Ditransitive verb
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, a ditransitive verb is a verb
which takes a subject
and two object
s which refer to a recipient and a theme
. According to certain linguistics considerations, these objects may be called direct and indirect, or primary and secondary. This is in contrast to monotransitive verb
s, which take only one object, a direct object.
In languages which mark grammatical case
, it is common to differentiate the objects of a ditransitive verb using, for example, the accusative case
for the direct object, and the dative case
for the indirect object (but this morphological alignment is not unique; see below). In languages without morphological case (such as English for the most part) the objects are distinguished by word order and/or context.
s that can take an additional argument (commonly a beneficiary or target of the action), such as pass, read, bake, etc.:
English grammar allows for these sentences to be written alternately with a preposition (to or for):
The latter form is grammatically correct in every case, but in some dialects the former (without a preposition) is considered ungrammatical, or at least unnatural-sounding, when both objects are pronouns (as in He gave me it).
Sometimes one of the forms is perceived as wrong for idiosyncratic reasons (idiom
s tend to be fixed in form) or the verb simply dictates one of the patterns and excludes the other:
In certain dialects of English, many verbs not normally treated as ditransitive are allowed to take a second object that shows a beneficiary, generally of an action performed for oneself.
Again, this usage is idiomatic and therefore arbitrary, learnt only with experience.
form which can take a direct object. Contrast the active and two forms of the passive:
Active:
Passive:
Not all languages have a passive voice, and some that do have one (e.g. Polish
) don't allow the indirect object of a ditransitive verb to be promoted to subject by passivization, as English does. In others like Dutch a passivation is possible but requires a different auxiliary: "krijgen" instead of "worden".
E.g. schenken means "to donate, to give":
The state of New York made Hillary Clinton a Senator.
between arguments of monotransitive and ditransitive verbs allows another kind of classification. If the three arguments of a typical ditransitive verb are labeled D (for Donor; the subject of a verb like "to give" in English), T (for Theme; normally the direct object of ditransitive verb in English) and R (for Recipient, normally the indirect object in English), these can be aligned with the Agent and Patient of monotransitive verbs and the Subject of intransitive verbs in several ways, which are not predicted by whether the language is accusative, ergative, or active. Donor is always or nearly always in the same case
as Agent, but different languages equate the other arguments in different ways:
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, a ditransitive verb is a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
which takes a subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
and two object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
s which refer to a recipient and a theme
Thematic relation
In a number of theories of linguistics, thematic relations is a term used to express the role that a noun phrase plays with respect to the action or state described by a sentence's verb. For example, in the sentence "Susan ate an apple", Susan is the doer of the eating, so she is an agent; the...
. According to certain linguistics considerations, these objects may be called direct and indirect, or primary and secondary. This is in contrast to monotransitive verb
Monotransitive verb
A monotransitive verb is a verb that takes two arguments: a subject and a single direct object. For example, the verbs buy, bite, break, and eat are monotransitive in English.Verbs are categorized in terms of transitivity A monotransitive verb is a verb that takes two arguments: a subject and a...
s, which take only one object, a direct object.
In languages which mark grammatical case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
, it is common to differentiate the objects of a ditransitive verb using, for example, the accusative case
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
for the direct object, and the dative case
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
for the indirect object (but this morphological alignment is not unique; see below). In languages without morphological case (such as English for the most part) the objects are distinguished by word order and/or context.
English usage
English has a number of generally ditransitive verbs, such as give, grant, and tell and many transitive verbTransitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
s that can take an additional argument (commonly a beneficiary or target of the action), such as pass, read, bake, etc.:
- He gave Mary ten dollars.
- He passed Paul the ball.
- Jean read him the books.
- She is baking him a cake.
English grammar allows for these sentences to be written alternately with a preposition (to or for):
- He gave ten dollars to Mary.
- He passed the ball to Paul.
- Jean read the books to/for him.
- She is baking a cake for him., etc.
The latter form is grammatically correct in every case, but in some dialects the former (without a preposition) is considered ungrammatical, or at least unnatural-sounding, when both objects are pronouns (as in He gave me it).
Sometimes one of the forms is perceived as wrong for idiosyncratic reasons (idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
s tend to be fixed in form) or the verb simply dictates one of the patterns and excludes the other:
- *Give a break to me (grammatical, but always phrased Give me a break)
- *He introduced Susan his brother (usually phrased He introduced his brother to Susan)
In certain dialects of English, many verbs not normally treated as ditransitive are allowed to take a second object that shows a beneficiary, generally of an action performed for oneself.
- Let's catch us some fish (which might also be phrased Let's catch some fish for ourselves) )
Again, this usage is idiomatic and therefore arbitrary, learnt only with experience.
Passive voice
Many ditransitive verbs have a passive voicePassive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
form which can take a direct object. Contrast the active and two forms of the passive:
Active:
- Jean gave the books to him.
- Jean gave him the books.
Passive:
- The books were given to him by Jean.
- He was given the books by Jean.
Not all languages have a passive voice, and some that do have one (e.g. Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
) don't allow the indirect object of a ditransitive verb to be promoted to subject by passivization, as English does. In others like Dutch a passivation is possible but requires a different auxiliary: "krijgen" instead of "worden".
E.g. schenken means "to donate, to give":
- Active: Jan schonk hem de boeken - John donated the books to him.
- Passive: De boeken werden door Jan aan hem geschonken.
- Pseudo-passive: Hij kreeg de boeken door Jan geschonken.
Attributive ditransitive verbs
There is a different kind of ditransitive verb, where the two objects are semantically an entity and a quality, a source and a result, etc. These verbs attribute one object to the other. In English, make, name, appoint, turn into and others are examples:The state of New York made Hillary Clinton a Senator.
- I will name him Galahad.
Ditransitive/monotransitive alignment
Just as the way the arguments of intransitive and transitive verbs are aligned in a given language allows one sort of typological classification, the morphosyntactic alignmentMorphosyntactic alignment
In linguistics, morphosyntactic alignment is the system used to distinguish between the arguments of transitive verbs and those of intransitive verbs...
between arguments of monotransitive and ditransitive verbs allows another kind of classification. If the three arguments of a typical ditransitive verb are labeled D (for Donor; the subject of a verb like "to give" in English), T (for Theme; normally the direct object of ditransitive verb in English) and R (for Recipient, normally the indirect object in English), these can be aligned with the Agent and Patient of monotransitive verbs and the Subject of intransitive verbs in several ways, which are not predicted by whether the language is accusative, ergative, or active. Donor is always or nearly always in the same case
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
as Agent, but different languages equate the other arguments in different ways:
- Indirective languages: D = A, T = P, with a third case for R
- SecundativeSecundative languageA secundative language is a language in which the indirect objects of ditransitive verbs are treated like the direct objects of monotransitive verbs. This language type was called dechticaetiative in an article by Edward L. Blansitt, Jr., but that term did not catch on...
or dechticaetiative languages: D = A, R = P, with a third case for T - Split-P languages: D = A, some monotransitive clauses have P = T, others have P = R
See also
- Valency (linguistics)Valency (linguistics)In linguistics, verb valency or valence refers to the number of arguments controlled by a verbal predicate. It is related, though not identical, to verb transitivity, which counts only object arguments of the verbal predicate...
- Morphosyntactic alignmentMorphosyntactic alignmentIn linguistics, morphosyntactic alignment is the system used to distinguish between the arguments of transitive verbs and those of intransitive verbs...
- Dechticaetiative languageDechticaetiative languageA dechticaetiative language is a language in which the indirect objects of ditransitive verbs are treated like the direct objects of monotransitive verbs. Etymologically, the first morpheme of the term comes from Greek dekhomai "to take, receive"; the second is obscure, but it is remotely possible...