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초록

The so-called light verbs in English have very often been discussed both in traditional grammar and generative linguistics. The variation shown in these verbs, especially that of have a NOUN vs. take a NOUN, however, has only been very briefly mentioned, with few previous studies having provided an extensive empirical analysis of the variation, thereby letting the phenomenon remain mostly a matter of preference in British or American English. This study investigates the variation between the light verb predicates have a NOUN and take a NOUN on the basis of the analysis of data from ten English corpora. The results indicate that while have a NOUN is generally preferred in British English, this preference is maintained only in three genres including spoken, fiction, and academic texts, with take a NOUN, the American form, being more common in magazines and newspapers. The use of take a NOUN in American English has also shown a continuous increase in the last 200 years to become the dominant form. This increase and dominance of the take form in American English is very likely to have exerted influence on world Englishes including British English, resulting in the increase of the take form and decrease of the alternative have form in almost every national variety of English.