Representing actions with nouns
|
Some everyday nouns used to represent actions | page 1 of 4 |
Introduction
Many nouns in English can also be used as verbs, eg have a look (noun) versus look (verb). At first glance, it looks as if there is no difference between the noun form and its verb counterpart:
Let's have a look back at the atlas again now and find Beaumont - which we said was east and slightly north of Houston. (Bank of English)
Let's look back at the atlas again now and find Beaumont ...
When a word like look is used as a noun, ie a nominalisation
, the action of looking is being represented as a thing, a completed event.
Note that the verb have has lost most of its normal meaning of possession.
The technical term for structures such as have a look is delexical verb structures. This file makes some comments about the form, and outlines the reasons speakers and writers have for using such structures.
You may either read through the file page by page or jump to a specific page by clicking on one of the choices below.
Introduction
The form of delexical verb structures
