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.