Benefactive (definition)

The benefactive construction is a syntactic structure that makes use of a special kind of ditransitive verb, which takes as its second or indirect object, an argument that is a beneficiary of the action described by the verb. In English, the two object arguments can either be in a [[Double Object Construction (definition)|double object construction}] (1) or they can be a noun phrase followed by a prepositional phrase (2). In Gaelic only the latter option is available (3).

1) I bought Bridget a coat.

2) I bought a coat for Bridget.

3) Cheannaich mi còta airson Màiri. (Bought I coat for Mary)

See Also

• Beneficiary (definition)
• Ditransitive (definition)
• Double Object Construction

References

• Crystal, D. (2008) Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. 6th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell.