monotransitivo

Monotransitivo, or monotransitive, is a term used in linguistics to describe verbs that subcategorize for exactly one direct object. Such verbs take a single argument that is a transitive object, and they do not require, nor license, a second object or recipient. This contrasts with intransitive verbs (which do not take a direct object) and ditransitive verbs (which take two objects, typically a direct and an indirect object).

In syntactic theory, monotransitive verbs have a one-place valency frame (V with one NP object). The object must be realized as a noun phrase; other complements may appear, but there is no second object. Many common verbs are monotransitives in English, including eat, read, see, and write: eat the apple; read the book; see the film; write a letter. By contrast, give and send are ditransitives, as they can take both a direct object and an indirect object (give the book to Mary).

Cross-linguistically, the notion of monotransitive is part of valency theory and is used to classify verbs by the number of obligatory arguments. Some languages may mark the object with case or agreement; others rely on word order to convey the same information. The concept helps linguistic analysis of sentence structure, verb subcategorization, and argument realization.