Denoting an event or activity

Question

Hi, Does the following denote an event or an activity? How could you tell? When I think of an event, I think of a festival, not the moment of coming/arriving home.When you get home, write to me.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
Does the following denote an event or an activity? How could you tell? When I think of an event, I think of a festival, not the moment of coming/arriving home.

When you get home, write to me.

An event is something that happens, where you consider the start and the end.. It can have various durations. eg
Tom blinks his eyes. duration - 1 second

People stage a festival. duration - 6 months

The Earth circles the Sun once. duration - 1 year

With an activity, you focus on the action, ie on what is happening, and less on the start and end.

eg Smoking is a dangerous activity.

In your example, I'd think of 'get home' as referring to an event, and probably the 'writing' as an activity.

Best wishes, Clive

Mister Micawber · Answer

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Here, getting home is an event and writing is an activity. An event is indeed any momentary happening, while an activity generally has duration.
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Denoting an event or activity

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