What is an oblique object?

Definition
	An oblique object is a grammatical relation proposed for a noun phrase clause constituent with the following characteristics:
	Its nature and behavior are more readily describable in semantic terms than syntactic. It is likely to be the most constrained in the semantic roles it may individually express. It is likely to be marked by an adposition or case affix. It is not likely to be a target of syntactic rules, such as agreement with the verb, or strategies of relativization.

Example (English)
	English prepositional phrases, as clause constituents, can be considered oblique objects. She was bitten by a spider.

Generic
	An oblique object is a kind of
	What is an object?

Sources
	Andrews, A. 1985 81–82, 92, 127–128
	Comrie 1989 66, 179

Context for this page:

Concept module: oblique object
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): O
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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