Transitivity
From UNL Wiki
Transitivity is a category that indicates the number of objects a verb requires or takes in a given instance.
Natural language
In the UNLarium framework, transitivity may assume the following values:
- In the UNLarium framework, objects are to be considered elliptical (hidden) in verbal constructions if they can be inferred from the context.
- I read the book = I read <something> all the afternoon = direct monotransitive (TST) (no significant semantic change)
- John kissed Mary = John kisses <someone> well = direct monotransitive (TST) (no significant semantic change)
- John bought a car = John buys <something> (and Peter sells <something>) = direct monotransitive (TST) (no significant semantic change)
- Different transitivity values mean different senses
- In the UNLarium framework, the same verb may have different transitivity values, but only when associated to different UWs:
- John lives in Paris = intransitive (NTST) (live = reside)
- John lives a nightmare = direct monotransitive (TST) (live = experience)
- Objects (essential) are not to be confounded with adjuncts (accidental)
- John bought a car to Mary = direct monotransitive (TST) and not ditransitive (DTST)
Examples
- English
- unergative (NERG) = run (John ran)
- unaccusative (NACC) = fall (John fell)
- direct monotransitive (TST) = kiss (John kissed Jane)
- indirect monotransitive (ITST) = depend (John depend on Jane)
- ditransitive (DTST) = give (John gave Jane an apple)
- tritransitive (TTST) = trade (John traded Jane an apple for an orange)
- ambitransitive (ATST) = eat (John ate or John ate an apple)
UNL
In UNL, transitivity, as a syntactic property, is not to be informed.