1. Introduction

We discussed the concepts of space and time corresponding to nouns and verbs in cognitive grammar, emphasizing the central position of nominal arguments and predicate verbs in sentences. The article points out that studying the spatiotemporal nature of sentences helps to understand the relationship between reality, cognition, and language. This article will focus on exploring the role of the temporality of predicate verbs in the syntactic semantic dynamics, in order to compensate for the lack of research in this field in academia.

2. Temporal characteristics and implementation methods of predicate verbs in English and Chinese

Explored the temporal characteristics and implementation methods of predicate verbs in English and Chinese. Timeliness is reflected in language as the unity of the past, present, and future, and is the fundamental meaning expressed by the language system. Event is the key to determining temporality, and the stronger the event, the stronger the temporality. The temporality of predicate verbs is divided into intrinsic time and extrinsic time. Intrinsic time refers to the temporality of the verb itself or the intrinsic temporal meaning of the event expressed by the lexical form, while extrinsic time refers to the temporal meaning expressed by the tense. English predicate verbs have strong temporality, and every regular sentence must have a verb as the predicate. Predicate verbs have tense markers, and one of the fundamental functions of tense markers is to achieve cognitive positioning in time. Chinese predicates have weak temporality. A regular sentence does not require a verb to act as the predicate, there is no mandatory tense marker, and time markers are not mandatory to achieve explicit temporal positioning. The weak temporal feature of Chinese predicates allows multiple components to assume the role of predicates or express temporal relationships using implicit syntactic means. The discussion in this section indicates that English has strong temporality, and the predicate can only be realized by a single verb; Chinese has weak temporality, and predicates can be implemented by various syntactic components.

3. Common characteristics of temporal and syntactic changes in English and Chinese predicate verbs

This chapter explores the common characteristics of temporal and syntactic changes in predicate verbs in both English and Chinese languages. Research has shown that the inherent temporality of verbs determines their syntactic distribution ability, and verbs with strong temporality have a wider range of syntactic functions, such as tense and voice changes. In English, verbs with weak temporality enhance their temporality in specific constructions or contexts, and their syntactic distribution ability also increases accordingly. In Chinese, static adjectives and nouns can express changes by adding tense and aspect markers. In both English and Chinese languages, the stronger the eventuality, the stronger the temporality, and the more time markers there are. The syntactic distribution ability of predicate verbs with reduced temporality is weakened, and syntactic restrictions are increased. English referential sentences, middle moving sentences, and object implicit sentences can only express states or characteristics with inherent stability or constancy using the present tense. Chinese predicate verbs themselves have weak temporality, and action verbs can express habitual or non realistic behavior without adding diachronic markers. There are several types of expressions in Chinese that are weakly temporal, such as high-frequency habit, conditional necessity, functional habit, static nature, etc.

4. Temporal changes, common features of semantic changes in English and Chinese predicates (verbs)

This paper explores the impact of temporal changes in English and Chinese predicate verbs on their semantics, emphasizing that temporality is a fundamental principle of human communication and cognition, and has a common influence on semantic generation. When the temporality is enhanced, the predicate verb transforms from a static state meaning to a dynamic process meaning or dynamic state meaning, such as the simple past tense and progressive tense, which have stronger temporality than the simple present tense and perfect tense. When temporality weakens, sentence semantics undergo three transformations: dynamic transformation to static, reality transformation to virtual, and completion transformation to non completion. By comparing English and Chinese example sentences, the influence of temporal changes on the semantics of predicate verbs is demonstrated, reflecting the similarity between English and Chinese languages in dynamic and static, process and non process transitions.

5. Individual differences in temporal and syntactic semantic changes of English and Chinese predicates (verbs)

Explored the impact and individual differences of temporal changes in predicate verbs on syntactic meaning in English and Chinese languages. Timeliness has common features in different languages, but there are also differences, which are reflected in the formal encoding and semantic construction of language. In Chinese, temporality is positively correlated with time markers, and the enhancement of temporality leads to an increase in the syntactic distribution ability and structural changes of predicate verbs. The typological features of Chinese are inherently related to temporality, and SVO constructions and topic salience languages have different roles in expressing events and attitudes. Temporal differences lead to the emergence of complementary constructions of opposition, such as "V+de+O+trait complement" and "V+de+O+quantity complement". When Chinese predicate verbs have weak temporality, the phenomenon of topicalization and argument transposition is more pronounced, which is different from the syntactic changes in English. The change in temporal strength in Chinese can also lead to changes in semantic features, such as the need for explicit tense aspect markers when dynamic verbs form real sentences, otherwise they represent habitual forms. Structural ambiguity is also related to the strength of temporality, such as the weak temporality of the "V" complement structure in topic construction, leading to different interpretations. The change in temporal strength is manifested in Chinese as categorical opposition or complementarity, such as the distinction between reality and non reality.

6. Conclusion

Time is one of the fundamental dimensions of existence in the world, influencing human cognition and language. The predicate verb has internal and external temporality, resulting in complex and varied language representation. Based on the temporal nature of predicate verbs as the basis for comparison between English and Chinese, commonalities and differences can be discovered, which is objective, fair, and logical. This research method promotes the development of general linguistic theory, supports the construction of Chinese linguistic theory, and cultivates cross-cultural competence.