Elle volait pour voler, comme on aime pour aimer : Les propositions d’analogie en comme

Abstract

This paper describes a specific configuration in French, called analogical construction, in which the word comme ( “as” in English) relates two complete propositional objects (Le bonheur est la poesie des femmes, comme la toilette en est le fard, Balzac). The author questions the specific semantic contribution of comme in these constructions and she suggests that, as it is the case with “temporal” or “causal” constructions introduced by comme, the whole semantics is the result of inferences settled in relation with the properties of the two propositions or with respect to the common knowledge rather than a specific semantics coming from comme.