Abstract

This paper discusses the “phraseme-construction” (Dobrovol’skij 2011) [XNPnom seinKopula mirExp (modal particle) Detein(e) YNP]Exkl (e.g. Du bist mir einer, Du bist mir ja ein Schlingel), in which a so-called “dativus ethicus” is used. The aims of the contribution are (i) to describe the form and meaning of the phraseme construction with a corpus search, thereby focusing on the nonlexical position (Detein(e) YNP) and on the various expressions of illocutive function; (ii) define the links between the phraseme-construction [XNPnom seinKopula mirExp (modal particle) Detein(e) YNP]Exkl and the other dative constructions (compare De Knop & Mollica 2016, 2017). Some principles of Construction Grammar, i.e. the postulate of a grammar-lexicon-continuum, the claim of a holistic description, the inheritance links between constructions, together with Wittgenstein’s concept of family resemblance prove to be useful for the study.