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The benefactive case (abbreviated BEN, or sometimes B when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used where English would use "for", "for the benefit of", or "intended for", e.g. "She opened the door for Tom" or "This book is for Bob". The benefactive case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks receives the benefit of the situation expressed by the clause.
This meaning is often incorporated in a dative case. In Latin this type of dative is called the dativus commodi.
An example of a language with a benefactive case is Basque, which has a benefactive case ending in -entzat. Quechua is another example, and the benefactive case ending in Quechua is -paq. Tangkhul-Naga (from the Tibeto-Burman group of languages) has the benefactive case marker -wiʋaŋ.
In Aymara, the benefactive case is marked with -taki, expressing that the referent of the inflected noun benefits from the situation expressed by the verb, or, when there is no verb, that the noun to which it attaches is a recipient, as in the word below:
khuchi
pig
-ja
-1.POSS
-naka
-PL
-taki
-BEN
-w(a)
-DECL
'for my pigs'
Benefactive meaning may also be marked on the verb, in a common type of applicative voice.
Autobenefactive
An autobenefactive case or voice marks a case where the agents and the benefactor are one and the same. In Rhinelandic colloquial German, one finds expressions like:
- Ich rauch mer en Zigarett.
(I smoke a cigarette for myself), where mer (for myself) is optional.
In the Colognian language, there is a compulsory autobenefactive for example with the verb bedde (to pray) when it is used intransitively:
- Hä deiht sesch bedde
(He is praying).
Similarly, in French one can say, in informal but fully correct language:
- Je me fume une cigarette. Je me fais une pause.
(Literally: I (to) myself smoke a cigarette. I (to) myself do a pause.)
Formally, those forms coincide with reflexives in these languages.
A similar construction is also found in colloquial English with a pronoun that is reflexive in function but not form:
- I love me some chicken.
See also
- Ditransitive verb
References
- Coler, Matt (2015). A Grammar of Muylaq' Aymara: Aymara as spoken in Southern Peru. Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas. Brill. p. 221. ISBN 978-9-00-428380-0.
- "Personal datives | Yale Grammatical Diversity Project: English in North America". ygdp.yale.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Benefactive case news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message The benefactive case abbreviated BEN or sometimes B when it is a core argument is a grammatical case used where English would use for for the benefit of or intended for e g She opened the door for Tom or This book is for Bob The benefactive case expresses that the referent of the noun it marks receives the benefit of the situation expressed by the clause This meaning is often incorporated in a dative case In Latin this type of dative is called the dativus commodi An example of a language with a benefactive case is Basque which has a benefactive case ending in entzat Quechua is another example and the benefactive case ending in Quechua is paq Tangkhul Naga from the Tibeto Burman group of languages has the benefactive case marker wiʋaŋ In Aymara the benefactive case is marked with taki expressing that the referent of the inflected noun benefits from the situation expressed by the verb or when there is no verb that the noun to which it attaches is a recipient as in the word below khuchijanakatakiw khuchi pig ja 1 POSS naka PL taki BEN w a DECL khuchi ja naka taki w a pig 1 POSS PL BEN DECL for my pigs Benefactive meaning may also be marked on the verb in a common type of applicative voice AutobenefactiveAn autobenefactive case or voice marks a case where the agents and the benefactor are one and the same In Rhinelandic colloquial German one finds expressions like Ich rauch mer en Zigarett I smoke a cigarette for myself where mer for myself is optional In the Colognian language there is a compulsory autobenefactive for example with the verb bedde to pray when it is used intransitively Ha deiht sesch bedde He is praying Similarly in French one can say in informal but fully correct language Je me fume une cigarette Je me fais une pause Literally I to myself smoke a cigarette I to myself do a pause Formally those forms coincide with reflexives in these languages A similar construction is also found in colloquial English with a pronoun that is reflexive in function but not form I love me some chicken See alsoDitransitive verbReferencesColer Matt 2015 A Grammar of Muylaq Aymara Aymara as spoken in Southern Peru Brill s Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas Brill p 221 ISBN 978 9 00 428380 0 Personal datives Yale Grammatical Diversity Project English in North America ygdp yale edu Retrieved 2024 03 29 This linguistic morphology article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte
