English

Noun
en-noun|sg=have-a-verb

1. linguistics A syntactic construction, usually in Australian English or British English, whereby a verb is treated nominally (like a noun) so that the speaker can speak of 'having' it.

#:Examples: have a break, have a shower, have a bath, have a yak, etc.
#:Note: Not every verb can be treated like this as it is tightly constrained.

See also
(American English) take-a-verb

• 2007-12-01 12:32 - Keene - British English

Full Revision History