Alternation ‘Goal Alternation - Prepositional (ʾilâ+ 'to') / Accusative Object’ (Uncoded)

Verbs denoting movement towards a goal or arrival e.g. ʾatâ ‘come to’, ǧāʾa ‘come to’, ḥaḍara ‘attend sth.’, waṣala ‘arrive at’, daḫala ‘enter sth.’, allow the alternation: V.subj[A] A-nom ʾilâ+G; V.subj[A] A-nom G-acc; with no significant semantic difference. The preposition ʾilâ often flags a noun phrase expressing inanimate and non-human goal whereas accusative is used predominantly with human arguments. The Verb d̠ahaba 'go' does not allow this alternation.

Verb Meaning Verb form Basic coding frame Derived coding frame Occurs Comment # Ex.