Cost with obj

[amir-zeldes]

Currently "cost" takes obj in EWT (plus an error or two with obl):

https://universal.grew.fr/?custom=659ac9f55565b

In GUM it's mixed between obj and obl:npmod. I think the latter is correct because it's not really passivizable, so it's more like an extent adverbial IMO (similar to "wait"). Shall we consolidate to obl:npmod?

[nschneid]

I feel like this came up in the discussion of indirect objects...would you say "me" is a direct object in "It cost me $10"?

[nschneid]

And is it relevant that cost can license anything: "Does it cost anything to attend?" I'm not sure I can think of another place where an indefinite pronoun can be obl:npmod.

[nschneid]

I found this note from the iobj discussion:

English has a few “quadrivalent” verbs, like bet (CGEL, p. 219):

• I bet you/iobj $10/obj [that it rains]/ccomp.

Note that $10 is an object here, or with cost, per the diagnostic that what questions target subjects/objects, not adjuncts/adverbials (CGEL, p. 224): “What did you bet him that it would rain?” “What did it cost to repave the sidewalk?” (Also, cost usually cannot be intransitive: *The raincoat costs. Exceptions occur with the sense of ‘take a toll’, typically for more abstract subjects.)

Also this from p. 58 of Quirk et al.:

Although a note later on p. 1177 hedges this:

(Why the "How much?" test is considered relevant I'm not sure—because you can form a question like "How much did you eat?" ("3 slices of pizza.") It doesn't follow that "I ate 3 slices of pizza" could be analyzed as having an obligatory adjunct instead of an object.)

Anyway, it seems that while "cost" is a weird verb, within English linguistics the passive construction isn't regarded as the be-all, end-all test for object. And the passive test isn't mentioned at obj, so we are free to follow established traditions within the language.

(IIRC, Kay & Fillmore's concept of nominal oblique would treat the passive as the sole test for object, but the way UD defines iobj vs. obj is contrary to the broader nominal oblique approach.)

[amir-zeldes]

would you say "me" is a direct object in "It cost me $10"

If we rule out $10 as an object then yeah, it would be the remaining object. FWIW, in IE languages with case marking, the "me" argument receives accusative case (e.g. in German, Polish), and these languages usually use dative for recipients. That suggests that a reading of "me" as a primary object is not so strange. The money argument is depreled as obl in UD Polish, and in German both arguments are obj (even concurrently in HDT), so probably one of them should have been iobj.

anything: "Does it cost anything to attend?" I'm not sure I can think of another place where an indefinite pronoun can be obl:npmod.

I think it works with other measures, but usually modified:

• I waited anything between 2 and 3 hours

The bigger issue is passivization IMO: I think you can't (normally?) say "$10 were costed by this purchase".

Anyway, it seems that while "cost" is a weird verb, within English linguistics the passive construction isn't regarded as the be-all, end-all test for object.

I definitely agree it's a weird verb. But I think passivization has been pretty central to our discussions of obj for UD English at least, and probably for other languages too. This is in the same ballpark as "wait" & co., so I think it's important to make a consistent decision. I'm not bent on it being obl:npmod and I could probably live with obj too, but I'd like to hear more opinions and make the data consistent in the end.

[nschneid]

• I waited anything between 2 and 3 hours

Agreed that "anything" would occur with a temporal measure (in this example I'd personally prefer "anywhere" over "anything", but they're similar). Without a temporal measure it sounds strange:

• *Did you wait anything before the food arrived?

I think "anything" is actually functioning like a degree modifier of the PP. So not anything like an object. — Hey, there's another example of how it can modify a PP. ;)

[arademaker]

And is it relevant that cost can license anything: "Does it cost anything to attend?" I'm not sure I can think of another place where an indefinite pronoun can be obl:npmod.

Interesting that you take anything as indefinite pronoun, for ERG it is analysed as any/quantifier and thing the second complement of the verb:

http://delph-in.github.io/delphin-viz/demo/#input=Does%20it%20cost%20anything%20to%20attend?&count=5&grammar=erg2018-uw&tree=true&mrs=true&dmrs=true

[nschneid]

Yes the compounding that gave rise to "anything" is transparent but treating it as a pronoun is longstanding UD policy. See e.g. PRON. (Not sure that affects the criteria for obj though.)

[amir-zeldes]

I think "anything" is actually functioning like a degree modifier of the PP

OK, maybe that's fine, but I'm not sure it matters for whether or not "cost" has a money obj or an extent modifier... And it seems UD languages have been handling it differently (e.g. Polish vs. German)