Casar (marry) x Noivar (engage): a usage-based analysis for the caused action construction in Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the occurrence of a type of causative construction in Brazilian Portuguese, exemplified by the sentence o pai casou a filha, literally the father married the daughter, but which translates to the father supported his daughter’s wedding. We have specifically named this construction as caused-action2, to reflect both its similarities and differences from the caused-action construction described in Santos, Ciríaco and Souza (2019). Although restricted to a few verbs, this clausal meaning has become common in BP. There is evidence of its usage in social media, in which expressions such as casando a irmã (marrying the sister) and formando o amigo (graduating the friend) extends the caused-action meaning to other contexts. Grounded on the Construction Grammar Usage-based Approach (GOLDBERG, 1995, 2006, 2019), the present work examines the functional aspects responsible for the compatibility between verb and caused-action2 construction in BP, based on instances found on corpora and in social media. We argue that this pattern is constrained by a conventionalized scenario of financial, emotional or social investment.