Describe the event in the picture

John slept.

Sleeping requires one participant.

Describe the event in the picture

Mary devoured the pasta.

Devouring requires two participants.

Describe the event in the picture

John gave a present to Bill.

Giving requires three participants.

Describe the event in the picture

Mom kissed the baby.

Kissing requires two participants.

Describe the event in the picture

John told a secret to Bill.

Telling requires three participants.

Describe the event in the picture

John laughed.

Laughing requires one participant.

Describe the event in the picture

John hit Bill.

Hitting requires two participants.

Describe the event in the picture

Mary sent a letter to Bill.

Sending requires three participants.

Describe the event in the picture

Sam kicked the ball.

Kicking requires two participants.

Describe the event in the picture

Sam cried.

Crying requires one participant.

Describe the event in the picture

Sam hugged Susan.

Hugging requires two participants.

Describe the event in the picture

Bill taught math to his class.

Teaching requires three participants.

ArgumentsNecessary participants of an event are called:

Arguments

We say that a verb selects its arguments.

A verb may select either 1, 2 or 3 arguments.

One argumentIf an event involves one participant, then the corresponding verb will select one argument.

Examples: 1. The baby cried. 2. John slept.

Cry: verb; 1 NP

Sleep: verb; 1 NP

When there is only one argument, that argument must be the subject of the sentence

Argument Structure:

Two argumentsIf the event involves two participants, then the corresponding verb selects two arguments.

Examples:1. The soccer player kicked the ball. 2. John hugged his sister.

kick: verb; 1 2 NP NP

hug: verb; 1 2 NP NP When there are two arguments, the first will be the

subject, and the second the object

Argument Structure:

Three argumentsIf the event involves three participants, then the corresponding verb selects three arguments.

Examples:1. Sam gave a gift to Mary. 2. John sent a text to his sister.

give: verb; 1 2 3 NP NP PP

send: verb; 1 2 3 NP NP PP

When there are three arguments, one will be subject, another object, and another Indirect Object

Argument Structure:

Indirect ObjectsIndirect objects occur only if the sentence

already has a subject and an object. The indirect object is the receiver of the

object. Indirect objects start either with the

preposition “to” or “for”.

However, note the following phenomenon…

Indirect Objects1. John gave a gift to Nancy. 2. John gave Nancy a gift. 3. The teacher read a story to her students.4. The teacher read her students a story. 5. Bill sent an e-mail to Susan. 6. Bill sent Susan an e-mail. The indirect object stays the indirect object

regardless of its position in the sentence. So there are TWO possible argument structures here:

give: verb; 1 2 3 NP NP NP

give: verb; 1 2 3 NP NP PP

Indirect ObjectsThis can be used as a test to check if a sentence has an indirect object – If a verb has TWO different argument structures as follows:

verb; 1 2 3 verb; 1 2 3 NP NP PP AND NP NP NP

then that verb has an indirect object.

Do the following sentences have indirect objects?

1. She emailed the message to the class. 2. They explained the problem to Sam. 3. Sam thanked his parents for their help. 4. We drove Bill to the mall. 5. They took the train to New York. 6. He showed his presentation to the class. 7. They left a message for their friends. 8. John worked there for nearly a decade.

Subjects, Objects and Indirect Objects

Subjects answer a “who” or “what” question regarding information that comes before the verb.

Example: Bill met Sam. Who met Sam?

Objects answer a “who/m” or “what” question regarding information the comes after the verb.

Example: Bill met Sam. Whom did Bill meet?

Indirect Objects answer a “for whom” or “to whom” question.

Example: Bill gave Mary the check.

To whom did Bill give the check?

I. Indicate the argument structure of each verb. II. Identify the subject, object and indirect object. 1. Poor John fell.2. The children ate their lunch. 3. Sam sold his bike to Bill. 4. John bought his wife a nice present. 5. Susie sneezed. 6. I read an amazing new book.7. Bill asked the bank clerk for his new credit card. 8. Sue cooked dinner for her family. 9. The nice boy sent his family Christmas cards. 10. Sam heard the news last night.

Homework

Read and do all the exercises of lessons 38, 39, 40 and 41.

Optional argumentsSome verbs select arguments that may either be expressed overtly or not.

These are called Optional Arguments. Examples: 1. Sam ate. / Sam ate an apple. 2. John smokes. / John smokes cigars.

eat: verb; 1 (2) NP NP

smoke: verb; 1 (2) NP NP

Argument Structure:

Optional arguments

1. Sam drank all night. / Sam drank water.

2. John studied all day. / John studies linguistics.

3. John wrote a letter. / John wrote a letter to Sue.

study: verb; 1 (2) NP NP

drink: verb; 1 (2)NP NP

write: verb; 1 2 (3) NP NP PP

Argument Structure:

Two argument structures Some verbs have two possible argument structures.

You have already seen this happen in 3-argument verbs, but this happens in other verbs as well.

Example: 1. John knows the answer. 2. John knows [that his answer is correct].

know: verb; 1 2 NP NP

NP S

The argument structure depends on the sentence!

Argument Structure:

Two Argument Structures

Another example: 1. John believes Mary. 2. John believes [that the world is round].

believe: verb; 1 2 NP NP

NP S

The object of verbs like “know” or “believe” can be either a NP or a S.

Argument Structure:

Challenge Question

Think of more verbs that can have for an object either a NP or a S.

I. Indicate the argument structure of each verb. II. Identify the subject, object and indirect object.1. We were tossing her the ball.2. He frequently eats his dinner early in the evening.3. Members of the university use that library.4. Sylvia had sent the bill to the financial officer.5. John will lend you his umbrella.6. She told the interviewer a fascinating story.7. The audience was anticipating the big finish.8. He has been showing his new car to everyone.9. Elizabeth greeted her father cheerfully.10. They should never have ignored his advice.

I. Indicate the argument structure of each verb. II. Identify the subject, object and indirect object. 1. Tim bought some gifts for his sister yesterday. 2. The newspaper burned rapidly. 3. Most farmers raise crops in the valley. 4. The detective’s questioning upset George. 5. Mr. Elliot often wears striped pants. 6. Those loud tourists are bothering me. 7. She packed her bag tightly. 8. June became a teacher last year. 9. Sam thanked his audience for their applause.

Arguments of Adjectives1. John is happy. What is the argument structure of the verb “be”? “Be” alone doesn’t have much content. Instead

let’s ask: What is the argument structure of “happy”? “Happy” requires one participant – someone who

is happy.

Argument Structure: happy: adjective; 1 NP

Arguments of Adjectives1. Sam was hungry.

“Be” alone doesn’t have much content. Instead let’s ask:

What is the argument structure of “hungry”? “Hungry” requires one participant – someone who

is hungry.

Argument Structure: hungry: adjective; 1 NP

Arguments of Nouns1. Bill is the president.

What is the argument structure of “president”? “president” requires two participants –

I. Someone who is presidentII. Something which he/she is a president of.

Argument Structure: president: noun; 1 (2) NP PP

Example: Bill is the president of the U.S.

Arguments of Prepositions1. Sue is at the office.

What is the argument structure of “at”? “at” requires two participants –

I. Someone/something which is at.II. Somewhere that he/she/it is at.

Argument Structure: at: preposition; 1 2 NP NP

Challenge Question

Are there prepositions that must select three arguments?

Transitivity Transitivity is determined based on what you see

in the sentence!!! If the verb in the sentence has only a subject,

then that verb in that sentence is Intransitive. If the verb in the sentence has a subject and an

object, then that verb in that sentence is Transitive.

If the verb in the sentence has a subject, an object and an indirect object, then that verb in that sentence is Di-transitive.