Verb Classification and Dative Alternation in English Grammar

Core Linguistic Concepts

Determiners and Modifiers

The **Zero Determiner** refers to indeterminacy, often seen in phrases like "human beings who are rational."

• **Verb vs. Adjective:** Verbs often use the continuous form (e.g., *be + -ing*). Adjectives allow gradation (e.g., *very entertaining*).
• **Adverb vs. Adjective:** Adverbs modify verbs; adjectives modify nouns.

English Verb Classification

Main Verb Types

Verbs are classified based on their complementation patterns:

• **Intransitive (H):** Requires only the head/subject (e.g., *She signed, I am eating*).
• **Copulative (H + PCS):** Links the head/subject to a Predicate Complement of the Subject (e.g., *Turned red, seems an interesting idea, in good condition*).
• **Transitive (H + DO):** Requires a Direct Object (e.g., *I am eating an apple*).
• **Ditransitive (H + IO + DO):** Requires an Indirect Object and a Direct Object (e.g., *The teacher gave the students an interesting book*).
• **Complex-Transitive (H + DO + PCO OR H + PCO + DO):** Requires a Direct Object and a Predicate Complement of the Object (e.g., *You are driving my family mad, he found the suggestion ridiculous*).

Prepositional Verbs

• **Intransitive Prepositional:** (e.g., *Max glanced at the talented girl*).
• **Transitive Prepositional (H + PO + DO or H + DO + PO):** (e.g., *Max convinced the jury of his innocence*).

Phrasal Verbs

• **Intransitive Phrasal (H + NC):** (e.g., *Peter didn't turn up*).
• **Transitive Phrasal (H + DO + NC or H + NC + DO):** (e.g., *He turned down the offer, he turned it off*).
• **Phrasal Prepositional (H + NC + PO):** (e.g., *I cannot put up with so much hypocrisy*).
• **Phrasal Transitive Prepositional (H + DO + NC + PO):** (e.g., *They put their success down to their effort*).

The Dative Alternation Phenomenon

The **Dative Alternation** is a phenomenon related to ditransitive verbs—verbs that take a subject and two objects (referring to a theme and a recipient). In English, this phenomenon offers the possibility of alternation between three constructions:

Dative Alternation Constructions

1. **Prepositional Object Construction (Prep):** The recipient is encoded as a prepositional phrase (e.g., *She gave the ball (theme) to him (recipient)*).
2. **Double Object Construction (DOC):** The recipient precedes the theme (e.g., *She gave her the ball*).
3. **Alternative Double Object Construction (AltDOC):** The theme takes precedence over the recipient (e.g., *Give it John!*).

Historically, this phenomenon dates back to Old English, where AltDOC was the only available form, though it eventually died out in the 20th century.

In present-day English, DOC predominates over the other patterns in the North when the recipient is a first-person pronoun. Prep becomes dominant in the South. AltDOC remains the least frequent construction.

Levin's Three Classifications

Levin identifies three classifications of verbs regarding the Dative Alternation:

• **Type 1:** Verbs that can only occur in the Double Object Construction (e.g., *The bank denied me the credit* / *The bank denied the credit to me*).
• **Type 2:** Verbs appearing only in the Prepositional Object Construction (e.g., *Poets recited poems and songs to the audience*).
• **Type 3:** Verbs admitting both the Double Object Construction and the Prepositional Object Construction (e.g., *Harry has lent some money to me* / *lent me some money*).

Sociolinguistic Factors and Usage

AltDOC and Prep constructions are generally preferred in spoken conversations.

Usage by Age and Social Class

• **Age:** DOC is more distributed among informants below 14 years of age. AltDOC is attested in informants between 35–44. Prep presents the highest relative frequency among informants of younger generations.
• **Social Class:** DOC is favored among informants from the DE social class.

Conclusions on Usage

DOC is found to be the predominant form in contemporary British English.

The three types of ditransitive constructions are more prone to occur in the spoken domain, with Prep appearing frequently in spoken conversations.