Discourse Constructions in English: The Case of Complementary-contrastive Constructions

The present paper examines a group of constructions at the level of discourse. Such constructions are part of the family of complementary-contrastive constructions in English. These constructions result from the combination of two elements, which despite being apparently contrary, actually complement each other. Using Ronald Langacker's (1987; 1999) notions of meaning base, profile, and active zone, the study addresses the question of the classification of discourse constructions, and analyzes within this constructional family, two specific meaning profiles: constructions that make the second element of the construction more important and constructions that correct or modify the content elements of an utterance, whatever its illocutionary force.