Classification of change-of-state verbs by the direction of state change.
cessation: Activity ceases (stop, quit, cease, finish)
Presupposes: P was happening
Asserts: P is no longer happening
Example: "stopped smoking" → was smoking, now isn't
inception: Activity begins (start, begin, commence)
Presupposes: P was NOT happening
Asserts: P is now happening
Example: "started smoking" → wasn't smoking, now is
continuation: Activity persists (continue, keep, remain)
Presupposes: P was happening
Asserts: P is still happening
Example: "continued smoking" → was smoking, still is
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.instBEqCoSType.beq x✝ y✝ = (x✝.ctorIdx == y✝.ctorIdx)
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A lexical entry for a change-of-state verb.
Bundles:
- Surface form ("stop", "start", etc.)
- Change type (cessation, inception, continuation)
- Whether the state change is reversible (default: true)
The activity predicate P is NOT part of the entry — it's supplied compositionally.
- form : String
Surface form
- cosType : CoSType
Type of state change
- reversible : Bool
Can the state change be undone? (stop → start → stop)
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.instBEqCoSEntry.beq x✝¹ x✝ = false
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"stop" — cessation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.stop = { form := "stop", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation }
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"quit" — cessation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.quit = { form := "quit", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation }
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"cease" — cessation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.cease = { form := "cease", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation }
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"finish" — cessation verb (often irreversible in context)
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.finish = { form := "finish", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation, reversible := false }
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"start" — inception verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.start = { form := "start", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.inception }
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"begin" — inception verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.begin_ = { form := "begin", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.inception }
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"commence" — inception verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.commence = { form := "commence", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.inception }
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"continue" — continuation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.continue_ = { form := "continue", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.continuation }
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"keep" — continuation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.keep = { form := "keep", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.continuation }
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"remain" — continuation verb
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.remain = { form := "remain", cosType := Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.continuation }
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The presupposition triggered by a CoS type, given the activity predicate P.
- cessation: presupposes P (the activity was happening)
- inception: presupposes ¬P (the activity wasn't happening)
- continuation: presupposes P (the activity was happening)
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.priorStatePresup Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation P = P
- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.priorStatePresup Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.inception P = fun (w : W) => !P w
- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.priorStatePresup Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.continuation P = P
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The assertion made by a CoS type, given the activity predicate P.
- cessation: asserts ¬P (the activity is no longer happening)
- inception: asserts P (the activity is now happening)
- continuation: asserts P (the activity is still happening)
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- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.resultStateAssertion Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.cessation P = fun (w : W) => !P w
- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.resultStateAssertion Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.inception P = P
- Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.resultStateAssertion Semantics.Lexical.Verb.ChangeOfState.CoSType.continuation P = P
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Combined semantics of a CoS predicate as a presuppositional proposition.
Given an activity predicate P, returns a PrProp with:
- presupposition: the expected prior state
- assertion: the expected result state
This is the core semantic contribution: CoS predicates are presupposition triggers that constrain both the prior and current states.
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Semantics for a lexical entry applied to an activity predicate.
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Negation preserves presupposition (hole property).
"Mary didn't stop smoking" has the same presupposition as "Mary stopped smoking": both presuppose she was smoking.
This is a defining property of presupposition triggers and enables the classic test: if the presupposition projects through negation, it's a presupposition, not an entailment.
Cessation and inception have complementary presuppositions.
- "stop P" presupposes P
- "start P" presupposes ¬P
These are exact complements: at any world, exactly one presupposition is satisfied.
Cessation and continuation have the same presupposition.
Both "stop P" and "continue P" presuppose that P was happening. The difference is only in the assertion about the result state.
For cessation, the assertion is the negation of the presupposition.
"stop P" presupposes P and asserts ¬P. This captures the change: from P being true to P being false.
For inception, the assertion is the negation of the presupposition.
"start P" presupposes ¬P and asserts P. This captures the change: from P being false to P being true.
For continuation, the assertion equals the presupposition.
"continue P" presupposes P and asserts P. No change occurs; the predicate reports persistence.
All CoS predicates shift under belief (@cite{tonhauser-beaver-roberts-simons-2013}: Class C).
The presupposition is attributed to the speaker by default, but shifts to a belief holder in embedded contexts:
"John believes Mary stopped smoking" → Presupposes that JOHN believes Mary was smoking (not the speaker)
This is captured by returning true for all entries.
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All CoS predicates have OLE (Optional Local Effect) = yes.
The presupposition can be locally satisfied in conditionals and disjunctions:
"If Mary was smoking, she stopped" → No presupposition projects (locally satisfied by antecedent)
This is a defining characteristic of soft triggers.
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All CoS predicates have SCF (Strong Contextual Felicity) = no.
The presupposition need not be established in prior discourse:
A: "What's new with Mary?" B: "She stopped smoking." → Felicitous even though A didn't establish Mary smoked
This distinguishes soft triggers from hard triggers like "too".