List 1: locatum verbs

A. On. coverings: temporary: ⁺blanket the bed, ⁺bedspread the bed, ⁺coverlet the bed, slipcover the cushion, cover the cushion, ⁺sheet the furniture, ⁺oilcloth the table, linoleum the kitchen, carpet the floor, ⁺wool-carpet the floor, ⁺shag-rug the floor, newspaper the shelves, ⁺roll the trees (with lavatory paper), camouflage the tents, litter the highway. permanent: paper the wall, wallpaper the wall, paint the ceiling, spray-paint the door, water-paint the wall, flat-paint the cupboards, oil-paint the house, ⁺polyurethane the floor, ⁺acrylic the car, varnish the furniture, shellac the furniture, enamel the chair, ⁺lime the wall, beeswax the table, wax the table, whitewash the fence, coat the furniture. permanent solid: roof the house, cedar-shingle the house, brick the path, tile the floor, ⁺parquet the floor, plaster the ceiling, ⁺turf the yard, cobblestone the road, tarmac the road, gravel the driveway, asphalt the lot, seed the lawn, forest the land, feather the nest, pad the cell, panel the room, ⁺plank the floor. viscous: marmalade the toast, butter the bread, jam the scones, ⁺lemon-icing the cake, ice the cake, ⁺extract-of-beef the bread [punch], ⁺almond-topping the cake, grease the pan, ⁺Crisco the pan, soap one’s face, cold-cream one’s face, pomade his hair, salve the cut, balm the wound, ink the nib, perfume her neck, blood the huntsman, oil the hinges, water the roses, ⁺mist the plants, tar-and-feather the prisoner. powdery: powder her nose, rouge her cheeks, talc the baby, chalk the cue, flour the board, crumb the ham, bread the cutlets, dust the cake, sugar the fruit, ⁺graphite the lock, ⁺cork his face, resin his shoes (ballet), sawdust the floor. metal: chrome the knife, silver the dish, tin the tray. human: man the ship, people the earth, ⁺personnel the office, ⁺tenant the building, mob the speaker. opaque: (tr.) ⁺rime the window; (intr.) ice over, mist over, fog up, cloud over. individual Objects: dress: dress the boy, clothe the child, ⁺robe the child, ⁺shawl the child, ⁺sweater the child, ⁺shirt the model, ⁺trouser the boy, belt his pants, ⁺jacket the child, glove her hands, ⁺cloak the model, ⁺uniform the guards, ⁺straitjacket the patient, mask the players, diaper the baby, ⁺Pamper the baby, nappy the baby, crown the king, ⁺beard the actor, wig the actress, ⁺cap the child, ⁺fig-leaf the statue, veil one’s face, ⁺black-tie it, kerchief her hair, shroud the corpse. animal paraphernalia: saddle the horse, halter the donkey, shoe the horse, muzzle the dog, rug the horses, bridle the horse, rein the horse, collar the dog, harness the donkey, yoke the oxen. symbols: date the check, sign the check, ⁺receipt the bill, initial the memo, address the letter, zip-code the letter, graffiti the walls, asterisk the sentence, star the sentence, ⁺watermark the paper, brand the cattle, stamp the passport, cross oneself. labels: ticket the car, label the jars, ⁺badge the members, name the dog, nickname the child, stamp the letter, seal the letter, wax-seal the letter, poster the wall, ⁺placard the wall, tag the bird, signpost the entrance, ⁺license-plate the car. decorations: festoon the room, garland the door, sequin the dress, ⁺polka-dot the walls, picture the walls, ⁺pearl the headdress, ⁺ring their fingers, ⁺jewel her hands, ⁺pattern the plate, ⁺tin-can the wedding car, ⁺vine the terrace. miscellaneous: tea-cosy the pot, crown the tooth, cap the tooth, ⁺lidthe jar, cushion the chair, bandage his ankle, string the guitar, bait the hook, ⁺stair-rod the carpet, flag the towns on a map, ⁺battlement the castle, ⁺pickle the hamburger, scar his arm, ⁺scab his arm, bruise his elbow, chin the bar, breast the wave, dog-ear the page, patch the jacket, spot the cloth, ⁺shaft the arrow, feather the arrow, ⁺we rebristle your hairbrushes [ad], timber the house.

A’. Not-on. coverings: skin the rabbit, feather the goose, shell the peanuts, shuck the corn, scale the fish, peel the apple, ⁺rind the lemon, dust the shelf, husk the corn, hull sunflower seeds, ⁺bark the tree, fleece the sheep, ⁺flesh the hide, ⁺rind the bacon, ⁺hide the carcass, sweat the horse (riding). individual objects: ⁺limb the tree, ⁺stem the grapes, ⁺stalk the elder flowers (recipe), girdle the tree, top the tree, ⁺fin the fish, ⁺gill the fish, pinion the bird, beard the oysters, head the willow, bur the wool, poll/pollard the tree, pants the boy, ⁺lint the clothes [consumer reports], scalp the settler, ⁺flea the dog, louse the children.

B. In. condiments: spice the food, salt the food, pepper the food, salt-and-pepper the food, ⁺lemon the tea, sugar the tea, cream his coffee, cream-and-sugar the coffee, ⁺ligase the DNA, ice the drinks. fuels: gas the car, ⁺Quaker State the car [ad], fuel the 747, coal the ship, fire the kiln. clothing parts: ⁺seam the dress, ⁺gusset the dress, hem the garment, hemstitch the cuff, buttonhole the shirt, stitch the seam, ladder the nylons, ⁺dart the blouse. miscellaneous: thread the needle, lace the shoes, block the shoes, partition the room, block the road, barricade the road, cork the bottle, stopper the bottle, bug the room, ⁺stepping-stone the stream, plug the hole, ⁺tree the shoes, dam the river, soil the clothes, leaven the bread, ⁺pillthe cat, ⁺mast the ship, pit the paint, rafter the house, beam the ceiling, ⁺lantern the window, ⁺restump the house (put in new supports for a house).

B’. Not-in. Pit the cherries, pip the grapes, stone the dates, core the apple, bone the fish, gut the fish, grallach the deer (hunting), brain the man, wind the man, worm the puppy, weed the garden, fish the stream, milk the cow, juice the orange, burl the cloth, loot the town, pillage the city.

С. At, to. ⁺Gift the city, ⁺Christmas-gift each other, ⁺cocktail the diners, fodder the sheep, pension the old man, horse the soldiers, arm the men, ⁺postcard the friend, petition the governor, summons the driver, subpoena the president, serenade the crowd, ⁺allowance his children, ⁺message the president, water the horses, ⁺fee the lawyer, bribe the official, drug the man, poison the rat, dope the horse, earth the radio, ground the radio, ⁺tomato the passerby, ⁺rotten-egg the speaker, ⁺The people on the street were handbilled with information [NBC], snowball the visitor, ⁺tin each other (throw pie tins at), ⁺chair up (acquire chairs) [ad].

D. Around. Fence the yard, wall (in) the garden, frame the picture, screen (in) the porch, glass (in) the sundeck, ⁺greenbelt the town, ⁺ring-road the town.

E. Along. ⁺Tree the avenue, fence the street, hedge the road, ⁺gutter the street, ⁺curb the street, ⁺billboard the highway, signpost the road.

F. Over. Bridge the stream, span the river, ⁺lid one’s eyes.

G. Through. ⁺Tunnel the mountain.

H. With. ⁺Trustee the property.

By definition, the parent clauses for locatum verbs describe locations, e. g. that blankets are on the bed. The locatum verbs can therefore be subdivided by the locative preposition in the parent clause. The prepositions, that turned up in our classification, in either our British or American usage, are on, in, at, around, along, over, through, and with, and the negative prepositions not-on and not-in. It is noteworthy that there are many locatum verbs for the positive prepositions (especially for the elementary prepositions in, on, and at), but only a few for the negatives not-on and not-in.

The remaining parts of the parent clauses are systematically related to the arguments and prepositions associated with each locatum verb. The general case can be illustrated for a transitive and an intransitive verb. For the tr. blanket the bed, the parent locatum (blanket) corresponds to the surface verb, and the parent location (bed) to the surface object; the parent preposition (on) is left unspecified. For the intr. The windows iced over, the parent locatum (ice) again corresponds to the surface verb, the parent location (windows) to the surface subject, and the parent preposition (over) to the verb particle. Prepositions don’t appear as particles very often. Some of the transitive verbs also occur as middle verbs, as in The wall papered nicely and My arm bruises easily, where the agent that is normally explicit is left unspecified. Of course, both the true intransitive and the middle verbs are related to the transitive verbs, just as The men marched in (intr.) is related to The sergeant marched the men in (tr.); and The floor swept easily (middle) is related to Bill swept the floor (tr.). Among denominal verbs, the transitive verbs describe outcomes that are normally caused by agents, whereas the true intransitive verbs describe outcomes that are not.

1.2. location and duration verbs. For location verbs, the parent nouns are in the locative case:

(3) Kenneth kenneled the dog.

(4) Kenneth did something to cause it to come about that [the dog was in a kennel].

Again, the parent clause is locative, but here the parent location (kennel) corresponds to the surface verb, and the parent locatum (dog) to the surface object. This pattern is just the reverse of locatum verbs. In gas the car, with a locatum verb, the gas goes in the car; but in kennel the dog, with a location verb, the kennel doesn’t go in the dog — the dog goes in the kennel. The location verbs in List 2 have been further categorized by the preposition in the parent clause, and by properties of the entities denoted by the parent nouns. Although most are transitive, some are ordinarily only intransitive, e. g. surface; others can be either, e. g. bed down. For the intransitives, the parent locatum corresponds to the surface subject, making the usual parallel between intr. The child bedded down and tr. We bedded the child down.