Arguments

Sender, Theme, Recipient or Goal · Spanish cloth · working claim, revisable

Voice[Sender] + low Appl(Recipient) or a PP Goal inside the verb’s domain + complement of the root (Theme)

enviar · Theme direct object · Recipient a+NP, doubled by dative le/les · before lo that dative is se · a place Goal is a+NP, or para · a does not say which · le is the Recipient · a place is not doubled by le

mandar + infinitive, or mandar que + subjunctive · the order · the person who is ordered is indirect (Le mandaron estudiar) · mandar a alguien a + infinitive sends that person to do something (Lo mandaron a estudiar)

A sending, on this reading, has a Sender, a Theme, and a third participant that is not one marking. Voice adds the Sender. The root’s complement is the Theme, the direct object: the thing that is sent, or the person who is sent. The third slot splits. a plus a person, and the dative clitic le or les, are drawn as a Recipient, a low Appl inside the verb’s domain, the same kind of added argument as the a Learner on enseñar. A place PP is drawn as a Goal inside the verb’s domain: a, or para. That split is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. a plus a noun phrase is the spelling of the Recipient, of a place, and of an animate direct object. The clitic is what separates them. le doubles a Recipient. The person who is sent is lo or la. A place is not doubled by le.

What is different from the English gloss. Cambridge prints the person of send as a double object, labeled [+ two objects], in I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week, and also in to, in Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible? A place in the articles opened on the German page is to or into (Send a letter to my office). A place as the first object, send Paris a letter, is unprinted. send Mary the package is that double object with a name in the first slot. It is unprinted. Spanish prints the person as a plus a noun phrase, as le, or as both in one clause. It does not print a bare first object. The same a introduces a place and an animate direct object.

What is different from French envoyer. On envoyer the Recipient is à plus a noun phrase or the dative clitic lui. The Académie prints those in different sentences. A French lui beside a full à-phrase is unprinted. Spanish prints the dative and the a-phrase in one clause: the DPD’s El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas. The clitic beside an accusative lo is se, not le. French lui does not change shape before the Theme clitic on the lines opened there. A French place takes y. A Spanish place is not given a clitic on the articles opened here.

What is different from German schicken. On schicken the Recipient is a bare dative, or an+accusative, and a person-dative is printed beside a place. A full Spanish noun phrase has no case ending. The Recipient is a or a clitic, and the DPD prints the clitic with the a-phrase. A person-dative beside a place, of the German ins Haus kind, is unprinted on the enviar lines opened here.

Places · who wears which marking

The three-place lines do not stack every marking in one clause. The DLE defines enviar and does not fill a clause. Sense 2 is Hacer que algo se dirija o sea llevado a alguna parte. The thing is the direct object. The place in that definition is a alguna parte. Sense 1 is Encomendar a alguien que vaya a alguna parte. The person is the one who is sent. The DPD’s article enviar repeats the gloss with brackets on the direct object: Hacer que [alguien o algo] se dirija o sea llevado a alguna parte. The filled send lines are on mandar. The DPD’s sense is enviar [a alguien] a un lugar o remitir [algo] a alguien, and the examples are lo mando a Siberia and mandarle mensajes y paquetes.

Printed mandar frame · thing to a person · dative le · direct Theme

✓ ¿Cómo es que Sabrina puede mandarle mensajes y paquetes? DPD · mandar §1b · Fernández Moreno, as the entry prints the line

send him, or her, messages and packages

Printed doubling · dative se before lo · a + person

✓ El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas DPD · pronombres personales átonos §6b · the straight agreement, set beside the rejected se las

he, or she, sent the message to his, or her, friends

Printed place · the person who is sent is lo

✓ lo mando a Siberia DPD · mandar §1b · Bustamante, as the entry prints the line · lo is the direct object · a Siberia is the place

I send him to Siberia

Places of Spanish send: introducer, marking, case status, English marking
PlaceIntroduced by (working)Spanish markingCase statusEnglish marking
SenderSpec,Voicesubject of enviar and of mandarstructural subject · no overt sender is printed on a passive of a lettersubject of send
Recipient · a+NPlow Appl · revisable · a PP spelling of the same slot as lea + noun phrase (a alguien in the DPD’s remitir [algo] a alguien · a sus amigas · a mi madre is the DPD’s doubling model, on decir)the DPD prints the a-phrase with the clitic in se lo envió a sus amigas · a full noun has no case ending · a is also the place marker and the personal a, so the phrase alone does not say Recipient, Goal, or direct objectto + person (to them) · or the first object of [+ two objects] (her)
Recipient · le / les · se before lolow Appl · clitic · revisable · doubles the a-phrasedative clitic le (mandarle mensajes y paquetes) · les is the plural in the pronoun table · se is that dative before lo, la, los, or las (se lo envió · Se los compré)doubling of a postposed indirect object is normally optional and usually the frequent cloth: (Le) he dicho la verdad a mi madre · le does not resume a place · les is unprinted on the enviar and send-mandar examples opened herefirst object of [+ two objects] (her) · English does not double that object with a clitic · not a place name
Themecomplement of the rootdirect object (algo, mensajes y paquetes, El mensaje, lo of the message)structural direct object · a line can lack a · when the direct object is the person who is sent, the clitic is lo or la, not leobject of send (a letter, a reply, the package)
Animate direct object · personal acomplement of the root · the person who is sent · not the Recipienta alguien in the DLE’s sense 1 and in the DPD’s [a alguien] · clitic lo in lo mando a Siberia and in Lo mandaron a estudiara defined personal direct object is headed by a · that a is the same preposition as the Recipient and as the place · le is not this clitic · the DPD’s leísmo article rejects le for an inanimate direct object (Los informes me les mandas)object of send when the one who goes is the object (sent relief workers to the region)
Place Goal · a / paraPP inside the verb’s domain · revisable · not a fourth argumenta alguna parte · a un lugar · a Siberia · para is DLE sense 2 of the preposition, hacia, the direction of a movement · para is unfilled on the enviar and mandar articles opened herethe place is not le · a is the same preposition as the Recipient and as personal a · a place doubled by le is unprintedto or into (to my office, to the region) · send Paris a letter is unprinted
mandar · order · infinitive or queinside the verb’s domain · the person who is ordered is indirect · revisable · not the send framemandó hacer el hotel · He mandado que te preparen la habitación · le mandaba que fuera allá · Le mandaron estudiar · Le mandé hacer una urnathe DPD calls this dar la orden · the infinitive and the que-clause are the direct object · the person is a complemento indirecto · in Spain the infinitive and the que-clause of an order have no a · the DLE’s senses 1 and 6 of mandar are this order, not sense 4not the Cambridge send lines opened here · an order is a different English verb
mandar a alguien a + infinitivethe person who goes is the direct object · the infinitive is inside the verb’s domain · revisable · not a fourth argumentlo mandó a patinar con su hermana · lo mandé a que echara un ojo al zaguán · Lo mandaron a estudiarthe DPD’s gloss is enviar [a alguien] a que haga algo · a before the infinitive or the que-clause is obligatory in Spain for this sense · the person is lo, not le · American lines print a on the order as wellsend somebody to do something · French prints a bare infinitive · German’s fetch is nach dem Arzt schicken

Marking map. One letter can belong to several heads. Read the lemma, then the marker.

EN ⇄ ES valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with a Spanish slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (a bare English object ↔ Spanish a or le, or to ↔ a / para). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus. French envoyer and German schicken are the live siblings, not extra columns.

English–Spanish valency alignment for send, one row per argument
SlotEN formES formAlignEN exampleES example
SenderSUBJ of sendsubject=She sends me a letter every month English Wiktionary · sendse lo envió DPD · the subject is the Sender of envió
Recipient · personfirst object of [+ two objects]le or a+NP · the two may stand togethershift · Spanish doubles · the English gloss is a bare objectI'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week Cambridge · [+ two objects]mandarle mensajes y paquetes DPD · a sus amigas DPD · French lui is not doubled in the printed line · German jemandem is a bare dative
Themeobject of senddirect object=Send a letter to my office Cambridge Americanmensajes y paquetes DPD · mandar · El mensaje DPD · enviar
Dative before lothe first object stays herse + loshift · le is not the form in this clustersend her it constructed · not a dictionary line · modelled on send her a letterse lo envió DPD · Se los compré DPD · se §1a · the verb is comprar
Place Goalto / into + placea · or parashift · the printed verb lines use a · para is the preposition’s own articlesent relief workers to the region Cambridge Americana Siberia DPD · a alguna parte DLE · para DLE · sense 2 · unfilled on enviar
Person sentobject of send + to + placedirect object with personal a · clitic lo · place ashift · two a phrases · le is not this personsent relief workers to the region Cambridge Americanlo mando a Siberia DPD
Send someone to dosend + person + to-infinitivelo + a + infinitiveshift · Spanish prints a before this infinitive · French prints nonesend somebody to skate constructed · not a dictionary linelo mandó a patinar DPD · Lo mandaron a estudiar DPD · the gloss is lo enviaron
Ordernot sendle + infinitive, or que + subjunctive · no a in the Spain paira different frame · the person is indirectorder someone to study constructed · not the Cambridge line opened hereLe mandaron estudiar DPD · glossed le ordenaron que estudiara · mandó que te preparen DPD
Place as the bare third slotsend Paris a letterbare place, or le of a placeunprinted on both sides* send Paris a letter constructed · not a dictionary line* le = Madrid constructed · le is the Recipient

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Spanish under it. The subject chip is the Sender.

EN · ES · le

le + direct object

I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week

mandarle mensajes y paquetes

EN · Cambridge · [+ two objects] · ES · DPD · dative clitic · direct Theme

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme
Recipient her · le Theme a letter · paquetes

Move le is the Recipient · English spells a bare object · French spells lui

EN · ES · doubling

se lo … a

I'll send her a letter

El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas

ES · DPD · clitic and a-phrase in one clause · se is le before lo

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme
Recipient her · se · a sus amigas Theme a letter · lo · el mensaje

Move Spanish doubles · French lui and à are printed in different sentences

EN · ES · place

a / para

Send a letter to my office

lo mando a Siberia

ES · DPD · a + place · the person is lo · EN to + place

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal
Theme relief workers · lo Goal the region · a Siberia

Move a place is a PP · a is the same spelling as the Recipient

EN · ES · personal a

a Juan a Madrid

—

Pat envió a Juan a Madrid.

constructed · personal a modelled on [a alguien] · place a modelled on a Siberia

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal
Theme a Juan Goal a Madrid

Move the same a twice · lo would pick Juan · le would not

EN · ES · le ≠ place

place is not the dative

* send Paris a letter

* Pat le envió el paquete a Madrid.

constructed · le resumed as a place · the printed place is a with no le

RolesHide roles GoalTheme
Goal Paris · le = Madrid Theme a letter · el paquete

Move le doubles a Recipient · French keeps a place on y

EN · ES · order ≠ send

le + infinitive · lo + a + infinitive

—

Le mandaron estudiar. Lo mandaron a estudiar.

ES · DPD · the first is an order · the second is lo enviaron

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme
Order le · estudiar Sent lo · a estudiar

Move the a before the infinitive is the Spain split · French prints no à there

Examples

Argument difference. English send her a letter and send Mary the package put the person in a bare object and the Theme in the other object. English send a letter to my office and send a reply to them put the third slot in to. Spanish enviar puts the Theme in the direct object and the person in a or in le, and the DPD prints both in one clause. Before lo the dative is se. A place is a, and the DLE’s para is the other direction, unfilled on the verb. The same a is the Recipient, the Goal, and personal a. le is only the Recipient. The person who is sent is lo. French envoyer puts the person in à or in lui and does not print them together. German schicken puts the person in a bare dative. The dative clitic is inside the verb’s domain on the working drawing. The PP is the Goal, also inside that domain, except that a plus a person who receives the thing is drawn with the clitic, as one Recipient spelled two ways. The drawing does not decide that a sus amigas is a different participant from se.

Senses kept off this frame. The DLE’s enviar a alguien a pasear and enviar a alguien noramala are the dismissal locutions. Senses 3 and 4 are marked desus. The DLE’s mandar senses of a bequest, of governing, of the horse, and the pronominal lines are not a letter. The DPD’s mandar + gerund is the Ecuador line, and mandar(se) (a) cambiar is the colloquial dismissal. The order, Le mandaron estudiar and He mandado que te preparen, is on this page only so it stays off the send frame. enviar does not print it.

Dictionary frames and lines · quoted as printed

Encomendar a alguien que vaya a alguna parte. · Hacer que algo se dirija o sea llevado a alguna parte. DLE · enviar · senses 1 and 2 · sense 2 names the synonym mandar · conjugation envío, envié, enviaré, enviado

Hacer que [alguien o algo] se dirija o sea llevado a alguna parte. DPD · enviar · the brackets mark the direct object · the i of the root is tonic when the stress falls there

Enviar a alguien o remitir algo. DLE · mandar sense 4 · the synonym list names enviar · sense 1 is Ordenar al súbdito · sense 6 is Manifestar la voluntad de que se haga algo

lo mando a Siberia · mandarle mensajes y paquetes · lo mandó a patinar con su hermana · lo mandé a que echara un ojo al zaguán DPD · mandar §1b · the gloss is enviar [a alguien] a un lugar o remitir [algo] a alguien, and enviar [a alguien] a que haga algo

La tatarabuela Felicia mandó hacer el hotel. · He mandado que te preparen la habitación de invitados. · le mandaba que fuera allá · Le mandaron estudiar · Lo mandaron a estudiar DPD · mandar §1a and the Spain pair · the glosses are the entry’s · Le mandaron estudiar is le ordenaron que estudiara · Lo mandaron a estudiar is lo enviaron a algún lugar para que estudiara

Le mandé hacer una urna. DPD · leísmo §4b · the person of mandar in the order frame is indirect · the verb of the example is mandar, not enviar

El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas. · (Le) he dicho la verdad a mi madre. DPD · pronombres personales átonos · §6b and §5.2a · the parentheses on Le are the entry’s · decir is the model of optional doubling, not a sending

Les compré caramelos > Se los compré. DPD · se §1a · dative le(s) before an accusative of the third person takes the form se · the verb is comprar

Los informes me les mandas cuando puedas. DPD · leísmo §2 · the symbol is the entry’s · le for an inanimate direct object · not a place Goal

para · hacia · denota sentido de un movimiento DLE · para sense 2 · sense 1 is el fin o término a que se encamina una acción · neither sense is an enviar example

I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week. · Could you send a reply to them as quickly as possible? Cambridge Advanced · send · [+ two objects] is the entry’s label

Send a letter to my office. Cambridge American · send

She sends me a letter every month. English Wiktionary · send · the entry labels the verb ditransitive

Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Pat continues the named-participant series on enseñar. A name does not spell function. le spells the dative. el paquete follows the DPD’s paquetes. a María follows a mi madre and a sus amigas. a Madrid and para Madrid follow a Siberia and the DLE’s directional para. a Juan follows a alguien.

✓ Pat le envió el paquete.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme
Sender Pat Recipient le Theme el paquete

constructed · dative clitic modelled on the DPD’s mandarle mensajes y paquetes

✓ Le envié el paquete a María.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme
Sender yo Recipient le · a María Theme el paquete

constructed · doubling modelled on (Le) he dicho la verdad a mi madre and on se lo envió a sus amigas · le and a María are one Recipient

✓ Se lo envié.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme
Sender yo Recipient se Theme lo

constructed · se modelled on Se los compré and on the printed se lo envió · se is le before lo · not a reflexive

✓ Pat les envió el paquete.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme
Sender Pat Recipient les Theme el paquete

constructed · plural dative modelled on le and on the pronoun table’s les · les is unprinted on the send examples

✓ Pat envió el paquete a Madrid.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal
Sender Pat Theme el paquete Goal a Madrid

constructed · a + place modelled on a Siberia and on a alguna parte · the same a as a María · no Recipient is in the line

✓ Pat envió el paquete para Madrid.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal
Sender Pat Theme el paquete Goal para Madrid

constructed · para modelled on DLE sense 2, hacia, the direction of a movement · unfilled on the verb articles · no Recipient is in the line

✓ Pat envió a Juan a Madrid.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal
Sender Pat Theme a Juan Goal a Madrid

constructed · personal a modelled on enviar [a alguien] · place modelled on a Siberia · the clitic of Juan would be lo, as in lo mando

* Pat le envió el paquete a Madrid. le = Madrid

RolesHide roles GoalTheme
Goal le = Madrid Theme el paquete

constructed · le resumed as a place · the same string with le as a person is the doubling cloth · a place takes a or para, and no dative clitic

* Pat envió María el paquete.

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme
Recipient María Theme el paquete

constructed · bare Recipient · the printed person beside this Theme is a or le · English send Mary the package is that bare first object · French Marie is bare in the same gap · German jemandem is a bare dative, and a Spanish full noun is not

  1. ✓ mandarle mensajes y paquetes DPD · dative le · direct Theme
  2. ✓ El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas DPD · doubling · se before lo
  3. ✓ a alguna parte DLE · place in the definition · the Theme is algo
  4. ✓ lo mando a Siberia DPD · person as direct object · a + place · not le
  5. ✓ lo mandó a patinar DPD · send someone to do · a + infinitive
  6. ✓ Le mandaron estudiar DPD · order · indirect person · no a in the Spain pair
  7. ✓ He mandado que te preparen la habitación DPD · order · que + subjunctive
  8. ✓ Lo mandaron a estudiar DPD · the gloss is lo enviaron · not the order
  9. ✓ Se los compré DPD · the shape of se · the verb is not enviar

What the clitics show

The clitic is an operation on the same places. It does not add a participant. A passive of a letter is unprinted on the articles opened here. Nothing is constructed for it.

le and se. mandarle mensajes y paquetes puts the Recipient in le and leaves the Theme as the direct object. El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas puts the same Recipient in se, because lo follows, and doubles it with a sus amigas. The Theme is el mensaje and lo. Les compré caramelos > Se los compré is the general rule, on another verb. les is the plural cell. It is unprinted on these send examples. The constructed Pat les envió el paquete is that cell. The constructed le = Madrid is the place reading, and it is starred.

lo is the person who is sent. lo mando a Siberia and Lo mandaron a estudiar put that person in lo. The place, or the a + infinitive, stays. le is the other person, the one who receives a thing or an order: mandarle, Le mandaron estudiar, Le mandé hacer una urna. The Spain pair uses the clitic to separate the order from the sending. American lines print a on the order as well, so the clitic and the a do not separate the two senses in those lines. Nothing further is constructed for that crossing.

The root vowel. The DPD says the i that precedes the ending is tonic in the forms of enviar that carry the stress on the root. The DLE prints envío, envié, enviaré, and the participle enviado. That vowel is the conjugation those entries print. It is not a second event.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Sender to Voice, the Recipient to low Appl, the PP Goal to a phrase inside the verb’s domain, and the Theme to the root. The Recipient is the added argument, analogous to the a Learner on enseñar and to the a buyer on vender. Open one sketch at a time. Whether a plus a place is that low Appl or the Goal PP is settled here only by the clitic: le is the Recipient, and a place is not doubled by le. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.

Voice · the Sender is the external argument

Constructed · the finite verb in C · one external argument

[CP Pat_1
  [C' envió
    [TP t_1
      [VoiceP t_1 Voice                     ← Sender = Spec,Voice
        … enviar … ]
      T ]]]

✓ Pat le envió el paquete. constructed

The external argument is the Sender. English keeps that one subject on send. A passive of the letter, with no overt Sender, is unprinted. Nothing is constructed.

Low Appl · the Recipient · the root takes the Theme

Recipient le or a+NP · the two may stand together · direct Theme · working, revisable

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [le]_DAT Appl                    ← Recipient · dative clitic
    [VP √envi-
       [Theme el paquete ]]]]                 ← Theme · direct object

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [le · a María] Appl              ← Recipient · doubled · one slot
    [VP √envi-
       [Theme el paquete ]]]]

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [se]_DAT Appl                    ← se = le before lo
    [VP √envi-
       [Theme lo ]]]]

A place PP is not this Appl. It sits in the verb’s domain, with the Theme. a plus a place is that PP. para is the other spelling. le is not.

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √envi-
     [Theme el paquete ]
     [PP a [ Madrid ]]]]                      ← Goal · PP · not le

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √envi-
     [Theme a Juan ]                          ← personal a · clitic lo
     [PP a [ Madrid ]]]]                      ← second a · the place

The infinitive of mandar a alguien a sits in the verb’s domain. Its agent is the direct object. The order infinitive, with no a in the Spain pair, is not this Goal. Its person is the indirect object.

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √mand-
     [Theme lo ]                              ← the person who is sent
     [Inf a patinar ]]]                       ← purpose · not a Recipient

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [le]_DAT Appl                    ← the person who is ordered
    [VP √mand-
       [Theme estudiar ]]]]                   ← order · no a in the Spain pair

✓ mandarle mensajes y paquetes DPD · dative Recipient

✓ El mensaje se lo envió a sus amigas DPD · doubled Recipient · se before lo

✓ lo mando a Siberia DPD · direct-object person · PP Goal

✓ Le mandaron estudiar DPD · order · not the send frame

* Pat le envió el paquete a Madrid. le = Madrid constructed · a place is not the dative the articles print

English counterpart · double object, and to · French lui · German bare dative

Working · no English send page is opened · French is envoyer · German is schicken

[VoiceP Pat Voice                              ← Sender
  [ApplP_LOW her Appl                           ← Recipient · bare object
    [VP √SEND
       [Theme a letter ]]]]                    ← I'll send her a letter
                                                · Cambridge [+ two objects]
                                                · Spanish le / a · doubled
                                                · not a bare noun

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [Theme a letter ]
     [PP to [ my office ]]]]                   ← Send a letter to my office
                                                · Spanish a / para
                                                · a is also the Recipient
                                                · and personal a

Cambridge’s [+ two objects] lines put a person in the first object. The to lines put a person or a place in the PP. A place in the first object is unprinted. Spanish se lo envió a sus amigas is the Recipient doubled. Spanish a Siberia is the place PP. French lui in Je lui ai envoyé un télégramme is the Recipient without the full phrase in that sentence. German mir in Sie hat mir einen Liebesbrief geschickt is a bare dative, which a Spanish full noun does not spell.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English send, Spanish enviar, French envoyer, and German schicken
Layersend (EN) · no pageenviarenvoyer · liveschicken · live
Spec,VoiceSenderSenderSenderSender
Recipientbare first object, where the entry prints [+ two objects]a+NP and le/les · doubled · se before loà+NP or lui/leur · the two are printed apartbare dative · also an+accusative
Themeobjectdirect objectdirect objectaccusative
Person sentobject + to + placepersonal a · clitic lo · not ledirect object · no personal aaccusative
Placeto or into · not the first objecta · para unfilled on the verb · not leà, en, or chez · clitic y · not luinach, in, zu, or an · a person-dative may stand with ins Haus
Purposeunasserted on the lines opened herea + infinitive on mandar · the order has no a in the Spain pairbare infinitive · agent overt or implicitnach dem Arzt schicken is the fetch, kept off the letter frame

On enseñar the added argument is an a Learner and the direct object is the Content. On vender the buyer is a or le, and se lo is printed. On enviar the a phrase or le is the Recipient and the direct object is the Theme, and a place PP is a further marking. The analogy is the added indirect object. It is not a claim that a Learner, a buyer, and a Recipient are one role.

Notes

Working paper · October 2026 · Spanish micro-entry · Beyond Index 2

Sending in Spanish is not one marking of the third slot. Sender (Voice, subject), Theme (complement of the root, direct object), and either a Recipient (low Appl, a+NP doubled by dative le/les, and se before lo, working and revisable) or a Goal (a PP inside the verb’s domain: a, or para). a does not say which. le is the Recipient. A place is not doubled by le. mandar plus an infinitive, or mandar que plus the subjunctive, is an order. mandar a alguien a plus an infinitive sends someone to do something. English send her a letter is a double object. French lui is not doubled in the printed line. German schicken is a bare dative. send Paris a letter is unprinted.

ES micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 a Recipient versus Goal FR envoyer live DE schicken live

Sense × language: send · Spanish (enviar, mandar where it matches). The transfer sense is the page. The order sense of mandar stays off the letter frame and on the page, because that is where the infinitive splits. The dismissal locutions stay off the frame. No English send hub. Geometry neighbors: teach · enseñar, for the a added argument, sell · vender, for se lo, send · envoyer, for lui without the doubling, and send · schicken, for the bare dative. Index 2 Spanish Transfer cites intercambiar, cambiar, dar — not these verbs.

Working paper. Spanish micro-entry, third language of send. Dictionary frames were read on the DLE (enviar, mandar, and para) and on the DPD (enviar, mandar, leísmo, pronombres personales átonos, and se), with Cambridge and English Wiktionary for the English double object and for to.
Constructed examples. Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. a María, a Madrid, para Madrid, a Juan, les, and Le envié el paquete a María are constructed on printed frames. Se lo envié is constructed on the printed se lo envió. The place doubled by le, and the bare Recipient, are starred because the filled marking is the other one.
Arity. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. Surface count can name a sender, a person, a thing, and a place. The lexicon does not list four co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds the Sender. Low Appl adds the Recipient. A PP Goal is inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. The infinitive is inside that domain. The root vowel of envío is not a further sister.
What this page does not do. It does not open a separate page for mandar. It does not open an English page of send. The order sense stops at the citation that separates it from the send. The dismissal locutions stop at the citation.

Hierarchy

Not a flat grid of three sisters, and not one case frame copied from the English gloss. Voice adds the Sender. Low Appl adds the Recipient. A PP adds the Goal, inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. The drawing is working and revisable.

What Spanish changes, against English send her a letter and send Mary the package, is that the person is a or le, not a bare object, and that the clitic and the a-phrase are printed together. What Spanish changes, against English send a letter to a place, is that the same a is a place and is personal a. The clitic separates them. le is the Recipient. lo is the person who is sent. A place takes a or para, and not le. What Spanish changes, against French envoyer, is the doubling, and se before lo. What Spanish changes, against German schicken, is that a full noun has no bare dative. The order on mandar is a different frame. The Spain pair keeps it off the send by leaving out a and by using le rather than lo.

Geometry · send beside the live Spanish a, the live French clitic, and the live German dative

  • English send. Person as the first object of [+ two objects], or in to. Place in to or into. send Mary the package is that double object. send Paris a letter is unprinted. No English page is opened.
  • enviar. Direct-object Theme. Recipient a+NP doubled by le. se before lo. Place a, or para where the preposition’s own article is the direction of a movement. a is ambiguous until the clitic. le is the Recipient. Personal a takes lo. Conjugation envío, envié, enviado, as morphology.
  • mandar. Sense 4 matches the send: remitir [algo] a alguien, lo mando a Siberia, a + infinitive for sending someone to do something. Senses 1 and 6, and the DPD’s §1a, are the order: infinitive or que + subjunctive, person indirect. Not a separate page.
  • envoyer. Direct-object Theme. Recipient à or lui, printed apart. Place à, en, or chez. A place takes y. The infinitive has no à. The elliptical fetch is envoyer chercher.
  • schicken. Accusative Theme. Bare dative Recipient, or an+accusative. Place nach, in, zu. A person-dative with a place is printed. That stack is unprinted in Spanish.
  • enseñar. a Learner, doubled by le, direct-object Content. The indirect object is the added argument this page compares. The Learner is not a Recipient of a package.
  • vender. a or le for the buyer, and se lo is printed. The two spellings of one indirect object, and the shape of se, are the parallel. A place Goal of the enviar kind is not that buyer.

Open items

  • Whether low Appl is the right head for a and le. The drawing puts a Recipient inside the verb’s domain, on the analogy of the a Learner of enseñar. The dictionaries print the phrases and the clitic. They do not print that head. The ranking stays open.
  • Whether a plus a person is the same head as a plus a place. The preposition is the same, and it is also personal a. le versus lo, and the absence of le on a place, are the split the drawing uses. The articles do not rank the three a phrases beyond the examples they print.
  • para on enviar. Unprinted. The DLE defines para as a direction of movement. The constructed line is the working limit. It is not a dictionary example of the verb.
  • les on enviar. Unprinted. The pronoun table prints les as the plural indirect object. The constructed plural clitic is the working limit. It is not a dictionary asterisk.
  • A place doubled by le. Unprinted. The constructed le = Madrid line is the working limit. The DPD’s rejected inanimate le is a direct object, les mandas of the reports, and is not this place.
  • A Recipient beside a place. Unprinted. German prints the dative with ins Haus. Nothing is constructed for the Spanish stack.
  • A passive of a letter. Unprinted. Nothing is constructed.
  • The American a on an order. Printed: mandó a matar, Me mandó a que cerrara los ojos, mandó a llamar. The Spain pair is the split this page uses. The crossing is not given a second analysis.
  • An order on enviar. Unprinted. Not constructed.

Corpus filenames and sources

Dictionary frames: DLE enviar, mandar, and para; DPD 2.ª edición enviar, mandar, leísmo, pronombres personales átonos, and se. English lines: Cambridge Advanced and Cambridge American send; English Wiktionary send. Constructed clauses put a printed marking on a named sender. a María, a Madrid, para Madrid, a Juan, and les are the working limits of the printed frames. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. Spanish Transfer in Index 2 is intercambiar, cambiar, dar. French send is envoyer. German send is schicken.

Records the direct-object Theme of enviar, the Recipient as a+NP doubled by le, and se before lo. Records the place as a, and para as the preposition’s directional sense, unfilled on the verb. Records that a does not separate Recipient, place, and personal a, and that le is only the Recipient. Records mandar on the send sense and on the order, and the Spain pair that separates them. Does not open an English page.