THE DOUBLE OBJECT

CONSTRUCTION
 Ditransitives
• verbs which take an external argument (subject)
and two internal arguments (a direct object and
an indirect object, which has the role of Goal or
Beneficiary)
• the two objects are obligatory arguments; both
of them receive case
• they are assigned the same theta role both in
the prepositional variant and the double object
construction
 Double object constructions
• Dative alternation is allowed with verbs involving the causation of
a change of possession
• the Dative alternation involves movement of the Goal
(Beneficiary) argument in front of the Theme argument and also
the deletion of the preposition TO or FOR
• it is interpreted as ‘CAUSE X TO BE OF Y’ - the Theme argument
(the direct object) which is adjacent to the verb is affected by the
event described by the verb
• OR interpreted as ‘CAUSE Y TO HAVE X’ – the Goal argument (the
indirect 0bject) which becomes adjacent to the verb after
performing the Dative Alternation is directly affected by the
event described by the verb
 Examples, Dative-movement
e.g. He gave the book to Mary. (Goal-Possessor)
interpretation CAUSE x to BE of y

He gave Mary (Goal-Theme) the book.

interpretation CAUSE y to HAVE x

e.g. (1) The teacher gave bad marks to the pupils. (Goal)
The teacher gave the students bad marks.

(2) She made a shirt for her niece. (Beneficiary)

She made her niece a skirt.
 Verbs allowing D-movement
• give verbs – give, pass, sell, pay, loan, serve, feed,
lease, lend, refund, rent, repay, trade
e.g. I rented the house to Tom.
I rented Tom the house.
• verbs of future having - offer, promise, leave,
forward, allocate, assign, advance, grant, award,
allot, concede, issue, leave, owe, vote
e.g. We granted the money to him.
We granted him the money.
 Verbs allowing D-movement
• verbs of throwing - bash, bat, flick, fling, hurl, hit,
kick, pass, pitch, shoot, slam, slap, sling, throw, tip,
toss
e.g. He passed the ball to John.
He passed John the ball.
•  verbs of communication – ask, tell, show, teach,
write, pose, read, quote, cite, preach
e.g. He preached the Gospel to the natives.
He preached the natives the Gospel
 Verbs allowing D-movement
• verbs of sending; verbs of instruments of
communication – cable, send, mail, signal, e-
mail, ship, fax, wire, telephone, radio, telex
e.g. She e-mailed the news to me.
She e-mailed me the news.
• bring, take
e.g. He brought flowers to Mary.
He brought Mary flowers.
 Exceptions
• most verbs of Latinate origin cannot occur in the
double object construction, even if they denote
change of possession
e.g. donate, contribute, convey, distribute,
transport, transfer, address, propel, release,
explain, describe, portray, narrate, demonstrate,
dictate, recite, etc.
e.g. He donated his fortune to his best friend.
*He donated his best friend his fortune.
 Exceptions
• HOWEVER some verbs occur in the DOC even if they
are of Latin origin, e.g. refer, recommend, guarantee,
permit, radio, telegraph, telephone, etc
e.g. She recommended the movie to me.
She recommended me the movie.
• manner of speaking verbs – babble, bark, chant, call,
murmur, roar, whisper, yell, stammer, grumble, etc
e.g. She whispered the news to her mother.
*She whispered her mother the news.
 Other exceptions
• verbs of communication subcategorizing for a
complement clause – admit, allege, announce,
articulate, say, assert, communicate, question, claim,
report, declare, confess, mention, state, repeat, recount

e.g. (a)She communicated the news to John.

(b) She communicated to John [that she would go
there by all means]CP functioning as Direct Object clause.
*She communicated John the news.
 Other exceptions
• miscellaneous – entrust, present, provide, supply, credit,
furnish, carry, pull, push, lift, lower, raise
e.g. They presented the prize to her.
*They presented her the prize.
• constraint: The PrepNP [+animate] - needs to be
recognized as a potential possessor
e.g. She brought disaster to the village. / *She brought the
village disaster.
She brought a book to Mary. / She brought Mary a book.
 Idioms and DOCs
• the double object construction is allowed
irrespective of the [+animate] constraint; in
fact, it is the only possible form
e.g. give the house a coat of paint, give the door
a kick, give the problem one’s full attention,
give somebody the creeps, etc.
e.g. He gave the house anew coat of paint./ *He
gave a new coat of paint to the house.
 The Benefective alternation
e.g. She carved a toy for the baby (Benefective)
She carved the baby a toy.
• verbs of creation – in a general sense enter the
Benefactive alternation (DO – effected object)
• build verbs – arrange, assemble, blow, build,
carve, knit, embroider, forge(metal), hammer,
roll, sculpt, compile
• create verbs – design, dig, mint
 The Benefective alternation
• prepare verbs – mix, blend, cook, bake, boil,
brew, fix, toast, toss, grind, light, clear, fry, iron,
poach, pour, prepare, roast, scramble, wash
• get verbs – book, buy, cash, catch, fetch, find,
gather, hire, lease, leave, order, phone, pick,
procure, pull, reach, rent, reserve, save, secure,
slaughter, steal, vote
• verbs of performance – dance, play, sing, spin,
whistle
 Syntax of the DOCs
(a) John gave a book to his wife.
 The VP shell analysis
e.g. They got the teacher a present.
• the lexical verb originates as the head of the lexical
VP, while the DP the teacher occupies the [Spec, VP]
position and the DP a present the complement
position, as if it were a representation of The
teacher got a present.
• the lexical verb then raises to adjoin to the light
causative verb that heads νp. The subject they
originates in [Spec, νp] and is assigned the role Agent
by the causative light verb
 The VP shell analysis
e.g. They got the teacher a present.
 Exercise 1
• Apply Dative Movement in the sentences below; if it is not
possible explain why.
1. They brought some flowers to Mary./They brought some
flowers to the table. 2. The sun baked these cookies for
John./Grandmother baked these cookies for John. 3. He wrote
a letter to his sister./He wrote a letter for his sister. 4. They
donated the books to Tom. 5. The storm brought disaster to
the city-dwellers. 6. He will teach Mary’s students for her. 7.
She made a new dress for her daughter. 8. Professor Jones
thanked the Rector for his students. 9. They promised a reward
to the finder. 10. He owes a great sum of money to me.
 Exercise 2
• If necessary, correct the sentences below:
1. She admitted me the mistake.2.I had to deny his
request to him. 3. Bill decided not to mention his
sore throat to the doctor.4.They explained me the
procedure. 5. The suspect confessed the police his
crime.6. We all envied his lifestyle to him.7. She
announced her decision the delegates.8. That
adventure cost him his life. 9. My grand parents gave
a coat of paint to the house.10.The scientists
demonstrated the new method to their colleagues.
 Exercise 3 and 4
• Explain the difference in meaning between the
pairs of sentences below:
1. They gave flowers to Mary./They gave Mary
flowers. 2. The principal handed the prize to
Victor./The principal handed Victor the prize.

• Derive the sentences below:

1. The teacher explained the lesson to the
students. 2. The manager offered her a job.