Abstract
J. van Voorst Psychological constructions in French typically exclude the subject's control of the psychological process that affects the direct object. This important factor in the analysis of these verbs corresponds with a position on a continuum that can be used to characterize verbs semantically. The continuum describes the relationship between the subject and the direct object in terms of the increasing level of closeness that can exist between them in the course of an event. Most verbs can occupy a number of positions on this continuum. The psychological interpretation of many action verbs is possible only when this relationship does not imply the control of the process affecting the direct object. When there is control, we usually encounter an agentive interpretation, which can be, sometimes, psychological. This article shows that psychological verbs are not a separate class, as their semantic behaviour overlaps with that of a large number of verbs that are not psychological.
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