nonbringing

Nonbringing is a term used in linguistic semantics to classify a subset of event predicates whose canonical description involves no transfer of a patient (the object) from a source to a recipient. The central idea is to distinguish bringing actions (where an object moves toward an addressee or location) from events that resemble staying, keeping, or remaining, where no transfer occurs.

Etymology and scope: The term combines not- with bringing; it is used in theoretical discussions of event structure and transfer semantics. It is not widely standardized and appears mainly in niche papers on motion events and verb classification.

Usage and examples: In English, sentences that express nonbringing include "The book stayed on the shelf," "She kept the key," "The package remained at the door." In each case, an object participates in the event, but it does not move to a recipient. By contrast, sentences like "She brought the book to the library" encode a bringing event. Cross-linguistically, some languages encode transfer differently and may mark or omit explicit bringing when the object moves to a recipient, depending on their lexical and morphosyntactic systems.

Relation to related concepts: Nonbringing relates to event types such as stay, remain, keep, and other non-transfer predicates. It intersects with studies of path, goal, and trajector in motion semantics and with typological work on transfer verbs.

Limitations and reception: As a relatively niche label, nonbringing has limited widespread acceptance; some researchers prefer broader categories like stay- or keep- predicates or more specific subtypes based on object movement.

See also: Event structure, motion semantics, transfer verbs, typology of verbs.