Visual Verb-Object Constructions in Chinese and English

A Review Centered on “Kan + NP” and Its English Counterparts

Abstract

Research on visual verbs has generated substantial insights into lexical classification, lexicalization, semantic extension, metaphor and metonymy, polysemy networks, and linguistic typology. Yet the Chinese construction 看 (kan) + NP and its English equivalents have not been examined systematically as a contrastive constructional unit. This review argues that the meanings of kan + NP are shaped not only by the polysemy of kan but also, more crucially, by the semantic type of the object and the event frame it activates. In Chinese, kan + NP packages a range of meanings within a single highly productive pattern. In English, comparable meanings are distributed across several lexical and phrasal forms, including see, look at, watch, read, visit, consult, and look after. Future research should therefore move beyond lexical comparison and develop a construction-based framework that integrates object types, event frames, and cross-linguistic correspondence patterns.