Abstract
Sentences with a cognate object typically consist of an intransitive activity verb, its subject NP and a second NP in the accusative. Its nominal core is typically derived as nomen actionis and/or nomen acti from the verb.
Essential questions are: How are cognate objects licensed? What role do they play in verbal activity? Which nouns and which verbs come into question? Can the reading of cognitive objects be predicted as an event or object?
In this paper I will propose a constructional grammatical analysis. Different readings of the cognate object as well as the temporal constitution as a telic or atelic situation are explained within the construction by compositional processes. These are essentially analyzed as a transfer of the nominal reference mode to the entire VP. The nominal reference method also results from compositional processes within the NP. An important focus of the analysis is on overrides and adjustments (coercion) in case of semantic conflicts.
Marcello lächelt sein Mastroianni-Lächeln
