Verb Alternations in English: A Comprehensive Study
Verb Alternations in English
Middle Alternation
Easily, Often, Only, From Both Ends:
✓✓ This verb participates in the middle alternation because it allows both the transitive variant NP1 (Agent) V NP2 (Patient) and the intransitive variant/middle construction NP2 (Agent) V PP/AdvP, which receives a non-eventive, generic, habitual, or potential interpretation. Moreover, it is possible because the direct object (DO) of the transitive variant undergoes a change of state and is affected (its physical properties change because of the process described by the verb), which is a key requirement. Therefore, the event structure of the verb has a become subevent the middle construction focuses on.
✘ This verb doesn’t participate in the middle alternation because it allows the transitive pattern NP agent Verb NP Patient but not the middle construction NP patient Verb AdvP/PP which, if it were possible, would convey a generic, habitual, or potential interpretation. This verb fails to satisfy the affectedness constraint on the middle construction because the action of the verb doesn’t change the nature of the object, which is thus not affected. Therefore, the middle construction is impossible because the event structure of this verb is simply [x ACT ON y] and thus lacks the become sub-event the middle construction focuses on.
Conative Alternation
At:
✓✓ This verb participates in the conative alternation as the subject of the transitive variant and the intransitive variant bears the same semantic relation to the verb. It allows the transitive variant NPagent Verb NPtheme and the intransitive variant/conative construction NPagent Verb at NPtheme (in the conative construction, the argument corresponding to the object of the transitive variant is expressed in a prepositional phrase headed by at). The conative alternation is possible because it is based on motion and contact of the action, which this verb has.
✘ This verb cannot participate in the conative alternation because it is compatible with the transitive pattern NP1 (Agent) V NP2 (Theme) but not with the conative construction NP1 (Agent) V at NP2 (Theme). The conative construction conveys a reduced degree of effectiveness and needs both contact and motion, and this verb describes an action that involves contact but not motion.
Body-Part Possessor Ascension Alternation
Body Part:
✓✓ This verb participates in the ‘body-part possessor ascension alternation’ because it allows both the transitive variant NPagent Verb [NP’s body-part] theme and the ‘body-part possessor ascension construction’ NP agent verb [NP theme] [on the body part]. This construction is possible because the verb has an act sub-event that involves contact, which is the condition needed.
✓✘ This verb doesn’t participate in the ‘body-part possessor ascension construction’ because it allows the transitive variant NPagent verb [NP’s body-part] theme (the possessed body part is expressed as the DO of the verb) but not the body-part possessor ascension construction NPagent Verb [NPtheme] [on the body part] (in which the possessor would be expressed as the object of the verb with the possessed body part expressed in a prepositional phrase). It is not possible because it requires a sub-event ACT that involves contact, and this verb doesn’t involve contact.
Causative/Inchoative Alternation
Mary Broke a Door. The Door Broke:
✓✓ This verb participates in the causative/inchoative alternation because it allows the transitive pattern (causative construction) NPagent Verb NP patient and the intransitive pattern (inchoative construction) NP patient Verb. It is an ergative verb and so, unlike the middle construction, it doesn’t have to include an adverbial or modal modification. It is acceptable because the verb focuses on the sub-event and involves a pure change of state of the object without specifying how this change comes about.
✘ This verb doesn’t participate in the causative/inchoative alternation because it allows the transitive pattern (causative construction) NP agent Verb NP patient but not the intransitive pattern (inchoative construction) NP agent Verb. It’s not possible because the verb doesn’t involve a pure change of state, which verbs that participate in this alternation do because it doesn’t have a become sub-event, which is a feature of touch and hit type verbs, thus incompatible with this alternation.
Locative Alternation
With:
✓✓ This verb participates in the locative alternation because it allows the locative variant NPagent Verb NPtheme PPlocation in which the content is the DO of the verb and the container follows introduced by a preposition, and the with variant NP agent Verb NP location with NP theme in which the container is the DO and the content is introduced by the preposition with. It is possible because this verb denotes the transfer of a substance or set of objects into a container or surface. Moreover, its semantics is compatible with the holism effect it requires (the complement is being affected to the point of containing the largest amount that will fit in it).
✘ This verb doesn’t participate in the locative alternation because it allows the locative variant NP1 (Agent) V NP2 (Change of location theme) prep NP3 (Goal) but not the with variant NP1 (Agent) V NP3 (Goal) with NP2 (Change of location theme). The locative alternation is found with transitive verbs that express the transfer of some substance or set of objects into a container or surface. In the with variant, the location NP in the complement position of the verb is obligatorily understood as being affected to the point of containing the largest amount that will fit in it (holism effect). Therefore, this alternation is not compatible with this verb because its semantics is not compatible with the holism effect.
Dative Alternation
Bake a Cake for You, Explain Something to Somebody:
✓✓ This verb participates in the dative alternation because it allows two variants for the realization of its internal argument: it allows that the indirect object (IO) is not adjacent to the verb and it is introduced by a preposition (prepositional dative construction: Subj. Verb DO prep IO) and it also allows that the IO is realized as a NP adjacent to the verb and followed by a DO (double object construction: Subj. Verb IO DO). This alternation is possible with this verb because its IO is not only the goal of the movement of the DO but also its possessor (possessor effect).
✘ This verb doesn’t participate in the dative alternation because it allows the prepositional dative construction NP1 (Agent) V NP2 (theme) to NP3 (Goal) but not the double-object construction NP2 (Agent) V NP3 (Goal) NP2(Theme). This alternation is found in verbs that can involve the transfer of possession. In this case, it’s not possible because the double object construction is only possible with verbs in which the IO is not only the goal of the movement of the DO but also its possessor (the possessor effect), and the IO of this verb can’t be interpreted as a possessor.