Semantic Interpretations of Ditransitive Constructions in English

This study addresses claims made by two theories—the Alternative Projection and Verb Sensitive approaches—regarding an interpretation of possession attributed to certain ditransitive constructions. The Alternative Projection approach argues that an interpretation of possession is only available in the double object (DO) pattern expressed by English ditransitive verbs (1a) and is not available in the prepositional (PP) pattern (1b). The Verb Sensitive approach argues that this possession interpretation is either available for both the DO and PP patterns, or for neither pattern, depending on the class of ditransitive verb with which the patterns occur. (1a) The salesperson gave the young farmer the grain mixture. (1b) The salesperson gave the grain mixture to the young farmer. Both approaches posit a possession interpretation of the DO pattern across all ditransitive verbs. This study tests to what degree native English speakers interpret a meaning of possession from the DO and PP patterns through an online survey with 88 participants. Ditransitive verbs from five semantic classes are analyzed to determine if the interpretation of possession varies based on use of the DO or PP pattern (Alternative Projection) or by the semantic class of the verb (Verb Sensitive). The results do not support the Alternative Projection approach. The results suggest partial support for the Verb Sensitive approach, as semantic classes do not entirely follow the pattern predicted by this approach. Further, judgements reported in this study contradict some judgements reported in the literature, highlighting the importance of quantitative studies in evaluating theoretical claims. KEYWORDS: Ditransitives in English; Ditransitive Verbs; Survey; the Dative Alternation; Semantics; Verb Semantics; Alternative Projection approach; Verb Sensitive approach