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3.2.3.Causative alternation (causative-inchoative alternation)

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This section discusses the so-called causative alternation. Example (305) provides a typical example of the causative alternation with the verb breken'to break'. The core property of this alternation is that the object of the transitive construction in (305a) corresponds to the subject of the monadic construction in (305b). The verb in the monadic construction is unaccusative, as is clear from the fact that it takes the auxiliary zijn'to be' in the perfect tense.

305

a.		Jan breekt	de vaasacc.
		Jan breaks	the vase

b.		De vaasnom	breekt.
		the vase	breaks

b'.		De vaas	is/*heeft	gebroken.
		the vase	is/has	broken

The alternation is semantically characterized by the fact that the transitive verb is causative in nature: it expresses that its subject causes the change of state denoted by the unaccusative verb. This is also reflected in that the transitive construction entails the unaccusative construction: the truth of the assertion that Jan breaks the vase entails that the vase breaks. The inverse does not hold.
The alternation in (305) is sometimes also referred to as the causative-inchoative alternation given that the unaccusative verb is often taken to denote the beginning of some process. Example (306) shows, however, that the monadic verb can also be an accomplishment.

306

a.		Jan verbrandde	het boek.
		Jan burned	the book

b.		Het boek	verbrandde.
		the book	burned

b'.		Het boek	is	verbrand.
		the book	has	burned

In fact, the examples in (307) and (308) show that the unaccusative verbs partaking in the alternation need not necessarily be telic, that is, denote an accomplishment or an achievement; they can also be atelic, that is, denote an activity, as in (307), or a state, as in (308). The only thing that seems to be relevant is that the subject of the transitive construction can be seen as the originator of the state of affairs denoted by the unaccusative verb; see Section 1.2.3, sub II, for a discussion of this notion.

307

a.		Marie kookt	de aardappels.
		Marie boils	the potatoes

b.		De aardappels	koken.
		the potatoes	boil

b'.		De aardappels	hebben	gekookt.
		the potatoes	have	boiled

308

a.		Jan hangt	het schilderij	aan de muur.
		Jan hangs	the painting	on the wall

b.		Het schilderij	hangt	aan de muur.
		the painting	hangs	on the wall

b'.		Het schilderij	heeft	aan de muur	gehangen.
		the painting	has	on the wall	hung

Observe that we have called the monadic verbs in the (b)-examples in (307) and (308) unaccusative despite the fact that they take the auxiliary hebben in the perfect tense; the reason is that selection of zijn is a sufficient but not a necessary condition for assuming unaccusativity, but is also sensitive to the aspectual properties of the verb; see Section 2.1.2, sub III, for the claim that an unaccusative verb must be telic in order to be able to select zijn and Section 2.2.3, sub IIB/Section 2.2.3, sub IIC, for evidence that the verbs in question are in fact unaccusatives.
It may also be useful in this connection to point out that a transitive verb like drogen'to dry' can be construed as either an atelic or a telic state of affairs. This is clear from adverb selection; cf. Section 1.2.3, sub I. The acceptability of the adverb urenlang'for hours' in the (a)-examples in (309) shows that drogen can be construed as atelic and that the corresponding unaccusative construction likewise refers to an atelic state of affairs. The acceptability of the adverbial phrase binnen een uur'within an hour' in the (b)-examples shows that transitive drogen can also be used as an achievement, which is reflected in that the corresponding unaccusative construction can also be used to denote a telic state of affairs. Note that the (non-)telicity of the unaccusative verb determines whether the perfect auxiliary surfaces as hebben or zijn.

309

a.	Peter heeft	de was	urenlang	gedroogd.
	Peter has	the laundry	for hours	dried
	'Peter has dried the laundry for hours.'

a'.	De was	heeft	urenlang	gedroogd.
	the laundry	has	for hours	dried
	'The laundry has dried for hours.'

b.	Peter heeft	de was	binnen een uur	gedroogd.
	Peter has	the laundry	within an hour	dried
	'Peter has dried the laundry within an hour.'

b'.	De was	was binnen een uur	gedroogd.
	the laundry	was within an hour	dried
	'The laundry had dried within an hour.'

The examples in (310) and (311) show that the causative alternation is also possible with verbs taking an adjectival or prepositional complementive; the complementive can also be a verbal particle.

310

a.	Els sloeg	de deuracc	dicht.
	Els slammed	the door	shut
	'Els slammed the door.'

b.		De deur	sloeg	dicht.
		the door	slammed	shut

b'.		De deur	is	dicht	geslagen.
		the door	has	shut	slammed

311

a.	Jan reed	de auto	in de sloot/weg.
	Jan drove	the car	into the ditch/away
	'Jan drove the car into the ditch/away.'

b.	De auto	reed	in de sloot/weg.
	the car	drove	into the ditch/away
	'The car drove into the ditch/away.'

b'.		De auto	is	in de sloot/weg	gereden.
		the car	has	into the ditch/away	driven

Examples like (310) and (311) therefore show that the subject in the corresponding unaccusative construction need not be an internal argument of the verb itself, but can also be introduced in the structure as the subject of a complementive. This means that the causative alternation resembles regular passive and regular middle constructions in that it is the accusative object (and not necessarily the internal theme argument) of the transitive verb that surfaces as the subject of the corresponding construction. Given that neither causative alternation nor middle formation is reflected by the verb form, it may be difficult to distinguish the two constructions. We will not address this issue here, but refer the reader to Section 3.2.2.2, sub II, for a discussion of some differences between the two constructions.
Example (312) provides a small sample of verbs entering the causative alternation.

312

Verbs participating in the causative alternation: afbreken'to break off', bakken'to bake', bewegen'to move', braden'to fry', branden'to burn', buigen'to bend', doven'to extinguish', drogen'to dry', fruiten'to fry', (rond)draaien'to turn (around)', genezen'to heal', (in)scheuren'to tear (in)', koken'to cook', kreukelen'to crinkle', omdraaien'to turn around', ontwapenen'to disarm', opknappen'to recover/patch up', oplossen'to solve', opvrolijken'to cheer up', rollen'to roll', (weg) rijden'to drive/ride (away)', (dicht)slaan'to slam (shut)', sluiten'to close', smelten'to melt', splitsen'to split', stomen'to steam', stuiteren'to bounce', uitrekken'to stretch', veranderen'to change', verbranden'to burn', verbeteren'to improve', verdampen'to evaporate', verdrinken'to drown', verdubbelen'to double', verslijten'to wear out', versmallen'to narrow-to become narrower', versnellen'to speed up', vertragen'to slow down', verzachten'to soften', verzwakken'to weaken', vouwen'to fold'Verbs participating in the causative alternation: afbreken'to break off', bakken'to bake', bewegen'to move', braden'to fry', branden'to burn', buigen'to bend', doven'to extinguish', drogen'to dry', fruiten'to fry', (rond)draaien'to turn (around)', genezen'to heal', ( in)scheuren'to tear (in)', koken'to cook', kreukelen'to crinkle', omdraaien'to turn around', ontwapenen'to disarm', opknappen'to recover/patch up', oplossen'to solve', opvrolijken'to cheer up', rollen'to roll', ( weg) rijden'to drive/ride (away)', ( dicht) slaan'to slam (shut)', sluiten'to close', smelten'to melt', splitsen'to split', stomen'to steam', stuiteren'to bounce', uitrekken'to stretch', veranderen'to change', verbranden'to burn', verbeteren'to improve', verdampen'to evaporate', verdrinken'to drown', verdubbelen'to double', verslijten'to wear out', versmallen'to narrow-to become narrower', versnellen'to speed up', vertragen'to slow down', verzachten'to soften', verzwakken'to weaken', vouwen'to fold'

The verbs in (312) are all unaccusative, but we find a similar alternation with the verb leren'to learn/teach' in (313). If non-causative leren'to learn' in (313b) is an undative verb, as was suggested in Section 1.2.4, sub IIB, this case suggests that the causative alternation is the result of adding an external argument to an otherwise unaccusative or undative verb.

313

a.	Marie leert	Jan de fijne kneepjes	van het vak.
	Marie teaches	Jan the fine tricks	of the trade
	'Marie is teaching Jan the tricks of the trade.'

b.	Jan leert	de fijne kneepjes	van het vak.
	Jan learns	the fine tricks	of the trade
	'Jan is learning the tricks of the trade.'

The causative alternation is generally not reflected by means of a change in the morphological shape of the verb. There is, however, a small set of causative verbs where the unaccusative and causative transitive do differ in morphological form; examples are the locational verbs zetten'to put' and zitten'to sit', and leggen'to put' and liggen'to lie' in (314a&b). A non-locational pair is given in (314c).

314

a.	Jan	legt	het boekacc	op de plank.
	Jan	puts	the book	on the shelf
	'Jan is putting the book on the shelf.'

a'.	Het boeknom	ligt	op de plank.
	the book	lies	on the shelf
	'The book is lying on the shelf.'

b.	Jan zet	hemacc	*(in de stoel).
	Jan puts	him	in the chair
	'Jan is placing him in the chair.'

b'.	Hijnom	zit	*(in de stoel).
	he	sits	in the chair
	'Heʼs sitting in the chair.'

c.		Marie velt de boomacc.
		Marie fells the tree
		'Mary is felling the tree.'

c'.	De boomnom	valt.
	the tree	falls
	'The tree is falling.'

These forms are not related by some synchronic morphological process, as is clear from the fact that the relation involves the otherwise unproductive process of vowel change (Ablaut); the causative forms in the primeless examples take an /ɛ/, whereas the corresponding unaccusative forms in the primed examples take an /I/ or an /ɑ/. That the morphological relation is not productive is also suggested by the fact that the causative verb zetten has yet another non-causative variant, the locational verb staan'to stand' in (315b), which is not morphologically related to it.

315

a.		Jan zet	het boekacc	op de plank.
		Jan puts	the book	onto the shelf

b.		Het boeknom	staat/*zit	op de plank.
		the book	stands/sits	on the shelf

Furthermore, it seems that the type of causativization expressed by vowel change differs from the type of causativization discussed earlier: whereas the non-causative versions of the verbs in (312) are all unaccusatives, the (a)-examples in (316) show that the non-causative form can be intransitive in the Ablaut case. In this respect, the Ablaut case rather resembles the syntactic laten causative in the (b)-examples.

316

a.	Marie	drenkt	het vee.
	Marie	waters	the cattle
	'Marie is watering the cattle.'

a'.	Het vee	drinkt.
	the cattle	drinks
	'The cattle is drinking.'

b.	Peter laat	mijacc	lachen.
	Peter let	me	laugh
	'Peter makes me laugh.'

b'.	Ik	lach.
	I	laugh
	'Iʼm laughing.'

We can further note that in many cases in which English allows a causative alternation Dutch must appeal to the laten causative. The examples in (317), for instance, show that Dutch does not have Levin's (1993:31) class of induced action alternations; the intended assertion can only be expressed by means of a complex laten-construction.

317

a.		Het paard	sprong	over het hek.
		the horse	jumped	over the fence

b.	*	Jan sprong	het paard	over het hek.
		Jan jumped	the horse	over the fence
		Intended reading: 'Jan jumped the horse over the fence.'

c.	Jan liet	het paard	over het hek	springen.
	Jan made	the horse	over the fence	jump
	'Jan made the horse jump over the fence.'

To conclude, we want to show that Dutch also has the causative alternation in (318), in which the transitive verb in (318a) can be seen as the causative counterpart of the inherently reflexive verb in (318b).

318

a.		Jan verspreidde	het gerucht.
		Jan spread	the rumor

b.		Het gerucht	verspreidde	*(zich).
		the rumor	spread	refl

Section 2.5.2, sub II, discusses some differences between the alternation that the verbs in (312) enter into and the one exemplified in (318). It is suggested there that the two types of alternation differ in that the former is a process of causativization, which derives causative transitive verbs from unaccusative verbs, whereas the latter is a process of anti-causativization, which derives inherently reflexive inchoative verbs from causative transitive verbs.

References:

Levin, Beth1993English verb classes and alternationsChicago/LondonUniversity of Chicago Press

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About this article

Author(s): Hans Broekhuis, Norbert Corver, Riet Vos

Category: Dutch Syntax

Keywords: AuxiliaryCausative AlternationMonadic ConstructionUnaccusative

Version: 1.0, January 2016

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Hans Broekhuis, Norbert Corver, Riet Vos	January 2016

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