Explanation
An applicative is a grammatical construction that promotes an additional participant role—such as recipient, beneficiary, instrument, or location—to a syntactically central object of the verb. A verbal morpheme often marks the change, while case, agreement, or passivisation provides evidence for the new object status. The construction does not merely add an arbitrary participant; it alters the mapping between semantic roles and grammatical relations. The conceptual movement compares a base verb with its derived form, follows the promoted participant through several object diagnostics, and determines what meaning the applicative marking contributes.
Movement of thought
1. A non-applicative base construction establishes arguments and peripheral participant roles. 2. The marked verb form reveals which additional participant receives grammatical promotion. 3. Case, agreement, word order, and passivisation test its actual object status. 4. Meaning contrasts among recipient, beneficiary, instrument, and location are established. 5. Language-specific restrictions show whether the construction is productive or lexicalised.
Scientific use case
Morphosyntax and typology compare applicatives by role, marking, and object diagnostics. Corpus and elicitation evidence must combine several tests because languages distribute object properties differently across multiple objects.
Example
A verb meaning cook takes an applicative suffix; the person cooked for now displays the case and agreement properties of a central object and can undergo passivisation in the language concerned.
Counterexample
An additional constituent does not by itself constitute an applicative. If the participant appears as an ordinary prepositional phrase or oblique and no constructional promotion to object can be demonstrated, the crucial grammatical change is absent.
Distinction
Distinguish applicatives from causatives, dative alternation, serial verbs, and simple adjunct addition. The defining property is systematic grammatical promotion of an additional semantic role.
Effect on thought and perception
Applicatives move an otherwise peripheral participant into the grammatical centre, changing perspective and information structure. Beneficiary, recipient, or instrument is represented as closely integrated with the event.
Resonance
A figure at the edge of the event moves closer to the verb and gains grammatical weight. The construction draws a new relationship into the centre of action.
Cite this entry
Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Applicative construction“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-133-045. ATLAS 260, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-133-045The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.
Historical background
Polinsky’s WALS chapter traces the terminology through missionary descriptions of American languages and its later adoption in Bantu studies; the earlier grammars remain indirect references here. Her classification requires overt marking of the added object on the predicate. Consequently, English double-object alternations without that marking fall outside it. German lexical reception requires separate evidence.
How conceptual history changes the analysis
Describe the added role separately from its grammatical realization, and state whether the adopted classification requires overt marking on the verb.
References for the historical section
- A-POLINSKY-WALS109 · §1 Introduction; §2 Definition of values