Unaccusativity

This file defines when a verb entry is unaccusative. An intransitive verb is unaccusative when its sole argument is an underlying object and no external argument is introduced, as with arrive and melt, and unergative otherwise, as with work. The classification is read off the entry's voice where one is recorded, and otherwise off the causative alternation: the intransitive of a verb that alternates, the vase broke beside Kim broke the vase, has as its subject the participant the transitive has as its object.

Main definitions

• Verb.Valency.HasCausativeAlternation: some participant is the object of a transitive diathesis and the subject of an intransitive one that leaves out the transitive's subject.
• Verb.IsUnaccusative: the verb's voice introduces no external argument, or the verb takes part in the causative alternation.
• ArgumentStructure.PredictsUnaccusative: the prediction from an entailment profile.

Implementation notes

• Unaccusativity is not read off the perfect auxiliary: German rennen 'run' takes sein and is not unaccusative, and French rougir 'redden' alternates and takes avoir. A grammar that relates the two states its rule against the auxiliaries an entry records (Verb.perfectAuxiliaries).

References

• [Bur86]
• [Kra96]
• [LRH95]
• [DK00b]
• [Dow91]

def Verb.Valency.HasCausativeAlternation (V : Valency) : Prop

A valency has the causative alternation when some participant is the P of a diathesis and the S of another that leaves out the first one's A, as the thing broken is the object of transitive break and the subject of intransitive break.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

@[instance_reducible]

instance Verb.Valency.instDecidableHasCausativeAlternation (V : Valency) : Decidable V.HasCausativeAlternation

Equations

• V.instDecidableHasCausativeAlternation = Verb.Valency.instDecidableHasCausativeAlternation._aux_1 V

def Verb.IsUnaccusative (v : Verb) : Prop

The verb is unaccusative when its voice, if recorded, introduces no external argument, and otherwise when it takes part in the causative alternation.

Equations

• v.IsUnaccusative = match v.voiceType with | some vt => ¬vt.AssignsTheta | none => v.valency.HasCausativeAlternation

@[instance_reducible]

instance instDecidablePredVerbIsUnaccusative : DecidablePred Verb.IsUnaccusative

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def ArgumentStructure.PredictsUnaccusative (p : EntailmentProfile) : Prop

A profile predicts unaccusativity when it lacks the priority Proto-Agent entailments, volition and causation ([DK00b]), and bears at least one Proto-Patient entailment ([Dow91] Table 1). Unlike flat counting, this classifies arrive as unaccusative.

Equations

• ArgumentStructure.PredictsUnaccusative p = (ArgumentStructure.ProtoRoleFeature.volition ∉ p ∧ ArgumentStructure.ProtoRoleFeature.causation ∉ p ∧ p.protoPatient.Nonempty)

@[instance_reducible]

instance ArgumentStructure.instDecidablePredEntailmentProfilePredictsUnaccusative : DecidablePred PredictsUnaccusative

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.