This paper examines cognate object (CO) constructions such as those in (1).(1)a.Dorothea smiled a smile.b.Dorothea smiled a wicked smile.c.Dorothea has smiled all her smiles.The central question which is raised by such constructions regards the status of the CO with respect to both its syntax and its semantics. That this question is not a new one, nor one confined to theoretical linguistics is seen in Harper’s English Grammar where we read: “Some authorities . . . contend that cognate verbs — verbs which are followed by objects that repeat their meaning — are intransitive. However the verbs in such expressions as He slept a peaceful sleep and He lived a useful life are by the majority of grammarians regarded as transitive verbs” (Opdycke 1941:106).

This paper examines Multiple Case Checking (MCC) in raising constructions in light of minimalist Case theory and an interpretive view of vocabulary insertion. In general, Case theory excludes the option of a chain receiving more than one Case. However, certain constructions arguably demonstrate that this is possible. We present a range of MCC phenomena, showing that they are incompatible with early insertion models. Inherent Case examples, such as in Icelandic, are accounted for by markedness. For structural Case examples we present an analysis in which both Case assignment and Case checking are utilized. We account for aspects of English, Norwegian, and Niuean MCC using two parameters: whether or not Case features move along with NPs, and whether or not PF accesses whole chains.

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This paper presents an overview of the principal debates in the literature on noun incorporation, citing key examples and references. There has been much discussion about which constructions can rightly fall under the term ‘noun incorporation’; for example, compounding, denominal, deverbal, light verb, conflation, and narrow scope indefinite constructions have all been treated as noun incorporation constructions. In addition, there has been much discussion about where in the grammar noun incorporation should be handled: the lexicon or the syntax. This debate has shifted with the development of theories without a clear lexicon–syntax division. In the early studies, the main focus was on the morphology of noun incorporation, but in recent years, the focus has shifted to understanding the semantics of the construction, including semantic incorporation, pseudo noun incorporation, detransitivizing, and noun stripping constructions. In addition, there have been many empirical studies over the years exploring subject and modifier incorporation, incorporation of larger phrases and other topics. Noun incorporation studies also intersect with other areas such as bare nominals, complex predicates, possessor raising constructions, and classifier systems. These issues are reviewed in this paper.