Composite Predicates in English

Processes of Specialization

Eva Berlage (Universität Hamburg)

$192.95

Hardback

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English

Cambridge University Press
15 May 2025

Grammar, syntax

Series: Studies in English Language

Composite Predicates (CPs) are of particular interest to linguists in that only some of them are semantically restricted in present-day English, while others are not. This book explores the semantic-syntactic evolution of twenty-four different CPs in English from the sixteenth to twentieth centuries, showing why some specialize over time while others do not. It highlights that the semantic scope and evolution of the morphologically and semantically related simple verb acts as a powerful predictor of whether or not a CP becomes semantically restricted in the course of time. In all those cases where CPs undergo specialization, semantic changes take place earlier than syntactic ones. Finally, large-scale corpus-analyses reveal that the CPs, which, in comparison to their morphologically simple verbs, can be considered analytic constructions, decrease from the nineteenth to twentieth century or show consistently low frequencies. This finding runs counter to the trend of English to become increasingly analytic.

By: Eva Berlage (Universität Hamburg)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
ISBN: 9781107155640
ISBN 10: 1107155649
Series: Studies in English Language
Pages: 235
Publication Date: 15 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Eva Berlage is Junior Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Hamburg, Germany. Her notable publications include Noun Phrase Complexity in English (2014).

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Composite Predicates in English

Processes of Specialization

Eva Berlage (Universität Hamburg)

$192.95

Hardback

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