Semelfactives are a class of aktionsart or verbal aspect that deal with events that are instantaneous (momentive, or punctual). It is a type of perfective aspect that is lexical rather than grammatical.
An English example of a semelfactive aktionsart verb (a verb describing an action that only occurs once by semantic definition) is blink.
Semelfactives were posited as a fifth class of aktionsart by Bernard Comrie (1976) [1]. States (e.g. "know"), activities or processes (e.g. "run"), and accomplishments ("paint a picture") are seen as durative, while semelfactives and achievements (e.g. "recognize") are punctual. Like achievements and accomplishments, semelfactives are viewed as telic, i.e. having a fixed end point.
References
- ^ Carlota Smith, The parameter of aspect, Kluwer 1991
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