The Syntax of the English Simple Sentence

II Applied Modern Languages

Course instructor: Daria Protopopescu
Contact: dariaprotopopescu@yahoo.com

Lecture 4
The Syntax of Simple Sentences - TRANSITIVE PREDICATES

We shall focus on the properties of a different class of predicates, namely transitive

predicates.

Eg. (1) Mary built a house.

*Mary built.
*Mary built last year a house.

(2) Mary offered a gift to her sister.

*Mary offered a gift.
*Mary offered to her sister.

 They have an external argument, the subject

 An internal argument, the syntactic function of which is that of direct object.
 It is not possible to omit the direct object
 The verb assigns Accusative case to its internal argument if the argument is adjacent
to the verb (in other words nothing can intervene between the verb and its argument)
 The internal argument (direct object) can be either an affected object (denoting an
entity affected by the action the predicate refers to) or an effected object (denoting an
entity that is the result of the event described by the verb).
Eg. Affected objects – cut the bread, eat a cake, chop a tree, carve the steak
Effected objects – build a house, bake a cake, compose a song, write a book
 The same verb may take either an affected object or an effected object
Eg. cut the bread / cut a road in the jungle; paint a house / paint a portrait; carve
the steak / carve a statue; press the juice / press the button
 The internal argument may be a Theme or a Patient
 We call such verbs monotranstive verbs
 There are transitive verbs that take two internal arguments- two NP complements (the
examples under 2). The first NP functions as a direct object, while the second NP
functions as an indirect object or an adverbial modifier of place. We call such verbs
ditransitive verbs.
Eg. He offered flowers to his wife. (Agent, Theme, Goal)
Grandma made a cake for her grandsons. (Agent, Theme, Beneficiary)
John put the books on the table. (Agent, Theme, Location)
 With the first category of ditransitives it is possible to reverse the order of the two NP
complements. This reversal is accompanied by the deletion of the preposition to/for.
Such a construction is called the double object construction.
 With some ditransitive verbs it is possible to delete one of the two objects
Eg. The president assigned the task to the secretary.
The president assigned the secretary the task.
The president assigned the task.
The president assigned the secretary.

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The Location/Locatum alternation

a) bag, bottle, box, cage, can, corral, garage, jail, shelve (location)
b) bandage, bar, bell, blindfold, clothe, curtain, fund, saddle (locatum)

Eg. I put the glasses on the shelf. / I shelved the glasses.

He fitted the saddle on the horse. / He saddled the horse.

The second sentences in the pairs above are syntactic counterparts of the analytic sentences
containing put or fit. The difference between the sentences in these pairs is that the
preposition is not overt and the upper verbal head which is occupied by put or fit in the first
alternants in the examples above is also empty.

Eg. John corralled the cows. (put the cows in the corral)
*John cowed the corral.
*He booked on the shelf. (He shelved the books)
*We appled the box. (We boxed the apples)
*They housed with a roof. (They roofed a house. – They fitted the house with a roof)

The Ergative alternation

Eg. The enemy sank the ship. / The ship sank.

They stopped the machine. / The machine stopped.

 Derived unaccusatives
 One argument verbs, namely the internal one, a Theme which is projected in the
object position and moves to be assigned case, as the intransitive counterpart is
unaccusative, it lacks an external argument, therefore cannot case-mark the internal
argument.
 The transitive variant is causative.
 They do not allow there-insertion (*There sank a ship.)

One can prove that such verbs are unaccusatives, namely that they lack an agent role since we
cannot insert an instrument role which is licensed only if an agent is present overtly or
implicitly.

Eg. *The ship sank with a cannonball.

*The machine stopped with a stick.

Unaccusatives cannot control PRO. Generally, PRO can be controlled if the original role
exists, which is not the case of unaccusatives.

Eg. He wants PRO to do that.

PRO is controlled by the subject of the verb in the matrix clause, in the sense that we can
identify the empty category PRO, the subject of the non-finite infinitive with the help of the
overt subject of the verb want, the two being identical.

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With unaccusatives it is not possible.

Eg. *Babies often roll/turn after PRO putting them to bed.

This sentence cannot possible be interpreted as meaning that those who put the babies in bed
as also the ones that roll/turn them, therefore control is not possible.

Not all transitives have an ergative counterpart. There are transitive verbs that only select an
agent as their external theta role, but there are other transitives that select other roles as
external arguments.

Eg.(a) The baby ate the soup. /*The spoon ate the soup. /*Hunger ate the soup
The barber shaved father. / *The razor shaved father.

(b) Mike opened the door. / The key opened the door. / The wind opened the door.

 Verbs that have similar selectional properties – roll, redden, break, drown, enlarge

Where do these differences come from?

Causality plays an important role in deciding thematic structures. There is an overlap between
Cause and Agent in the sense that if an argument is the agent of a change of state it is also the
cause of that change. The main difference between agency and causality may be stated as the
fact that agentivity involves properties of volition and intention where as causality does not. If
the verb is specified for both causality and agency (volition, intention) (like eat, shave) it can
only select an Agent. If a verb is specified only for causality (like open, break) it can select
both and agent and an instrument (cause) as external argument. In other words, only those
transitives that are specified only for causality, but not for volition, intention enter the ergative
alternation.

De-adjectival ergative verbs

Eg. thin, narrow, cool, thicken, harden, soften, widen, lengthen, shorten, broaden, loosen,
tighten, darken, redden, deepen, lower, enlarge

Eg. His eyes narrowed. / He narrowed his eyes and grinned.

The screen cleared when I bumped the keyboard./ I cleared the screen when I bumped the
keyboard.

De-adjectival verbs also have analytical counterparts which can be either transitive or
intransitive.

Eg. The leaves turned red./ The cold turned the leaves red.
The liquid froze solid. / We froze the liquid solid.
The safe blew open. / The charge blew the safe open.

The first sentence may be interpreted as a sentence containing a copula-like verb which
subcategorizes for a small clause, that is in fact a resultative phrase. Such sentences may be
interpreted as describing a change resulting in a state. (The cold does something such that the
leaves come to be red.)

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The adjective red moves and adjoins to the verbal affix –en. It is an instance of Head
Movement. When moving the adjective leaves a trace behind, so a chain is formed. The
adjective is incorporated under V. We may support the idea that zero-morphology de-
adjectival verbs behave in the same way and incorporation also takes place with such verbs.

THE CAUSATIVE ALTERNATION

Eg. (1) a. Jane broke the glass. / b. The glass broke

(2) a. The general marched the soldiers to the tents. / b. The soldiers marched to the tents.

 Sentences a) in each pair are causative, but they do not illustrate the same type of
causation.
 In English we can make a distinction between the so-called causative/inchoative
alternation (1) and the so-called induced action alternation (2).

The Causative/Inchoative Alternation

Eg. She moved the branch. / The branch moved.

They sank the ship. / The ship sank.
The girl opened the door. / The door opened
 The DO of the transitive sentence is the Su of the intransitive sentence
 Verbs that undergo this alternation - change of state verbs
- verbs of change of position
- change of colour
- converted from adjectives
Eg. Break, crack, smash, crash, rip, split, tear
Bounce, drift, drop, float, move, roll, slide, coil, revolve, rotate, spin, wind
Blacken, brown, crimson, gray, green, purple, redden, silver, whiten, yellow
Clear, clean, cool, dirty, double, dry, empty, sober, tame, thin, warm

Eg. The boys bounced the ball on the floor. / The ball bounced on the floor.
The wind cleared the sky. / The sky cleared.

 Alternating predicates involve a change of state and involve a CAUSE predicate

 They describe eventualities that are under the control of some external cause
 When used transitively, the external cause, is the subject of the sentence
 BUT, if the subject is an animate, intentional and volitional Agent cannot be used as
intransitives
Eg. The waiter cleared the table./ *The table cleared.
They murdered the king. / *The king murdered.

Induced Action Alternation

Eg. The rider jumped the horse over the fence. / The horse jumped over the fence.
I walked the dog. / The dog walked.
 More restrictive – only intransitive agentive verbs of manner of motion (in the
presence of a directional phrase) are allowed to be used transitively
Eg. Drive, fly, gallop, leap, march, race, run, swim, walk, etc

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  The causee is generally an animate entity induced to act by the causer
Eg. She hurried him to the door.
He was running the horse down the hill.

Other instances of causative alternation

 Other basically intransitive verbs which denote internally controlled actions can, in
certain cases be used transitively, when externally controlled.

Eg. bang, buzz, ring, clang, beam, flash, bleed

fly, dangle, hang, stand, swing, sit
lodge, burp

Eg. The visitors rang the bell./ The bell rang.

They stood the statue on the pedestal. / The statue stood on the pedestal.
The soldiers lodge in the schoolhouse. / The army lodged the soldiers in the
schoolhouse.
The nurse burped the baby. / The baby burped.

Intransitives recategorized as causative transitives

Eg. He walked the horses up and down.

They generally graze their sheep on the neighbouring meadows.
The general worked his men ruthlessly.
You may sit down ten people with ease.

 All the verbs in the sentences above are inherently intransitive verbs recategorized as
transitive causative verbs.

 Two main subcategories :

A) transitives with a DO and an optional Adv of Place

B) transitives with a DO and an obligatory Adv of Place

A.1. motion verbs – amble, dance, float, gallop, hurry, jump, march, quiver, retire, roll, run,
tumble, walk

Eg. He was ambling his horses along the river.

She hurried the guest to the door.
The king marched the army into the Capital city.
Don’t run him on a tight rope!
They all marched to London

A.2. positional verbs – sit down, stand

Eg. I sat the old man down in a chair.

The mother stood the baby upon the floor.

 Most recategorized verbs in the sentences above may undergo passivization

Eg. They were all marched to London by their commanders.

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B.1. [-animate], [-abstract] DO and an obligatory Adv of Place. The DO usually has an
instrumental meaning.

Eg. She leant her elbows on the table (she caused her elbows to lean on the table)
She stayed her arms on her knees.
She struck her hand against a stone.
She dabbed a powder-puff across her forehead.

Phrasal transitives

Eg. Bob put his coat on.

Bob put on his coat.

 Phrasal verbs – verb + particle (or verb+preposition / verb+particle+preposition/

verb+adverb)
 But such a verb can be interpreted as a verb phrase containing a verb and a particle
inside which a direct object can intervene between the verb and the particle without
any change in the grammaticality or semantics of the phrase.
 The verb and the particle form a semantic unit and can be paraphrased by a lexical
verb
Eg. Give up=renounce
Put off=postpone
Build up=develop
 This analysis is supported by the idiomatic character of many phrasal verbs, in which
the particle deviates from its literal meaning
Eg. Turn down, blow up, figure out
 If the particle preserves its literal meaning, it is more likely that the predicate will
allow Particle movement
Eg. He put on his hat. / He put his hat on
 If the complex phrasal verb is idiomatic Particle Movement is blocked.
Eg. The terrorists blew up the building. / *The terrorists blew the building up.
 No adverbial , not even right or straight can intervene in the V Prt NP structure
Eg. He put on his hat. / *He put right on his hat.
 If the NP is heavy (for instance a very long NP, or an NP modified by a relative
clause), a modifier can intervene between the particle and the verb
Eg. He looked up the answer I had given him. / He looked right up the answer I had
given him.
 If the verb is deleted, it is deleted together with the particle
Eg. He put on his hat and [_] his coat.
 If the complement is a pronoun Particle movement is obligatory
Eg. *He took off it. / He took it off.
 Ditransitive phrasal verbs
Eg. He gave back the book to John.
*He have back John the book. (double object construction is ungrammatical)
He gave the book back to John. (Particle Movement possible across the direct
object in the prepositional variant of the sentence)
*He gave the book to John back. (Particle Movement is blocked across both
objects)
 If the object is very heavy it cannot intervene between the verb and the particle

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 Eg. He turned off the light.
*He turned the light which I had forgotten on off.
 If the direct object is clausal it cannot intervene between the verb and the particle
Eg. He gave away all the books.
*He gave what he had been able to gather throughout his life away.

THE DOUBLE OBJECT CONSTRUCTION

 Ditransitives – verbs which take an external argument and two internal arguments, the
first one functioning as a direct object and the second one as an indirect onject, which
has the role of Goal or Beneficiary.
 The two objects are obligatory arguments. Both of them receive case. They are
assigned the same theta role both in the prepositional variant and the double object
construction.
 We shall see that there is a difference of interpretation between the prepositional
variant and the double object construction.

Eg. (1) The teacher gave bad marks to the students. (Goal)
The teacher gave the students bad marks.
(2) She made a shirt for her niece. (Beneficiary)
*She made her niece a skirt.

 The Dative Alternation

interpreted as ‘CAUSE x to HAVE y’
verbs which involve causation of a change of possession allow the Dative alternation

 Classes of verbs denoting causation of change of possession which enter the Dative
Alternation

A) give verbs – give, pass, sell, pay, loan, serve, feed, lease, lend, refund, rent, repay,
trade

Eg. I rented the house to Tom.

I rented Tom the house.

B) verbs of future having - offer, promise, leave, forward, allocate, assign, advance,
grant, award, allot, concede, issue, leave, owe, vote.

Eg. We granted the money to him.

We granted him the money.

C) verbs of throwing - bash, bat, flick, fling, hurl, hit, kick, pass, pitch, shoot, slam, slap,
sling, throw, tip, toss

Eg. He passed the ball to John.

He passed John the ball.
D) verbs of sending; verbs of instruments of communication – cable, send, mail,
signal, e-mail, ship, fax, wire, telephone, radio, telex,

Eg, She e-mailed the news to me.

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 She e-mailed me the news.
E) verbs of communication – ask, tell, show, teach, write, pose, read, quote, cite, preach

Eg. He preached the Gospel to the natives.

He preached the natives the Gospel.
F) bring, take - He brought flowers to Mary. / He brought Mary flowers.

 BUT – verbs of Latinate origin cannot occur in the double object construction, even if
they denote change of possession

Eg, donate, contribute, convey, distribute, transport, transfer, address, propel, release,
explain, describe, portray, narrate, demonstrate, dictate, recite, etc.

He donated his fortune to his best friend.

*He donated his best friend his fortune.

 BUT – verbs of future having and verbs of communication occur in the double object
construction even if they are of Latin origin

Eg. bequeath, refer, recommend, guarantee, permit, radio, telegraph, telephone, etc

Eg. She recommended the movie to me.

She recommended me the movie.

 Other verbs which are compatible with the change of possession concept, but do
not allow the double object construction

1) manner of speaking verbs – babble, bark, bellow, chant, call, murmur, roar, whisper,
yell, stammer, grumble, etc

Eg. She whispered the news to her mother.

*She whispered her mother the news.
2) verbs of communication subcategorizing for a complement clause – admit, allege,
announce, articulate, say, assert, communicate, question, claim, report, declare,
confess, mention, state, repeat, recount

Eg. She communicated the news to John.

*She communicated John the news.

3) miscellaneous – entrust, present, provide, supply, credit, furnish, carry, pull, push, lift,
lower, raise

Eg. They presented the prize to her.

*They presented her the prize.

The [+animate] constraint

Eg. She brought disaster to the village. / *She brought the village disaster.

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 She brought a book to Mary. / She brought Mary a book.

The PrepNP [+animate] - needs to be recognized as a potential possessor.

 Idioms – allow the double object construction irrespective of the [+animate]

constraint

Eg. give the house a coat of paint, give the door a kick, give the problem one’s full
attention, give somebody the creeps, give something his all, etc

He gave the house anew coat of paint./ *He gave a new coat of paint to the house.

The Goal – Affected Goal only in the double object construction

The Theme – Affected

 He gave the book to Mary. (Goal-Possessor) /- interpretation CAUSE y to BE of z

 He gave Mary (Goal-Theme) the book . / - interpretation CAUSE z to HAVE y

The Benefactive Alternation

Eg. She carved a toy for the baby (Benefactive)

She carved the baby a toy.

Verbs of creation – in a general sense enter the Benefactive alternation; the DO – an

effected object
Build verbs – arrange, assemble, blow, build, carve, knit, embroider, forge (metal), hammer,
roll, sculpt, compile
Prepare verbs – mix, blend, cook, bake, boil, brew, fix, toast, toss, grind, light, clear, fry,
iron, poach, pour, prepare, roast, scramble, wash
Get verbs – book, buy, cash, catch, fetch, find, gather, hire, lease, leave, order, phone, pick,
pluck, procure, pull, reach, rent, reserve, save, secure, slaughter, steal, vote
Create verbs – design, dig, mint
Verbs of performance – dance, play, sing, spin, whistle