"cost n n" construction
Form
NP
Theme
cost
NP
Payer
NP
Asset
Examples
Theme
[The Kyoto agreement]
would
cost
cost
Payer
Canada
Asset
[450 thousand jobs.]
He reckons
Theme
[his fuel]
will
cost
cost
Payer
him
Asset
[46p a litre.]
Meaning
An Asset (usually money) is to be given up by a Payer in order to obtain a Theme.
Roles
Theme
The person or institution that collects the Money from the Buyer.
Payer
The person who give up the Asset in exchange for some goods.
Asset
The price of or payment (usually money) made for the Theme.
Frames
Description
This construction is similar to the Commerce_collect "V n n"
construction, in that it can also apply to commercial transactions, except
that the transaction is construed from the perspective of the Theme (as
opposed to that of the seller). This construction is also used more
generally to describe situations in which some outcome is desired by the
Payer, without there being a commercial transaction. Cost is the only verb
compatible with this construction.