Oblique predicative constructions in English withforandas:quavsqualitate qua

Abstract

English has anoblique predicative constructionin which the prepositionsforandaslicense anoblique predicative complementthat is predicated of a noun phrase, as inWe took herfor a friendandI regarded heras a genius. The construction withforis the oldest, and is found in many other languages. This article traces the history of oblique predicative constructions involvingforandas, and a number of other prepositions, from Old English to Present-Day English (PDE). Visser (1963–73) has suggested that predicativeforandaswere rivals, and that in PDEasis now dominant at the expense offor. I will argue instead that since around 1900 predicativeforandascan clearly be distinguished semantically as expressing the meaningsqua(‘as being’) andqualitate qua(‘in the capacity of’), respectively, and that the existence of these distinct meanings explains why constructions with both prepositions still survive in PDE.