1

The English Ditransitive Construction

Lucas Champollion (thanks to Ryan Gabbard for some slides)Nov 15th, 2004

Goldberg, Adele E. (1995): Constructions. Ch. 6.

2

The Ditransitive Construction

CAUSE-RECEIVE < agent recipient patient >

Verb Subject Object Object2

PREDICATE < *** Insert Verb Here *** >

Instance or means

Pat mailed Bill a letter.John will bake Mary a cake.

3

Outline

Evidence for the construction Evidence that it means “X successfully

causes Y to receive Z, where X is a volitional and Y is either willing or has no choice” Semantic constraints on X and Y

Some systematic metaphors that license extensions from the basic sense

4

The Ditransitive Construction: Why It Exists

okMary baked her sister a cake. (meaning: Mary baked a cake with the intention of giving it to her sister.)

*Mary baked her sister a cake. (meaning: Sally baked the cake so that her sister wouldn’t have to bake it)

*Mary baked her sister a cake. (meaning: Mary baked a cake for herself because her sister told her so)

Transfer meaning either in construction or in bake

More evidence lies in the semantic constraints

5

Semantic Constraints on the Subject

*Joe threw the right fielder the ball he intended the first baseman to catch

okJoe painted Sally a picture. Subject must be volitional (i.e. an agent)

Problem: okOedipus gave his mother a kiss, okMary accidentally loaned Bob a lot of money

Constraints are the same as for murder

6

Semantic Constraints on Object1

okShe brought a package to the border. *She brought the border a package. okShe brought a package to the boarder. okShe brought the boarder a package.

Object1 must be animate (i.e. a recipient)

7

Semantic Constraints on Object1 (contd.)

Must either be willing: *Bill threw the coma victim a blanket

or have no choice: okBill gave Chris a headache / a kick / a speeding ticket.

Willingness ≠ benefit: okJack poured Jane an arsenic–laced martini.

8

Apparent Counterexamples

okThe medicine brought him relief. okThe rain bought us some time. okShe gave me the flu.

Subject is not volitional! Do these examples have anything in

common? cf. The document supplied us with some

entertainment.

9

Reminder: Polysemy

X successfully causes Y to receive Zbut also:

X causes Y not to receive ZX intends to cause Y to receive Z

X enables Y to receive Z

Subject Verb Object Object2

give, throw, take, feed

refuse, deny

make, build, get, win, bake

permit, allow

10

A Systematic Metaphor: Causal Events as Transfers

CAUSE-RECEIVE < agent recipient patient >

Verb Subject Object Object2

PREDICATE < *** Insert Verb Here *** >

Instance or means

CAUSE-RECEIVE < agent recipient patient >

Verb Subject Object Object2

PREDICATE < *** Insert Verb Here *** >

Instance or means

CAUSE-”RECEIVE” < cause affectee effect >

Verb Subject Object Object2

PREDICATE < *** Insert Verb Here *** >

Instance or means

She gave me the flu. (unintentionally)

11

More Systematic Metaphors

Communication as Reception: She told Jo a fairy tale, She wired Jo a message (cf. Jo received the information from Bill)

Perceptions as Received Entities: He gave Bob a glimpse (cf. I caught a glimpse from him)

Directed Action as Transferred Entity: She blew him a kiss, She threw him a parting glance (cf. All he got from her was a goodbye wave)

Facts/Assumptions/Beliefs as Objects: I’ll grant you that much of your argument (cf. I don’t want to give up that assumption)

12

A More Complicated Case Actions for Someone’s Benefit as Transferred

Objects: Cry me a river, They’re going to kill Reagan a commie (cf. She graciously offered a ride to the airport, He owes you many favors)

recipient does not receive Object2 here ?! Source domain not ‘X causes Y to receive Z’ but ‘X

causes Y to receive some object’ Target domain ‘X performs an action for the benefit

of Y’ Therefore more constrained, dialectal variation: ?Cry

Joe a river, ?Sally cried me a river

13

Thanks.