The aim of the paper is to examine the specific features of English and Korean semelfactive verbs in terms of lexical aspect which is considered to be one of the inherent properties in verbs. Related to verb classification, Van Valin divided verbs on the basis of the inherent semantic properties of them. His tests to define semelfactives are composed of the compatibility of a verb and adverbial modifiers as well as the possibility of a progressive form of a verb. Using his tests, we analyzed a group of relevant verbs in Korean based on the internal semantic features of lexical aspect. The result of the tests demonstrated that semelfactive verbs in Korean are closely similar to those in English. Consequently, it is semantically appropriate to classify Korean semelfactive verbs as a distinctive verb type like English.

• Mikyung Ju(Busan University of Foreign Studies)