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This thesis describes a new computational model for verb semantics. A novel feature of the model is an active representation of motion and manipulation verb phrases such as walk, push, slide, slip, etc. that can be used for control and monitoring as well as real-time simulative inference in language understanding. Monitoring and control parameters abstracted from the basic model provide semantic grounding for interpreting aspectual expressions and seem to offer elegant ways to solve the vexing linguistic problem of aspectual composition. Our model is able to use metaphoric projections of motion verbs to infer in real-time important features of abstract plans and events; potentially explaining the frequent use of motion and manipulation terms in discourse about abstract plans. These ideas are demonstrated through an implemented model of aspect and metaphoric reasoning about event descriptions that interprets …