Re: Ditransitivity (again!)

Trebor Jung wrote:

> Merhaba!
>
> Is it possible to use a 'focus' case where non-benefactives and
> non-prep.phrases (datives) are put into, and benefactives are formed
> some other way? For example: ''I gave him a gift = I gave a gift to
> him' - is that reasonably certainly dative?

I don't think in English that non-benefactive datives can be the
indirect object.  The only uses of 'to' that are reducible, I think,
are, in fact, benefactives.  In Latin, where these come from, I
think(I'm probably wrong, like usual, but still), 'dative' refers
entirely to 'to' and 'for'.  I think the non-benefactive meaning
included.  So yes, 'I gave a gift to him' is dative.  In Old English and
German, the Dative on its own referred to 'to' and 'for', but was also
used for prepositional phrases.

But I don't quite understand what you want...do you mean a case that
contains all the meanings of 'to' and 'for'?