English Double Object Constructions Research Articles

Double pronominalization and clitic doubling in Dialectal Brazilian Portuguese and Colloquial Standard Brazilian Portuguese

In this study, we propose a comparative analysis of the ditransitive constructions in Dialectal Brazilian Portuguese (DBP) and Colloquial Standard Brazilian Portuguese (BP), taking into consideration the phenomenon named Double Pronominalization, in which both the theme and the goal arguments are realized as clitics or full pronouns, with consequences for the occurrence of a type of Person Case Constraint as well as a specific case of clitic doubling. In the comparative scenario, we show that the DBP instantiates a particular type of Double Object Construction (DOC), in which the grammatical licensing of the goal argument has similarities with the English DOC. Further we consider that both the dialectal and the standard varieties display the prepositional ditransitive construction (PDC), in which the goal argument is introduced by the preposition para (‘to’). In this paper we propose that these innovative properties can be accounted for if we consider the theory of low and high applicative, as expressed in Pylkännen’s (2008) typology. Following Pancheva & Zubizarreta (2018), we also assume that the applicative head bears an interpretable person feature entering an agreement relation with the argument introduced in the specifier position of the applicative domain (cf. also Torres Morais & Salles 2010, 2016, 2019). Finally, we claim that the loss of third person dative clitics in BP undermine the feature make-up of the low applicative head, excluding clitic cluster and clitic doubling formation (of the EP type). Consequently, two strategies arise in the licensing of the goal argument in ditransitive structures: (i) under structural Case, in a low applicative head, as found in DBP; (ii) as an oblique phrase, introduced by the preposition para (‘to’). However, first and second clitics me and te remain, implying that the BP pronominal system expresses a monovalent value for the feature [participant]. We propose that they are licensed in a high applicative structure bearing an interpretable person feature, under an agreement relation with the inherent interpretable person feature, which corresponds to first (speaker) and second person (addressee) (cf. Torres Morais & Salles, 2022).

Scope Freezing Restricts Binding in Italian Right Dislocation

Abstract Binding into right-dislocated categories is generally possible in Italian but fails when the binder is a direct object and the right-dislocated constituent an indirect object or a PP doubled by ci, even though direct objects binding into indirect objects or PPs is otherwise acceptable. These data fall into place once it is recognized that cliticization of an indirect object or a PP gives rise to a scope-freezing effect (on a par with English double-object constructions). We develop our account using a biclausal analysis of right dislocation but explore to which extent monoclausal analyses can capture the data as well.

Language Transfer Evidence in the Acquisition of Double Object Construction by Chinese EFL Learners

Based on the theory of language transfer in second language acquisition, this study explored the dynamic acquisition of English double object construction by Chinese EFL learners through comparative analysis. Altogether 120 subjects participated in this experiment and were required to take the proofreading exercise in limited time. The experimental results showed that Chinese EFL learners at different levels of proficiency acquired the core subclass of double object construction better than peripheral ones; meanwhile, learners at higher levels of proficiency outperformed those at lower levels, especially in the peripheral types. Relevant theoretical interpretations were given thereafter to the above research findings, with the hope to shed some light on the learning of double object construction by Chinese EFL learners.

How does ‘bring’ (not) change to ‘give’?

Abstract This paper investigates a semantic change from ‘bring’ to ‘give’, and the language-specific factors that determine when it may happen. Drawing on a corpus of blogs and an acceptability judgment experiment, we demonstrate an ongoing change in the meaning of the Hebrew verb hevi, usually glossed as ‘bring’: older speakers are more likely to use hevi for unambiguous bring events, whereas younger speakers are more likely to use it in contexts also compatible with give events, although not in the full range of ‘give’ contexts. We argue that this change is facilitated by the specific discourse profile associated with the verb hevi: (1) frequent uses of hevi in the Goal-theme construction, the Hebrew functional equivalent of the English double object construction, creating a “bridging context” for semantic change (2) frequent uses of hevi in which there is no real-world motion, facilitating the bleaching of the ‘agent motion’ component. We then examine the English verb bring, which is not undergoing a similar change, and demonstrate that it has a different discourse profile (namely, far fewer double object constructions and no-motion uses). Thus, while a ‘bring’>‘give’ change is well-motivated and potentially possible, the factors enabling it to actually happen are determined by the predominant discourse pattern characteristic of the verb.

영어 이중목적어 구문의 지향형의 구조, 의미와 의미역 자질

영어 이중목적어 구문의 지향형의 구조, 의미와 의미역 자질

What makes you move? A minimalist study of object displacement in English Double Object Construction

The aim of this paper is to analyse the displacement phenomena the direct and indirect objects in the English Double Object Construction (DOC) can undergo. The focus is on the movement out of the DOC to the sentence initial position. The analysis concerns not only globally acceptable Goal-Theme object sequence but also the Theme-Goal DOC, which grammaticality is restricted only to a few British English dialects. The processes affecting the objects in the Prepositional Construction are also mentioned. The initial part of the paper is devoted to the underlying syntactic representations of the DOC in English. Following, e.g. Citko (2011), Cuervo (2003), Pylkkännen (2002, 2008), a representation with the Low Applicative Phrase has been adopted. The exact case valuation mechanism for relevant objects (as proposed by Bondaruk and Bartczak-Meszyńska (2014)) has been established. The remaining part of this paper contains a detailed discussion of the derivation of particular object initial sentences with the DOC in the active and in the passive and the interplay between passivisation and topicalisation, as the triggers of the object fronting.

The Efficacy of Structural Priming on the Acquisition of Double Object Construction by Chinese EFL Learners

Structural priming refers to the tendency of speakers to reuse the same structural pattern as one that was previously encountered (Bock, 1986). The effectiveness of structural priming has been an issue of much discussion in the field of second language acquisition over decades. This study aims at investigating the role of structural priming in Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ acquisition of double object (DO) construction. Specifically, it addresses two questions: (i) whether structural priming can facilitate second language acquisition of English DO construction in the short-term and long-term; (ii) whether different priming conditions by manipulating the intervening lags between prime and target have different learning effect. With a pretest-treatment–posttest–delayed posttest research design, 60 intermediate level Chinese EFL learners from three intact English classrooms in a junior college were assigned to three groups: control group, no-lag priming group and long-lag priming group. Results showed that the two treatment groups showed an overall increase in DO production in picture description tasks after the structural priming treatment, whereas the control group remained almost the same in target structure production over the three testing sessions. In addition, the no-lag priming group outperformed the long-lag priming group in the immediate posttest. These findings suggested that structural priming facilitated Chinese EFL learners’ acquisition of DO construction both in the short-term and long-term. Moreover, manipulating the lags between prime and target can only mediate the short-term learning effect. These results are analyzed in light of frequency effect and contextual effect in the frame of usage-based theory of language acquisition.

Romance languages do not have double objects: evidence from European Portuguese and Spanish

This paper focuses on the dative expression in Romance languages, particularly on European Portuguese (EP) and Spanish. Many authors have proposed that clitic(-doubling) constructions and nonclitic(-doubling) constructions in these languages share the same properties of both English double object construction (DOC) and ditransitive prepositional construction (DPC) (e.g. Masullo 1992, Demonte 1994, 1995, Romero 1997, Cuervo 2003, Morais 2006, 2012). Others, such as Pineda (2013), argue that the only strategy available in Romance to express the dative is the DOC. We will argue against these two proposals, showing that the same arguments presented in the literature to claim the occurrence of DOC in Romance languages, namely, binding asymmetries, passivization, clitic-doubling as well as lexical-semantic constraints, can instead be used as arguments to support that EP and Spanish only exhibit a DPC. In addition, we set apart from analyses of the dative as an applied argument, such those following Pylkkänen (2002). Furthermore, we will propose that, if some comparison can be established between Romance and English dative strategies, this should be based on the distinction between a DPC introduced by a functional preposition and a DPC introduced by a directional preposition. In fact, DPC from EP is “similar” to the one that occurs in English with core dative verbs, such as give: in both languages, the preposition a/to acts as a Case marker (e.g. Larson 1988; Rappaport-Hovav & Levin 2008).

Double object constructions in L3 English: An exploratory study of morphological and semantic constraints

The present study examines the acquisition of double object constructions (DOCs) (Susan gave Peter an apple) by 90 Basque/Spanish learners of English as a third language (L3). The aim of this study was to explore whether (i) learners established a distinction when accepting DOCs vs. prepositional phrase constructions (PPCs) (Susan gave an apple to Peter), (ii) they were sensitive to the morphological and semantic constraints found in English DOCs and (iii) proficiency effects could be observed. Results from a self-paced reading task and an auto-paced reading task showed that Basque/Spanish learners were more accurate in morphosyntactic properties than in semantic ones. Even though learners showed difficulties in both morphological and semantic constraints, these seem to be overcome by increasing proficiency.

English Double Object Constructions and Split Projection

English Double Object Constructions and Split Projection

L2 Acquisition of English Double Object Constructions: What Individual Analysis Can Tell Us

L2 Acquisition of English Double Object Constructions: What Individual Analysis Can Tell Us

L2 Acquisition of English Double Object Constructions: What Individual Analysis Can Tell Us

L2 Acquisition of English Double Object Constructions: What Individual Analysis Can Tell Us

Selective transfer in the acquisition of English double object constructions by Brazilian learners

The present study investigates the acquisition of the English double object constructions (GOLDBERG, 1995) by Brazilian learners. We hypothesize that, due to first language (L1) influences, the prepositional ditransitive construction (John gave a book to Mary) will be acquired earlier, while the ditransitive construction (John gave Mary a book) will be part of the learner's interlanguages (SELINKER, 1972) only at the advanced level of proficiency. We also hypothesize that learners may transfer (ODLIN, 1989) the placement of the object pronoun in pre-verbal position from their L1 to their interlanguage in early stages of acquisition (João me deu um livro / *John me gave a book). We test our hypotheses by comparing the performance of three groups of learners (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) and native speakers of English on an acceptability judgment task used as a measure of learnability and generalization. Results confirm the order of acquisition of the English double object constructions predicted for native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. Moreover, results suggest that, although mother tongue influences may have taken place, they do not do so pervasively, but rather selectively, corroborating the proposal by Kellerman (1983).

English Double Object Constructions and Lexical Constraint Transfer

English Double Object Constructions and Lexical Constraint Transfer

A/A'-Movement of the Goal Object in English Double Object Constructions

A/A'-Movement of the Goal Object in English Double Object Constructions

Constructional semantics on the move: On semantic specialization in the English double object construction

Abstract In this article we tackle the issue of diachronic variation in constructional semantics through an exploration of the (recent) semantic history of the well-established English ditransitive or double object argument structure construction. Starting from the assumption that schematic syntactic patterns are not fundamentally different from lexical items, we will show that — similar to the diachronic semantic development of lexemes — the semantics of argument structure constructions in general and that of double object constructions in particular, is vulnerable to semasiological shifts as well. More specifically, the analysis, which compares data from 18th-century Late Modern English with present-day English, shows that the double object construction's semantic evolution presents a case of specialization, in which the construction has come to be associated with a significantly narrower range of meanings. It will further be argued that such patterns of semantic change are best captured in a model of argument structure semantics which discriminates between central and lesscentral or prototypical and non-prototypical uses.

Parametric change in the grammatical encoding of indirect objects in Brazilian Portuguese

This paper examines the syntax of indirect objects (IO) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). Adopting a comparative perspective we propose that BP differs from European Portuguese (EP) in the grammatical encoding of IO. In EP ditransitive contexts, IO is found in two configurations – one projected by a (low) applicative head and another one involving a lexical/true preposition. We propose that the former property is contingent upon the presence of dative Case marking: namely, the morpheme ‘a’ that introduces IO (a-DP), whose corresponding clitic pronoun is ‘lhe/lhes’. In contrast, important changes in the pronominal system, coupled with the increase in the use of the preposition ‘para’ are taken as evidence for the loss of the low applicative construction in BP. Thus only the configuration with the lexical/true preposition is found in (Standard) BP. We argue that the innovative properties of IO in BP are due to the loss of the (3rd person) dative clitic and the preposition ‘a’ as dative Case markers. Under this view, we further account for the realization of IO as a DP/weak pronoun, found in dialects of the central region of Brazil, which points to a similarity with the English Double Object Construction. Finally we show that the connection between the morphological expression of the dative Case and the expression of parameters supports a view of syntactic change according to which parametric variation is determined in the lexicon, in terms of the formal features of functional heads.

Knowledge of structural constraints on the dative alternation in children's pronoun interpretation

Previous studies on the acquisition of English double object construction find that preschool children have more difficulty comprehending double object than to-dative sentences. In addition, it has also been documented that children acquiring English make overgeneralization errors of dative alternation. The goal of this study is to investigate whether English-speaking preschool children possess the knowledge of the structural constraints governing the pronoun interpretation in double object sentences like “The old lady threw Winnie the Pooh i his i chair” and “*The Smurf brought his i brother Tigger i ”. The hypotheses are that if children adopt the linear order strategy or if they convert the double object sentences to the corresponding to-dative construction for interpretation, they will assign a wrong antecedent for the pronoun. The results from two truth value judgment experiments showed that 4–6-year-old children performed like adults in interpreting the two types of double object sentences. The finding clearly demonstrates that although young children at this age range make overgeneralization errors regarding dative alternation, they have an abstract understanding of the structural constraints when they are computing the interpretations of pronouns in double object sentences.

When QR Disobeys Superiority

In recent minimalist theorizing, the operation of quantifier raising (QR) changing scopal properties of quantifiers is commonly viewed as having essentially a syntactic origin but a semantic effect. Bruening (2001 ) provides strong support for this view by investigating the effect of scope freezing: the scopal relations between two quantifiers one of which c-commands the other do not change when each of them undergoes QR. This is the case, in particular, in English double object constructions: the two quantifiers in (la) do not exhibit scopal ambiguity. By a similar token, pair-list (P-L) answers expected when a quantifier moves over (a trace of) a w/i-phrase (May 1985) are not elicited by w/i-questions like (2a) (for those speakers who accept (2a) at all).

A Statistical Analysis of English Double Object Alternation

This paper explores the phenomenon of post verbal alternation in English double object constructions, and presents a statistical model for predicting the position of the indirect object in instances where alternation is unconstrained (e.g. "Roger gave us the clothes," vs. "Roger gave the clothes to us."). Analysis covers a large set of written and oral American English data using a parametric multiple regression instrument to establish the relationship of a set of grammatical and discourse variables to a binary dependent variable, in this case the post-verbal position of the indirect object.