<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16735" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>FWIW, Kenneth, this usage of "on me" is related to
its usages in sentences like:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My car broke down on me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>He gave up on me.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"on me" indicates a negative impact upon someone.
It is similar in English to how the Greek dative case can indicate impact of
some action on someone.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Wayne Leman</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV id=ygrp-mlmsg style="WIDTH: 655px; POSITION: relative">
<DIV id=ygrp-msg
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 25px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; Z-INDEX: 1; FLOAT: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 470px; PADDING-TOP: 0px">
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Dear All, </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Just a quick query. Have you thought about the phrase
"on me" when preceded by a verb? Someone recently asked me about
the meaning of "on me". He quoted Harry Truman's statement regarding Gen.
Douglas MacArthur's insubordination: "I don't want him to resign <STRONG><U>on
me</U></STRONG>, I want him fired!" What do you think of the phrase "on me"?
Is is a transitivizer? What does it <STRONG><U>mean</U></STRONG>? This is
different than its usual meaning as preposition as in the famous "lean on me".
I think it must mean "without my permission", or "against my will".
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Here are some examples I thought of:
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Don't leave <STRONG>on
me</STRONG>.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Don't quit <STRONG>on me</STRONG>.
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Don't up and marry <STRONG>on me</STRONG>.
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Don't die <STRONG>on me</STRONG>!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>I hope he doesn't...on me. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>I'm afraid he might...on me. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Can you think of other examples? (Just a hint, using
Google wasn't very helpful.)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Is there a text corpus where we can specify "any
verb [any tense, any person, any number ]" followed by the phrase "on"
followed by an accusative/dative personal pronoun? How long can a phrasal verb
incorporating "on me" be?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>I am fascinated by this question. I hope you are too.
Many thanks in advance, </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008>Ken</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=938365212-19102008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<P></P></DIV><!--End group email --></BLOCKQUOTE>
<span width="1" style="color: white;"/>__._,_.___</span>
<!-- Start Recommendations -->
<!-- End Recommendations -->
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<img src="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97476590/grpId=11682781/grpspId=1709195911/msgId=4668/stime=1224541396" width="1" height="1"> <br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<br>
<div style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 77%; border-top: 1px solid #666; padding: 5px 0;" >
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional <br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJndDRnZXZiBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNjgyNzgxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwOTE5NTkxMQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNzdG5ncwRzdGltZQMxMjI0NTQxMzk2">Change settings via the Web</a> (Yahoo! ID required) <br>
Change settings via email: <a href="mailto:lexicographylist-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email Delivery: Digest">Switch delivery to Daily Digest</a> | <a href = "mailto:lexicographylist-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change Delivery Format: Fully Featured">Switch to Fully Featured</a> <br>
<a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist;_ylc=X3oDMTJldWl1ZzNwBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExNjgyNzgxBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwOTE5NTkxMQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocGYEc3RpbWUDMTIyNDU0MTM5Ng--">
Visit Your Group
</a> |
<a href="http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">
Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use
</a> |
<a href="mailto:lexicographylist-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe">
Unsubscribe
</a>
<br>
</div>
<br>
<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<span style="color: white;"/>__,_._,___</span>
</BODY></HTML>