Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T02:46:00.898Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Verb triggers of Tough Movement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

David Iannucci
Affiliation:
University of Utah

Extract

Since Postal (1971: 27–31) first used the term Tough Movement, a great deal of material on this phenomenon has appeared in print. In all of this research, there has been a widespread (often tacit) assumption that the characteristic - in fact, exclusive - triggers for Tough Movement are adjectives (e.g. tough, hard, interesting) and nouns (e.g. bitch, bear, snap). For example, Lasnik and Fiengo (1974: 568) list 21 common Tough predicates. Although their list is not meant to be exhaustive, it is a characteristic one, especially in that adjectives outnumber noun triggers two to one and half the nouns are limited to vernacular usage (the most frequent use of noun triggers probably involves obscene usage).

Type
Notes and Discussion
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Chomsky, N. (1970). Remarks on nominalization. In Jacobs, R. & Rosenbaum, J. (eds), Readings in English transformational grammar. Waltham, Mass.: Ginn. 184221.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. (1970). Irregularity in syntax. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.Google Scholar
Lasnik, H. & Fiengo, R. (1974). Complement object deletion. LIn 5. 535571.Google Scholar
Postal, P. M. (1971). Cross-over phenomena. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.Google Scholar
Schachter, P. (1973). On syntactic categories. UCLA Working Papers in Syntax 4.Google Scholar