PREDICATE- ARGUMENT STRUCTURE OF EMOTIVE VERBS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

This paper seeks to explore the category of emotiveness of the verb units in the lexico-semantic system of the English verb. The article characterizes the evolution of methods in this investigation of lexical units, basic notions of cognitive grammar, in particular. The predicate- argument structure of the verbs that designate emotive states has been defined. The conditions for the realization of grammatical structures have been presented. The survey studies the classification of the verbs according to their syntactic constructions, taking into account the relation of the subject and the object. As a result, the investigation highlights the features of the verbs that denote emotional relations and causatives. Experiencer argument, which can perform different syntactic functions, is an indispensable prerequisite for the predicate-argument structure of English emotive verbs. The algorithm for this analysis has been suggested. The predicate-argument structure of verb units expressing emotions in English and Ukrainian has been compared. Similar deep semantics of emotive verbs in English and Ukrainian finds a distinct expression in the surface structure, favouring different syntactic structures. A significant number of emotive verb units are expressed by intransitive, reflexive verbs with a postfix – sya in Ukrainian, while the constructions with adjectives and participles are characteristic of English.