Spanish 406
DATIVE AND ACCUSATIVE OBJECTS
The dative and accusative are two of the cases used in Latin toindicate the function of a noun or pronoun in a given sentence. They are the two objectivecases; that is, they are used for nouns and pronouns that are, in some sense, objects of averb. In the simplest terms, the accusative is the direct object that receives the directimpact of the verb's action, while the dative is an object that is subject to the verb'simpact in an indirect or incidental manner. Accusative objects are used only withtransitive verbs, which are, by definition, capable of taking direct objects. Dativeobjects may occur with transitive and intransitive verbs. Transitive verbs sometimes takeaccusative and dative objects simultaneously.
Let us see first some simple examples of accusative and dative objects in English. So longas a sentence contains only one of these objects, the syntax will be simple andconsistent.
Accusative
- Pepe threw the ball.
- I saw her at the party.
- I called her (by telephone).
- We attended the concert and enjoyed the music.
- I want a cheese enchilada.
- I want to leave.
- I know the answer.
- I know [what you did last night].
In all of these declarative sentences containing accusative objects, the word order is:
Subject + Tr Verb + Accusative Object.
This syntax applies regardless of whether the accusative object takes the form of asimple noun, a pronoun, an infinitive, or a noun clause.
Dative
As a single object noun or pronoun, the dative is less common than the accusative. Evenso, it does occur with some intransitive verbs, and with transitive verbs usedintransitively. Note that the dative objects are sometimes identified by the dative marker"to" and are sometimes unmarked. In either case the standard declarative wordorder is:
Subject + Intransitive Verb + DativeObject
- I spoke to her.
- I didn't know Pepe was there until he called to me.
- Carlos wrote to me.
- I needed to get in touch right away so I e-mailed him.
- I didn't want to keep the news a secret, so I told mymother.
Dative and Accusative Together
More commonly, the English dative appears in combination with an accusative object. Intraditional terminology the two objects are known as "indirect" and"direct", respectively. This terminology is correct as far as it goes, but inthe case of the dative it may suggest an incomplete definition of the roles the dativeobject plays. The term "indirect object" is normally used for datives that areobjects of verbs of transmission and communication: to give, to say, to speak, to send, totake (to someone), to bring, etc. But many uses of the dative do not involve explicittransmission or communication. Frequently the person represented by the dative object isinvolved in the action in a more marginal manner and does not actually receive atransmission or communication of the sort represented by the most common dative verbs. Theterm "dative" is, therefore, preferable to "indirect object", in thatit includes traditional indirect objects as well as other dative objects whose involvementin the action is more subtle.
When an English verb takes both a dative and an accusative object, syntax becomes lessconsistent than when only one object is present. In some cases the dative may be used ineither the marked or the unmarked form. Furthermore, a word order that works well in asentence constructed around one verb sometimes becomes ungrammatical in the same sentenceconstructed around a different verb.
Consider the following examples (bold =accusative, italics = dative, * = ungrammatical). What syntactic rules can youderive from these examples? - Pepe threw the ball to Juan.
- Pepe threw Juan the ball.
- Pepe threw it to Juan.
- Pepe threw it to him.
BUT:
- * Pepe threw it him.
- * Pepe threw him it.
- * Pepe threw to him it.
- * Pepe threw to Juan the ball.
Other examples that include a traditional dative as indirectobject, along with an accusative object:
- My mother told me a story.
- My mother told a story to me.
- My mother told it to me.
BUT: * - My mother told me it.
- John told Mary a lie.
- John told Mary to leave. .
- John told Mary [that he needed a loan].
- John said to Mary [that he needed a loan].
- John gave Mary the book.
- John gave the book to Mary.
- John gave her the book.
- John gave it to her.
BUT:
* - John gave her it.
* - John gave it her.
- Carmen wrote Carlos a letter.
- Carmen wrote a letter to Carlos.
- Carmen wrote him a letter.
- Carmen wrote a letter to him.
- Carmen wrote it to him.
BUT:
* - Carmen wrote him it.
- My friend brought me the money.
- My friend brought the money to me.
- My friend brought it to me.
BUT:
* - My friend brought me it.
* - My friend brought it me.
- The Secretary of State gave a stern lecture to the committee.
- The Secretary of State gave the committee a stern lecture.
- The Secretary of State delivered a stern lecture to thecommittee.
BUT:
* - The Secretary of State delivered the committee astern lecture.
- They promised me [they wouldn't do that again].
-"Hastert insisted to Newsweek [he has thevotes to pass the White House's version]." (Newsweek, 7/30/01)
Can you explain why the word order in the starred examples is ungrammatical?
The following are examples of some more subtle uses of the dative: that is, dativesobjects that are not the recipients of a clear transmission or communication:
- A group of senators is poised to cause the President trouble.
- Pepe is a good salesman; he has made his company alot of money.
- I want you to do me a favor.
- Don't do that to me!
BUT:
* - Don't do me that! (Why isthis sentence ungrammatical but "Don't give me that!" is not?)
English sometimes marks a dative object with a preposition other than the standarddative marker "to". Compare:
- He has made his company a lot of money.
- He has made a lot of money for his company.
- I bought Elena a gift.
- I bought a gift for Elena.
- I want you to do me a favor.
- I want you to do a favor for me.
In these examples there is no significant difference of meaning between the sentencesin each of the three pairs.
Why are the marked datives marked with "for" rather than the more common"to"?
In other cases, however, the use of a preposition other than "to" canintroduce new shades of meaning and can alter the role of the object in such a way that itceases to be a dative. Compare:
- He made me a lot of money.
- He made a lot of money for me.
- He made a lot of money off me.
In the first two examples "me" is a true dative object, unmarked in thefirst sentence and marked by for in the second. But in the third sentence, whenfor is replaced by the preposition off, there is a major shift of meaningand "me" is no longer a dative object, but simply the object of a preposition.
- He took his father the book.
- He took the book to his father.
- He took the book from his father.
Again, the first two sentences offer examples of true datives,unmarked and marked. But the replacement of "to" by "from" in thethird sentence changes the fate of "his father", removes him from the role ofdative object, and turns him into the object of a preposition.
- Pepe threw Juan the ball.
- Pepe threw the ball to Juan.
- Pepe threw the ball at Juan.
The same process occurs here. Juan's transformation into the unfortunate object of thepreposition "at" means that he is no longer the recipient of the ball, butrather its target. As such, he ceases to be a dative object.
Dative and Accusative Objectsin Spanish
As in English, accusative objects in Spanish are easily recognizable as the directobjects of transitive verbs. The use of datives, however, differs somewhat from theEnglish usage. In Spanish the syntax of dative constructions has fewer variants than inEnglish. The Spanish dative does have both marked and unmarked forms, and both formssometimes appear together redundantly in the same sentence. But the marked form is usuallyoptional except when needed for clarification. The difficulty of the Spanish dative fromthe English-speaker's viewpoint is the wide range of relationships and involvements thatcan be expressed by the same forms and the same syntax. In Spanish the dative object'sinvolvement in the action must often be discerned from the context, whereas in English itmight be clarified by syntactical or lexical means. The Spanish dative is used for a widerange of situations, some of them quite subtle and some of them involving objects which,in English, might not even be considered datives.
If the term "dative" is preferable to "indirectobject" in English grammar, it is even more preferable in Spanish grammar. Thetraditional indirect object accounts for only a small portion of the dative objects thatroutinely occur in Spanish usage. In addition to the traditional datives of communicationand transmission, some of the many involvements expressed by the Spanish dative are:
- Separation: El atracador mequitó el reloj.
- Intended recipient: Ami hijo le voy a comprar un coche.
- Possession: A Pepe le pillé losdedos en la puerta.
- Adornment: Carmense puso el vestido rojo.
- Appropriation: El rey seha comprado otro barco de vela.
- Agency: Mañana mecorto el pelo. - Inconvenience: El coche se me paró en medio del puente. - Grief: Se me ha muerto lanovia. - Consumption: El perro secomió el jamón.
Since Spanish datives are frequently reflexive, they will be treated in more detail in theunit devoted to reflexive and pseudo-reflexive pronouns.
Translate the above Spanish sentences to English. Thentranslate all the English examples to Spanish. Note the frequent differences in the waysin which the two languages identify the dative object and define its role in the sentence.
Translate to English:
1. El atracador me quitó el reloj. 2. A mi hijo le voy a comprar un coche. 3. A Pepe le pillé los dedos en la puerta 4. Carmen se puso el vestido rojo. 5. El rey se ha comprado otro barco de vela. 6. Mañana me corto el pelo. 7. El coche se me paró en medio del puente. 8. Se me ha muerto la novia. 9. El perro se comió el jamón.
Translate to Spanish
1. Pepe threw the ball.
2. I saw her at the party.
3. I called her.
4. We attended the concert and enjoyed the music.
5. I want to leave.
6. I know what you did last night.
7. I spoke to her.
8. I didn't know Pepe was there until he called to me.
9. Carlos wrote to me.
10. I needed to get in touch right away so I e-mailed him.
11. I didn't want to keep the news a secret so I told my mother.
12. Pepe threw the ball to Juan.
13. Pepe threw Juan the ball.
14. Pepe threw it to Juan.
15. Pepe threw it to him.
16. Pepe threw the ball at Juan.
17. My mother told me a story.
18. My mother told a story to me.
19. My mother told it to me.
20. John told Mary a lie.
21. John told Mary that he needed a loan.
22. John said to Mary that he needed a loan.
23. John gave Mary the book.
24. John gave the book to Mary.
25. John gave her the book.
26. John gave it to her.
27. Carmen wrote Carlos a letter.
28. Carmen wrote a letter to Carlos.
29. Carmen wrote him a letter.
30. Carmen wrote a letter to him.
31. Carmen wrote it to him.
32. My friend brought me the money.
33. My friend brought the money to me.
34. My friend brought it to me.
35. The Secretary of State gave the committee a stern lecture.
36. The Secretary of State gave a stern lecture to the committee.
37. The Secretary of State delivered a stern lecture to the committee.
38. They promised me they wouldn't do that again.
39. Hastert insisted to Newsweek he has the votes to pass the White House's version.
40. A group of senators is poised to cause the President trouble.
41. Pepe is a good salesman; he has made his company a lot of money.
42. I want you to do me a favor.
43. I want you to do a favor for me.
44. Don't do that to me!
45. He has made his company a lot of money.
46. He has made a lot of money for his company.
47. I bought Elena a gift.
48. I bought a gift for Elena.
49. He made me a lot of money.
50. He made a lot of money for me.
51. He made a lot of money off me.
52. He took his father the book.
53. He took the book to his father.
54. He took the book from his father.
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