Abstract
This paper explores the problem of how oblique objects in English are mapped from the semantic structure of verbs mainly by examining verbs that display an alternation in the expression of their internal arguments, known as“locative alternation”. The problem is twofold: the first is the question of why oblique objects are distinguished from direct objects; the second is the problem of why the former must be accompanied by prepositions. To explain the former problem, I will argue that oblique objects are introduced as adjuncts at the level of lexical conceptual structure. As for the latter problem, it will be claimed that they require prepositions so that they can be assigned a θ-role by a verb.
