RT Journal Article
T1 Towards a usage-based characterisation of the English Superlative Object Construction
A1 Bouso, Tamara
K1 Superlative Object Construction
K1 Intensifying comparative construction
K1 Frequency
K1 Productivity
K1 Distribution
AB Little attention has been paid to the English Superlative Object Construction (SOC), as in "She worked her hardest". The historical grammarians Jespersen (1909–1949) and Poutsma (1904–1929) are the only ones who do touch on the SOC, and they do so in passing relying on what seem to be the prototypical examples of the construction. This empirical evidence, though valuable for a first characterisation of the pattern, is insufficient to provide a detailed analysis of the form, function, frequency, and distribution of the SOC in Present Day English from the perspective of Construction Grammar. Based on usage-based data from COCA, this paper argues that the SOC qualifies as an intensifying comparative construction. Despite being low frequent and showing a set of highly entrenched, lexicalised units (e.g., smile [X] prettiest, work [X] hardest), the SOC is relatively productive, especially in informal registers where the construction can be easily accommodated to serve emotive, phatic, and conative functions.
PB John Benjamins
SN 1876-1941
YR 2024
FD 2024-02-06
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/32972
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/32972
LA eng
NO Bouso, T. (2024). Towards a usage-based characterisation of the English Superlative Object Construction. Constructions and Frames Online First, pp. 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1075/cf.22020.bou
NO Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidades of the Regional Government of Galicia, Spain (grant number ED431B 2023/03), and the Universitat de les Illes Balears – Oficina de Suport a la Recerca (UIB-OSR) (grant number AAC73/2023)
DS Minerva
RD 29 abr 2026