TABLES OF CONTENT

1. SOME RELEVANT CONCEPTS

2. TRANSITION PREDICATES
3. TRANSFER PREDICATES
1. Some relevant concepts
1.1. Valency
• An account of number of arguments that a predicate has is called the
valency of that predicate.
Eg 1: It is raining.
-> Subject: “it” = dummy subject; Verb: “rain”-> requires a dummy subject.
=> Valency zero.
Eg 2: My son sleeps.
-> Subject: “my son”; Verb: “sleep” -> requires 1 subject but no object
needed.
=> Valency one.
• Valency theory is a description of the semantic potential of predicates
in terms of the number and types of arguments which may co-occur
with them.
Eg: Verbs such as “break”, “move”, etc. have variable valency:
-The body moves. => Valency one.
-She moves the body => Valency two.
• Transition and transfer predicates have the valency of more than two.
Eg: The paper boat drifts from the tub to the floor.
A1 P A2 A3
1.2. Time frame
• Movement through space requires some amount of time, so
that a semantic account of some predicates has to include a
time frame.
=> Time frame is the structure of time indicated by Theme.
-Time 0 means that the theme is at source.
-Time + means that the theme is at goal.
-Time – means that the theme is at goal, but Time – is earlier
than Time 0.
Eg: Time frame for the verb “return”:
return Time – Time 0 Time +
Theme at Goal Theme at Source Theme at Goal

He returns to Hanoi from Da Nang.

Time – is when the actor “he” is in Hanoi.
Time 0 is when “he” is in Da Nang.
Time + is when “he” is again in Hanoi
2, Transition predicates
• Transition predicates: express the going or coming from one place
to another, respectively the Source and the Goal.
Eg 1: The bus goes from Greenville to Stratford.
A1 P A2 A3
Theme Action Source Goal

Eg 2: Carlo came to this country from Italy.

A1 P A2 A3
Actor Action Source Goal
• Source, Goal and Path

Source Goal
Definition Source is the place that the object Goal is the place that the object
moves from. moves to.
Indicated Preposition “from”, regardless of Preposition “to” or “into”, regardless
by its order with “to”. of its order with “from”.
-”to”: when the Goal is a location.
-”into”: when the Goal is an area
which contains (not necessary an
enclosed space).

Eg: He emerged from the dark cellar into the bright sunlight.
He plunged from the bright sunlight into the dark cellar.
• The Path:
-A sentence may express a Path – A place or area between the Source and the Goal.

-The Path is indicated by a form that may follow one of several prepositions: “via”,
“by way of”, “across” or “over”.
Eg: The bus goes from Greenville to Stratford by way of Compton.
Theme Source Goal Path
• Argument structure of sentences with transitive verbs:
Transition verb

Theme or Actor Source Goal Path

In which:
-Theme or Actor NP is the subject of the sentence.
-Source, Goal and Path are optional in sentences and may
appear in any order among themselves.
• Time frame of Transition Predicates:
Eg: Examine the time frame of the predicates in the following sentences.
Why is there a difference in time frame of the predicates?
-The bus goes from Greenville to Stratford by way of Compton.
go Time 0 Time +
Theme at Source Theme at Goal
-The driveway extends from the street to the garage.
extend Time
Theme at Source and Goal
-Curtains hung almost from the ceiling to the floor.
hung Time
Theme at Source and Goal
• Notice: Transition verb with Time Minus (Time –)
Eg: Harrison returned to his hometown from the big city.
Time frame of “return”:
return Time – Time 0 Time +
Theme at Goal Theme at Source Theme at Goal

in H’s hometown in big city in hometown again

• Common transtition predicates

Unmarked: move
Focus on Goal:
Get [general]
Come [goal is where the speaker or addressee is or will be ]
Go [Goal is away from the speaker]
Focus on Manner
Creep [animate subject; slow movement over a surface]
Rotate [wheel or globe; turns on an axis]
Gallop [subject is a horse or on a horse, moving at the fastest gait]
• Common transition predicates (Cont.)

Focus on Path
Drift [effortless movement in moving water]
Float [seemingly effortless movement in water or air]
Fall [Source is higher than Goal; involuntary movement]

Focus on Cause or Purpose

Escape [Source is undesirable place]
Emigrate [as above; source-oriented]
Immigrate [as above; goal-oriented]
3, Transfer predicates
• Transfer verbs are the causative equivalent of the transition verbs
Examples:
Carlo came to this country from Italy.
Carlo moves himself from...

Fenwick drives the bus from Greenville to Stratford.

Fenwick causes the bus to go...
Jane rowed the boat from one side of the river to the other.
Jane caused the boat to move...
• Common types of transfer:

Putting and - Squirrels are stashing nuts in that

Removing oak tree.
- Thieves stole some money from the
cash box.
Giving and Taking - Ronnie gave Rosie some flowers.
away - The accident deprived Alex of his
livelihood.
Communicating - Mother told the children a story.
something to someone - Agnes is writing her mother a letter.
through language
• Examples: Study the following sentences:
Fenwick drives a bus from Greenville to Stratfort by way of Compton.
Agent Theme Source Goal Path
The King banished the rebels from his realm (to another land).
Agent Affected Source Goal
Differences:
drive Time 0 Time +
Agent and Theme at Source Agent and Theme at Goal
banish Time 0 Time +
Theme at Source Theme at Goal
• Verbs expressing the change of location of both Agent and Theme:
Unmarked: move
Focus on Manner:
Drive [object=vehicle and subject=driver; or object=animal(s) and
subject is behind the animal(s)]
Convey [unmarked]
Haul [transfer in vehicle suggested]
Drag [subject moves object over a surface, object is inert]
Focus on Goal:
Bring [Goal is location of speaker, not necessary at the time of speaking]
Take [Goal is not the location of speaker]
Focus on Aspect (involving some relation of time)
Restore [object was previously at Goal]
• Verbs expressing the change of location of Theme only:
Focus on Goal:
Push [object is moved away from original position of Agent]
Pull [object is moved toward Agent]
Focus on Source:
Expel [Agent=person of authority in Source]
Evict [as above; Source is dwelling, Affected is a tenant]
Focus on Path:
Throw [object moves through air]
Lift [vertical movement upward]
Raise [vertical movement upward or into upright position]
Drop [vertical movement down; maybe involuntary]
Lower [as above; voluntary]
 Example: Study the following sentences. Compare the first two.
The road goes from Greenville to Stratford by way of Compton.
“Go” means that Greenville is connected to Stratford by road Compton.
We spread a red carpet from the sidewalk to the door.
To “spread” something means to cause it to be simultaneously at Place X
and Place Y, the Source and the Goal.
The court restored the property to its lawful owner (from one who was not
the lawful owner).
To “restore” something is to cause it to be in the same place or possession
at Time + as it was in Time – and it was not at Time Zero.
restore Time – Time 0 Time +
Theme at Goal Theme at Source Theme at Goal
• With certain verbs the expression of the Goal is all-important
and the Source is not as important or is not specified.
Verbs of accomplishment (Goal-oriented).
Eg:
The guard admitted us to the museum.
Nectar attracts bees to flowers.
The judge sentenced the convicted man to jail.
These verbs cause change of location.
• With some verbs, such as give, award and bequeath, “from” is
missing because the Source appears as Subject.
Eg:
The team gave a present to Harry [gave Harry a present].
Our school awarded the trophy to Millie [awarded Millie the trophy].
Mrs Carson bequeathed her fortune to her servants.
Argument structure of verbs above, for example “give”:
give

agent=source theme goal

• A group of verbs that occur as predicates in sentences with this
structure:
Give [most common, least marked]
Award [the object is a prize]*
Bequeath [the source is typically, but not necessarily, deceased, cf , inherit,
below]
Bestow [the source is the person of higher social position than the goal]
Contribute [the source is one of several donors]
Donate [the transfer is considered a worthy action]
Entrust [the change is temporary]
Grant [the source is a person of authority]
Hand [the act is physical, the object is relatively small]
Lend [the change is temporary; cf. borrow, below]
Lose [the change results from competition between source and goal]
Sell [money is involved in the act; cf. buy, below]
Submit [the goal is a person of authority; cf. grant, above]
Study the verbs “receive”, “accepted”, “inherit” in the following
sentences:
Harry received a present from the team.
Millie accepted the trophy from our school.
Mrs Carson’s servants will inherit a fortune from her.

Compare their meaning with the verbs in the following sentences:

The team gave a present to Harry [gave Harry a present].
Our school awarded the trophy to Millie [awarded Millie the trophy].
Mrs Carson bequeathed her fortune to her servants.
The verbs “receive”, “accept” and “inherit” are the converse
of the verbs “give”, “award” and “bequeath”. Here the
preposition “to” is missing as the Subject names the Goal.
The argument structure of verbs such as “receive”,
“accept”,etc. is illustrated here with “receive”:
receive

goal theme source

• Typical verbs that fit here are:
Get [least marked]
Take [the action may be legitimate or not; that is , can be equivalent to accept
or to steal]

Accept [the action is legitimate]

Acquire [the circumstances of the action are vague]

Borrow [the change is temporary; cf. lend]

Collect [the object is plural or non-countable, or the act is habitual, the act is
distributed]

Inherit [the source is typically, but not necessarily, deceased]

Obtain [the action is the result of effort by the goal]

Receive [the act results from the kindness of the source]

Steal [illegal act]

• If there is no verb-only forms of be-“for” introduces the Goal. In
other words, the preposition “for” acts as a sort of transfer
predicate.
Eg: Study the following sentence. What is the function of “for”?
This gift is for you from your fellow team members.
for

theme goal source

A few predicates such as march and walk, occur with
meanings of transition (1 and 3) and meanings of transfer (2
and 4).
1. The platoon marched to the parade-ground.
2. The sergeant marched the platoon to the parade ground.
3. Laura walked home.
4. Fred walked Laura home.
The argument structure of the verbs in the examples are as
follows:
• In sentences 1, 3 • In sentences 2, 4
march, walk march, walk

actor goal agent actor goal

platoon parade ground sergeant platoon parade-ground

Laura home Fred Laura home
• Some transfer predicates undergo interesting changes in the
way the accompanying arguments are presented.
Compare load and pack in the following:
We loaded lumber on(to) the truck.
We loaded the truck with lumber.
I packed some notes in(to) my briefcase.
I packed my briefcase with some notes.