Adjective Combinations During the Years 1850–1999: A Corpus-Based Investigation

The present study aims to describe the linguistic features of make + adjective combinations (e.g. make clear, make sure) and their transformation from the Late Modern English (LModE) period to Present Day English (PDE). Specifically, the objective is to examine the syntactic features and phraseological variation exhibited by these combinations from the year 1850 to 1999. Studies with a synchronic orientation have examined verb + adjective combinations and described their linguistic status and peculiarities (Quirk et al. 1985; Biber et al. 1999). Other works have studied the diachronic development of these verbs from Old English (OE) to modern times (Claridge 2000; Mindt 2011) and they have often mentioned verbs formed with make which are considered prototypical examples of the whole category of verb + adjective combinations (Mindt 2011). However, to date, no studies have provided a detailed analysis of combinations formed with make and have examined their development from the LModE time to PDE. The present study aims to fill this gap and to describe the linguistic features of combinations formed with make during the years 1850–1999. It is a corpus-based investigation undertaken on the multi-genre ARCHER corpus which covers the years 1600–1999. The analysis reveals that make + adjective combinations are characterized by phraseological variability over time which intertwines with stable features: processes of renewal affected instances during the LModE time whereas more stable features are attested in the 1900s and 1950s.