In this chapter on ditransitive constructions, we will be looking at verbal complementation patterns that involve two objects, i.e. verbs that take two objects, such as give or sell. Simple transitive clauses contain one object that we refer to as the ‘direct object’. The additional object found in clauses with two objects is called the ‘indirect object’. Varieties of English show diverging preferences concerning the ordering of the objects, especially when the objects are realised as pronominal forms. Some of the factors influencing this ordering relation can also be identified in other languages. In the usual manner, we will begin with an introductory survey of ditransitive constructions, followed by a discussion of English varieties in this domain, and a cross-linguistic comparison.

Overview

For sentences with two objects, standard English offers two competing constructions. On the one hand, the indirect object may precede the direct object, as in (1a). This is the classical double-object construction in which the syntactic status of the objects is exclusively determined by their position. On the other hand, there is a prepositional ditransitive construction in which the indirect object is marked by the preposition to. This is shown in (1b). In comparison with the double-object construction, the ordering of direct and indirect object is reversed in the prepositional construction.