Monotransitives

Monotransitives are verbs that require exactly one direct object when used transitively. In theories of argument structure, a monotransitive verb has valency two: it introduces a subject (the agent) and a single object (the patient or theme). This contrasts with ditransitive verbs, which take three arguments (subject, direct object, indirect object), and with intransitive verbs, which take only one argument (the subject).

Examples illustrate the distinction. The chef chopped onions shows a monotransitive use: the verb chop takes a single object, onions. The wind blew shows an intransitive use: no object is required. She gave me a book shows a ditransitive use: the verb give takes two objects (the direct object a book and the indirect object me). In English, the canonical order for monotransitives is subject–verb–object, though word order varies across languages.

In linguistic analysis, monotransitives help describe how verbs select their arguments and how syntax encodes who is doing what to whom. Some verbs are ambitransitive and can be used either transitively or intransitively in the same language, though not all monotransitives allow such alternations. Cross-linguistic differences include how transitivity is marked—by morphology, syntax, or both—and how languages encode object promotion or null objects.