3.2.2.1. Agreement verbs with subject and/or object arguments

In Spanish Sign Language (LSE), these agreement verbs, traditionally known as directional verbs (Herrero Blanco, 2009, p. 274), change form to show arguments of subject and object (extensively described in Nogueira Fos, 2000 and 2002).

Typically, the movement of the sign starts at the location associated with the subject and ends at the location associated with the object.

(1) youSUPPORTme (You support me)

In (1), the movement path indicates the location associated with the subject (you) and the location associated with the object (me).

There are cases in which not only the movement path changes, but also the orientation of the hand, as in (2).

(2) meTAPhim (I call him)

In (2), both the movement path and the orientation of the fingertips point to the subject (I) and the object (him).

However, other verbs only modify orientation, as shown in (3).

(3) meEVALUATEyou (I evaluate you)

When orientation changes, as in (2) and (3), the back of the hand typically orients toward the subject, while the palm or fingertips point toward the object.

Backward agreement verbs are a subgroup of agreement verbs with subject and/or object arguments (see MORPHOLOGY .3.1.1. Person and location markers). In these verbs, the sign starts at the location associated with the object and ends at the location associated with the subject, as in (4).

(4) meSTEALyou (You steal from me)

Some agreement verbs can be modified using classifiers, as in (5) (adapted from Herrero Blanco, 2009, p. 107).

(5) BOOK youGIVEhim (Give him the book)

In (5), the handshape in the verb GIVE has been adjusted to match the object's class.

These verbs can select one, two, or three arguments. Therefore, there are verbs that are:

  • transitive (constructed with an object in addition to the subject), such as SUPPORT in (1);
  • ditransitive (constructed with two objects), such as GIVE in (5);
  • intransitive (constructed without an object). Although they don't modify their movement path or orientation, they can be articulated in different locations of the signing space, such as DIE and GROW in examples (6) and (7), showing single-argument agreement (Costello, 2016) with the subject.

(6) FATHER PROleft FINE MOTHER PROright DIEright (My father is fine and my mother has died)

(7) CHILD PROleft GROWleft (That child has grown)

Costello, B. and Villameriel García, S. (2023). Lexicon: parts of speech: verbs: agreement verbs: agreement verbs with subject and/or object arguments. In S. Villameriel García (Ed.), Gramática de la Lengua de Signos Española (GramLSE) / Grammar of Spanish Sign Language (GramLSE). Real Patronato sobre Discapacidad-Centro de Normalización Lingüística de la Lengua de Signos Española. Retrieved Month DD, YYYY, from https://cnlse.es/es/recursos/gramlse/ingles/index/lexicon/chapter-3-parts-of-speech/3-2-verbs/3-2-2-agreement-verbs/3-2-2-1-agreement-verbs-with-subject-and-or-object