Begin and start: aspect and complement choice

Abstract

The paper offers a semantic analysis of begin and start and their non-finite complementation: the to-infinitive and –ing constructions. The core idea of the paper is that the aspectual constructions ‘begin+ to infinitive’, ‘begin + ing’, ‘start+ to infinitive’, and ‘start+ ing’ have both a schematic and a prototypical meaning, and that the subtle differences between them are motivated by several factors, like viewing (perfectivity vs. imperfectivity), temporality (future orientation vs. ongoing reading) dynamicity (graduality vs. abruptness), agentivity, etc.

Keywords

• begin
• start
• to infinitive
• –ing complements
• prototypical meaning
• schematic meaning