Verb Types(10) a there arrived a letter
b there departed a train
c there spread a disease
d there sat a table in the corner
e etc.
We will have more to say about the analysis of this structure later, but for now we will
simply note it for its diagnostic use.
Note that agentive verbs cannot be used in this construction:
(11) there sat a man on the chair
This sentence can only be interpreted as having the man situated on the chair and not
with him performing the action of sitting. Compare the following:
(12) a a man deliberately sat on the chair
b *there deliberately sat a man on the chair
Another structure in which we find unaccusatives is known as the locative
inversion construction. This involves the PP locative argument apparently sitting in
subject position, while the DP theme again sits behind the verb:
(13) a [from platform 9] departed a train to Minsk
b [in the corner] sat a shadowy figure
c [down the walls] ran some muddy water
Like the there construction, locative inversion seems to be available only for
unaccusative verbs and cannot be used with other verbs which have locative arguments
or adjuncts:
(14) a [on the table] put he the book
b [in the garden] smiled a boy
c *[on the chair] deliberately sat a man
It is not entirely clear that the PP in these structures occupies the subject position as it
can be combined with a there subject:
(15) a [from platform 9] there departed a train to Minsk
b [in the corner] there sat a shadowy figure
c [down the walls] there ran some muddy water
For the time being, however, we will not worry about the complexities of the analysis
of this particular structure, but again use its presence as a diagnostic for unaccusative
verbs.
Another distinguishing fact about unaccusatives is that they do not take objects of
any kind. You might wonder how this fact distinguishes unaccusatives from
intransitives which also do not have objects, but the fact is that intransitives may
appear with a limited set of objects:
(16) a he smiled a rueful smile
b she laughed an evil laugh
c they died a mysterious death