Transitivity

Transitivity is a grammatical system.

It “specifies the different types of process
that are recognized in the language, and the
structures by which they are expressed”.
The basic semantic framework for the
representation of process consists of three
components: (1) the process itself, (2)
participants in the process, and
(3)circumstances associated with the
process.
 Process
In English, we make choices between different types of
process, participants, circumstances, roles, and
members. They are known collectively as the transitivity
choices. We first divided the choices into six kinds:

Material process (John kicked the ball)

Mental process (John likes Mary)

Relational Process (John is on the sofa)
Transitivity
Behavioural process (John laughed)

Verbal process (John said it is cold in the room)

Existential process (There is a cat on the sofa)

 Process
1. Material processes: Processes of doing
Material processes are processes of doing. Such
a process is expressed by an action verb (e.g.
beat、break、kick), an actor (logical subject)
and the goal of the action (logical direct object,
usually a noun or a pronoun). Actor and Goal
correspond to Agent and Patient. For example:

My brother broke the window. (Actor-Process-Goal)

The girl smiles. (Actor-Process)

 Process
2. Mental Processes: Processes of sensing
Two participants: Senser and Phenomenon.
Senser: the conscious being that is feeling, thinking,
or seeing.
Phenomenon: what is “sensed” – felt, thought, seen.
Three principal subtypes:
(1) perception (seeing, hearing, etc),
(2) affection (liking, fearing, etc),
(3) cognition (thinking, knowing, etc)

e.g. Mary liked the gift. (Senser-Process-Phenomenon)

The gift pleased Mary. (Phenomenon-Process-Senser)
 Process
3. Relational Processes: Processes of Being
Two types: the Attributive and the Identifying.
• Attributive process expresses what attributes a certain object
has, or what type it belongs to. (Carrier-Process-Attribute)
• Identifying process expresses the identical properties of two
entities. (Identified-Process-Identifier)
participant reversible
attributive only one (carrier) No
identifying two Yes

Mary is wise. Tom is the leader.

* Wise is Mary. The leader is Tom.
 3. Relational Processes: Processes of Being

Halliday points out that in any identifying clause, there is a

Token (the more specific category) and a Value (the more
general category).

e.g. John is the monitor.

Identified Process Identifier
Token Value
 Process
4. Verbal Processes: Processes of Saying
• Verbal processes are those of exchanging information.
• Commonly used verbs: “say”, “tell”, “talk”, “praise”,
“describe”, etc.
• Participant: Sayer, Receiver, and Verbiage (the
verbalization itself or the content of message).

He said that. (Sayer-Process-Verbiage)

The notices tells you to keep quite. (Sayer-Process-Verbiage)
She asked me some questions. (Sayer-Process-Verbiage)
 Process
5. Behavioral Processes: Processes of Behaving
• Behavioral processes refer to physiological and
psychological activities such as breathing, coughing,
dreaming, and crying, etc.
• Generally only one participant — the Behaver (often
a human) is involved in these processes.
The girl laughed heartily.
(Behaver- Process-Circumstantial)

He sighed deeply.
(Behaver-Process-Circumstantial)
 Process
6. Existential Processes:
Processes of Existing or Happening
It is usually realized by there-construction.
Existent ：an event, an object or a human being.

There was a storm.

(Process-Existent)
On the wall there hangs a picture.
(Circumstance- Process-Existent)
 Process Types Category Meaning Participants

Material: Action Doing: Doing, Actor, Goal

Event happening
Behavioural Behaving Behaver
Mental: Perception Sensing: seeing Senser, Phenomenon
Affection, Cognition feeling, thinking
Verbal saying Sayer, receiver,verbiage
Relational: Being: Carrier, Attribute,
Attribution attributing Identifier, Identified,
Identification identifying Token, Value

Existential existing Existent

 Participants
1. Beneficiary
The beneficiary is the one to whom or for whom the
process is said to take place. It appears in material and
verbal processes, and sometimes in relational processes.
e.g. He gave her a book.
(Actor Process Beneficiary Goal)
He bought a present for her.
(Actor Process Goal Beneficiary)
 Participants
2. Range
The Range is the element that specifies the range or scope of
the process.
It may occur in material, behavioural, mental, and verbal
process.

material He climbed the mountain. (range)

process They moved the (goal)
mountain.
mental He likes it. (it specifies the domain of one’s liking)
process
 Participants

2. Range
Verbal process: the range element expresses
the class, quality, or quantity of what is said.

She speaks German. (class)

He asked a difficult question. (quality)
He made a log speech. (quantity)
 Circumstances
Extent and Location
Manner (Means, Quality and Comparison)
Cause (Reason, Purpose and Behalf)
Accompaniment
Matter
Role
 1. Extent and Location
Extent is related with the notion of distance and
duration (a stretch, a period) whereas Location is
related with the notion of place and time (a spot, a
point). Both of them can express spatial and
temporal meanings.

He walked two miles. (Extent: spatial)

He stayed for two weeks. (Extent: temporal)
He studied in the classroom. (Location: spatial)
He gets up at six o’clock. (Location: temporal)
 2. Manner
Manner consists of three subcategories: Means,
Quality, Comparison.
Means refers to the means or instruments whereby a
process takes place.

(1a) The pig was beaten with the stick.

(1b) She beat the pig with the stick. instrument

(2a) The pig was beaten by a stick.

(2b) The stick beat the pig. actor, agent
2. Manner

Quality represents various meanings such as degree.

e.g. It puzzled him too much.

Comparison represents the meaning of similarity or

difference. It is typically expressed by a
prepositional phrase with like or unlike.

e.g. He worked like a slave.

He signed his name differently.
 3. Cause
Three subcategories: Reason, Purpose, and Behalf.

Reason represents the reason for which a process

takes place.
Purpose represents the purpose for which a process
takes place.
Behalf represents entity, “on whose behalf or for whose
sake the action is undertaken”.

He died of starvation. (Cause: Reason)

Let’s go for a walk. (Cause: Purpose)
He put in a word on John’s behalf. (Cause: Behalf)
 4. Accompaniment

This semantic element represents the meanings and

(positive accompaniment), not (negative accompaniment)
as circumstantials. It is expressed by prepositions or
prepositional phrase, e.g. with, without, instead of.

e.g. He came with/without her.

He came instead of her.
He set out with/without his umbrella.
 5.Matter

This element corresponds to the interrogative “what

about?” and is expressed by prepositions or
prepositional phrase, e.g. about, concerning, with
reference to.

e.g. I worry about her health.

They are talking about the weather.
6. Role

The element corresponds to the interrogative “what

is?” and is expressed by prepositions and
prepositional phrase, e.g. as, by way of.

e.g. I came here as a friend.

They leave the place untidy by way of protest.
 Voice
• Traditional grammar:
Voice: active vs. passive
• Functional grammar:
Voice

Middle
active
non-middle
passive
• middle voice: only one participant involved
The glass broke.
The baby stood up.
• non-middle voice: two participants or more
She gave me this book.
The landlady won’t sell.
• active: They have sold all the tickets. (actor)
• passive: All the tickets have been sold by
them. (goal)
• He rose to speak, and was listened to with
enthusiasm by the great crowd present.
 EXERCISES
• (1) The boy kicked the post.
• (2) The man liked the new house.
• (3) child is homeless.
• (4) The girl laughed.
• (5) The visitor said “Hello”.
• (6) Without apprehension and doubt, the
hobbit stole the vegetables.
• (7) My mother switched off the fan.
• (8) Mary swam in the sea.