M. Iriskulov, A. Kuldashev a course in Theoretical English Grammar Tashkent 2008

Semantic constraints which license the use of verb in the construction 
concern the semantic roles of agent and recipient. 
Constraint on the Agent: the referent designated by the subject must be a 
volitional agent. The agent may also reveal no volitionality, e.g. in the cases when
causal events are construed as transfers due to a conventional systemic metaphor. 
(The metaphor licenses more abstract senses into semantics of the Ditransitive 
Construction.) Mary accidentally murdered Jane. She gave me the flue. Here the 
effect of the causal event is construed as an object which is transferred. The given

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examples imply that the subject is the cause of the first object being affected in 
some way by “receiving” the second object: The rain brought us some time. - The 
rain (cause - as agent), us (affected entity - as recipient), some time (effect - as 
patient).
Constraint on the Recipient: the referent designated by the first object must 
be a “willing” recipient, i.e. willing to accept or potentially able to accept the 
transferred object in order for transfer to be successful, e.g.: Bill gave Chris a 
headache. In this aspect the sentences Bill told Mary a story, but she wasn’t 
listening. and Bill threw the coma victim a blanket. are impossible. The 
prototypical “willing” recipient is an animate being. The rest cases are viewed as 
metaphorical extension, e.g.: The paint job gave the car a higher sale price.
The semantic constraints relate verb and construction and are true for the 
central sense of the Ditransitive Construction “the actual successful transfer”, the
other, non-prototypical senses are viewed as extensions from the basic sense as 
licensed by the systemic metaphors.