In Chapter 9, I offer a discussion related to the main theoretical contributions of this study. I here elaborate on how these findings tie in with three concepts known to be well-supported functional principles at work in various languages. These are the principles of competition, iconicity and economy of expression. As for the principle of competition, I unfold a model of competition that can account a) for the specialization and non-specialization of the CPs, b) for an interaction between the token frequencies of the simple verb and the strength of semantic specialization in the CP and c) for why certain CPs do not fall under the scope of the hypothesis. I also briefly discuss how psycholinguistic experiments on the activation levels of competing constructions can extend our perspective beyond cases of semantic competition. The principle of iconicity, in turn,can account for why formal and semantic changes do not entirely drift apart. Finally, speakers’ preference for shorter rather than longer expression helps explain why the simple verbs are preferred over the CPs in those contexts where they are in semantic competition.