[Lexicog] meaning and usage of "on me"

[Benjamin Barrett]

On Oct 18, 2008, at 9:54 PM, Mike Maxwell wrote:

> Kenneth Keyes wrote:
> > Just a quick query. Have you thought about the phrase "on me" when
> > preceded by a verb?
> > ...
> > I think it must mean "without my permission", or "against my will".
> >
> > Here are some examples I thought of:
> >
> > Don't leave *on me*.
> > ...
>
> I think of it as a sort of benefactive, except that as you mention, it
> has a negative sense--and "malefactive" doesn't sound right.
>
> There are of course benefactives in some dialects of English, and in
> other languages (Spanish comes to mind). For example:
> I'm gonna get me a new car.
> Here's you a biscuit for your dog.
> --  
> Mike Maxwell
> maxwell at ldc.upenn.edu
>
>

FWIW, this sort of construction is often called the negative  
resultative for Japanese (-rareru ending) and, apparently, for Korean.

The verb "get" often carries this meaning in English:

He got robbed
He got hit by a car

BB

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