CASA|Con The CASA-ConstructiCon of the English Language


Welcome English constructions English words Other languages Log in Register

Name AT-SUPERLATIVE OBJECT / OBJOID CONSTRUCTION (SOC) (Object/Objoid: PP)
Semantic function of cxn AFFECTOR is in one’s best state or condition.
Slots Slot 1: argument Slot 2: predicate Slot 3: argument
Semantic role of slots ÆFFECTOR MANNER_SUPERLATIVE

Syntactic function  

potential subject unit in predicate
Syntactic form NPi V At-NP -> POSSi A-est
Example (1) At night, the white garden was at its best, …(COHA)

(2) This piece … works at its best at sunrise and sunset. (COHA)

(3) They look at their best now .... (COHA)

(4) … she … performed at her best under such circumstances. (COHA)

(5) … you’re playing at your best … (COHA)
Collo-profile
be  work  look  function  fly  write  seem  end  perform  shine  show  play  operate  
Sources for collo-profile Bouso and Hundt (2023); results of simple collexeme analysis for the recent history of the SOC; based on COHA (sub-period 1930s-2010s).
Cxn with same formal pattern Prepositional Phrase (PP) Construction
General cxn-type Active-2-Argument-Structure Construction
Construction family Objoid Constructions
Bare Superlative Object/Objoid Construction
Literature Bouso (2021, 2024), Bouso and Hundt (2023), Bouso, Hundt and Van Driessche (2024)
Annotators/Date Tamara Bouso and Marianne Hundt 09/2024