A design pattern for phrasal constructions

This chapter has two objectives. It discusses a design pattern for phrasal constructions and introduces the templates that can be used to instantiate this pattern in Fluid Construction Grammar, using as illustration nominal phrases such as “the green mouse’’ or “this mouse of mine’’. Phrasal constructions not only build phrases but also combine the meanings contributed by their constituents and possibly add meaning of their own. Phrasal constructions are interesting because they involve hierarchy, compositionality, recursion, agreement and percolation. The paper also illustrates how FCG uses templates to organise the grammar design process and to simplify the definition of the constructions relevant for a particular language.