Arguments

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

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

wysłać · aspect cell dokonany · partner named wysyłać · Theme accusative CO · Recipient bare dative KOMU · Goal do+genitive or na+accusative · means instrumental CZYM

posłać · aspect cell dokonany · partner named posyłać · three alternative parcel lines, not one stacked clause: CO+DOKĄD+(CZYM) · CO+KOMU+(CZYM) · CO+KOMU+PRZEZ KOGO · fetch po+accusative · order żeby + clause

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, accusative: the letter, the book, or the person who is sent. The third slot splits. A bare dative is drawn as a Recipient, a low Appl inside the verb’s domain, the person who receives the thing. A PP is drawn as a Goal inside the verb’s domain: do plus genitive, or na plus accusative. That split is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. The dictionaries print the dative and do plus genitive as different schema lines. They do not print them as two spellings of one recipient.

What WSJP prints for wysłać, the letter. Sense 1, list, is przekazać komuś lub dokądś jakąś przesyłkę lub wiadomość. The aspect cell is dokonany. The partner the entry names is wysyłać. The wysyłać article was not opened. The aspect cell is morphology. The schema lines are Rz osobowy + wysłać + CO+(CZYM) and CO+(CZYM)+(DOKĄD). The schema table does not list KOMU. The definition writes komuś lub dokądś, and the citations fill a bare dative. Collocations of the Theme are accusative: depeszę, list, telegram, wiadomość. Collocations of the means are instrumental: pocztą, faksem. Citations: wysłałam mu książkę is dative mu plus accusative książkę. The list do Barańczaka in that paragraph is the object of napisałam, not of wysłać. Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu is do plus genitive. Wysłać mu na odpowiedni numer konta stacks the dative and na plus accusative. wysłać je pocztą is the instrumental.

What WSJP prints for wysłać, the person. Sense 2 is zlecić komuś, aby udał się dokądś w jakimś celu. The schema lines are KOGO+(do KOGO)+(CZYM) and KOGO+(CZYM)+(DOKĄD). KOGO is the person who is sent, accusative. Collocations: delegację, policję, poselstwo, posłańca, reportera, strażaków, wojsko, zwiadowcę, żołnierzy. Place collocations: do Moskwy, do Paryża, do Warszawy, na placówkę, na wojnę. Citations: Synów … wysłał na wieś do dziadka stacks accusative persons, na plus accusative, and do plus genitive of a person. There is no dative on dziadka. zostali wysłani na front is a passive of the person. delegację do Moskwy is accusative plus do plus genitive. Sense 3, a ball or a missile, schema CO+DOKĄD, stays off the letter. Sense 4, radiation, and sense 5, the carpet, partner wyściełać, stay off it. That carpet verb is a homonym.

What WSJP prints for posłać, the parcel. Sense 1, paczkę, names the partner posyłać. That article was not opened. The schema is three alternative lines: CO+DOKĄD+(CZYM), CO+KOMU+(CZYM), and CO+KOMU+PRZEZ KOGO. They are not one clause with every slot filled. Citations: Raz mu posłał pocztówkę is dative mu plus accusative pocztówkę. ważka, którą Ci posłałem przez Ziunię is dative Ci plus przez plus accusative. poślesz pocztą, faksem, mailem is the instrumental. przez KOGO is the person who carries the thing. It is not a fourth co-argument of a flat verb, and it is not the Recipient.

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. A place in to is send them to the phone recycling company. A place as the first object, send Paris a letter, is unprinted. We're sending the kids to stay with my parents is labeled [+ to infinitive]. send for a doctor is the phrasal entry send for. Polish prints the person who receives the thing as a bare dative, mu or Ci, not as a bare accusative first object and not as to. Polish prints a city, an institution, or a person-as-destination in do plus genitive. English to covers the person and the place. Polish does not give them one marker. The English to-infinitive is unprinted on these Polish verbs. The printed purpose clause is żeby. The English for of send for is Polish po plus accusative.

What is different from German schicken. On schicken the Recipient is a bare dative, or an plus accusative, and the WDG prints those as alternative cloths of one person beside one accusative Theme. A person-dative is printed beside a place: die Waren werden [Ihnen] ins Haus geschickt. A city in the dative slot is unprinted there. The place is nach, in, or zu. Polish has no an-style accusative preposition on the person who receives the letter. The bare dative is that person. do plus genitive is direction, and it covers a city (do Warszawy), an institution (do resortu), and a person standing as the destination (do dziadka). Those are not two spellings of mu. German’s fetch line is nach dem Arzt schicken, nach plus dative, kept off that page’s letter frame. Polish prints the fetch as po plus accusative.

Places · who wears which marking

The lines do not stack every marking in one clause. wysłałam mu książkę prints the dative and the Theme, and prints no do. Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu prints do plus genitive and the Theme, and prints no dative. Wysłać mu na odpowiedni numer konta prints the dative beside na plus accusative. wysłał na wieś do dziadka prints na plus accusative and do plus genitive on a person-Theme, and the grandfather is not a dative. On posłać the parcel, KOMU and DOKĄD are alternative schema lines.

Printed wysłać · bare dative · accusative Theme

✓ wysłałam mu książkę WSJP · wysłać sense 1 · list · dative mu · accusative książkę

I sent him a book · the person is a bare dative · the book is the Theme · no do in that clause

Printed Goal · do + genitive · accusative Theme

✓ Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu WSJP · wysłać sense 1 · do + genitive · accusative Theme

he sent a copy of the paper to the ministry · direction · no dative in the clause

Printed person who is sent · na + accusative · do + genitive

✓ Synów … wysłał na wieś do dziadka WSJP · wysłać sense 2 · accusative persons · na wieś · do dziadka

he sent his sons to the country, to their grandfather · dziadka is genitive after do · not a dative Recipient

Places of Polish send: introducer, marking, status, English and German marking
PlaceIntroduced by (working)Polish markingStatus in the sourcesEnglish and German
SenderSpec,Voicenominative subject · Rz osobowy in the WSJP schemathe citations fill a subject, or leave it out of the fragment · a passive of the person is printed: zostali wysłani na frontsubject of send · subject of schicken
Recipient · bare dativelow Appl · the person who receives the thing · revisablebare dative · KOMU · mu · Ci · the definition’s komuśfilled in citations · on wysłać sense 1 the schema table lists CO and DOKĄD and does not list KOMU · on posłać sense 1 CO+KOMU is its own schema line · no preposition on that dative · a city in this slot is unprintedfirst object of Cambridge’s [+ two objects] (her) · German bare dative, which on schicken alternates with an+accusative
Goal · do + genitivePP inside the verb’s domain · direction · revisable · not a second spelling of the dativedo + genitive · do resortu · do Warszawy · do Moskwy · do Paryża · do dziadka · do szkoły · do więzieniaWSJP citations and collocations · a person after do is the destination, genitive, not KOMU · do brata is unprinted · no citation opened here stacks KOMU and do+genitive in one letter clauseEnglish to + place, and also to + person · German place is nach, in, or zu · German an+accusative is the other cloth of the person, not this do
Goal · na + accusativePP inside the verb’s domain · a place or a situation · revisablena + accusative · na wieś · na front · na placówkę · na wojnę · na rynek · na targ · na górę · na studia · na emeryturę · na urlop · na język angielskina studia and na emeryturę are collocations of posłać sense 4, not citations of wysłać · na pocztę and na wakacje are unprinted on the pages opened · na stacks with the dative in mu na odpowiedni numer konta, and with do in na wieś do dziadkaEnglish to or on · not the first object · German in+accusative and an+accusative of a place are the other cloth
Themecomplement of the rootaccusative · CO or KOGO · książkę · list · pocztówkę · synów · delegacjępositive clauses · under nie the printed person is genitive jej, not accusative ją · nie wysłał listu is constructed on that genitive and on accusative listobject of send · accusative of schicken
Fetch · po + accusativethe one to fetch, or the thing to fetch · revisable · not the Recipientpo + accusative · po lekarza · po doktora · po księdza · po kartofle · po chleb · po pieprzWSJP posłać sense 3, po lekarza, is labeled przest. · sense 2, po chleb, is not · schema KOGO+(po CO)+DOKĄD and KOGO+po KOGO · posłał po ludzi do San Miguel prints po with no messenger in that clause, plus do+genitiveEnglish send for · Cambridge send for a doctor · German nach dem Arzt schicken is nach+dative, kept off the letter frame on schicken
żeby-clausethe errand · finite clause · revisable · not a fourth argumentżeby + clause · schema KOGO+żeby ZDANIE · go posłać na górę, żeby mi przyniósł jasiekprinted on posłać senses 2 and 3 · a bare infinitive is unprinted · mi in that clause is inside przyniósł, the person the cushion is forCambridge [+ to infinitive] · We're sending the kids to stay… · Italian a + infinitive on mandare · Portuguese bare infinitive on mandar
Means · CZYM · carrier przez KOGOnot a fourth argumentinstrumental pocztą, faksem, mailem · przez + accusative przez Ziunięoptional in the schema · przez stacks with the dative in the citation · it does not replace KOMUEnglish by post · not the first object

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

EN ⇄ PL valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with a Polish slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (a bare English object ↔ a Polish dative, or to / for ↔ do, na, or po). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other Polish sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. German schicken is the live sibling for the dative, not an extra column.

English–Polish valency alignment for send, one row per argument
SlotEN formPL formAlignEN examplePL example
SenderSUBJ of sendnominative subject=I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week Cambridge · [+ two objects]wysłałam mu książkę WSJP · the subject is the Sender
Recipient · personfirst object of [+ two objects]bare dative · KOMUshift · Polish spells a dative ending · English spells a bare object · German also spells a dative, and adds an+accusativeI'll send her a letter Cambridgemu książkę · Ci posłałem WSJP
Themeobject of sendaccusative · genitive under nie= in the positive · shift under nie · English keeps the objectI'll send her a letter Cambridgeksiążkę · list WSJP · jej under nie WSJP · posłać
Goal · doto + placedo + genitiveshift · English to also covers a person · Polish do is not the dative Recipientsend them to the phone recycling company Cambridge Business · send sth to sthdo resortu · do Warszawy · do dziadka WSJP
Goal · nato + place or situationna + accusativeshift · na pocztę and na wakacje are unprintedsend them to the phone recycling company Cambridgena wieś · na front · na studia · na emeryturę WSJP · the last two are posłać collocations
Fetchsend for + the personpo + accusativeshift · English spells for · Polish spells po · German spells nach+dativeDo you think we should send for a doctor? Cambridge · send forpo lekarza · po kartofle WSJP · po lekarza is przest. · po kartofle is not
Errandto-infinitiveżeby + clauseshift · a bare infinitive is unprintedWe're sending the kids to stay with my parents Cambridge · [+ to infinitive]żeby mi przyniósł jasiek WSJP
Place as the dativesend Paris a letterdative of a cityunprinted on both sides* send Paris a letter constructed · not a dictionary line* Warszawie list constructed · a city is do Warszawy

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Polish under it. A card that quotes a dictionary line has no added name.

EN · PL · dative

mu + accusative

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

wysłałam mu książkę

EN · Cambridge · [+ two objects] · PL · WSJP · bare dative · accusative Theme

RolesHide roles RecipientTheme
Recipient her · mu Theme a letter · książkę

Move mu is dative · English spells a bare object · German also spells a dative, and prints an+accusative beside it

EN · PL · do

do + genitive

send them to the phone recycling company

Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu

PL · WSJP · do+genitive · no dative in the clause

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal
Theme them · kopię Goal the company · do resortu

Move do is direction · mu is the person who receives the thing · they are not one schema line

EN · PL · na · do

na wieś do dziadka

We're sending the kids to stay with my parents

Synów wysłał na wieś do dziadka

PL · WSJP · person accusative · na+accusative · do+genitive · no dative on the grandfather

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal
Theme the kids · synów Goal na wieś · do dziadka

Move the grandfather is a destination · English puts the staying in a to-infinitive

EN · PL · po

po + accusative

Do you think we should send for a doctor?

posłać po lekarza

EN · Cambridge · send for · PL · WSJP · sense labeled przest. · po+accusative

RolesHide roles Fetch
Fetch a doctor · po lekarza

Move English for · Polish po+accusative · German nach+dative

EN · PL · żeby

żeby-clause

We're sending the kids to stay with my parents

go posłać na górę, żeby mi przyniósł jasiek

PL · WSJP · finite żeby · a bare infinitive is unprinted

RolesHide roles GoalErrand
Goal na górę Errand żeby … przyniósł

Move English spells a to-infinitive · the Polish line spells żeby

EN · PL · situation

na studia · na emeryturę

We're sending the kids to stay with my parents

posłać … na studia · na emeryturę

PL · WSJP · posłać sense 4 · collocations · not filled sentences · not on the wysłać pages opened

RolesHide roles ThemeGoal
Theme KOGO Goal na studia · na emeryturę

Move situation na+accusative · the filled citation of that sense is na język angielski

EN · PL · dative ≠ city

a city is do

* send Paris a letter

* Pat wysłał Warszawie list

constructed · dative of a city · the printed city is do Warszawy · WSJP does not star the line

RolesHide roles GoalTheme
Goal Paris · Warszawie Theme a letter · list

Move the dative is a person · a city takes do+genitive

Examples

Argument difference. English send her a letter puts the person in a bare object. English send them to a place puts the third slot in to. English send for a doctor puts the fetch in for. English sending the kids to stay puts the errand in a to-infinitive. Polish wysłać and posłać put the Theme in the accusative, and under nie the printed person-Theme is genitive. The person who receives the thing is a bare dative. A city, an institution, or a person-as-destination is do plus genitive. A place or a situation is na plus accusative. The fetch is po plus accusative. The errand is a żeby-clause. German schicken puts the same person in a bare dative or in an plus accusative, and puts a city in nach, in, or zu. The dative is inside the verb’s domain on the working drawing. The PP is the Goal, also inside that domain. The drawing does not decide that mu and do dziadka are one participant.

Senses kept off this frame. A ball, a missile, radiation, lining a surface, making a bed, a kiss, and posłać do wszystkich diabłów are not a letter.

Dictionary frames and lines · quoted as printed

przekazać komuś lub dokądś jakąś przesyłkę lub wiadomość · schema CO+(CZYM) and CO+(CZYM)+(DOKĄD) · wysłałam mu książkę · Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu · Wysłać mu na odpowiedni numer konta · wysłać je pocztą WSJP · wysłać sense 1 · dokonany · partner wysyłać

zlecić komuś, aby udał się dokądś w jakimś celu · KOGO+(do KOGO)+(CZYM) · KOGO+(CZYM)+(DOKĄD) · do Warszawy · na placówkę · Synów … wysłał na wieś do dziadka · zostali wysłani na front · delegację do Moskwy WSJP · wysłać sense 2

CO+DOKĄD+(CZYM) · CO+KOMU+(CZYM) · CO+KOMU+PRZEZ KOGO · Raz mu posłał pocztówkę · Ci posłałem przez Ziunię · pocztą, faksem, mailem WSJP · posłać sense 1 · partner posyłać

posłała mnie po kartofle · posłała mnie po pieprz · po chleb · na rynek · na targ · go posłać na górę, żeby mi przyniósł jasiek WSJP · posłać sense 2 · not labeled przest.

po lekarza · po doktora · po księdza · Posłano gońca po Teddy'ego · posłał po ludzi do San Miguel WSJP · posłać sense 3 · przest.

KOGO+DOKĄD · do szkoły · na studia · na emeryturę · na urlop · posłać syna na język angielski · Nie posłali jej do więzienia WSJP · posłać sense 4 · jej is genitive

zlecić komuś, żeby udał się dokądś · przekazać coś komuś PWN · wysłać and posłać · the wording · the served pages do not fill a case frame

wysłać poselstwo Wikisłownik · wysłać · składnia empty · aspect line only

I'll send her a letter/email/parcel/postcard next week. · send them to the phone recycling company. · We're sending the kids to stay with my parents. Cambridge · send

Do you think we should send for a doctor? Cambridge · send for

Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not dictionary lines. Pat continues the named-participant series. A name does not spell function. list follows the accusative collocation. bratu follows dative mu. do brata follows do dziadka. listu follows genitive jej under nie.

✓ Pat wysłał bratu list.

RolesHide roles SenderRecipientTheme
Sender Pat Recipient bratu Theme list

constructed · bare dative modelled on mu and on Ci · accusative list is the collocation

✓ Pat wysłał list do brata. Pat wysłał list do Warszawy.

RolesHide roles SenderThemeGoal
Sender Pat Theme list Goal do brata · do Warszawy

constructed · do brata modelled on do dziadka · do Warszawy is the collocation, here with list in the Theme slot · not the dative bratu

✓ Pat nie wysłał listu.

RolesHide roles SenderTheme
Sender Pat Theme listu

constructed · genitive under nie modelled on printed Nie posłali jej · the positive Theme is accusative list · dzieci under nie does not show the case

✓ Pat posłał po lekarza.

RolesHide roles SenderFetch
Sender Pat Fetch po lekarza

constructed · po lekarza is the collocation, here with a named sender · the sense is labeled przest. · posłał po ludzi is the citation with no messenger in the clause

* Pat wysłał Warszawie list.

RolesHide roles GoalTheme
Goal Warszawie Theme list

constructed · dative of a city · the printed city is do Warszawy · the printed dative is a person

* Pat posłał go kupić chleb.

RolesHide roles ThemeInfinitive
Theme go Infinitive kupić

constructed · bare infinitive · unprinted · the schema prints żeby ZDANIE · English prints a to-infinitive

  1. ✓ wysłałam mu książkę WSJP · dative Recipient · accusative Theme
  2. ✓ Kopię pisma wysłał do resortu WSJP · do+genitive · no dative
  3. ✓ Wysłać mu na odpowiedni numer konta WSJP · dative stacked with na+accusative
  4. ✓ na wieś do dziadka WSJP · na+accusative and do+genitive · the person-Theme is accusative · the grandfather is not dative
  5. ✓ do Warszawy WSJP · collocation · a city is not a dative
  6. ✓ po lekarza WSJP · przest. · po+accusative
  7. ✓ posłała mnie po kartofle WSJP · same po · not labeled archaic
  8. ✓ żeby mi przyniósł jasiek WSJP · żeby-clause · infinitive unprinted
  9. ✓ na studia · na emeryturę WSJP · posłać sense 4 · collocations
  10. ✓ Nie posłali jej do więzienia WSJP · genitive jej · accusative would be ją

What the case and the aspect cell show

The case is an operation on the same places. It does not add a participant. mu and Ci are dative. They are the person who receives the thing. They are not a bare accusative first object, and they are not a city. jej under nie is genitive of the person who was not sent. Accusative ją is the other case, and the citation does not print it.

A passive of the person is printed. zostali wysłani na front makes the people who were sent into the subject, and keeps na front. A passive of the letter, with the dative kept, is unprinted on the pages opened. Nothing is constructed for it.

The aspect cell is morphology. WSJP labels wysłać and posłać dokonany and names wysyłać and posyłać as the partners. Wikisłownik prints the aspect line and leaves składnia empty. The imperfective articles were not opened. The pair is the pair the entries name. The cell records morphology.

CZYM and przez do not add a co-argument. pocztą is the means. przez Ziunię is the carrier, and it stands beside dative Ci in one citation. The Recipient remains the dative.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Sender to Voice, the bare-dative Recipient to low Appl, the do and na Goals to phrases inside the verb’s domain, and the Theme to the root. The dictionaries print the case and the prepositions. They do not print that head. Open one sketch at a time. 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' wysłał
    [TP t_1
      [VoiceP t_1 Voice                     ← Sender = Spec,Voice
        … wysłać … ]
      T ]]]

✓ Pat wysłał bratu list. constructed

The external argument is the Sender. English keeps that one subject on send. A passive of the person is the printed zostali wysłani. A passive of the letter is unprinted. Nothing is constructed.

Low Appl · the Recipient · the root takes the Theme

Recipient bare dative · do and na are PPs · accusative Theme · working, revisable

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [bratu]_DAT Appl                 ← Recipient · bare dative
    [VP √wysła-
       [Theme list ]]]]                       ← Theme · accusative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √wysła-
     [Theme list ]
     [PP do [ brata ]]]]                      ← Goal · do+GEN · not the dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √wysła-
     [Theme list ]
     [PP do [ Warszawy ]]]]                   ← city · do+GEN · not a dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √posła-
     [PP po [ lekarza ]]]]                    ← fetch · po+ACC · not for

The żeby-clause sits in the verb’s domain. There is no infinitive in the lines opened. na plus accusative is a second Goal phrase, and it stacks with the dative or with do where the citation stacks them.

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [mu]_DAT Appl
    [VP √wysła-
       [Theme ]
       [PP na [ numer konta ]]]]]             ← dative + na+ACC · printed

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √wysła-
     [Theme synów ]
     [PP na [ wieś ]]
     [PP do [ dziadka ]]]]                    ← na+ACC + do+GEN · no dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √posła-
     [PP na [ górę ]]
     [CP żeby [ przyniósł ]]]]                ← finite clause · not an infinitive

✓ wysłałam mu książkę WSJP · dative Recipient

✓ do resortu WSJP · PP Goal

✓ po lekarza WSJP · po+accusative

* Pat wysłał Warszawie list. constructed · a city is not the dative the articles print

English counterpart · double object, to, for, and a to-infinitive · German dative or an+accusative

Working · no English send page is opened · German is schicken · French is envoyer · Spanish is enviar · Italian is mandare · Portuguese is enviar

[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]
                                                · Polish bare dative
                                                · not a bare accusative noun

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [Theme them ]
     [PP to [ the company ]]]]                 ← send them to the company
                                                · Polish do+GEN or na+ACC
                                                · not the dative

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [VP √SEND
     [PP for [ a doctor ]]]]                   ← send for a doctor
                                                · Polish po+ACC
                                                · German nach+DAT

Cambridge’s [+ two objects] line puts a person in the first object. The to line puts a place in the PP. A place in the first object is unprinted. Polish mu is the Recipient as a dative. Polish do resortu and do Warszawy are direction. Polish po lekarza is the fetch. German jmdm. and an jmdn. are alternative cloths of one person. Polish does not print that alternation. A Polish full noun in the recipient slot has a dative ending. It is not the German an-phrase, and it is not English to.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English send, Polish wysłać, and German schicken
Layersend (EN) · no pagewysłać / posłaćschicken · live
Spec,VoiceSenderSenderSender
Recipientbare first object, where the entry prints [+ two objects]bare dative · KOMU · mu · Ci · not an accusative prepositionbare dative, or an+accusative · alternative cloths of one person
Themeobjectaccusative · genitive under nie · jej is printed · listu is constructedaccusative
Directionto · person or placedo+genitive · city, institution, or person-as-destination · separate from the dativenach, in, or zu · a city in the dative is unprinted · a person-dative beside ins Haus is printed
Place or situationtona+accusative · na wieś · na studia · na emeryturę on posłaćin+accusative · an+accusative of a place
Fetchforpo+accusative · po lekarza labeled przest.nach dem Arzt · off the letter frame
Errandto-infinitiveżeby-clause · infinitive unprintedwegschicken is send away

On wysłać the dative is the Recipient and do plus genitive is a further marking. The analogy with the added dative on schicken is the bare case. It is not a claim that German’s an-phrase is Polish do.

Notes

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

Sending in Polish is not one marking of the third slot. Sender (Voice, subject), Theme (complement of the root, accusative, genitive under nie), and either a Recipient (low Appl, bare dative KOMU, working and revisable) or a Goal (a PP inside the verb’s domain: do+genitive, or na+accusative). po+accusative is the fetch. A żeby-clause is the errand. A bare infinitive is unprinted. The aspect pair is the pair the entries name. English send her a letter is a double object. German spells the person as a dative or as an+accusative. send Paris a letter is unprinted.

PL micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 dative Recipient versus do+genitive DE schicken live FR envoyer live ES enviar live IT mandare live PT enviar live

Sense × language: send · Polish (wysłać / wysyłać, posłać / posyłać). The transfer sense is the page. The fetch and the żeby-clause stay on the page because that is where po and żeby sit. The ball, the carpet, and the bed stay off the frame. No English send hub. Geometry neighbors: send · schicken, for the bare dative and for an+accusative, sell · sprzedać, for a Polish dative beside an accusative, and lend · pożyczyć, for a bare dative Recipient. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. Index 2 Polish Transfer cites wymieniać / zamieniać, dawać.

Working paper. Polish micro-entry, sixth language of send. Dictionary frames were read on WSJP for wysłać and posłać, on PWN for the same two verbs, and on Wikisłownik for the aspect line, with Cambridge for the English double object, for to, for the to-infinitive, and for send for.
Constructed examples. Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. bratu, do brata, listu under nie, and Pat posłał po lekarza are constructed on printed frames. The dative of a city and the bare infinitive 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 dative Recipient. A PP Goal is inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. po, żeby, CZYM, and przez are inside that domain.
What this page does not do. It does not open a separate page for wysyłać or for posyłać. It does not open an English page of send. The ball, the carpet, and the bed stop at the citation. The aspect cell records the pair the entries name.

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 where the cloth is a bare dative. A PP adds the Goal, inside the verb’s domain: do plus genitive, or na plus accusative. The root takes the Theme. The drawing is working and revisable.

What Polish changes, against English send her a letter, is that the person is a dative, not a bare accusative object. What Polish changes, against English to, is that a person who receives the thing and a place do not share one marker. The dative is the person. do plus genitive is direction, including a person standing as the destination. na plus accusative is a place or a situation. What Polish changes, against German schicken, is that the dative and an plus accusative are not the two cloths. Polish has the dative, and it has do plus genitive for the city and for the grandfather. What Polish changes, against English send for, is po plus accusative. What Polish changes, against the English to-infinitive, is a żeby-clause.

Geometry · send beside the live German dative and an+accusative

  • English send. Person as the first object of [+ two objects]. Place in to. Fetch in for. Errand in a to-infinitive. send Paris a letter is unprinted. No English page is opened.
  • wysłać. Accusative Theme. Bare dative in the citations, mu. Goal do+genitive, do resortu, do Warszawy, do dziadka. na+accusative, na wieś, na front. Instrumental pocztą. Aspect cell dokonany. Partner named wysyłać. That article was not opened.
  • posłać. Parcel: KOMU and DOKĄD are alternative schema lines. przez KOGO stacks with the dative. Fetch: po+accusative. po lekarza is przest. po kartofle is not. Errand: żeby-clause. Situation: na studia, na emeryturę, collocations of sense 4. Partner named posyłać. Not a separate page.
  • schicken. Accusative Theme. Bare dative Recipient, or an+accusative, as alternative cloths of one person. Place nach, in, zu. A person-dative with a place is printed. A city in the dative is unprinted. nach dem Arzt schicken is the fetch, off the letter frame. That an-phrase is the German divergence. Polish do is not it.
  • envoyer. Direct-object Theme. Recipient à or lui. A place takes y. The infinitive is bare.
  • enviar. Recipient a+NP doubled by le. Place a or para.
  • mandare. Recipient a or gli/le. a plus an infinitive. That infinitive is the Italian divergence. Polish prints żeby.
  • enviar. Recipient a, para, or lhe. A full noun has no case ending. A Polish full noun in the recipient slot does.

Open items

  • Whether low Appl is the right head for the bare dative. The drawing puts the Recipient inside the verb’s domain. The dictionaries print mu and Ci. They do not print that head. The ranking stays open.
  • Whether do dziadka is the same participant as mu. The schema of posłać lists KOMU and DOKĄD as alternative lines. The citations do not stack them in one letter clause. na wieś do dziadka stacks na and do on a person who is sent. The articles do not rank the phrases beyond the lines they print.
  • KOMU on the wysłać schema table. The table prints CO and DOKĄD. The definition prints komuś. The citations print mu. Both are recorded. The table is not emended.
  • A bare infinitive. Unprinted. The schema prints żeby ZDANIE. Not constructed as a positive frame.
  • na pocztę and na wakacje. Unprinted. The printed na+accusative lines are na wieś, na front, na rynek, na targ, na studia, na emeryturę. Nothing further is constructed.
  • wysyłać and posyłać. Named as aspect partners. The articles were not opened. No frame is taken from them.
  • A passive of the letter. Unprinted. The passive of the person is zostali wysłani na front. Nothing is constructed for the letter.

Corpus filenames and sources

Dictionary frames: WSJP wysłać senses 1 and 2, and the off-frame senses noted by number; WSJP posłać senses 1 through 4. PWN wysłać and posłać, definitions only on the pages served. Wikisłownik wysłać and posłać, aspect line, składnia empty. English lines: Cambridge send and send for. Constructed clauses put a printed marking on a named sender. bratu, do brata, and listu are the working limits of the printed frames. Index 2 does not list these lemmas. German send is schicken.

Records the accusative Theme of wysłać and of posłać, and the genitive of the person under nie. Records the bare dative as the person who receives the thing, and do plus genitive as direction, including a person-as-destination. Records na plus accusative for a place or a situation, including the posłać collocations na studia and na emeryturę. Records po plus accusative and the żeby-clause. Records the aspect pair as the pair the entries name. Does not open an English page.