In this rich reference work, Beth Levin classifies over 3,000 English verbs according to shared meaning and behavior. Levin starts with the hypothesis that a verb's meaning influences its syntactic behavior and develops it into a powerful tool for studying the English verb lexicon. She shows how identifying verbs with similar syntactic behavior provides an effective means of distinguishing semantically coherent verb classes, and isolates these classes by examining verb behavior with respect to a wide range of syntactic alternations that reflect verb meaning. The first part of the book sets out alternate ways in which verbs can express their arguments. The second presents classes of verbs that share a kernel of meaning and explores in detail the behavior of each class, drawing on the alternations in the first part. Levin's discussion of each class and alternation includes lists of relevant verbs, illustrative examples, comments on noteworthy properties, and bibliographic references. The result is an original, systematic picture of the organization of the verb inventory. Easy to use, English Verb Classes and Alternations sets the stage for further explorations of the interface between lexical semantics and syntax. It will prove indispensable for theoretical and computational linguists, psycholinguists, cognitive scientists, lexicographers, and teachers of English as a second language.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
The University of Chicago Press
ISBN-13
9780226475332
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94409140
Product Key Features
Book Title
English Verb Classes and Alternations: a Preliminary Investigation
Author
Beth Levin
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Publication Year
1993
Number of Pages
366 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
228mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
563g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Beth Levin
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
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