Introduction to verb types

Subject and object

Each semantic type associated with the verb class takes a number of semantic roles. A GIVING verb involves Donor, Gift and Recipient; a SPEAKING verb can demand reference to Speaker, Addressee, Message and Medium. Not every verb from a type necessarily requires all of the roles— some MOTION verbs take just one role, the thing Moving (e.g. John is running), while others also take a second role, the Locus with respect to which motion takes place (e.g. Mary passed the school).

Semantic roles are mapped onto syntactic relations. If a verb has only one core role this always corresponds to S (intransitive subject) at the level of syntax. S has a wide semantic range—compare JOHN ran away, THE STONE rolled down the hill, FRED is winking, PETER is sleeping.

If a verb has two or more semantic roles then one will be mapped onto A (transitive subject) and one onto O (transitive object) syntactic function. There is a semantic principle determining which role corresponds to which function. Basically, that role which is most likely to be relevant to the success of the activity will be identified as A—this is the Speaker for SPEAKING verbs, the Agent for AFFECT verbs like hit, and the Perceiver for ATTENTION verbs (e.g. JOHN tried to watch Mary).

Where there are just two core roles, then that which is not mapped onto A will become O, e.g. John in all of The nurse sat John up, Fred kicked John, Mary watched John. If there are more than two roles, that which is most saliently affected by the activity will be mapped onto O. A role that is not identified as A or O will be marked by an appropriate preposition; e.g. John shot the deer with a rifle.

Some semantic types include alternative lexemes which differ (only, or largely) in that one focuses on a particular non-A role as most salient (and in O function) while the other focuses on a different role (which is then O). Mention and inform both belong to the SPEAKING type, requiring Speaker, Addressee and Message. But mention focuses on the Message (and the consequences of telling it) whereas inform focuses on the Addressee (and the consequences of telling them the message). Compare:

(7) John (A) mentioned the decision (O) to Mary (and there was then no going back on it)

(8) John (A) informed Mary (O) of the decision (with the result that she fainted away)

Some verbs from semantic types that have three core roles appear in two kinds of construction, with alternative roles being mapped onto O, e.g. John (Donor: A) gave all his money (Gift: O) to Mary (Recipient) and John gave Mary (O) all his money. The two constructions have different semantic implications—the role identified as O is focused on, as particularly salient in this instance of the activity. Only an NP which has definite and specific reference is likely to be suitable to be O. Thus, one might say John gave all his money (O) to good causes but scarcely *John gave good causes (O) all his money, simply because good causes is too vague and general to be a suitable candidate for the syntactic function O.

It is important to stress that there is nothing mechanical about ‘alternative syntactic frames’ such as those just illustrated for give; semantic conditions always apply. Compare :

(9a) Mary sent a present (O) to the doctor

(9b) Mary sent the doctor (O) a present

(10a) Mary sent John (O) to the doctor

(10b) *Mary sent the doctor (O) John

Send actually straddles the GIVING and MOTION types. The doctor in (9a/b) is in recipient role, and can be coded into O syntactic slot, as in (9b). But in (10a/b) send is being used as a MOTION verb, with the doctor simply a destination (parallel to Mary sent John to Geneva). Such a destination NP is not saliently affected by the activity, and is thus not a candidate for O slot. (Sentence (10b) could only be used if John were being sent to the doctor as something like a present, as in Mary sent the doctor a slave/a new assistant.)