7. Predicates, arguments, and clauses
7.2. Arguments
Most verbs can’t stand on their own. Some verbs describe the properties of one entity, while other verbs describe the relationship between several entities. Because of this, verbs often require certain phrases be included with them in a sentence. The requirement is called selection, and the phrases that are required are called arguments.
Transitivity
We classify verbs based on how many arguments they require, which is called transitivity. An intransitive verb has one argument, typically the subject. A transitive verb has two arguments, typically a subject and direct object. A ditransitive verb has three arguments, typically a subject, direct object, and indirect object.
| Kind of verb | Number of arguments | Typical arguments | Example |
| Intransitive | 1 | Subject | The cat slept. |
| Transitive | 2 | Subject and direct object | The cat chased a mouse. |
| Ditransitive | 3 | Subject, direct object, and indirect object | The cat left me a dead mouse. |
Subjects
The subject is typically (but not always) the one performing the action. Subjects in English can be identified because they go before the verb and because they trigger agreement on the verb in the present tense. If the subject is singular, the verb will be singular, as shown in (1a) where the cat is singular, so we get the singular form of the verb is. If the subject is plural, the verb will be plural. This is shown in (1b), where the subject the cats is plural and so we get the plural form of the verb are.
| (1) | a. | The cat is purring. |
| b. | The cats are purring. |
If you’re not sure what the subject is in English, you can switch a sentence to present tense and look for subject-verb agreement.
The many facets of subjecthood
In a prototypical sentence, a subject has many properties:
- The subject appears in a particular position. In English, the subject comes before the verb.
- The subject agrees with the verb.
- The subject is what the sentence is about.
- The subject is the one performing the action.
- The subject is morphologically marked as being the subject.
However, a subject doesn’t have all of these properties in all sentences. For example, in (2), the sentence is about lunch, but the subject is we.
(2) As for lunch, we can eat some sandwiches.
In passive constructions, the entity that performs the action is deleted or included in a by-phrase. The subject of a passive is the entity that undergoes the action. This is shown in (3). An active sentence is in (3a), with the one performing the action, we, in subject position. In the passive sentence in (3b), however, the one performing the action is included in an optional by-phrase. The entity that undergoes the action, some sandwiches, is in subject position.
| (3) | a. | We ate some sandwiches. |
| b. | Some sandwiches were eaten (by us). |
Finally, sometimes the subject has a special form. This happens for some pronouns in English, as we already saw in Section 2.1. The first person plural pronoun appears as we in subject position but us in other positions, as shown in (4).
| (4) | a. | We gave you a gift. |
| b. | You gave us a gift. |
However, the subject of a non-finite clause does not appear in the special form for subjects. If we turn the clause in (4a) into a non-finite clause, as in (5), we get us not we.
| (5) | a. | [For us to give you a gift] would be kind. |
| b. | *[For we to give you a gift] would be kind. | |
| c. | They want [us to give you a gift]. | |
| d. | *They want [we to give you a gift]. |
When we discuss the subject, we are usually referring to the structural position—in English, this is the position before the verb. If we want to refer to a phrase that has some of these other properties, we have other words for that. For example, what the sentence is about is called the topic, the one performing the action is called the agent theta role, and the morphological form associated with subjects is called nominative case. We will learn more about theta roles and case later in this textbook.
Objects
In English, objects usually appear after the verb. There are two kinds of object: direct objects and indirect objects. If there is only one object, it is a direct object, as shown in (6). Direct objects typically undergo the action described by the verb.
(6) The cat drank some milk.
In (6), the verb is drank. The subject is the cat and the direct object is some milk.
Ditransitive verbs have two objects. Ditransitive verbs usually describe a change of possession. The direct object undergoes the action. That is, it is the entity that switches possession. The indirect object is usually the entity that has possession of the object at the end of the action.
The two objects in ditransitive verbs can appear in either order, but the two orders have some structural differences. The sentences in (7), which have the same meaning, illustrate this difference.
| (7) | a. | My sister gave me her cat. | double object construction |
| b. | My sister gave her cat to me. | prepositional ditransitive |
The sentence in (7a) is called the double object construction. In (7a), both objects are noun phrases. The indirect object, who receives the entity being transferred, is me and appears first. The direct object, which is the entity being transferred, is her cat and appears second.
The sentence in (7b) is called the prepositional ditransitive. In prepositional ditransitives, the direct object her cat appears first. It is a noun phrase. The indirect object to me comes second. It is a prepositional phrase.
If you’re not sure which object is the direct object and which is the indirect object, rephrase the sentence so that it uses a preposition. The one that comes with a preposition is the indirect object.
The differences between the two ditransitive constructions are summarized in Table 2.
| Construction | First object | Second object |
| Double object construction | NP indirect object | NP direct object |
| Prepositional ditransitive | NP direct object | PP indirect object |
Adjuncts
Many sentences also include many phrases that aren’t selected for by the verb or by any other word in the sentence. These are optional and add extra information. They are called adjuncts. Some examples of adjuncts are shown in (8). In these examples, the adjuncts are in parentheses. This shows that they are optional, since the sentence is still grammatical if we leave them out.
| (8) | a. | The cat slept (on the porch). |
| b. | The (black) cat slept. | |
| c. | The cat slept (peacefully). | |
| d. | The cat slept (because it was tired). |
Key takeaways
- A verb has requirements for phrases it must appear with, which is called selection. The phrases it selects are called arguments.
- We classify verbs based on how many arguments they have, which is called transitivity. Intransitive verbs take one argument, transitive verbs take two arguments, and ditransitive verbs take three arguments.
- Subjects appear before the verb and trigger subject-verb agreement.
- Objects appear after the verb. Direct objects undergo the event and indirect objects are the endpoint of the event.
- Ditransitives allow the objects to appear in either order. If the indirect object comes first and both objects are NPs, it is called a double object construction. If the indirect object comes second and is a PP, then it is a prepositional ditransitive.
- Phrases that aren’t selected for by the verb are called adjuncts.
Check yourself!
The requirements of a head for what it must combine with. The head selects the type, number, and semantic role of what it combines with. There is semantic selection (s-selection) and category selection (c-selection).
An argument is something that is selected for and required by the head of a phrase. Arguments include grammatical roles like "subject, object, indirect object, etc."
Not having an object.
Most commonly used to describe verbs that have only a single argument, the subject, although other parts of speech are also occasionally described as being transitive or intransitive.
A transitive verb has two arguments, a subject and an object.
Having three arguments, usually a subject, direct object, and indirect object.
What a sentence is about. Usually a noun phrase. In English, a subject will appears before the verb and triggers agreement on the verb.
A grammatical structure in which the subject of a clause is deleted or included in an optional 'by'-phrase, and the object of the clause is promoted to subject position.
A clause where there is an agent in subject position. The opposite of the passive voice.
synonym: infinitive
Not marked for tense.
Case marking that appears on the subjects of finite clauses.
A morphology property of nouns in many languages. Case can either be structural, and indicate the grammatical role (subject/object) or semantic, and indicate the thematic role of the noun.
An argument of the verb, the entity which undergoes the action.
An argument of the verb, the goal or endpoint of an action.
A ditransitive construction where both objects are NPs and the indirect object comes first, as in I gave you a book.
A ditransitive construction where the direct object comes first as an NP and the indirect object comes second as a PP, as in I gave a book to you.
An optional modifying phrase. The opposite of an argument.
