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Abstract Functioning as the periphrases of English simple verbs, the English cognate object construc¬tions (COCs) and the light verb constructions (LVCs) have been repeatedly described as related or similar in some aspects. In order to uncover the commonalities and differences in the semantic structures of the two patterns, and hereupon the cognitive motivations behind them, the present paper compares and contrasts the two different constructions in the light of cognitive semantics, especially in terms of canonical event model and force dynamics. Although the two constructions both designate a conceptually reified and temporally bounded version of an event, the semantic structures of them are profiled differently and the semantic directions marked variedly due to the lexical inheritance. Specifically, in terms of the semantic structures, COCs profile the action chain entirely while LVCs do it in multifarious ways; as to the semantic directions, COCs feature self-reflexivity (i. e. agent) whereas LVCs both self-reflexivity and other-orientation (i. e. patient / recipient). Moreover, the volition of the subjects in the two constructions forms a scalar continu¬um with extremes going from the unaccusative COCs (A-COCs) at the weak to the unergative COCs (E-COCs) at the opposite end, and all these subtle semantic differences guide and moti¬vate speakers in their choice of verbalizing a particular construal of a scenario.
Key words: periphrastic constructions; boundedness; prominence; semantic direction; volition
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