Ditransitive

Origin

- + di + transitive

Full definition of ditransitive

Adjective

1. (grammar) Of a class of verbs which take both a direct and an indirect object. An example is 'give', which entails a giver (subject), a gift (direct object) and a receiver (indirect object).
• 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course Chapter 7, So far, we have considered only transitive Verbs which take a single NP Complement. However, there are a subset of transitive Verbs (known as ditransitive Verbs) which can take two NP Complements, as illustrated in (16) below (where the NP Complements are bracketed):
  (16) (a)      John gave Mary present
  (16) (b)      The postman handed me parcel
  (16) (c)      He showed her credentials
  (16) (d)      He sent mother flowers
  (16) (e)      Never promise anyone anything
  The relevant subcategorisation frame for Verbs used in this construction will be NP NP, indicating that they can take two NP Complements.

Synonyms

• doubly transitive

Hypernyms

• transitive

Derived terms

• ditransitivity

Related terms

• ambitransitive
• intransitive
• transitive

Noun

1. (grammar) A verb that takes both an object and an indirect object.