Alternations of Icelandic
| Alternation name | Coded? | Description | Examples | Verbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
U
|
n | The dative is usually used for animate objects and the accusative for non-animate objects. Maybe this should rather be viewed as DOM. Another way of construing this is to say that the dative is a beneficiary and the accusative is a theme/patent (see Barðdal 2001: 148ff.). | 3 | |
|
U
|
n | In the Nom-Dat alternant the nominative argument is the syntactic subject and the dative is the syntactic object, while in the Dat-Nom alternant the Dat is the syntactic subject and the nominative argument is the syntactic object. | 3 | |
|
C
|
y | This alternation involves a simple verb and a corresponding verb with an -st suffix, which originates in the reflexive pronoun sik (which first became -sk and then later -st in the history of Icelandic). When occurring in the Reciprocal Alternation, there is a meaning of reciprocity involved. | 17 | |
|
C
|
y | Transitive verbs can alternate with intransitive ones by means of adding a -na suffix to the verbal stem and by using a different stem vowel of the verb. | 2 | |
|
C
|
y | Transitive verbs can alternate with intransitive ones by means of adding a -ja suffix to the verbal stem. (-ja does not mean anything in Modern Icelandic anymore). The -ja is not found in the infinitive, present tense, but not the past tense. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | This is a systematic alternation found for some ditransitive verbs. It involving two objects which may alternate between [Dat+Acc] and [Dat+til-L.gen]. This is the variant with [Dat+til-L.gen]. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | This is a systematic alternation found for some ditransitive verbs. It involving two objects which may alternate between [Dat+Acc] and [Dat+til-L.gen]. This is the variant with [Dat+Acc] | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | Here the basic verb selects for a dative object and a directional argument. The derived variant construes the source as an object and the original object as an instrumental. | 3 | |
|
U
|
n | Transitives can be formed from intransitives, which means that we have a systematic alternation between transitive and intransitive uses of the same verb. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | Several intransitive verbs in Icelandic can occur in the Caused-Motion construction with a dative object and directional phrase (see Barðdal 2001a: Ch. 6). | 2 | |
|
U
|
n | This transitive verb alternates with an intransitive variant, and there is no marking on the verb. The subject of the intransitive becomes the object of the transitive and changes its case marking from nominative to accusative. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | These are intransitive verbs with accusative subjects which seem to be derived from corresponding transitive verbs with accusative objects. | 7 | |
|
U
|
n | This alternation between an expletive and a personal pronoun in the masculine is found with zero-valent verbs like weather verbs. It is typically found with verbs of heavenly omission. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | These are intransitive verbs with dative subjects which seem to be derived from corresponding transitive verbs with dative objects. | 3 | |
|
U
|
n | This construction is an intransitive alternant of a transitive verb, and it denotes a property of the subject referent, one of the characteristics of middles. | 1 | |
|
C
|
y |
This construction is coded with an -st form, originally a cliticization of the reflexive pronoun. The alternation mostly involves simple transitive verbs which becomes intransitive through the addition of the -st morpheme, denoting a middle reading, but this construction can also have intransitive verbs as input. With some verbs he former subject be added as accusative argument optionally (cf. ex.147). |
29 | |
|
C
|
y | This alternation involves a simple verb and a suffixed variant of this same verb, which has developed from the reflexive pronoun. There is no formal difference between this construction and the Mediopassive (middle) construction. | 6 | |
|
C
|
y | The passive construction is regularly formed in Icelandic with the accusative object promoted to subject, changing its case to the nominative, and with the verb complex occurring with the auxiliary 'be' and the past participle of the main verb. | 44 | |
|
C
|
y |
Originally, this impersonal passive was only found for intransitive and monotransitive verbs, but has during the last 15–20 years been extended to transitive predicates, resulting in what has been called the "New Passive" in Icelandic (cf. Barðdal & Molnár 2003). The new passive does not promote the object to subject position but keeps it in situ. Example: Það var keypt bókina (it was bought book-the.acc). This is a systematic alternation found for all predicates, not tied to any specific verb classes. The standard story is that only unergatives can occur in the Impersonal passive and not unaccusatives. This, however, seems to be changing and unaccusatives are gradually getting more accepted in this construction. Dative Subject predicates are not found in this construction, or any other passive construction for that matter. |
68 | |
|
U
|
n | A subset of verbs in Icelandic have a choice between genitive objects or prepositional objects. | 1 | |
|
C
|
y | The passive construction is regularly formed in Icelandic with the genitive object promoted to subject, keeping its case marking, and with the verb complex occurring with the auxiliary 'be' and the past participle of the main verb. | 3 | |
|
C
|
y | The passive construction is regularly formed in Icelandic with the dative object promoted to subject, keeping its case marking, and with the verb complex occurring with the auxiliary 'be' and the past participle of the main verb. | 15 | |
|
U
|
n | These are intransitive verbs with genitive subjects which seem to be derived from transitive verbs with genitive objects. | 1 | |
|
U
|
n | These are transitive verbs with dative subjects and accusative objects which seem to be derived from ditransitive verbs with an indirect dative object and an accusative direct object. | 1 | |
|
C
|
y | This an impersonal passive has the mediopassive -st suffix on the verb and not the ordinary passive morphology. | 5 | |
|
C
|
y | This construction is a weak transitive, which alternats with a strong intransitive. | 2 | |
|
U
|
n | Some transitive predicates alternate between selecting for a direct object and a prepositional object. This alternation is the variant with the prepositional object. | 2 | |
|
U
|
n | Some transitive predicates alternate between selecting for a direct object and a prepositional object. This alternation is the variant with the direct object. | 3 |