Headword
Language English · ninth language of load · one bare verb · no prefix · Agent as structural subject · Theme as structural object with a Goal PP, or Location as structural object with a Theme with-PP · location-only and theme-only frames printed · gun, camera, computing, burden, and load up (on) are their own frames
Who loads, Theme, Location or Goal · English cloth · working claim, revisable
load · Agent as structural subject + Theme as structural object + Goal PP (onto / into / on / in) · Cambridge load this sand onto the lorry · Cambridge Academic load more hay into the wagon · Oxford Sacks were being loaded onto the truck · Merriam-Webster examples load packages on a truck · We loaded our luggage in the car
load · Agent as structural subject + Location as structural object + Theme in a with-PP · Oxford Men were loading up a truck with timber · Cambridge Business The tanker was loaded with four million gallons of diesel oil · Merriam-Webster load a truck with packages
Location-only · the place is the structural object and the Theme is unexpressed · Oxford We loaded the car in ten minutes · Can you help me load the dishwasher? · Longman It took an hour to load the van · Cambridge to load the dishwasher/washing machine
Theme-only · the freight is the structural object and the Goal is unexpressed · Merriam-Webster 1b load cargo/passengers · load the boxes is constructed from Longman loading the boxes into the truck with the into-phrase left out
English is the reference language for the locative alternation that the literature calls spray/load. One verb, load, prints both frames. There is no prefix. Oxford’s principal parts are load, loads, loaded, loading. The particle of load up is up. It is a piece of the phrasal verb, and it is not a prefix of the German or Dutch kind.
What the English articles print. Frame (a) puts the freight in structural object position and the place in a prepositional phrase. Cambridge: How long will it take to load this sand onto the lorry? The sand is the object. The lorry is onto. Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary: He could load more hay into the wagon. The hay is the object. The wagon is into. Oxford: Sacks were being loaded onto the truck and The paramedics loaded Jason into the ambulance. Longman: Emma loaded all the groceries into the car and He loaded the cups onto a tray and, in the corpus block, I started loading the boxes into the truck. Merriam-Webster’s examples block prints on and in beside onto and into: load packages on a truck, Workers were loading cargo on the ships, We loaded our luggage in the car. Whether on/in and onto/into are one Goal slot is open. Both are printed.
Frame (b) puts the place in structural object position and the freight in with. Oxford: Men were loading up a truck with timber and Lastly came six wagons loaded with coal. The truck and the wagons are the location. The timber and the coal are with. Cambridge Business: The tanker was loaded with four million gallons of diesel oil. Merriam-Webster transitive 1a: load a truck with packages, and We loaded up the car with all of our gear. Longman: She loaded up the car with camping gear and, in the corpus block, Two men were loading up a truck with boxes of melons. The noun after with has no case ending. Whether that with-phrase is a complement or an adjunct is open.
The classic pair load hay onto the truck and load the truck with hay is the spray/load illustration. Cambridge prints the hay with into the wagon. Oxford prints the truck with onto and the sacks as subject, and prints with timber beside the truck. No dictionary opened here prints hay as the object of onto the truck and as the noun of with in one pair. Those two finite hay lines are constructed. The arguments and the prepositions are the ones the dictionaries print on the neighbouring lines.
Read the structural object of the onto, into, on, and in lines as the freight, and the preposition as the place it goes. Read the structural object of load a truck with timber as the truck, and with as the freight. The loader, when the clause names one, is the structural subject. Dowty’s proto-agent properties (volition, causation) sit on that subject when the subject is the person who loads. The proto-patient property of being affected sits on whichever argument is the structural object: the moving freight in frame (a), the filled place in frame (b). Which of those two is the object is the alternation. Mapping the filled place onto one proto-patient property, and the moving freight onto another, stays open. The causative note already uses incremental theme as the proto-patient property that picks the object. This page does not edit that note.
The two cargo frames · Theme object with a Goal PP, then Location object with with
✓ How long will it take to load this sand onto the lorry? Cambridge · load verb, put into/onto · the sand is the structural object · the lorry is onto · the loader is unexpressed in the infinitive
✓ Men were loading up a truck with timber. Oxford · load something up with something · frame (b) · the men are the structural subject · the truck is the structural object · the timber is with · up is the particle
✓ He could load more hay into the wagon. Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary · the hay is the structural object · the wagon is into · he is the subject
✓ Sacks were being loaded onto the truck. · The paramedics loaded Jason into the ambulance. Oxford · the sacks are the passive subject and onto stays · the paramedics are the subject · Jason is the object · the ambulance is into
✓ Emma loaded all the groceries into the car. · He loaded the cups onto a tray. · I started loading the boxes into the truck. Longman · definition lines for the groceries and the cups · corpus block for the boxes · Theme object · Goal into or onto
✓ load packages on a truck · We loaded our luggage in the car. · Workers were loading cargo on the ships. Merriam-Webster · examples block · on and in · the packages, the luggage, and the cargo are the object
load this sand onto the lorry · load a truck with timber · load more hay into the wagon · sacks were being loaded onto the truck · load Jason into the ambulance · load the groceries into the car · load the cups onto a tray · load the boxes into the truck · load packages on a truck · load luggage in the car · load cargo on the ships · the freight is the structural object when the place is a preposition · the truck is the structural object when the freight is with
Frame (b) · Location in structural object position · Theme with-PP
✓ load a truck with packages · We loaded up the car with all of our gear. Merriam-Webster · transitive 1a · the truck and the car are the structural object · the packages and the gear are with · up on the second line
✓ Lastly came six wagons loaded with coal. Oxford · load something with something · the wagons are the noun the participle modifies · the coal is with
✓ The tanker was loaded with four million gallons of diesel oil. Cambridge Business · load sth with sth · the tanker is the passive subject · the oil is with
✓ She loaded up the car with camping gear. · Two men were loading up a truck with boxes of melons. Longman · definition load something with something · corpus block for the melons · the car and the truck are the object · the gear and the melons are with
load a truck with packages · load the car with gear · wagons loaded with coal · the tanker was loaded with diesel oil · load the car with camping gear · load a truck with boxes of melons · the place is the structural object · the freight is the with-phrase · the noun after with has no case ending
Location-only · Theme unexpressed · and Theme-only · Goal unexpressed
✓ We loaded the car in ten minutes. · Can you help me load the dishwasher? · They loaded up the lorry. Oxford · the car, the dishwasher, and the lorry are the structural object · the freight is unexpressed · in ten minutes is the time
✓ It took an hour to load the van. · Will you help me load the dishwasher? Longman · the van and the dishwasher are the object · the freight is unexpressed
✓ to load the dishwasher/washing machine · workers loading a ship · load a truck Cambridge · the slash is the entry’s · Merriam-Webster 1a workers loading a ship · Kids Definition load a truck · the place is the object · the freight is unexpressed
✓ load cargo/passengers Merriam-Webster · 1b · to place someone or something in or on a means of conveyance · the cargo and the passengers are the object in the definition line · the goal is unexpressed in that line
✓ The ship was still loading. · We finished loading and set off. · waited while the truck finished loading Oxford · the ship is the subject of intransitive loading · Merriam-Webster intransitive · the truck receives the load · no freight object
✓ Load the boxes. constructed · Longman prints I started loading the boxes into the truck · the boxes are the object there · this line leaves the into-phrase out · Merriam-Webster’s theme-only definition line is load cargo/passengers, and the noun is not boxes
load the car · load the dishwasher · load the lorry · load the van · load a ship · load a truck · load cargo · the ship was still loading · load the boxes · the place can be the only object · the freight can be the only object in the definition line load cargo/passengers · load the boxes with no goal is constructed
Hay on a truck · the two frames · constructed where the line is not the printed one
✓ Load hay onto the truck. constructed · the hay is Cambridge Academic load more hay into the wagon · the truck and onto are Oxford onto the truck · no opened dictionary prints this stack as one clause
✓ Load the truck with hay. constructed · the truck object and with are Oxford loading up a truck with timber · hay is not the noun of that with-phrase
* Load hay with the truck. constructed · with of the vehicle · unprinted · the vehicle of the theme-object frame is onto, into, on, or in
* Load the truck onto hay. constructed · onto of the freight when the truck is the object · unprinted · the freight beside a place object is with
load hay onto the truck · load the truck with hay · these two lines are the spray/load pair · they are constructed · the pieces are printed on neighbouring clauses
Passive · which argument is the subject
✓ Sacks were being loaded onto the truck. Oxford · the sacks are the subject · onto the truck stays · the loader is unexpressed
✓ The tanker was loaded with four million gallons of diesel oil. · six wagons loaded with coal Cambridge Business · Oxford · the tanker and the wagons are the location · with stays
the sacks were being loaded onto the truck · the tanker was loaded with diesel oil · wagons loaded with coal · the passive of frame (a) promotes the Theme and keeps the Goal PP · the passive of frame (b) promotes the Location and keeps with
| Place | Introduced by (working) | English marking | Status in the sources | Sibling marking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent | the loader, when the clause names one | structural subject · Dowty proto-agent when the subject causes the loading | Men · He · Emma · The paramedics · Workers · We · the infinitive to load this sand leaves the loader out | subject of laden / laden · no case ending on the Dutch noun |
| Theme | the freight, when it moves | structural object in the goal frame · with-PP when the location is the object · complement or adjunct open | this sand · more hay · sacks · the boxes · packages · cargo · with timber · with packages · with coal · with diesel oil | Dutch object or met · German accusative of laden, or mit+dative of beladen · French de · Russian bare instrumental · Japanese を |
| Goal | where the freight goes | PP complement onto / into / on / in · on beside onto open | onto the lorry · into the wagon · onto the truck · into the car · on a truck · in the car | Dutch op / in · German auf/in+accusative · French sur/dans · Japanese に |
| Location | the vehicle, container, or surface that receives the load | structural object in the with-frame and in the location-only frame · proto-patient when it is that object · the property split is open | a truck · the car · the dishwasher · the lorry · the van · a ship · the tanker · six wagons | object of Dutch laden or beladen · object of German beladen · Japanese truck stays に |
| Passive subject | the argument the participle promotes | Theme subject keeps the Goal PP · Location subject keeps with | Oxford Sacks were being loaded onto the truck · Cambridge Business The tanker was loaded with diesel oil | Dutch freight subject that keeps op or in is unprinted · Japanese passive promotes the Theme |
Marking map. On the goal frame, structural object position is the freight and the PP is the place. On the with-frame, structural object position is the place and the PP is the freight. One verb prints both. A location-only clause leaves the freight out. A theme-only definition line leaves the goal out. Do not read load the gun, load the file, or loaded question as this cargo frame.
Anderson 1971, Levin 1993 (English Verb Classes and Alternations, the spray/load class), and Pinker 1989 (Learnability and Cognition) discuss a reading difference between the two frames. When the location is the structural object, as in load the truck with hay, the location is understood as completely affected: the truck is read as filled. When the theme is the structural object and the place is a goal PP, as in load hay onto the truck, that complete effect on the location is not forced. Some hay on the truck is enough for the goal frame. Levin 1993 states the location in the with-frame as completely affected. Pinker 1989 treats the same holistic effect as part of what a learner has to get from the frame. This page records that reading difference. It does not add a second syntactic frame for it.
The dictionaries print both frames and do not print a fullness test beside them. Oxford’s with timber and Cambridge’s with diesel oil do not say that the truck or the tanker is full, and they do not say that it is partly filled. Whether any one printed clause forces the holistic reading is open. The hay pair used in the literature is constructed on this page, from the printed pieces named above.
The finest cut is against the Japanese line that a bilingual dictionary gives for both English frames. Kenkyusha prints トラックに材木を積む and glosses it both as load a truck with lumber and as load lumber on a truck. The Theme stays を. The truck stays に. English frame (b) puts the truck in structural object position and the freight in with. The Japanese translation of that gloss does not make that switch. A Location を plus Theme で line is unprinted on that page. The same collapse is on 船に石炭を積み込む, glossed both as load coal into a ship and as load a ship with coal.
| English frame | Printed English line | What the sibling prints | Where the frame parts |
|---|---|---|---|
| load X onto/into Y | Cambridge this sand onto the lorry · Oxford onto the truck · Cambridge Academic hay into the wagon | German Kisten auf einen Lkw laden · Dutch goederen in een schip laden · Japanese トラックに新米を積む | same object choice on German laden and Dutch laden · Japanese keeps Theme を and Location に |
| load Y with X | Oxford a truck with timber · Cambridge Business loaded with diesel oil | German einen Wagen mit Kohle beladen · Dutch plain een vrachtwagen laden met fruit · Russian Г. баржу лесом | English stays on load · German needs beladen and dative mit · Dutch met is already on plain laden, with no case · Russian Theme is a bare instrumental, no с |
| one verb, both frames | both rows are load · no prefix | Dutch laden prints both · French charger, Spanish cargar, Italian caricare, and Portuguese carregar keep both on one verb | German splits the frames across laden and beladen · Russian Ozhegov files погрузить with the goal frame and нагрузить / загрузить with the instrumental frame · Ushakov and MAS also print the goal frame on нагрузить |
| Romance freight preposition | with · no case | French de · avec unprinted · Spanish de or con · Italian di in the clauses, con named in the Sabatini Coletti gloss · Portuguese com beside the vehicle · de beside a vehicle unprinted on carregar | English with is one preposition · French and the printed Italian clauses use de / di · Spanish splits de and con by source · Portuguese vehicle lines print com |
| Japanese gloss of both frames | Oxford with timber and Cambridge onto the lorry are two English frames | トラックに材木を積む · one line · two English glosses · 船に石炭を積み込む likewise | the structural object does not switch · Theme を · Location に · this is the finest difference between an English frame and the translation printed for both glosses |
| Dutch, the close one-verb match | both frames on load · with has no case · Oxford passive keeps onto on a Theme subject | plain laden prints both · met has no case · beladen also takes the ship | Dutch matches the object switch on one verb · a Dutch passive that promotes the freight and keeps op or in is unprinted · English prints that passive |
English load beside German laden / beladen, Dutch laden, and Japanese 積む. The English cards use lines the dictionaries print.
EN · load · onto / into
How long will it take to load this sand onto the lorry?
Cambridge · Theme structural object · Goal onto
Move Same verb as the with-card. German prints this frame on laden. Dutch prints it as object plus op or in.
EN · load · with
Men were loading up a truck with timber.
Oxford · Location structural object · Theme with
Move German prints this frame on beladen, mit plus dative. Dutch prints met on plain laden.
DE · beladen
einen Wagen mit Kohle beladen
DWDS · as the German page files it · Location accusative · Theme mit+dative
Move The with-frame leaves laden. English keeps load. The German noun after mit is dative.
NL · laden · met
een vrachtwagen laden met fruit
woorden.org · as the Dutch page files it · plain laden
Move Dutch matches English: both frames on one verb, and the freight preposition has no case.
JA · 積む
トラックに材木を積む
研究社 · as the Japanese page files it · two English glosses · one frame
Move Both English glosses sit on Theme を and Location に. The object does not switch.
A weapon, a camera, a printer, a program, a page, a question, and load up on are not the truck frame. Each one states its own arguments.
Gun, camera, film, printer · the container is the object, or the charge is
✓ He carefully loaded the gun. · load a gun Oxford · gun/camera · the gun is the structural object · the ammunition is unexpressed · Merriam-Webster · to put a load or charge in a device
✓ load film in a camera · load film into a camera · load a camera with film Merriam-Webster · film is the object and the camera is in · Kids Definition prints into and the camera-object line with with
✓ Did you load it with 200 or 400 film? · I need to load my camera. Longman · it and my camera are the container object · the film is with on the first line and unexpressed on the second
✓ Do not load the film in bright light. Cambridge · camera/gun · the film is the object · the camera is unexpressed in this line · in bright light is the setting
✓ She loaded a new cartridge into the printer. · She loaded the printer with a new cartridge. Oxford · the cartridge is the object and the printer is into, or the printer is the object and the cartridge is with · the same two positions as the truck frames, on the equipment sense
load the gun · load film in a camera · load a camera with film · load the film · load a cartridge into the printer · load the printer with a cartridge · the container can be the only object · the charge can be the object with in or into · the container can be the object with with
Computing · software, a file, a page, data into memory
✓ The program automatically loads the file. · This page won't load on my laptop. Oxford · computing · the program is the subject and the file is the object · the page is the subject of intransitive load · on my laptop is the machine
✓ You need to load this program onto your computer. · My browser wouldn't load the page. · load software/a file/a program Cambridge · the program is the object and the computer is onto · the browser is the subject and the page is the object · the business entry’s slash line leaves the goal out
✓ To load the file, press the return key. · The program takes a while to load. · The new software can be loaded easily onto most machines. Longman · the file is the object · the program is the subject of intransitive load · Business Dictionary · the software is the passive subject · the machines are onto
✓ Load a new program or game onto your hard disk · The app loads quickly. · One of the images won't load. Merriam-Webster · the program is the object and the disk is onto · the app and the image are subjects, with no object
load the file · the page will not load · load this program onto your computer · load the page · load software · load the software onto most machines · load a program onto the hard disk · the file or the program is the structural object · onto is the machine or the disk · a page can be the subject and leave the loader out · Oxford’s definition of this sense is putting data or a program into the memory of a computer
Burden · load someone with something · work on someone · a loaded question
✓ They loaded her with gifts. · load visitors with gifts Oxford · load somebody with something · to give somebody a lot of things, especially things they have to carry · Merriam-Webster · supply in abundance · the person is the structural object · the gifts are with
✓ load more work on him · a company loaded down with debts Merriam-Webster · to place something as a burden or obligation · the work is the object and the person is on · to encumber or oppress · the company is the noun · the debts are with · down is the particle
✓ I was loaded down with shopping. Cambridge · be loaded down with something · the person is the subject · the shopping is with
✓ loaded question Wiktionary noun · a complex question that contains an implicit assumption · the entry prints no clause · Merriam-Webster’s verb sense names questions, “to charge words, questions, etc. with multiple meanings,” and the printed clause is about a word: intensity loads a word
✓ Load someone with responsibilities. constructed · the person-object and with are Oxford loaded her with gifts · responsibilities is not the printed noun · Merriam-Webster prints the burden as load more work on him, with the person in on
load her with gifts · load more work on him · loaded down with debts · loaded down with shopping · a loaded question · load someone with responsibilities · the person can be the object and the burden with, or the burden can be the object and the person on · German er lud seiner Frau die Verantwortung auf marks the person dative and the responsibility accusative · Russian Н. поручениями marks the person accusative and the errands a bare instrumental · English has no dative and no instrumental
Phrasal load up and load up on
✓ Men were loading up a truck with timber. · They loaded up the lorry. · We got back to the car and began loading up. Oxford · up with a location object and with, or with a location object and no freight, or with neither
✓ Let's load up the car and then we can go. · We loaded up the car with all of our gear. · We loaded up and drove off. Cambridge · the car is the object · Merriam-Webster · with on the gear line · intransitive loaded up
✓ People were loading up on bottled water. · More big investors are loading up on small stocks. Longman · load up on something · American English · to get a lot of something · Business Dictionary, journalism, to buy a lot of something · the water and the stocks are on · there is no location object
load up a truck with timber · load up the lorry · begin loading up · load up the car · load up and drive off · load up on bottled water · load up on small stocks · up is the particle · on in load up on is the goods, and that on is not the goal on of load packages on a truck · whether the goods of load up on are the cargo Theme is open
One verb. Oxford prints load, loads, loaded, loading. There is no prefix on the cargo frames. Up in load up leaves a place for the object in loading up a truck and stands at the right edge in began loading up. German be- and Dutch be- are prefixes. English does not use one. An outer Japanese -sase- wrap is not a form of this verb.
Working paper · October 2026 · English micro-entry · beyond Index 2
load prints the freight as the structural object and the goal as onto, into, on, or in, and prints the truck as the structural object with the freight in with. One verb, no prefix. The location-only frame and the theme-only definition line are printed. The holistic reading of the location in the with-frame is the one Anderson 1971, Levin 1993, and Pinker 1989 discuss. A gun, a file, a page, a question, and load up on stay on their own frames.
English frames: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge Advanced Learner’s, Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary, Cambridge Business English, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Merriam-Webster, and Wiktionary for the noun loaded question. Anderson 1971, Levin 1993, and Pinker 1989 are the holistic-reading citations. Sibling frames are the ones already on the German, Dutch, Japanese, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese load pages. COCA and the BNC were not opened. Nothing is quoted from a corpus that was not opened.
Records English load with the freight as the structural object and the goal in onto, into, on, or in, and with the truck as the structural object and the freight in with. One verb. German prints the with-frame on beladen and marks the noun dative. Japanese prints one を-plus-に frame for both English glosses. All of this is a working claim, revisable.