7 - Argument structure

Summary

Introduction

This chapter deals with argument structure, the relationship between the underlying semantics of the noun phrases associated with a verb and the form of their syntactic expression. It explores the group of verbs known as the Exchange verbs, and one verb in particular, substitute, whose recent history is particularly intricate. Teasing out the details of what is happening to substitute will reveal significant differences between British and American usage, a surprising reason for the differences, and useful insight into the relationship between register and syntax.

A problematic reversal in the use of the verb substitute appears in the conclusion to a British newspaper leader about American forces in Iraq:

1. A striking scene in The Battle of Algiers is a response by the French commander to allegations of brutality by his forces: “We are soldiers and our only duty is to win … I would now like to ask you a question: should France remain in Algeria? If you answer yes, then you must accept the consequences.” Substitute “France” for the US, and “Algeria” for Iraq, and the question remains the same. (2004 ‘Losing Falluja’, Guardian, p.25/2 (15 April))

The sense intended in (1) is clearly something like the following: ‘The quotation from a famous film of 1965 mentioned France and Algeria. If instead of those two countries we refer to the US and Iraq, the quotation will be equally apt in 2004.’ But for many speakers, the wording is odd.