TYPES OF PROCESS
There are three main types of process:
(a) Material processes are processes of ‘doing’ (e.g. kick, run, eat, give) or ‘happening’ (e.g. fall, melt, collapse, slip).
(b) Mental processes, or processes of ‘experiencing’ or ‘sensing’ (e.g. see, hear, feel, know, like, want, regret).
(c) Relational processes, or processes of ‘being’ (e.g. be, seem) or ‘becoming’ (e.g. become, turn), in which a participant is characterized, or identified, or situated circumstantially. A sub-type of relational process is that of ‘having’ or ‘possessing’ (e.g. have, own).
There are also three subsidiary processes: behavioral, verbal and existential. We shall see, as we go on, that the presence or absence of volition and energy are important factors in distinguishing between processes.
