Re: Aspect vs. case; stative and dynamic verbs

> STATIVE
> "[adjective] Denoting a form or construction which expresses a state of
> affairs, rather than an event. English does not always distinguish
> statives from dynamic passives. The sentence _The window was broken_, for
> example, is ambiguous between a stative reading and a dynamic reading,
> though the addition of adverbials may force one or another reading: _The
> window was broken by John_ (dynamic): _The window was broken all week_
> (stative). Many other languages, however, have explicit stative
> constructions: in German, _Das Fenster war gebrochen_ can only have a
> stative reading (i.e. 'it had a hole in it already') while _Das Fenster
> wurde gebrochen_ is strictly dynamic (i.e. 'the window got broken').
> 'Stative' is a superordinate aspectual category contrasting with *dynamic*
>
I don't know whether this will help...but IIRC one of the tests for a
stative/dynamic verb (or adj.) IN ENGLISH is whether it can occur in the
"...is being VB/ADJ" construction:

X is red -- *X is being red
John knows Latin/Mary -- *John is knowing Latin/Mary

There is unfortunately a fair amount of confusion and cross-over, since so
many Engl. adjs/vbs can be both stative and dynamic, e.g. "break". And
sometimes there are shifts in meaning--

John is smart (inherently intelligent) vs. John is being smart (he's being a
smart-ass, temporarily we hope)

John loves Mary (a state of mind) vs. John is loving Mary (idiomatic--he's
doing something to her...)