Transitivity
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;Complements (essential) are not to be confounded with adjuncts (accidental) | ;Complements (essential) are not to be confounded with adjuncts (accidental) | ||
| − | :John bought a car | + | :John bought a car for Mary = direct monotransitive (TSTD) and not ditransitive (TST2), because "for Mary" is not a complement, but an adjunct of the verb "to buy" |
:John gave a car to Mary = ditransitive (TST2), because both "a car" and "to Mary" are complements of the verb "to give". | :John gave a car to Mary = ditransitive (TST2), because both "a car" and "to Mary" are complements of the verb "to give". | ||
Revision as of 12:52, 6 December 2011
Transitivity is a category that indicates the number of objects a verb requires or takes in a given instance.
Natural language
In the UNLarium framework, transitivity may assume the following values:
- Objects are to be considered elliptical (hidden) in verbal constructions if they can be inferred from the context.
- I read all the afternoon = I read (something) all the afternoon = direct monotransitive (TSTD)
- John kisses well = John kisses (someone) well = direct monotransitive (TSTD)
- John buys (and Peter sells) = John buys (something) = direct monotransitive (TSTD)
- Different transitivity values mean different senses
- The same verb may have different transitivity values, but only when associated to different UWs:
- John lives in Paris = intransitive (NTST) (live = reside)
- John lives a nightmare = direct monotransitive (TSTD) (live = experience)
- Complements (essential) are not to be confounded with adjuncts (accidental)
- John bought a car for Mary = direct monotransitive (TSTD) and not ditransitive (TST2), because "for Mary" is not a complement, but an adjunct of the verb "to buy"
- John gave a car to Mary = ditransitive (TST2), because both "a car" and "to Mary" are complements of the verb "to give".
- Copula is to be considered without transitivity (NTRA)
- Subject and object complements are not to be represented as part of the transitivity of the verb
- You make me nervous = You make [me become nervous] = direct monotransitive (TSTD) and not ditransitive
- I considered him to be an excellent choice = I considered [that he was an excellent choice] = direct monotransitive (TST) and not ditransitive
- Transitivity is a property of the verb and not of the whole multi-word expression.
- to make love = to make = direct monotransitive (TSTD) and not intransitive
- to kill oneself = to kill = direct monotransitive (TSTD) and not intransitive
Examples
- English
- unergative (NERG) = run (John ran)
- unaccusative (NACC) = fall (John fell)
- direct monotransitive (TSTD) = kiss (John kissed Jane)
- indirect monotransitive (TSTI) = depend (John depends on Jane)
- ditransitive (TST2) = give (John gave Jane an apple)
- tritransitive (TST3) = trade (John traded Jane an apple for an orange)
UNL
In UNL, transitivity, as a syntactic property, is not informed.
