Cognate Objects as Thematic Objects

This paper examines cognate object (CO) constructions such as those in (1). (1) a. Dorothea smiled a smile. b. Dorothea smiled a wicked smile. c. Dorothea has smiled all her smiles. The central question which is raised by such constructions regards the status of the CO with respect to both its syntax and its semantics. That this question is not a new one, nor one confined to theoretical linguistics is seen in Harper’s English Grammar where we read: “Some authorities . . . contend that cognate verbs — verbs which are followed by objects that repeat their meaning — are intransitive. However the verbs in such expressions as He slept a peaceful sleep and He lived a useful life are by the majority of grammarians regarded as transitive verbs” (Opdycke 1941:106).

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