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COGNATE OBJECTS IN ENGLISH


In English, the construction can occur with a number of intransitive verbs:
  • ''He slept a troubled sleep.'' (i.e., He slept, and his sleep was troubled.)

  • ''He laughed a bitter laugh.'' (i.e., He laughed bitterly.)

  • ''He died a painful death.'' (i.e., He died painfully.)

  • ''He dreamed a strange dream.'' (i.e., He dreamed, and his dream was strange.)

  • ''He walked their walk and talked their talk.'' (i.e., He walked and talked as they did.)


In some of these cases, the cognate object allows for a simpler construction; in others, it may simply be chosen for Idiom atic or Rhetoric al reasons. In general, the cognate object's modifiers are in some sense modifying the verb: for example, ''He slept a troubled sleep'' tells how he slept.

While a similar construction can occur with many transitive verbs — ''He drank his drink'', for example — it is generally intended literally in these cases. For example, ''He drank his drink'' really tells ''what'' he drank, not ''how'' he drank. (It is possible to say, ''He drank a quick drink'', but the cognate object is not necessary for this; it is also possible to say, ''He drank a quick coffee''.) For this reason, these are not generally considered "cognate object" constructions, even though they literally contain ''objects'' that are ''cognate'' with their verbs.


SEE ALSO

  • Pleonasm (the use of more words than necessary to express an idea)

  • Polyptoton (a stylistic scheme in which words derived from the same root are repeated)