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I beg your pardon, but can anyone answer a simple question? Is the verb "to become" static or dynamic?

Thanks in advance, Vic.

Victor
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  • Noting that stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is not changing* or likely to change*, you might be tempted to think *to become* can't be "stative / static". But I think it's more important that you can't usually use stative verbs in continuous (progressive) forms (Indian English excepted, I am owning two cars and He is loving his wife, for example, don't work at all). But He's becoming a shadow of his former self is fine, so I reckon that must mean it's a dynamic verb. – FumbleFingers Apr 14 '17 at 16:23
  • "Become" denotes a change of state and thus has a dynamic meaning. This can be seen in an example like "It became magnetised", where the sentence as a whole denotes an event. – BillJ Apr 14 '17 at 17:06
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    "Becoming" is very abstract and neither an act nor a state; it's an inchoative, a change of state, and it may be completely arbitrary or entirely voluntary, it may be instantaneous or a long-drawn-out process, and many other variations. Each type of inchoative has its own syntax -- any process that takes a long time can be used in the progressive (He's gradually becoming identical to his grandfather), for instance, and anything volitional can be used in an imperative (Go ahead and become a doctor if you want). – John Lawler Apr 14 '17 at 18:35
  • Thank you all for your help, especially for the term "inchoative". It's the very clue to this verb's dynamics... – Victor Apr 14 '17 at 21:50

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