Herds of Wildebeest, Flasks of Vodka, Heaps of Trouble: An Embodied Construction Grammar Approach to English Measure Phrases

Abstract

In this paper we examine English Measure Phrases (EMPs), for example, herd of zebras, cup of coffee, square of cloth, and miles of beach. Although EMPs internally resemble other phrases of the same form (a noun followed by of followed by a noun phrase), they interact with other elements in the clause in unique ways. On the basis of the phenomena studied in this paper, it will be necessary to distinguish EMPs from other N-of-NP phrases.