The Semantics of the English Have a Construction
Kiyomi Kumazawa
Gakushuin University
This paper discusses the English have a construction, such as have a walk and have alook. Although this construction is considered to express essentially the same meaning as
the construction with the corresponding simple verb such as walk and look (see Quirk etal.1985, Swan 2005), some researchers such as Wierzbicka (1988) and Dixon (2005)
observe that it has specific meanings and cannot be used for certain types of events. In
this paper, I argue that the construction expresses the meaning of “try”, and that thissemantic property accounts for the acceptability of telic events in the construction, which
are considered unacceptable by Wierzbicka (1988) and Dixon (2005).
Wierzbicka and Dixon argue that the have a construction is only compatible withactivities that can be done for some time or are repeatable. They say that telic activities
such as those given in (1b)-(3b) are unacceptable.
(1)a.
John had a walk in the park.
b.
*John had a walk to the post office to post a letter.
(2)
a.
Let’s have a sing.
b.
*Let’s have a sing of the song.
(3)
a.
have a swim in the riverb.
*have a swim across the river
However, their analysis is falsified by the following actual examples.
(4)a.
I’ll have a walk to the buffet car and have a drink. My legs have seized
up from sitting.
b.
Just had a swim across the bay at Bondi in my brand new Alpha Orca
wetsuit! I can’t believe how good these things are.
c.
Maybe, I’ll have a watch of this film. [said when switching channels totry and find a good film on television](4a-c) are perfectly acceptable despite the fact that they involve telic phrases. In (4a), thespeaker is not really determined to do the action, but just tries to ease the pain in his legsby doing so. In (4b), the speaker has tried out his new wetsuit by swimming across thebay. (4c) is intended to mean that the speaker is trying out the film to see if it is worth
watching. In short, (4a-c) express the speaker’s intention to try, especially when (s)he is
not really serious about it and just does it casually.
To explain the acceptability of (4a-c), I propose the following: (i) the core meaningof the construction is “do it a bit”, and (ii) the construction is divided into two types
depending on its additional implications:(5)
The action is donea.
for relief or pleasureb.
to try something(5a) has also been claimed by Wierzbicka and Dixon (e.g. have a walk/lie-down/rest),1whereas (5b), the proposal of this paper, has three subtypes:(6)a.
try to find outb.
try it outc.
have a try at
The following examples are instantiations of (6a):(7)
a.
I asked the doctor to have a look at my cut.
b.

Do you have a feel of your fruit before buying?

c.
Let me have a think about it before I decide.
Have a look at means “look at something with attention” or “examine” (that is, morethan what just look means). Have a feel of also means “examine by touch”. Have a think
about is only used for a problem or question to be solved. Namely, these phrases imply
the meaning of “try to find out something”, such as a condition or solution.
As for (6b), observe the following examples:(8)a.
I had a play with the new computer game.
b.
Let me have a carry of that new suit case you designed.
(8a,b) indicate that the speakers tried or wish to try out the new things to see what they
are like. This is another type of “try”.
(6c) represents an idiomatic expression of “try casually”. There are quite a few of theexpression. (9a,b) illustrate the two of them.
(9)a.
I thought I’d have a bash at fixing the washing machine tonight.
b.
I want to have a go at finishing my essay tonight.
In sum, the have a construction expresses the meanings of “do it a bit” and “try”,
and thus the construction is compatible with the description of “try a bit”. This property
accounts for the acceptability of (4a-c). On the other hand, examples (1b), (2b) and (3b)are judged unacceptable because the context does not tell us whether or not the situation
involves any intention to try.

<References>
Dixon, R. M. W. 2005. A Semantic Approach to English Grammar, Second Edition.
Oxford University Press.
Quirk, R., S. Greenbaum, G. Leech and J. Svartvik. 1985. Comprehensive Grammar ofEnglish. Longman.
Swan, M. 2005. Practical English Usage, Third Edition. Oxford.
Wierzbicka, A. 1988. The Semantics of Grammar. John Benjamins Publishing.

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