Marking of the indirect object
A variety of strategies exist to mark the indirect object1 in a ditransitive sentence. Besides the explicit use of the noun or pronoun, strategies include verbal agreement and the use of non-verbal morphemes. Strategies may be obligatory or optional. When evaluating sentences for this parameter, first- and second-person indirect objects should be considered as well.
Types:
NPPonly: The indirect object is exclusively marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun; no other strategies exist.2
NPPobl: The indirect object is obligatorily marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun, but other strategies also exist.3
NPPnonobl: The indirect object may be optionally marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun.4
NPPor: The indirect object is marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun; only in the absence of these are other strategies available.5
Agr: The indirect object is marked by morphosyntactic verb agreement.6.
Clit: The indirect object is marked by the use of a clitic7.
Aux: The indirect object is marked by the use of an auxiliary, which may also mark other grammatical categories8.
Clsfr: The indirect object is marked by the use of a verb classifier, which may also mark other grammatical categories.
When a language displays more than one strategy, multiple values can be listed. If one strategy is (structurally) dominant, a slash (/) can separate the two values, with the dominant value appearing first; if neither is dominant, they are listed with an ampersand (&) separating the two. The use of a plus sign (+) instead of an ampersand indicates that the two strategies must be used simultaneously, whereas that of parentheses indicates that use of the strategy is not obligatory.
1: Ditransitive constructions have three arguments: the subject (agent), the object (theme), and the recipient. For the verb give, the recipient is the person to whom the object of the verb is given.
2: Both of these conditions must apply.
3: This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+).
4: This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+). For example, |NPPNonobl+|Agr refers to a language in which the recipient may be marked by verb inflection, and the verb can mark the recipient without the use of an explicit noun or pronoun.
5: This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+).
6: This value includes affixes, internal flexion, and the use of bound person markers that attach to the verb.
7: Clitics attach not directly to the verb but to a structure encompassing it, such as a phrase or clause.
8: These categories may include agent, theme, tense, aspect, and mood.