Some multiword verbs like run into ‘encounter’ in She ran into a friend have been called by two distinct names in the literature. They are prepositional verbs (with a fixed and specified preposition) or (inseparable or nonseparable) transitive phrasal verbs. This paper argues that this different use of terminology for the same multiword verbs actually reveals the nature of the whole class they belong to. The class is a cline of grammatical elements and properties between prepositional verbs and transitive phrasal verbs, and the set shared by these two subclasses is the locus of that cline. This characteristic mode of the cline is explained in terms of intersective constructional gradience and multiple inheritance.

It is generally assumed within the tradition of Construction Grammar that the oblique grammatical function for the English caused-motion construction directly corresponds to a prepositional phrase (PP), such as in the jar in put the spoons in the jar. Opposed to the assumption, this paper argues that the oblique function actually narrowly corresponds to the noun phrase (NP) complement of the head preposition. On the other hand, the transitive preposition is an integral part of the predicate that it forms with a lexical verb, what we shall term a complex predicate. It is thus in phrasal syntax that the preposition, together with the oblique NP, forms or corresponds to the PP. This argument is supported by the class of phrasal verb constructions with so-called unpredicated particles, such as off in wipe off the table and wipe the table off (≠*The table is off). The paper also advances an alternative analysis of the construction with theoretical advantages.

It has been generally assumed that phrasal verbs in English are primitive in nature, either as a base form or as a derived form. Even the latest studies posit that the alternative surface forms of a transitive phrasal verb such as take out in take the trash out and take out the trash are constructed from that phrasal verb itself by verb movement. This paper argues that phrasal verbs are not purely primitives but possibly derivatives. They can be derived from their reverse combinations, what we call particle verbs. The paper supports this argument by examining a set of transitive particle verbs in English, e.g. downplay in downplay the incident. It also uses the notion of verb movement and proposes a unified analysis of both the particle verbs and their V-P alternants such as play down the incident and play the incident down.

There has been controversy over the nature of so-called cognate objects in English, such as She died a natural death. Some claim that cognate objects are adjuncts (or adverbials), but others that they are arguments (or complements). There are also studies that treat some cases as arguments and others as adjuncts or something else. This leads to two related questions: what are cognate objects and how are they classified? This article argues for the complement analysis and proposes a cline of cognate objects with intransitive verbs, assuming a distinction between constructions and verb classes. The cline runs from idiomatic through productive types, the latter type of which further divides into argumental and nonargumental subtypes. Further notes are made on some advantages of the proposed analysis.

This paper aims to develop a derivational approach to the syntactic alternation of English transitive phrasal verbs such as take out the rubbish and take the rubbish out. It is argued that these two alternative verb phrases (VP) are equally derived from their more primitive rule or construction. This construction is often called ‘complex verb (or predicate)’ and notated as [V V P]. The complex verb structure interacts with the standard VP-shell structure through the canonical verb movement to yield the two alternative forms. The paper also offers suggestions for other issues that arise from the suggested analysis.

The paper aims to explore the class of the English light verb give, as in She gave a sigh. Drawing on the standard and novel arguments and evidence, it is argued that the class is internally complex, assuming a structured cline. This cline is primarily divided into so-called true light verb and vague action verb types, each of which is further separated into two subtypes. These are GIVE A SIGH, GIVE X A KISS, GIVE X ADVICE, and GIVE X A DESCRIPTION (OF Y). The paper also offers a supplementary analysis of the two subtypes of the vague action verb, using the hybrid model of lexical conceptual structure and syntactic argument structure.

There has been controversy over the nature of so-called pseudo-resultatives in English which are usually placed at the end of sentences like Mary braided her hair tight. The issue is whether they are adverbs (or adverb phrases) that perform as adjuncts or adjectives (or adjective phrases) that act as complements. Drawing on both existing and novel arguments and evidence, it is argued that they are adjectives or adjective phrases that function as complements of the verb (or verb phrase). Under the complex predicate hypothesis, it is suggested that a pseudo-resultative adjective immediately combines with a so-called verb of creation to form a semantic and grammatical unit between whose parts a direct object can be interposed. A construction-based analysis of this unit is also proposed treating it as a template that is stored in the lexicon with a constructional meaning and perhaps fused therein with their parts. The notion of representational modularity is employed to formalise the proposed analysis, and notes are made towards a unified account.

This article presents a lexical-constructional analysis of the get-passive in English (e.g. Ed got fired). Drawing on standard arguments and evidence, it is argued that the passive is a family of constructions, from idiomatic through two productive types, which are either causative or non-causative. The article proposes an analysis of those three constructions as lexical items. While the idiomatic type is fully listed in the lexicon with a single meaning, the two productive types are templates that are stored in the component with passive get and a constructional meaning. The proposed analysis also has some advantages over previous studies.