Transitivity in Grammar and Discourse
Abstract
Transitivity involves a number of components, only one of which is the presence of an object of the verb. These components are all concerned with the effectiveness with which an action takes place, e.g., the punctuality and telicity of the verb, the conscious activity of the agent, and the referentiality and degree of affectedness of the object. These components co-vary with one another in language after language, which suggests that Transitivity is a central property of language use. The grammatical and semantic prominence of Transitivity is shown to derive from its characteristic discourse function: high Transitivity is correlated with foregrounding, and low Transitivity with backgrounding.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Hopper and Thompson (1980) propose ten parameters of transitivity and analyze transitivity as a modular and scalar phenomenon.
“Hopper and Thompson (1980, 251-53) suggest there are ten parameters (what I term above 'modular components') of transitivity, and also analyze the scalar character of transitivity.”
From Transitions in Transitivity: The Complexity of Effort, Effortlessness, and Agency in Tibetan Great Perfection Contemplative Practices (2025) · cites this paper as Hopper and Thompson (1980)
The intensity of transitivity is contextually determined by the degree of intentionality and involvement on the part of the agent, the degree of energy involved in the action, and the degree to which the recipient of the action is transformed in the process.
“The intensity of transitivity, put in basic terms, is contextually determined by (i) the degree of intentionality and involvement on the part of the agent in relation to the action in question, (ii) the degree of energy involved in the action, and (iii) the degree to which the recipient of that action is transformed in the process.”
From Transitions in Transitivity: The Complexity of Effort, Effortlessness, and Agency in Tibetan Great Perfection Contemplative Practices (2025) · cites this paper as Hopper and Thompson 1980
Although transitivity is sometimes considered a binary phenomenon, it is in fact a scalar phenomenon that can be present in greater or lesser degree in any given case on a continuum.
“Although people sometimes consider transitivity as a binary phenomenon-a verbal clause is either transitive or intransitive-in fact it is a scalar phenomenon that can be present in greater or lesser degree in any given case on a continuum.”
From Transitions in Transitivity: The Complexity of Effort, Effortlessness, and Agency in Tibetan Great Perfection Contemplative Practices (2025) · cites this paper as Hopper and Thompson 1980
When considered in a modular and scalar manner with the ten parameters outlined by Hopper and Thompson, transitivity also explores complex issues such as agency, temporality, and individuation.
“When considered in a more modular and scalar manner with the ten parameters outlined by Hopper and Thompson, we can see it also explores other complex issues such as agency, temporality, and individuation.”
From Transitions in Transitivity: The Complexity of Effort, Effortlessness, and Agency in Tibetan Great Perfection Contemplative Practices (2025) · cites this paper as Hopper and Thompson 1980
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The scope of usage-based theory
Ibbotson, P. (2013) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00255 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Poetry in Speech: Orality and Homeric Discourse
Bakker, E. J. (2018) · Cornell University Press · doi:10.7591/9781501722776 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Germano, D. (2025) · Entangled Religions · doi:10.46586/er.14.2025.12177 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hopper, P. J., & Thompson, S. A.
- ORCID
- Thompson, Sandra A.
- Venue
- Language
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 1980-06
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 251-299
- ISSN
- 0097-8507 (ISSN-L)
- 1535-0665
- OpenAlex
- W4256051501
- Cited by
- 1,204
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 53 · 2025: 98 · 2024: 39 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 78 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 65 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 28
- FWCI
- 38.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Language (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Discourse Analysis in Language Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
- Keywords
- transitivity, verb-object structure, telicity, punctuality, agentivity, affectedness, foregrounding, backgrounding, discourse functions, cross-linguistic variation, semantics
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
