Grammatical Relation (definition) - Revision history

AndrewCarnie at 06:14, 8 June 2012

2012-06-08T06:14:06Z

AndrewCarnie at 06:12, 8 June 2012

2012-06-08T06:12:54Z

AndrewCarnie at 06:12, 8 June 2012

2012-06-08T06:12:28Z

AndrewCarnie at 06:12, 8 June 2012

2012-06-08T06:12:06Z

SylviaIslas at 06:23, 19 November 2009

2009-11-19T06:23:45Z

AndrewCarnie at 05:26, 14 November 2009

2009-11-14T05:26:13Z

AndrewCarnie at 05:25, 14 November 2009

2009-11-14T05:25:30Z

AlanHogue: First draft.

2009-06-23T21:33:08Z

First draft.

New page

[[Category:Technical Definitions]]
'''Grammatical relations''' indicate the syntactic relationships between a [[Verb (definition)|verb]] and the [[Noun Phrase (definition)|noun phrases]] present in a [[Clause (definition)|clause]]. Commonly used grammatical relations include [[Subject (definition|subject]], [[Direct Object (definition)|direct object]] and [[Indirect Object (definition)|indirect object]]. Noun phrases which are not a [[Core Argument (definition)|core argument]] (i.e., are not a subject or object of the verb) are called [[Oblique (definition|oblique]]. In English, oblique noun phrases are usually objects of prepositions.

:''1) Smith hit Jones with a kumquat.''

In (1) ''Smith'' is a subject, ''Jones'' is a direct object, and ''a kumquat'' is an oblique (an object of a preposition). In (2), ''Jones'' is an indirect object:

:''2) Smith tossed a kumquat to Jones.''

Note that now, although the events described in (1) and (2) are similar, the two non-subject noun phrases ''Jones'' and ''a kumquat'' change grammatical relations. It is important to remember that although grammatical relations correlate to some degree with [[Thematic Relation (definition)|thematic relations]] (a semantic concept), grammatical relations are not semantic and they are not the same as thematic relations. Consider (3):

:''3) Jones was hit with a kumquat.''

Here, ''Jones'' has the same thematic relation as in (1), but in the [[Passive Voice (definition)|passive voice]] this noun phrase has become a subject.

Although languages vary in the formal properties of grammatical relations, it is thought that all languages make use of three or more. (Payne 1997)

==See Also==
*[[Thematic Relation (definition)]]
*[[Voice in Morphology (definition)]]

==References==
*Payne, Thomas. 1997. Describing Morphosyntax: A Guide for Field Linguists. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521588057

[[Category: Technical Definitions]]
[[Category: Syntax]]
[[Category: Semantics]]

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 *http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
-*http://csli-publications.stanford.edu/site/0937073636.shtml
+The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!
 ==References==

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 ==External Links==
 *http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
 *http://csli-publications.stanford.edu/site/0937073636.shtml

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 '''Grammatical relations''' indicate the syntactic relationships between a [[Verb (definition)|verb]] and the [[Noun Phrase (definition)|noun phrases]] present in a [[Clause (definition)|clause]]. Commonly used grammatical relations include [[Subject (definition)|subject]], [[Direct Object (definition)|direct object]] and [[Indirect Object (definition)|indirect object]]. Noun phrases which are not a [[Core Argument (definition)|core argument]] (i.e., are not a subject or object of the verb) are called [[Oblique (definition)|oblique]]. In English, oblique noun phrases are usually objects of prepositions.
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 Here, ''Jones'' has the same thematic relation as in (1), but in the [[Passive Voice (definition)|passive voice]] this noun phrase has become a subject.
 ==See Also==

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-[[Category:Technical Definitions]]
 '''Grammatical relations''' indicate the syntactic relationships between a [[Verb (definition)|verb]] and the [[Noun Phrase (definition)|noun phrases]] present in a [[Clause (definition)|clause]]. Commonly used grammatical relations include [[Subject (definition)|subject]], [[Direct Object (definition)|direct object]] and [[Indirect Object (definition)|indirect object]]. Noun phrases which are not a [[Core Argument (definition)|core argument]] (i.e., are not a subject or object of the verb) are called [[Oblique (definition)|oblique]]. In English, oblique noun phrases are usually objects of prepositions.
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 ==External Links==
-http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
+*http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
+*http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
-http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAGrammaticalRelation.htm
+*http://csli-publications.stanford.edu/site/0937073636.shtml
 ==References==

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 *[[Object (definition)]]
 *[[Indirect Object (definition)]]
 ==References==

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 [[Category: Syntax]]
 [[Category: Semantics]]
-[[Category: Grammatical Relation]]
+[[Category: Grammatical Relations]]

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 [[Category:Technical Definitions]]
-'''Grammatical relations''' indicate the syntactic relationships between a [[Verb (definition)|verb]] and the [[Noun Phrase (definition)|noun phrases]] present in a [[Clause (definition)|clause]]. Commonly used grammatical relations include [[Subject (definition|subject]], [[Direct Object (definition)|direct object]] and [[Indirect Object (definition)|indirect object]]. Noun phrases which are not a [[Core Argument (definition)|core argument]] (i.e., are not a subject or object of the verb) are called [[Oblique (definition|oblique]]. In English, oblique noun phrases are usually objects of prepositions.
+'''Grammatical relations''' indicate the syntactic relationships between a [[Verb (definition)|verb]] and the [[Noun Phrase (definition)|noun phrases]] present in a [[Clause (definition)|clause]]. Commonly used grammatical relations include [[Subject (definition)|subject]], [[Direct Object (definition)|direct object]] and [[Indirect Object (definition)|indirect object]]. Noun phrases which are not a [[Core Argument (definition)|core argument]] (i.e., are not a subject or object of the verb) are called [[Oblique (definition)|oblique]]. In English, oblique noun phrases are usually objects of prepositions.
 :''1) Smith hit Jones with a kumquat.''
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 *[[Thematic Relation (definition)]]
 *[[Voice in Morphology (definition)]]
 ==References==
 *Payne, Thomas. 1997. Describing Morphosyntax: A Guide for Field Linguists. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521588057
 [[Category: Technical Definitions]]
 [[Category: Syntax]]
 [[Category: Semantics]]