TRANSITIVITY: PROCESSES AND PARTICIPANTS

Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Distinctive features/ Reactances

+Actor -middle -He ran. The window -Substitution by do (do to)

MATERIAL broke.
+Actor +Range -m. w/range -Selection of Present progressive
(actions and
-He climbed the tree. (Present in present) as
happenings – +Actor+Goal -effective unmarked tense in the
outside world – -He broke the window.
+Actor+Goal -effective (giving present
observable)
+ Beneficiary: type) He gave me flowers. He -No capacity to project (see
(Recipient/Cli brought me flowers.
ent ) mental and verbal)

 Actor: doer of the action; participant who carries out the action;
 Range: participant that represents the scope of application of the action, but that is not affected by it
 Goal: participant being affected or receiving the impact of the action.
 Beneficiary (Recipient): participant that receives the goal being exchanged in a process of giving (to+ Ngp)
 Beneficiary (Client): participant on behalf of whom sth is done (for + Ngp)

Material processes: the only processes that can confidently be called “doing-words” (term used in traditional school-grammar to
refer to verbs in general). This is seen in the fact that they are the only ones (except maybe for some behavioural ones) that
can be substituted by “do”.
One can say “What he did yesterday was go/run/walk to the park”; or “What he did to the poor man was kill him/kick him/punch
him” or “What he did with the book was tear it into pieces”. But one cannot say “What he did was see a bird/ hear a strange
sound” or “What he did was know the answer/understand the question” or “What he did was want a cake/fear the outcome”.
These last sentences would appear illogical because the verbs in them do not express a “doing”, a material process.
DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN RANGE AND GOAL
Range (not liable to be impacted or affected; it just expresses the Goal (impacted/affected)
scope of the process)

Cannot be probed by “do to”, “do with” Can be probed by “do to”, “do with”
*What did he do with the tree/mountain? What did he do with the tree?
He climbed it He put it in one of the corners of the room and decorated it.
*What did he do with the piano? What did he do with the piano?
He played it. He hatched it.

can be replaced by a PP Cannot be replaced by a PP

“He climbed (up) the tree”
“He played (on) the piano”
“He jumped (over) the fence”
Not liable to be followed by an Attribute, a Role, a Beneficiary or followed by an Attribute, a Role, a Beneficiary or a Location that
a Location represents the result of the impact
They painted the wall white. They drove the car hot. (Attribute)
Cut the onions into cubes. They broke the window into pieces. (Role:
Product)
They kicked the cat down the stairs (Location)
They gave/brought a car to the kid/for the kid (Beneficiary; Client)
Range (not liable to be impacted or affected; it just expresses the Goal (impacted/affected)
scope of the process)

Certain material processes with range can be restated by means Not possible for material processes with Goal
of a single verb
He took a bath/a shower (= He bathed/showered).
He made a mistake (= he erred).
Process type Participants Subtype Examples Reactances
s
+Senser percepti -He saw a bird. I saw him -No substitution by
MENTAL +Phenomenon/ on cross/crossing the street. any verb
perception, +Macrophenomenon (act - cognitio -He knows all the answers. He believes -S Present as
cognition, perception) n that you are to blame. unmarked tense
affection – +Metaphenom. (fact - emotion) affectio -I like/fear him. He pleases/scares me. in Present
inner + Metapoheno-menon (idea - n He regrets the fact that he was -Bidirec-tional
world – cognition) unable to help. -Capacity to project
non-
observa-
ble)

 Senser: an entity endowed with higher or lower consciousness, like a human being and, for some processes, an animal. It can
be Subject (I like fruit) or Complement (Fruit appeals to/pleases me);
 Phenomenon: a thing (person, object, place, etc.) that can be perceived, known or that can be the object of an emotion of
some kind. It is a participant in the mental clause and it is always a Ngp (He saw the animal; he knew the animal; He loves animals);
 Macrophenomenon: an event or happening or doing in the material world that can be perceived; only used with processes of
perception. It is an embedded clause that is a participant in the mental clause (he saw [[him help the old lady/him helping the old
lady]]; he heard [[him shout his name/him shouting his name]]).
 Metaphenomenon: fact: an abstract, non-material, semiotic entity that preexists the emotions it triggers; only used with
processes of emotion and an embedded participant element in the clause.
I regretted (the fact) [[that I had not had the courage to speak to her]].
I liked (the fact) [[that she was black]].
[[That she was so young]] surprised me.
 Metaphenomenon: idea: abstract but not preexisting the process; rather brought into existence by it. Not really a participant
in the clause but a separate clause:
I understood that it was futile.
 I knew that it was of no use.

Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Reactances

+Behaver Physiological He slept soundly. He snored/ breathed. -No substitution

BEHAVIOURAL by do.
(+Behaviour) (Para)verbal He babbled/ grunted/sang a song. He cried/
(physiological, mental
laughed/ giggled. They talked about the -Present in
and paraverbal + Range Mental
problem Present as
behaviour) behaviour unmarked
+ Matter He pondered/ meditated over the matter. He tense in
+Target watched the film. He listened to the news Present

-No projection

 Behaver: person or animal having the behavior, usually endowed with consciousness. Most behavioral processes ONLY have a
single participant, and that’s the Behaver.
 Behaviour: found in very few cases in which the behavior usually repeats the behavioural process with some added attribute
(he breathed a deep breath; he dreamt a strange dream)
 Range: in very few cases in which the process takes a second participant that is not a behavior and that is different in nature
from the process itself: he watched a movie; they observed the stranger; they discussed/debated the problem.
 Matter: used with verbal behavioral and mental behavioral processes (They talked about the problem; They
reflected/pondered over the problem).
 Target: used with verbal behavioral processes expressing insult, offence, criticism (They criticized his manners. He insulted
him.) Both “his manners” and “him” in these sentences are the Target of the insult or the criticism.
Behavioral processes: a transition category
Behavioral processes are said to be located between material processes, on the one hand, and mental or verbal processes, on the
other. This is particularly true of the verbal behavioral and the mental behavioral processes. They are not properly verbal or
 mental because THEY CANNOT PROJECT and, in the case of mental ones, because THEY INVOLVE VOLITION. So they are more
“saying” and “thinking” or “perceiving” as BEHAVIOUR.
Their transitional character can be perceived in the following examples:
He said that he was ill
He thought that he was ill
are properly verbal and mental because they can project (a locution and an idea respectively).
He talked about his illness
He reflected on/over his illness
are not properly verbal or mental because there is no saying in the first one and no idea being brought into existence in the second
one. They are saying and thinking as behaviour.

Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Distinctive features/ Reactances

+Sayer + He told (us) a lie/a story. -Presence of receiver

VERBAL +Verbiage /+Receiver Locut “I’m tired” he said -No substitution by “do”
(saying) +Locution (Not a participant in verbal ion: He said (to me) he was - S. Present as unmarked tense
clause) Quoting tired. in Pr.
Reporting -projection

 Sayer: The person or thing (dictionary, sign, article, newspaper, etc.) that says sth.
 Verbiage: the content of what is said, always expressed by a Ngp
 Receiver: the adressee; the person to whom sth is said
Processes of saying or verbal processes can project another clause that expresses the content of what was said (locution). It
can project it verbatim (quotation) or parapharse it in line with the here and now of the speaker (report). The “locution” IS
NOT a Participant in the verbal clause but a separate clause projected by it
Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Distinctive features/ Reactances

+Existent -Existential There are different species of whales. - No substitution by “do”

EXISTENTIAL -Existential plus (some On the sofa (there) was a cat. - -S. Present as unmarked
(existence) other meaning) Through the window there came the tense
sounds of Sydney. - -Presence of unstressed there
in S position

Existent: it is the participant that the process introduces as existing, as having existence.
For some, the non-stressed “there” has no experiential role in the clause. It is just a dummy Subject, a place-holder for Subject.
For others, it encodes the process together with “be”. When the clause starts with a Circumstance it can be omitted. It can be
marked together with the verb “be”.

There are different species of whales.

Process : Existent

On the sofa (there) was a cat.

Circ. of place Process Existent

Through the window (there) came the sounds of Sydney.

Circ. of place Process Existent
Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Distinctive features/
Reactances

RELATIONAL + Carrier+ Attribute Attributive She is famous. She is a (famous) scientist. She has blue eyes. - Presence of “be” or
(being and having) verbs comparable in
+Token+Value Identifying She is the leader. The Aconcagua is the highest peak in meaning.
America. - No substitution by
“do”
- S Present as
unmarked tense

Relational + Carrier Intensive She is famous. She is a (famous) - Attribute realized by adjective,
attributive +Attribute scientist. indefinite nominal group or
(being and having) Possessive She has blue eyes. She has two circumstance (PP)
Assigning sb to a class siblings. She has a car. - Carrier and Attribute are non-
Assigning sb a Circumstantial She is in high school. New York is reversible
quality/an in the States.
attribute

Process type Participants Subtypes Examples Distinctive features/

Reactances

Relational identifying +Token intensive America is the beacon of democracy. The -Presence of definite
(being and having) +Value Aconca-gua is the highest peak in America. nominal groups
Identifying an entity by reference to possessive This is Neil’s. -Reversible
some other entity This belongs to Neil.
Meanings of symbolization circumstantial The time of the meeting is Friday. The cause
of his illness is stress.
 Carrier: The entity that is assigned to a class (She is a teacher; This is a chair) or that is assigned an attribute or quality (She is tall;
This table is long)
 Attribute: The class an entity belongs to (She is a teacher; this is a chair) or the quality an entity is assigned (She is tall; This
table is long)
 Token: The concrete entity that embodies/ represents/ symbolizes a value (Susan is the kindest salesperson in the shop; He is
the leader).
 Value: A more abstract entity that can be perceived only if represented by a more concrete entity (Susan is the kindest
salesperson in the shop; He is the leader).

Reversibility of identifying processes- problems and criteria for identifying Value and Token

Because Identifying processes are reversible, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between Token and Value. There are some
criteria/tests we can apply to identify between the two:

Token Value

More concrete entity Abstract notion, value

“America” in “America is the beacon of democracy” “the beacon of democracy” in same clause

Subject in a clause with the verb “represent” Complement in clause with “represent”
“America represents the beacon of democracy” See “the beacon of democracy” in other box

Causation and Different Process types

 Causation + Material
Actor
The devil made me do it.  The devil made me do it
Initiator Material Goal

Actor
I got the kids to tidy up their room.  I got the kids to tidy up their room
Initiator Material Goal

 Causation + Mental/Verbal
Senser
She made me rethink my attitude  She made me rethink my attitude
Inducer Mental Phenomenon

Sayer
You make me say things I don’t mean to  You make me say things I don’t mean to
Inducer Verbal Verbiage

 Causation + Relational

She drives me crazy.  She drives me crazy.

AttributorProcess Carrier Attribute

They consider him lazy.  They consider him lazy.

Attributor Process Carrier Attribute

They call me Bruce.  They call me Bruce.

Assigner Process Value Token
They made him their leader  They made him their leader
Assigner Process Token Value
 CIRCUMSTANCES
PROBE ILLUSTRATION
CIRCUMSTANCE EXAMPLE SUB-CATEGORY PROBE
He goes to church every Sunday.
How...? For three hours/
temporal For how long? temporal
Every three hours
EXTENT
At what intervals? He used to jog 10 miles twice a week
Every second step / for
spatial How far? spatial temporal
six miles
In April / before tea / I had the privilege to meet her in
recently / during the temporal When? person last month.
At what lesson
LOCATION A hundred miles above him a lark was
point? Or
In the yard/ from Rome
BENEFICIARY: Spatial Where? Location: spatial
/ miles away
= it’s movable singing.
With a hammer / by By what He goes by taxi.
Means
trickery means?
OR He loved her madly! / truly! / deeply!
ATTRIBUTE? =
Quickly Quality How?
MANNER How? can be
omitted
OR AGENT? = He was jumping around like a monkey
As fast as possible / like
if not active Comparison What like? on a roof
a top
possible
Because of / thanks to The sheep died of thirst.
Reason Why?
him/ for lack of $5
For better results / in For what He went to the shop for cigarettes.
CAUSE Why? Purpose
the hope of a good deal purpose?

On whose He went to the shop for his mother.

On behalf of us all Behalf
behalf?
CIRCUMSTANCE PROBE EXAMPLE SUB-CATEGORY PROBE ILLUSTRATION

In the event of rain / Under what She managed to carry the parcel
condition without any help.
without more help condition?
CONTINGENCY In what circumstances? In spite of the strong wind the game
In spite of the rain concession Despite what?
was not cancelled.
In the absence of definite proof, he
In the absence of proof Default Lacking what?
was found not-guilty.
Who/what I Left work without my briefcase.
With(out) his friends Comitative
with?
ACCOMPANIMENT Together with?
As well as them / instead And who/ what She bought a new dress as well as a
Additive new pair of shoes.
of them else?

As a concerned parent Guise What as? He lived a quiet life as a beekeeper.

ROLE
(Smashed) into pieces product What into? Cut the onions into cubes/into slices.

What about? About this / with This book is talking about Functional
MATTER Grammar
reference to that
Says who? According to Manuel Seco, there are
ANGLE According to... two types of definition.