5.3.1. Schematic meaning of the to-infinitive and –ing constructions
The schematic meaning of the complement constructions expresses their overall, more general function. It will be defined in non-temporal terms, with respect to viewing. Both the to-infinitive and the –ing constructions are understood to be primarily non-temporal, tenseless constructions, which will be temporalized after they are embedded in the aspectual construction of begin and start.
The primary function of the to-infinitive construction is to express a detached point of view, where the event expressed by the complement verb is viewed from the outside. This function of the to-infinitive is motivated by the relational profile of the to-infinitive, where the function of to is to express a movement towards the realization of the event expressed by the complement verb. The function of to as expressing a detached point of view is outlined by many linguists, e.g. Langacker (1991), Duffley (2006) and also Bailey (1993)39. They all analyze the meaning of the to-infinitive as expressing a non-temporal relation, where the function of to is to impose a detached way of viewing of the infinitive.
Within the begin + to infinitive and start + to infinitive constructions, the to-
infinitive expresses an exterior viewpoint to the beginning phase of the
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Bailey (1993) defines the values of the complement constructions to infinitive, -ing, with respect to two values: I (interior- a notion describing something that is happening) and E (exterior- a notion which describes that something is not yet happening). In his interpretation, to is understood to express a detached, exterior viewpoint; it targets I in IE, which means that it makes the event expressed by the complement verb as validatable (it calls the event into question). Concerning the function of –ing, Bailey (1993) defines it only with respect to I; the notion E is not needed any longer, since the event is already understood as given.
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complement verb. The to-infinitive construction can express an exterior viewpoint with respect to a single occurrence or a series of occurrences (e.g. (22) implies one occurrence, (23) a series of occurrences):
(22) I started/ began to walk towards the door. (Freed: 77) (23) The emptiness and silence began to get on his nerves. (Rericha: 130)
In contrast to the to-infinitive construction, –ing expresses an interior viewpoint, where the event expressed by the complement is seen from within. –Ing imposes on the complement verb a viewpoint where the whole beginning phase is seen from the interior. The profiled entity is seen as being stativized, so that no parts can be identified that would bring the event further on (beginning and closing phase). As is the case by the to-infinitive construction, the event expressed by the complement verb can express one occurrence (24) or a series of occurrences as in (25).
(24) The engine started (or began) smoking. (Duffley: 98) (25) I started making telephone calls. (Rericha: 131)
5.3.2. The prototypical meaning of the to-infinitive and –ing construction
The prototypical meaning of the to-infinitive and –ing constructions is construction specific and greatly depends on the semantic value of the verbs they follow (begin and start). The to-infinitive and –ing tenseless constructions become temporalized after they are embedded into the begin + to infinitive and start + to infinitive construction.
Begin and start as temporal-modal operators give rise to the temporal space of the
complement constructions; they indicate the starting point of the temporal phase expressed by the constructions. The situation expressed by the to-infinitive and –
ing clause develop from the situation expressed by the matrix; they can be
considered a continuation of the temporality (RT of the main clause). Described in more formal terms, it can be said that T1 (the time expressed by the main clause) begins T2 (the time expressed by the complement construction) (Dinsmore, 1993).
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Freed (1979) defines the meaning of the to-infinitive and –ing after begin and start in opposition. The main function of the to-infinitive in aspectual complementation is to express a generic (or series) reading, the –ing a single, durative occurrence) (in (26) the use of the to-infinitive is more appropriate since there are a series of events involved)40.
As has already been pointed out, this is not necessarily true, since the to-infinitive can express a single occurrence as well (27); -ing can also refer to a repeated, habitual activity (28).
(26) I had hardly slept for two nights, but the excitement of the move plus my nervous energy kept me going. By the third day I began to feel/? feeling drugged and every time I sat down I started to fall asleep/ ? falling asleep. (Freed: 75) (27) All of a sudden she started to run towards the car.
(28) He started smoking when he was 13. (Duffley: 93)
A difference between the to-infinitive and –ing construction in this respect is not necessarily between a series or a generic vs. one durative occurrence, but rather in terms of duration. While in the case of the to-infinitive there is no expectation of duration, in the case of –ing the event is expected to last. The duration expressed by the –ing construction is not considered to be a property of –ing alone but rather it is a property of the entire aspectual construction and is activated after the complement construction is embedded into the aspectual construction as a whole.
(a) V-ING (b) BE V-ING
Figure 1. The interpretation of –Ing as understood by Langacker’s (1991, 1999)
40Freed (p.74) also observes that –ing besides expressing a single occurrence, can also refer to a
series of events; in this case, she contends, the event expressed by -ing refers to occurrences within one longer event.
scope immediate scope t scope immediate scope t
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The duration within the –ing construction after begin and start can be expressed by
the repetition of short term processes or habitual repetition over a limited period of time.
(29) As soon as we sat down, three hoods leaned into our booth and began making
vulgar cracks. (Rericha: 131)
The event expressed by the –ing construction after begin and start may even be
understood to be fully developed in its initial phase. Sentence (30) below implies that the initial phase of the reading has been fully carried out. This is not the case with the to-infinitive complements that simply imply entry into the initial phase of
an activity (Rericha 1987: 130).
(30) I started reading a section called “Tests and Sperm” and was astonished to
discover that (...) (Rericha: 131)
An important difference between the to-infinitive and –ing construction after begin
and start can be defined with respect to modality. Many linguists define to- infinitive as expressing a potential event, –ing, by contrast, an actual event
(Cornilescu, 2003).That this is so is also shown by the frequent occurrence of the
to-infinitive construction with statives, psychological verbs as complements
(especially the begin + to infinitive construction) (31-32):
(31) (…) But on one 1 occasion when I encountered a similar fantasy in a little boy who was my patient I began to understand the uncanny effects of this story.
(BROWN) (32) (…) Readers will begin to see the results this week in B08 183 our coverage of
the opening ceremonies. (FROWN)
Begin and start are forward-looking constructions; this means that after them the to-infinitive also implies a sense of futurity in itself. There are several
interpretations that attribute both a temporal and modal value to the to-infinitive
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In contrast to the to-infinitive, the –ing construction after aspectual verbs makes
reference to a specific event or series of events that are locatable in space and time (Cornilescu: 471). The –ing construction does not express potentiality; rather, it
expresses the actuality of the event that gets started by the time phase expressed by the matrix verb. The entity profiled by the –ing construction can be defined to be
simultaneous with the time phrase expressed by the matrix verb; the moment referred to by the main verb can be presented as identical with the beginning of the stretch of time referred to by the complement (Wierzbicka, 1988).
The actuality reading of –ing may explain why the event of the complement
construction governed by the –ing construction cannot be cancelled in the
meantime (this is also the case with start which when followed by an –ing
complement does not allow the cancellation of the event either):
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