Cognate Accusative
A Cognate Accusative is where the verb and noun are matched.
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Paul Y. Hoskisson, an assistant professor of ancient scriptures at Brigham Young University, wrote the following:
"While studying Near Eastern languages, I discerned a Semitic flavor in the Book of Mormon that was foreign to English. For instance, it is not common in English to use cognate accusatives; that is, using objects of the verb that are derived from the same root, such as sing a song‘ or live a good life.‘ English contains a few cognate accusatives because no acceptable synonyms are available, but on the whole, English usually avoids them.
The Book of Mormon uses them quite often—for example;
"I have dreamed a dream" (1 Nephi 3:2)
"I did teach my people to build buildings" (2 Nephi 5:15)
This frequent usage iof Cognate Accusatice is indicative of the book of Mormon's Near Eastern heritage." (New Developments in Book of Mormon Research, By Paul Y. Hoskisson, Ensign, By February 1988, p12.)
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Daniel C. Peterson
"I teach Arabic about half -time at Brigham Young University, and one of the linguistic forms in Arabic that's common in other Semitic language as well is something that's called a "cognate accusative"--where you use a noun that's related to a verb in a sentence.
"I have dreamed a dream" is a perfect cognate accusative...because it is an authentic example of the Arabic or Semitic construction." (A Scholarly Look at Evidence of the Book of Mormon, by Daniel C. Peterson)
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Additional Information
Cognates in the Book of Mormon (Fair Mormon)