Cognitive and communicative strategies for construction an intra-event perspective: gerundial constructions in English discourse

Abstract

Within the framework of the modern cognitive and discursive paradigm of linguistic knowledge, this article investigates the mental and pragmatic mechanisms underlying the functioning of gerundial constructions in the position of verbal complementation. Drawing on data from representative synchronous English corpora (Brown University Corpus and Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen Corpus), the authors deconstruct the classical structuralist, rigid temporal, and narrow referential explanatory models of verbal variation, demonstrating their internal theoretical inconsistency in natural language usage. As a novel research perspective, a holistic model is proposed that conceptualizes the syntactic pattern [Subject + LIKE + V-ing] as an independent symbolic unit – a construction whose invariant semantic value is deeply embedded within the syntactic matrix. For the first time, the gerundial complement is conceptualized as an instrument of conceptual reification of the Experiencer’s processual experience, shifting the human cognitive system from sequential scanning to summary scanning. It is proven that the choice of a gerund after predicates of positive emotional attitude (the like-class) is strictly determined by the speaker’s intention to profile an internal event perspective and express phenomenological empathy with the experience. The discussion thoroughly analyzes the cognitive polysemy of the verb like, the specifics of syntactic verification of the gerund as a true direct object via the pronominal anaphora it, the underlying heuristics of the Generalized Person category, and the mental mechanisms of reflexive rejection and psychological defense within negative contexts of discourse.