Examples of ditransitive sentences used in the present study.

The argument structures of the verbs in the P+ and P– sentences are [agent, possessive goal, theme] and [agent, locative goal, theme], respectively. We omitted an agent from the stimuli, as a phonetically null subject (pro-drop) is allowed in Japanese. For each pair of P+ and P– sentences, as shown in each line of the Table, the same accusative NP and phonologically same verb were used. All used verbs, 26 of 100 dative NPs (always animate for P+ and inanimate for P–), and 13 of 50 accusative NPs (always inanimate), are shown here in the alphabetical order of Japanese verbs. †Some P– sentences might imply the presence of a recipient, but an inanimate dative NP itself cannot become a possessor for all examples.