Body_movement "V at n" construction

Form

NP
Agent
Verb
at
NP
Addressee

Examples

Agent [Mr Malik]
Verb beamed
at at
Addressee them
in a fatherly manner.
Agent I
Verb waved
at at
Addressee [the receptionist, who had obviously forgotten about me.]
Agent She
Verb frowned
at at
Addressee [Paul who affected an air of exaggerated innocence.]

Meaning

An Agent performs a motion of the body or face oriented towards an Addressee.

Roles

Agent
The person who is performing a motion.
Addressee
The person towards whom the Agent's motion is oriented.

Frames

Inherits from

Sub-constructions

Lexical items ( Verb slot)

Making_faces beam Mr Malik beamed at them in a fatherly manner. frown She frowned at Paul who affected an air of exaggerated innocence. grimace Vic grimaces at his own reflection, as if to say: come off it, no identity crises, please. grin The Cat grinned at her, and she went nearer to it. scowl Bragg scowled at Morton's open, friendly face. smile William smiled at his wife and gave her a large wink. smirk She was smirking at people as if she was at a cocktail party rather than morning service. Body_movement blink Lydia blinked at her through the misty light of the headlamps. nod He nodded at a door that must be the bathroom. wave I waved at the receptionist, who had obviously forgotten about me. wink Tommy winked at the boy in his long white jacket and blue check trousers.

Phraseological constructions