steal · Spanish (robar) — Event-Structure Dictionary

Arguments

Thief, Victim, Theme · function by frame · Spanish cloth · working claim, revisable

Voice[Thief] + low Appl(Victim) + complement of the root (Theme)

robar · Theme_DO · Victim_IO (a + DP, clitic le) · DPD §1a · the normal construction, including when the Theme is left unexpressed

no Theme in the clause · Victim_DO (lo / la, personal a) · DPD §1b, in many zones · the meaning paraphrase is despojar [a alguien] de algo, and the examples print no de-phrase

place as the object · Robaron un banco · Libro de estilo sense 2 · the definition brackets [de un lugar] and the example does not fill that de

A theft, on this reading, has a Thief, a Victim, and a Theme. They are not three equal sisters of one Spanish verb. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl introduces the Victim, as a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain: the person who had the thing and no longer has it. That is the same kind of added argument as the dative Victim on stehlen, and as the dative Learner on enseñar. It is a working drawing. It is not a settled analysis. The root’s complement is the Theme, the thing taken. Which phrase is the direct object changes with the frame. A full noun has no case ending. The clitic, and the presence of a Theme, are what the sources use to tell an indirect object from a direct object.

What is different from the English gloss. English Wiktionary prints the source of steal in from and does not print a bare indirect object as that source. Spanish prints the person stolen from as an indirect object: a plus a noun phrase, or the clitic le. That is not a from-phrase, and it is not a bare noun after the verb.

What is different from German. stehlen and rauben put the Theme in the accusative and the Victim in the dative. That pair matches the Spanish direct Theme and indirect Victim. berauben puts the Victim in the accusative and the Theme in the genitive. No entry checked here prints a Spanish genitive Theme, and none prints robar a alguien de algo as a frame. The direct-object Victim, and Robaron un banco, are the closest printed lines to English rob and to berauben, and those lines do not spell the Theme as an oblique.

Places · who wears which marking

The three-place lines do not stack every marking in one clause. The DPD’s el complemento directo expresa lo sustraído y la persona a la que se roba se expresa mediante un complemento indirecto is filled by usted le robó su bolso. The Libro de estilo prints Le robaron la cartera. The DPD’s leísmo article prints Robaron el bolso a su madre en el metro and the clitic continuation Le robaron en el metro. When the person is the direct object, the DPD’s examples are clitics: robarla, lo roben, la habían robado. The Libro de estilo’s place line is Robaron un banco.

Printed robar frame · indirect Victim · direct Theme

✓ Le robaron la cartera Libro de estilo · robar sense 1

they stole the wallet from him or her

Printed line with no Theme · the person stays indirect

✓ le roban DPD · robar(se) §1a · inside Los ladrones entran en su hogar, le roban, quieren matarla

they rob him or her · the thing is not in the clause · the clitic is le

Printed line with no Theme · the person is the direct object · many zones

✓ para robarla DPD · robar(se) §1b · Grandes

in order to rob her · the clitic is la · no de-phrase is in the example

Places of Spanish steal: introducer, marking, status, English and German marking
Place	Introduced by (working)	Spanish marking	Status in the sources	English and German marking
Thief	Spec,Voice	subject of robar (usted in the Alatriste line, los ladrones in the Libro de estilo)	structural subject · the DLE grammar box is the regular verb robo, robé, he robado	subject of steal and of rob · subject of stehlen, rauben, and berauben
Victim · indirect, Theme present	low Appl · possessor-source · revisable	le, or a + DP (a su madre)	DPD §1a: the thing is the direct object and the person is the indirect object · usted le robó su bolso · leísmo article: Robaron el bolso a su madre · Libro de estilo: Le robaron la cartera · no served example puts le and a full a-phrase in one clause · les is unprinted on the robar lines checked here	English from + the person · German dative on stehlen and on rauben (ihm, jemandem)
Victim · indirect, Theme absent	low Appl · possessor-source · revisable · the Theme is not in the clause	le	DPD §1a calls this the absolute use and la normal en todo el ámbito hispanohablante · le roban · Libro de estilo: le robaron, NO ⊗ lo robaron · the leísmo article derives Le robaron en el metro from the line with el bolso	English steal can parenthesize from me · a bare him is not that source · German Duden brackets the dative of stehlen
Victim · direct, no Theme	low Appl · possessor-source · revisable · the case is not the indirect object of §1a	la / lo · personal a when the noun is animate	DPD §1b: in many zones of Spain and of America, especially Mexico, the continental Caribbean, and the Río de la Plata, the direct object can be the person, and robar then means despojar [a alguien] de algo que le pertenece · examples robarla, lo roben, la habían robado · the de algo is inside that meaning paraphrase · it is not a phrase in those examples · the leísmo article says the dative/accusative alternation for this person is grammatically justified · Libro de estilo sense 1 rejects lo robaron for the omitted-thing line	object of English rob · accusative Victim of berauben · German prints a genitive Theme beside that accusative · these Spanish examples do not
Theme	complement of the root	direct object (la cartera, su bolso, el bolso, el carro, la mercancía)	structural direct object beside the indirect person · DLE sense 2 fills the same cloth with la idea, clientes, and el partido, which are not a purse · a line with only the thing, and no person, is the American pronominal se robó el carro and se robaron la mercancía	object of steal · accusative of stehlen and of rauben · where English rob prints of, and where berauben prints the genitive, the Spanish Theme of the indirect-Victim frame stays the direct object
Place	not a fourth argument in this drawing	en el metro beside Theme and Victim · un banco as the object of sense 2 · del hospital on the abduction line	Libro de estilo sense 2 writes Llevarse algo [de un lugar] and the example is Robaron un banco, with no de · a filled robar algo de un lugar is unprinted in that example · en su casa and en su hogar are also printed	English from the gallery can be a place · German aus der Kassette is a place on rauben

Marking map. One a can belong to two heads. Read the clitic, then the marker.

Indirect object of the Victim, Theme present. DPD §1a defines the frame and prints Una señora dice que usted le robó su bolso. usted is the Thief. le is the person. su bolso is the Theme. The leísmo article prints the full phrase a su madre in Robaron el bolso a su madre en el metro. The Libro de estilo’s formula is Quitar [algo] a alguien, filled by Le robaron la cartera. DLE sense 2 prints the same clitic-plus-Theme cloth on other nouns: te pueden robar la idea, robarnos clientes, nos han robado el partido. Those three are not a purse. The cloth is the one the theft lines use.
a does not spell the function by itself. Personal a marks an animate direct object, and a also marks the indirect object. robar a alguien with no Theme is formally ambiguous between those two. The clitic resolves it, as far as the DPD and the Libro de estilo print the contrast. le is the indirect object: DPD §1a le roban, and the Libro de estilo’s le robaron. lo and la are the direct object: DPD §1b lo roben, robarla, la habían robado. The leísmo article §4d says this alternation is grammatically justified. It is not filed there as the improper use of le for a direct object. The Libro de estilo sense 1 writes NO ⊗ lo robaron beside le robaron. The two books do not use one label for that lo. This page does not rank them.
The direct-object person, and the missing oblique Theme. DPD §1b’s meaning line is despojar [a alguien] de algo que le pertenece. The brackets around a alguien are the entry’s mark of the direct object. de algo sits inside that paraphrase. The three examples that follow have the person as la or lo and do not contain de. English Wiktionary’s usage note on Spanish robar says that “to rob X of Y” is translated as robar Y de X, and it prints no Spanish sentence. That formula puts de on X, with Y as the direct object. It is not robar a alguien de algo. No dictionary line checked here prints robar a alguien de algo.
The place, and robar un banco. Libro de estilo sense 2 is Llevarse algo [de un lugar] ilícitamente, and the example is Robaron un banco. The bank is the object of that example. The bracketed de un lugar is not filled. The leísmo article’s en el metro is a place beside a Theme and a Victim. en su casa and en su hogar are the same kind of place. del hospital is printed on the abduction line, la habían robado del hospital, where the direct object is the person who was taken, not a purse.
Abduction is a separate direct object of the person. DLE sense 3 is raptar. DPD §1c says the direct object of person is normal throughout the Spanish-speaking world when robar means raptar o secuestrar, and prints la habían robado del hospital. The Libro de estilo’s sense 3 is Raptar: A la niña la robaron. Personal a plus la is that direct object. Wikcionario marks its raptar sense anticuado and quotes Juan de la Cueva, yo la he de robar. The DPD’s 2021 example is not under that label. The two labels are not ranked here. This direct object is the person taken. It is not the Theme of a purse, and it is not the indirect object of §1a.
Force, only where a dictionary prints it. DLE robar sense 1 is Quitar o tomar para sí con violencia o con fuerza lo ajeno. Sense 2 is Tomar para sí lo ajeno, o hurtar de cualquier modo que sea, and its examples are the idea, the clients, and the match. The legal wording is on the noun. DLE robo sense 4, marked Der., is the offence of taking a movable thing of another with intent of gain, empleándose violencia o intimidación sobre las personas, o fuerza en las cosas. DLE hurtar sense 1 is Tomar o retener bienes ajenos contra la voluntad de su dueño, sin intimidación en las personas ni fuerza en las cosas. DLE hurto sense 4, marked Der., is the offence without the circumstances that characterize robo. The verb robar does not carry the Der. label. Sense 2 does not repeat violencia.
hurtar and sustraer, only the frames that are printed. The DLE article of hurtar prints the definition above and no clause. It does not print formal. Wikcionario’s theft sense is labeled Derecho and Uso: formal, and the wording is Quitar o tomar para sí lo ajeno sin emplear violencia. That article also prints no clause. DLE sustraer sense 2 is Hurtar, robar fraudulentamente. The entry prints no clause and no register label. It prints Tb. substraer and Conjug. c. traer. Wikcionario sense 3 is Tomar algo (o a alguien) ajeno … de modo fraudulento, secreto o con engaños, with no register label and no clause. The parenthetical o a alguien is that definition’s. It is not an a-phrase in an example.
birlar and mangar, only with the printed colloquial label. DLE birlar sense 2 is marked coloq. and defined Hurtar algo sin intimidación y con disimulo. The example is Le birló el tabaco en un descuido: le and the direct object el tabaco. DLE mangar, the entry from Caló, sense 2 is marked coloq. and defined Hurtar, robar. That sense prints no clause. No frame is constructed for it.
The American pronominal, when there is no indirect object. DPD §2 and the Libro de estilo both print it. Bini se robó el carro and Unos trabajadores se robaron la mercancía have a Theme and se, and no indirect object. se robara a mamá Paulina has se and a plus the person. se is not a passive.
Morphology, not a further place. robar is regular. The DLE’s non-finite forms are robar, robando, haber robado, habiendo robado, and the participle robado. The indicative cells include robo, robé, and he robado. hurtar is regular on the same pattern: hurto, hurté, he hurtado, participle hurtado. sustraer follows traer: sustraigo, sustraje, he sustraído, participle sustraído. birlar is regular: birlo, birlé, he birlado. Those forms are the cells the entries print. They are not a claim about an endpoint.

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 from-phrase ↔ an indirect object, or an object of rob ↔ a Spanish direct object). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other Spanish sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.

English–Spanish valency alignment for steal, one row per argument
Slot	EN form	ES form	Align	EN example	ES example
Thief	SUBJ of steal	subject	=	They stole all my money English Wiktionary · steal	usted le robó su bolso DPD §1a · Alatriste
Victim · indirect	from + person on steal	le or a + DP	shift · one Spanish indirect object · English spells from	stolen from us · (from me) English Wiktionary · steal	Le robaron la cartera Libro de estilo · a su madre DPD leísmo §4d
Theme	object of steal	direct object	=	They stole all my money English Wiktionary	la cartera Libro de estilo · su bolso DPD
Victim · no Theme · le	from can be absent in parentheses	le, no direct object	shift · the person stays indirect	They stole all my money (from me) English Wiktionary · the parentheses are the entry’s	le robaron Libro de estilo · NO ⊗ lo robaron on this sense
Victim · direct	object of rob	lo / la	= · the Theme is not an oblique in the Spanish examples	He robbed three banks English Wiktionary · rob sense 1	lo roben DPD §1b · Robaron un banco Libro de estilo sense 2 · the bank is the place
Theme beside a direct Victim	of + the thing, where printed	unprinted	the DPD paraphrase contains de algo · the examples do not	robbed the soldiers of their pay English Wiktionary · Shakespeare citation under sense 2	robar a alguien de algo unprinted · not a dictionary line
Bare indirect object of steal	He stole me a book · the Low German note calls this the för reading	not the Spanish le	Spanish le is the person stolen from · the English bare object in that note is not	He stole me a book English Wiktionary · Low German note on stehlen	le in Le robaron la cartera Libro de estilo · the English gloss of that frame is not a bare me

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 Thief.

EN · ES · robar

le + direct Theme

They stole the wallet from her

Le robaron la cartera

ES · Libro de estilo · indirect Victim · direct Theme · EN from

RolesHide roles VictimTheme

Victim her · le Theme the wallet · la cartera

Move the Victim is indirect · English spells from

EN · ES · no Theme

le, not lo

they stole from him

le robaron

ES · Libro de estilo · NO ⊗ lo robaron on this line · DPD §1a calls le normal

RolesHide roles Victim

Victim him · le

Move the Theme is absent · le keeps the person indirect

EN · ES · direct Victim

la / lo

rob her

para robarla

ES · DPD §1b · direct Victim · no de-Theme in the example

RolesHide roles Victim

Victim her · la

Move closest to rob and to berauben · the Theme is not an oblique here

EN · ES · place

un banco

He robbed three banks

Robaron un banco

ES · Libro de estilo sense 2 · the place is the object · [de un lugar] is unfilled

RolesHide roles Place

Place a bank · un banco

Move no separate Theme is in the example

Examples

Argument difference. English steal X from Y puts the Theme in the object and the source in from, and it does not print a bare indirect object as that source. Spanish robar puts the Theme in the direct object and the Victim in the indirect object. English rob Y (of X) puts the person or the place in the object. Spanish prints that person as a direct object only in the lines of DPD §1b and in the abduction lines, and it prints the place as the object in Robaron un banco. German berauben puts a genitive Theme beside an accusative Victim. Spanish prints no such oblique Theme. The indirect Victim is inside the verb’s domain on the working drawing. It is not an English bare indirect object, and it is not the from-phrase spelled again in Spanish.

Senses kept off this frame, and quoted so their objects are not reread as a purse. DLE sense 8 is taking a card or a tile from the stock. DLE sense 9 is Robar el corazón, el alma. DLE sense 4 is a river carrying off adjoining earth. Wikcionario’s figurative line is Robarle el sol un árbol a una planta. The abduction lines stay in the place table because the clitic la is the point of §1c, and they are not the Theme of a wallet.

Dictionary frames and lines · checked · quoted as printed

Quitar o tomar para sí con violencia o con fuerza lo ajeno DLE · robar sense 1 · no clause under this sense

Tomar para sí lo ajeno, o hurtar de cualquier modo que sea. Si no patentas tu invento, te pueden robar la idea. La competencia bajará los precios para robarnos clientes. Siento que nos han robado el partido. DLE · robar sense 2 · clitic plus direct object · not a purse

raptar DLE · robar sense 3 · the parenthesis in the entry is llevarse a una mujer violentamente

Robar el corazón, el alma DLE · robar sense 9

robo, robé, he robado · participle robado DLE · grammar box · regular

Una señora dice que usted le robó su bolso DPD · robar(se) §1a · Alatriste, Vivir, Mexico, 1985, as the entry prints the citation

Los ladrones entran en su hogar, le roban, quieren matarla DPD · §1a · González Duro, Neurosis, Spain, 1989 · absolute use, indirect person, no direct object

Habían atracado a Maribel para robarla · En este país nadie está exento de que lo roben · Ya la habían robado unas semanas antes DPD · §1b · Grandes, Aires, 2002 · Clarín, Argentina, 6.2.2009 · Monte, Palabras, Mexico, 2013 · direct object of person · no de-phrase

la habían robado del hospital DPD · §1c · Gamerro, Jaula, Argentina, 2021 · abduction · de is the place

Bini se robó el carro · se robara a mamá Paulina DPD · §2 · American pronominal when there is no indirect object · Chavarría, Uruguay, 2002 · Vargas Llosa, Peru, 2000

Robaron el bolso a su madre en el metro > Le robaron en el metro · Para robarla, el ladrón la pegó hasta dejarla inconsciente DPD · leísmo §4d · the arrow and the second clause are the article’s · the alternation is called grammatically justified

Le robaron la cartera · Los ladrones entraron en su casa y le robaron, NO ⊗ lo robaron · Unos trabajadores se robaron la mercancía · Robaron un banco · A la niña la robaron Libro de estilo de la lengua española · robar senses 1–3 · the crossed circle is the entry’s

Tomar o retener bienes ajenos contra la voluntad de su dueño, sin intimidación en las personas ni fuerza en las cosas DLE · hurtar sense 1 · no clause

Quitar o tomar para sí lo ajeno sin emplear violencia Wikcionario · hurtar · Derecho · Uso: formal · no clause · the DLE verb entry does not print formal

Delito que se comete apoderándose con ánimo de lucro de una cosa mueble ajena, empleándose violencia o intimidación sobre las personas, o fuerza en las cosas DLE · robo sense 4 · Der.

sin que concurran las circunstancias que caracterizan el delito de robo DLE · hurto sense 4 · Der.

Hurtar, robar fraudulentamente DLE · sustraer sense 2 · no clause · no register label · Conjug. c. traer · sustraigo, sustraje, he sustraído

Tomar algo (o a alguien) ajeno … de modo fraudulento, secreto o con engaños Wikcionario · sustraer sense 3 · no register label · no clause

coloq. Hurtar algo sin intimidación y con disimulo. Le birló el tabaco en un descuido. DLE · birlar sense 2 · le · direct el tabaco

coloq. Hurtar, robar DLE · mangar sense 2 of the Caló entry · no clause

Three irreplaceable paintings were stolen from the gallery. · The problem is the two bicycles stolen from us. · They stole all my money (from me). English Wiktionary · steal

He robbed three banks. · I never robbed the soldiers of their pay. English Wiktionary · rob

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. A name does not spell function. le spells the indirect object. la spells the direct object. la cartera follows the Libro de estilo. a María follows the shape of a su madre, and no served line puts the clitic and that full phrase together.

✓ Pat le robó la cartera a María.

RolesHide roles ThiefVictimTheme

Thief Pat Victim le · a María Theme la cartera

constructed · clitic and a-phrase together · the pieces are the Libro de estilo’s Le robaron la cartera and the DPD’s a su madre · those two pieces are not in one printed clause

✓ Pat le robó.

RolesHide roles ThiefVictim

Thief Pat Victim le

constructed · modelled on le roban and on le robaron · no Theme is in the line · the Libro de estilo rejects lo for this sense

✓ Pat la robó.

RolesHide roles ThiefVictim

Thief Pat Victim la

constructed · modelled on DPD §1b robarla and la habían robado · direct object · no de-Theme · the Libro de estilo’s rejection of lo is a different line, the omitted-thing indirect object

✓ Pat robó un banco.

RolesHide roles ThiefPlace

Thief Pat Place un banco

constructed · modelled on Robaron un banco · the place is the object · the definition’s [de un lugar] is not in the example

✓ usted le robó su bolso DPD §1a · indirect · direct
✓ Le robaron la cartera Libro de estilo · indirect · direct
✓ Robaron el bolso a su madre en el metro DPD leísmo §4d · a · direct Theme · en-place
✓ le roban DPD §1a · no Theme · person stays indirect
✓ lo roben DPD §1b · person is the direct object · no de-phrase
✓ Robaron un banco Libro de estilo · place as object
✓ A la niña la robaron Libro de estilo · abduction · personal a · la
✓ Le birló el tabaco DLE · birlar · coloq. · indirect · direct
✓ se robó el carro DPD §2 · Theme · se · no indirect object

What the passive and the principal parts show

No editorial line checked here is a passive of the theft frame of robar, of hurtar, or of sustraer. The DLE prints the participle robado in the conjugation box. That cell is not a passive clause. Nothing is constructed.

se on this verb is the pronominal of DPD §2. It is printed when there is no indirect object. se robó el carro keeps the Theme as the direct object. It does not promote a Victim, and it does not add a participant.

Principal parts. robar, hurtar, and birlar are regular, on the cells quoted above. sustraer follows traer. The vowel of sustraje and of sustraído is the morphology the DLE prints. It is not a second event. No particle is printed on robar.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Thief to Voice, the Victim to low Appl, and the Theme to the root. The Victim is a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain, analogous to the dative Victim on stehlen and to the dative Learner on enseñar. The function of the Victim changes with the frame. Open one sketch at a time. Which phrase is the structural object, when §1b has a direct person and no Theme in the clause, is not settled here. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.

Voice · the Thief is the external argument

Constructed · one external argument

[CP Pat_1
  [TP t_1
    [VoiceP t_1 Voice                     ← Thief = Spec,Voice
      … robar … ]]]

✓ Pat le robó la cartera. constructed

✓ usted le robó su bolso DPD §1a · usted is the Thief

The external argument is the Thief. English keeps that one subject on steal and on rob. Spanish does not keep the Victim and the Theme in one function under that subject: the Victim is indirect when the Theme is the direct object, and the Victim is direct in the §1b lines, which print no Theme.

Low Appl · the Victim as possessor-source · the root takes the Theme

robar · indirect Victim · direct Theme · working, revisable

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [le]_IO Appl                      ← Victim · possessor-source · indirect
    [VP √rob-
       [Theme la cartera ]_DO ]]]              ← Theme · direct object

The direct-object Victim keeps the same three roles and changes the function. The drawing does not put a de-phrase inside the root. The sources do not print one beside this person.

[VoiceP Pat Voice
  [ApplP_LOW [la]_DO Appl                      ← Victim · direct · not the le of §1a
    [VP √rob-
       [Theme  … ] ]]]                         ← Theme unexpressed · de algo is not in the examples

✓ Le robaron la cartera Libro de estilo · indirect Victim · direct Theme

✓ para robarla DPD §1b · direct Victim · no oblique Theme

✓ geh. jmdn. einer Sache berauben German · WDG · accusative Victim · genitive Theme · that genitive has no Spanish match in the lines checked here

English and German · from on steal, object and of on rob, genitive on berauben

Working · no English steal page is opened · the German page is stehlen

[VoiceP Pat Voice                                  ← Thief
  [VP √STEAL
     [Theme a wallet ]
     [PP from [ her ]]]]                        ← source in from
                                                · not a bare indirect object
                                                · Spanish le is that person
                                                · not the för reading

English Wiktionary’s steal lines put the source in from. Spanish le in Le robaron la cartera is the Victim, and the English of that frame is the from-person, not a bare object. German mir in Er hat mir ein Buch gestohlen is the same Victim, in the dative. German berauben flips the cases and prints a genitive Theme. Spanish §1b flips the person to a direct object and prints no Theme beside it.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English steal and rob, German stehlen and berauben, Spanish robar
Layer	steal (EN) · no page	rob (EN) · no page	stehlen / berauben	robar
Spec,Voice	Thief	Thief	Thief	Thief
Victim	from-phrase, where printed	object (three banks, the soldiers)	dative on stehlen · accusative on berauben	indirect le / a when the Theme is direct · direct lo / la in §1b
Theme	object	of-phrase, where printed	accusative on stehlen · genitive on berauben, marked gehoben	direct object beside le · unexpressed in the §1b examples · not a printed de-phrase
passive of a theft clause	unasserted here	unasserted here	berauben prints one · stehlen does not, in the lines on that page	unprinted · not constructed

On enseñar the added argument is an indirect Learner and the direct object is the Content. On robar the indirect object is the Victim and the direct object is the Theme. The analogy is the added possessor-source. It is not a claim that a Learner and a Victim are one role.

hurtar and sustraer are notes on this page, not further pages. birlar and mangar stay notes, and only with the printed coloq. label. Languages of steal: German · stehlen / rauben / berauben · Spanish · robar · French · voler · Russian · украсть / красть · Italian · rubare · Japanese · 盗む · Polish · kraść / ukraść · Hungarian · lop / ellop · Dutch · stelen · Norwegian · stjele · Bulgarian · крада / открадна · Chinese · 偷 (tōu). Closest sibling for the indirect added argument: teach · Spanish · enseñar. No English steal page.

Notes

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

Theft in Spanish is not one function frame. Thief (Voice, subject), Victim (low Appl, a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain, working and revisable), Theme (complement of the root). On the normal frame the Theme is the direct object and the Victim is the indirect object. With no Theme, le keeps the person indirect, and lo or la makes the person the direct object. Robaron un banco makes the place the object. No genitive Theme is printed. English steal takes the source in from.

ES micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 Low Appl of the Victim unranked DE stehlen live ES enseñar live

Sense × language: steal · Spanish (robar). The theft sense is the page. The card sense, the heart sense, and the river sense stay off the frame. The abduction sense stays in the clitic contrast and is not a purse. hurtar and sustraer stay notes. No English steal hub. German: steal · stehlen / rauben / berauben. Geometry neighbor: teach · enseñar, for the indirect added argument. Index 2 Spanish Transfer cites intercambiar, cambiar, dar — not robar.

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Open items
Corpus and sources

Working paper. Spanish micro-entry of steal, beside the German page. Dictionary frames were checked on the DLE (robar, robo, hurtar, hurto, sustraer, birlar, mangar), on the DPD (robar(se) and leísmo §4d), on the Libro de estilo de la lengua española (the robar entry under R), and on Wikcionario and English Wiktionary as secondary.

Constructed examples. Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. Pat le robó la cartera a María puts the clitic and the a-phrase in one clause; the sources print those pieces separately. robar a alguien de algo is unprinted and is not given a constructed clause. A passive is unprinted and is not constructed.

Arity. Index 2 does not list robar. Surface count can name a thief, a victim, and a thing taken. The lexicon does not list three co-arguments of one flat V, and it does not list one function frame for every line. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl adds the Victim. The root takes the Theme. en of a place, and the unfilled [de un lugar], are not a further sister. The irregular cells of sustraer are not a further sister.

What this page does not do. It does not open a separate page for hurtar, sustraer, birlar, or mangar. It does not open an English page of steal. The card sense, the heart sense, and the river sense stop at the citation.

Hierarchy

Not a flat grid of three sisters, and not one function frame copied from the English gloss. Voice adds the Thief. Low Appl adds the Victim, as a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain. The root takes the Theme. The function of those two dependents is the frame’s. The drawing is working and revisable.

What Spanish changes, against English steal X from Y, is the Victim’s marker. The person is an indirect object, le or a plus a noun phrase, not a from-phrase and not a bare noun. What Spanish changes, against German berauben, is the Theme. The accusative Victim of berauben has a genitive Theme. The direct-object Victim of robar has no printed oblique Theme.

Geometry · Spanish theft beside the live German dative

English steal. Source in from, person or place. Theme as object. A bare him is not that source. No English page is opened.
English rob. The person or place is the object. of is printed for the thing in the deprive citations. No English page is opened.
stehlen and rauben. Accusative Theme, dative Victim. The Spanish indirect Victim and direct Theme match that pair. rauben adds force in the definition. DLE robar sense 1 prints violencia o fuerza. Sense 2 does not.
berauben. Accusative Victim, genitive Theme, marked gehoben. Spanish has no printed genitive Theme and no printed robar a alguien de algo.
robar, indirect Victim. Direct Theme. le, or a plus the person. With the Theme left out, le is the normal clitic in DPD §1a, and the Libro de estilo rejects lo for that line.
robar, direct Victim. lo or la in DPD §1b, in the zones that entry names. The meaning paraphrase contains de algo. The examples do not. Personal a plus la is also the abduction line A la niña la robaron.
Robaron un banco. The place is the object. [de un lugar] is in the definition and not in the example. en el metro is a place beside a Theme and a Victim.
hurtar. DLE: no intimidation of persons and no force on things, and no clause. Wikcionario: formal, and no clause. The Der. label is on the noun hurto.
sustraer. DLE: Hurtar, robar fraudulentamente, no clause, no register label, conjugation of traer. Wikcionario adds secret or deceit and still prints no clause and no formal label.
birlar. DLE coloq. Le birló el tabaco. Same indirect-plus-direct cloth, and the definition prints sin intimidación.
mangar. DLE coloq. Hurtar, robar. No clause.
enseñar. Indirect Learner, direct Content. The indirect object is the added argument this page compares. The Learner is not a Victim.

Open items

Whether low Appl is the right head for the Victim. The drawing puts a possessor-source inside the verb’s domain, on the analogy of the dative Victim of stehlen and of the indirect Learner of enseñar. The dictionaries print the functions. They do not print that head. The ranking stays open.
le against lo when no Theme is in the clause. DPD §1a calls le normal everywhere. DPD §1b prints lo and la in many zones and gives the reading despojar. The Libro de estilo writes NO ⊗ lo robaron for sense 1. The leísmo article calls the alternation grammatically justified. The three statements are not ranked here.
robar a alguien de algo. Unprinted as a frame. The DPD’s de algo is inside the meaning paraphrase of §1b. English Wiktionary’s robar Y de X is a usage note with no Spanish sentence, and it puts de on X. Not starred. Not constructed.
A filled de un lugar beside a Theme. The Libro de estilo brackets it and does not fill it. en el metro is the printed place beside a Theme. del hospital is the abduction line. Not starred.
les. The DPD’s general indirect-object series includes les. No robar example checked here fills it.
A passive. Unprinted. Not constructed.
The two labels on abduction. Wikcionario says anticuado. DPD §1c prints a 2021 example and does not use that label. Not ranked.
formal on sustraer. Unprinted in the DLE and in Wikcionario. The fraudulent gloss is what those entries print.

Corpus filenames and sources checked

Dictionary frames: DLE robar, robo, hurtar, hurto, sustraer, birlar, and mangar; DPD robar(se) and leísmo §4d; Libro de estilo de la lengua española, the robar entry; Wikcionario hurtar, sustraer, and robar; English Wiktionary robar, steal, and rob. Constructed clauses put a printed function on a named thief. robar a alguien de algo is the working limit of the unprinted oblique Theme. Index 2 does not list this lemma. Spanish Transfer in Index 2 is intercambiar, cambiar, dar.

DLE · robar dle.rae.es/robar · sense 1 violencia o fuerza · sense 2 te pueden robar la idea · sense 3 raptar · robo, robé, he robado
DLE · robo dle.rae.es/robo · sense 4 Der. · violencia o intimidación · fuerza en las cosas
DLE · hurtar dle.rae.es/hurtar · sin intimidación en las personas ni fuerza en las cosas · no clause
DLE · hurto dle.rae.es/hurto · sense 4 Der. · without the circumstances of robo
DLE · sustraer dle.rae.es/sustraer · Hurtar, robar fraudulentamente · Conjug. c. traer · no clause · no register label
DLE · birlar dle.rae.es/birlar · sense 2 coloq. · Le birló el tabaco en un descuido
DLE · mangar dle.rae.es/mangar · Caló entry, sense 2 coloq. · Hurtar, robar · no clause
DPD · robar(se) rae.es/dpd/robar · §1a le robó su bolso · le roban · §1b robarla, lo roben · §1c del hospital · §2 se robó el carro
DPD · leísmo rae.es/dpd/leísmo · §4d Robaron el bolso a su madre en el metro · Le robaron en el metro · Para robarla · the alternation is grammatically justified
Libro de estilo de la lengua española · robar rae.es/libro-estilo-lengua-española/r · Le robaron la cartera · NO ⊗ lo robaron · Robaron un banco · A la niña la robaron · [de un lugar] unfilled
Wikcionario · hurtar es.wiktionary.org/wiki/hurtar · Derecho · Uso: formal · no clause
Wikcionario · sustraer es.wiktionary.org/wiki/sustraer · sense 3 fraudulent, secret, or by deceit · no register label · no clause
Wikcionario · robar es.wiktionary.org/wiki/robar · raptar sense marked anticuado · Juan de la Cueva yo la he de robar
English Wiktionary · robar en.wiktionary.org/wiki/robar · usage note robar Y de X for “rob X of Y” · no Spanish sentence under that note
English Wiktionary · steal en.wiktionary.org/wiki/steal · from the gallery · from us · (from me)
English Wiktionary · rob en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rob · He robbed three banks · of their pay

Records the indirect Victim and the direct Theme of robar, the direct Victim when the Theme is absent, the place-object Robaron un banco, and the printed frames of hurtar, sustraer, birlar, and mangar. Records robé and robado as the regular principal parts. Does not open an English page.