Transitivity II Flashcards
what does a prototypical transitive verb have?
1)an agentive subject
2)a theme direct object
whoose referent is visibly affected by the action denoted by the verb
low transitivity
the appearence of a direct object that lacks the marking usaully associated with that grammatical relation
what are the degrees of transitivity?
transitivity> low transitivity> intransitivity
what are the semantic factors affecting transitivity?
- Degree of volitional agency
- Degree of affectedness
- Individuation of theme
- Aspect
- Negation
What is the degree of volitional agency?
the verb whose subject is a volitional agent is transitive while verb with the experiencer subject is not
What is Degree of affectedness?
a verb is transitive when its theme is completely and directly affected by the action, but intransitive otherwise
What is individuation of theme
Some languages use special markers to distinguish definite and indefinite direct objects, with the former being associated with a higher degree of transitivity
What is Aspect
a grammatical category that expresses how an action, event or state denoted by a verb, extends over time
What does Aspect include
- Perfective
- Imperfective
Perfective aspect
favours high transitivity
Imperfective aspect
morelikely to be associated with intransitivity or with low transitivity
how does negation affect a verb’s transitivity
it decreses its transitivity
true or false?
Certain types of meaning favour transitive structures while other types of meaning favour intransitive structures
True
transitive structures are most likely to be associated with……
completed events in which an agent acts volitionally on a specific entity, affecting it in some tangible way
What is ditransitive?
A verb that permits two objects