates that the dominant predicates of this group are break and burst, which serve as the main semantic reference points for interpreting the meanings of other synonymous units. On the basis of four dictionaries (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2003), Oxford Advanced Lerner’s Dictionary of Current English (2000), Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language (2008), Webster Universal College Dictionary (1997)) it was established that the common semantic component of most verbs in this group is the seme «to separate into parts suddenly», which expresses the aspectual meaning of multiplicity. For some verbs, such as crumble, fracture, split, and splinter, this seme is secondary, since their meanings are defined through the basic predicates break or burst. The research also analyzes the differential semantic features of the investigated predicates, including the type of integrity violation, the manner of division into parts, the source of applied force (internal or external), the presence of a characteristic sound, and the direction of the applied force. Particular attention is given to contextual conditions that emphasize the meaning of single occurrence, such as the presence of an affected object, lexical modifiers (suddenly, instantly), and specific syntactic environments. The findings contribute to a more precise understanding of the semantic structure and functional potential of multiplicity verbs in English discourse.