1 The English Resultative as a Family of Constructions

English resultative expressions have been a major focus of research on the syntax-semantics interface. The present paper argues that a family of related constructions is required to account for their distribution. We demonstrate that a number of generalizations follow from the semantics of the constructions we posit: the syntactic argument structure of the sentence is predic ted by general principles of argument linking; the aspectual structure of the sentence is determined by the aspectual structure of the constructional subevent, which is in turn predictable from general principles correlating event structure with change, extension, motion, and paths. Finally, the semantics and syntax of resultatives explain the possibilities for temporal relations between the two subevents. At the same time that these generalizations clearly exist, there is also a great deal of idiosyncrasy involved in resultatives. Many idiosyncratic instances and small subclasses of the construction must be learned and stored individually. The account serves to justify aspects of what we share in our overall vision of grammar, what we might call the “constructional” view. To the extent that our treatment of the resultative can be stated only within the constructional view, it serves as evidence for this view as a whole. 1. A constructional view of grammar For fifteen years, the English resultative construction has been a focus of research on the syntaxsemantics interface. Each of us has made proposals about the resultative (Goldberg 1991; Goldberg 1995; Jackendoff 1997a; Jackendoff 1990) proposals that share a certain family resemblance. The present paper is an attempt to consolidate what our approaches have in common and to add some new wrinkles to our common understanding. Our larger purpose is not only to show the virtues of our account of resultatives, but also to justify aspects of what we share in our overall vision of grammar, what we might call the “constructional” view. To the extent that our treatment of the resultative can be stated only within the constructional view, it serves as evidence for this view as a whole. This paper originated during Jackendoff’s residency at the University of Illinois as the George A. Miller Visiting Professor in the winter of 2002, when he and Goldberg had extended opportunities to discuss issues of mutual interest. In particular, we found it important to establish some of the basic points of convergence between our two somewhat disparate approaches to grammar – Goldberg coming by way of Construction Grammar/Cognitive Grammar with a sprinkling of LFG and HPSG, Jackendoff coming by way of a long path diverging gradually from the Chomskyan tradition. The resultative seemed like an interesting quarry. Jackendoff is grateful for the support of the Miller Professorship and also for the support of Grant DC 03660 from the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers, James McCloskey, Brian Joseph, and Malka Rappaport for comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.