THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF ~ Q R OF PHILOSOPHY IN LINGUISTICS AT THE

is a study of the syntactic and semantic properties of dative arguments. The main source of data is Spanish, where dative arguments can appear with all types sf verbs, and can have a wide range of.meanings: goal, possessor, source, experiencer, affected object, causee, location, benefactive, mlefactive, ethical dative. The challenge for a theory of dative arguments, which form. a natural class morphologically, is to expiain both wkat they have in common and how they differ syntactically and semaintically. I argue that dative arguments have structural meanings, i.e., the m e h g of a dative DP can be derived directly from the position in which it is licensed. To be able to predict the possible meanings sf dative arguments, it is crucial to take into account the details of the syntactic configuration, which include the properties of the head that licenses the dative DP and of the functional heads that consbruct the event structure. rlztive arguments are not direct arguments of the verb; they are, like subjects, licensed syntactically and semantically by a specialized head. This argument introducing head, the Apglicative, licenws the dative DP as its specifier and relates this DP to the structure it tzkes as a complement. The range sf possible meanings of a dative DP is predicted from the rang