Are Degree Achievements Really Achievements?

This paper, which builds of the work of Hay, Kennedy, and Levin (1999), examines the puzzling aspectual behavior of so-called degree achievements. Drawing evidence from Mandarin Chinese, I argue that degree achievements without difference values denote punctual events, i.e., they are true achievements. I present an analysis that is consistent with facts from both English and Mandarin; to explain the complex aspectual behavior of degree achievements, my account appeals to coercion operators that are licensed to resolve type clashes. It differs from previous theories in that complex aspectual behavior arises from interactions between predicates and other sentential elements, and not from properties inherent to the predicates themselves. Cross-linguistic differences can be attributed to the availability of these operators, which is a parameter of Universal Grammar.