The Thought Occurs

Friday 18 April 2014

Circumstantial Attributive Vs Material Clauses

1. Diagnostic: Unmarked Present Tense

2. Diagnostic: Inherent Participant Mobility

Halliday & Matthiessen (2004: 242): 
Verbs serving in clauses with a circumstantial process are often derived from a basic use in ‘material’ clauses of motion …
The unmarked present tense is the simple present … rather than the present in present of ‘material’ clauses …
The Carrier is typically some immobile physical feature, whereas the Actor of a ‘material’ clause of motion is typically an animate being or a mobile entity.
Because of the overlap of a large set of verbs, there will of course be cases that are indeterminate …