Accusative Case and Aspect

This chapter explores the effect of non-theta marked accusative constituents on aspect. A significant body of research (Tenny 1994, Wechsler and Lee 1996, Svenonius 2002, Kratzer 2004, among others) argues that properties of objects or other accusative case marked constituents can affect the aspectual properties of events. I show that Hungarian non-theta marked accusative constituents do interact with aspectual properties, albeit in different ways. From among these constituents, reflexive pronouns and body parts are required by a constraint on the independently established aspectual structure of events (as argued by Rappaport Hovav and Levin 2001 for English). Other accusative constituents, however, directly affect the properties of events. The latter type of non-theta marked constituents are delimiters and thus yield telic, delimited event descriptions. Analyzing accusative non-theta marked constituents as delimiters also permits an account of the aspectual restrictions on the events modified by these adjuncts.