Ends and beginnings

Long thin things have ends, and sometimes two different kinds of end are distinguished: beginnings and ends. A list of some of the things that prototypically have ends is given in (3.5).

Nouns denoting periods of time have beginnings and ends. They also have middles. Some examples are listed in (3.6a).

The words in (3.6b) do not denote concrete entities that you could touch or stub your toe on, but the events and processes that they can be used to refer to are nonetheless located in time and space, which is to say that it is reasonable to wonder when and where conversations, demonstrations and so forth took place. They can also have beginnings, middles and ends, which will be seen to be involved in verb meanings.