The aim of the book is to give an account of the English verbal lexicon, which not only systematizes the meanings of lexemes within a hierarchical framework, but also demonstrates the principled connections between meaning, and the syntactic complementation patterns of verbs on the one hand and patterns of conceptualization in the human mind on the other. This endeavor is entirely compatible with the tendency towards lexically-based approaches in modern grammatical theory. The authors offer a detailed description of the two theoretical models used, Simon Dik's Functional Grammar, and Martin Mingorance's Functional-Lexematic Model. They argue that a paradigmatic organization of the lexicon into domains and subdomains is the basis for predicting the syntagmatic behavior of lexemes, insofar as this is represented in syntactic complementation patterns. Throughout the book, methods are explained and arguments made, through the analysis of a wide range of semantic domains and their attendant syntax. An important claim is that the greater the semantic scope of a lexeme, the greater is its variation in syntactic behavior. A key concept in the description of the relationship between lexical structure and cognition is that of the predicate schema, which integrates paradigmatic and syntagmatic information about an individual lexeme, a lexical subdomain, or a whole domain. Predicate schemas represent the links between the lexical macrostructure and individual lexemes. This book presents a thought-provoking, challenging, and at times controversial account of lexical patterning and its relationship with meaning, syntax, and cognition.