TRANSITIVITY PROCESS

By
M.A.K. Halliday
 COMPONENTS

Type of element Typically realized by

Process Verbal group
Participant Nominal group
Circumstance Adverbial or Prepositional
group
 PROCESSES AND PARTICIPANTS

Direct Oblique
Process type Meaning
participants participants
Material: Action Recipient, Client,
Doing, Happening Actor, Goal
Event Attribute
Behavioural Behaving Behaver Behaviour
Mental: perception
Sensing, seeing, thinking,
cognition Senser, Phenomenon
wanting, feeling
desideration emotion
Verbal Saying Sayer, Target Receiver,Verbiage
Relational: Carrier, Attribute,
Being, attributing,
Attribution Identified, Identifier, Attributor, Assigner
identigying
Identification Token,Value
Existential Existing Existent
 MATERIAL PROCESS

§ It is the process of doing and happening.

§ According to Halliday (2004), a "‘material’ clause construes a
quantum of change in the flow of events as taking place through
some input of energy"(p.179). He adds "Material clauses construe
figures of ‘doing-& happening’(ibid). They express, according to
Halliday (1985), "the notion that some entity ‘does’ something which
may be 'to’ some other entity“ (p.103). Halliday (2004) sees that
‘material’ clauses are concerned with our experience of the
material world. Material clauses do not represent concrete, physical
events only.They may represent abstract doings and happenings.
 MATERIAL PROCESS

• The outcome may be restricted to the actor itself; in this case there is only one
participant inherent in the process. In this case, “material’ clause represents a
‘happening’ and it is called an intransitive material clause.
The lion sprang.
Actor Material Process
• When the process is extended to another participant, it is called 'Goal', the
outcome impacts on it rather than on 'Actor'. Such a ‘material’ clause
represents a doing and it is called transitive.
The lion caught the tourist.
Actor Material Process Goal
 MATERIAL PROCESS

• Additional participants: Scope, Recipient, Client and Attribute.

According to Halliday(2004), there are two types of Scope
1. The Scope may construe an entity which exists independently of the process. It
indicates the domain over which the process takes place.
You will be crossing some lonely mountains, so make sure you have enough petrol.
Actor Material P scope
In the example above, 'mountains' exist as an entity whether anyone crosses them or
not.
 MATERIAL PROCESS

2. The Scope may not be an entity at all but rather another name for the process;
for example
I play tennis.
Actor Material P Scope

In this example, it is noticed that 'tennis' is the Scope of the process, and it is
clear that 'tennis' is not an entity which exists alone. It represents a name of one
kind of game. For that "this structure enables us to specify further the number or
kind of processes that take place"( Halliday, 2004:193).
 MATERIAL PROCESS

The main types of ‘process Scope’ are as follows:

General: they played games
Specific: quantity ------ they played five games
Specific: class ------- they played tennis
Specific: quality ------- they played a good game

The above types may be combined to one sentence as in:

They played five good games of tennis.
Actor Material P Scope
 MATERIAL PROCESS

• The other two participants are 'Recipient' and 'Client'. They both have a benefactive role and
they represent a participant that is benefiting from the performance of the process. The
Recipient is one that goods are given to; the Client is one that services are done for (ibid:191).
These two participants are either come with preposition or without. The preposition (to) is
with 'Recipient' and (for) with 'Client'. For example
She sent her best wishes to John.
Actor Mat P Goal Recipient
Fred bought a present for his wife.
Actor Mat P Goal Client
• Goal represents the participant that is affected by the process, the Client or Recipient is the
one that benefits from it. Typically realized with nominal group, denoting to a human being
(especially personal pronoun).
 MATERIAL PROCESS

• Finally, the last function of the participant which accompanies the material
process clause is the 'Attribute'. Although this function belongs to the
'relational' process clauses, it also enters into the 'material' process clause.
Halliday (2004) states that "the Attribute may be used to construe the resultant
qualitative state of the Actor or Goal after the process has been completed"
(p,195). For instance
They stripped her clean of every bit of jewelers she ever had.
Actor Mat P Goal Attribute Circumstances
• where clean is an 'Attribute' participant describing the resultant state of the
Goal her. The 'Attribute' participant in material clause is always an optional
added specification, while it is an inherent part of a relational clause.
 MATERIAL PROCESS

Let’ try:
I nipped my little sister.

She cooked scrambled egg for the kids this morning.

She planted string beans in the garden yesterday.

 MENTAL PROCESS

• It the process of sensing.

• According to Halliday (2004)," mental clauses are concerned with
our experience of the world of our own consciousness"(p.197). He
(ibid) claims that these processes may represent abstract doings and
happenings. Verbs like (feel, want, like, hate, know, think, fear, see,
etc.) recognize these processes. This kind of process construes
either flowing from a person’s consciousness or impinging on it.
 MENTAL PROCESS

• There are two types of participants related or accompanied with mental process. They are called
'Senser' and 'Phenomenon'. For example:
Mary liked the gift.
Senser Mental Process Phenomenon
The gift pleased Mary.
Phenomenon Mental Process Senser
• Senser represents the one that ‘senses’ ,i.e., thinks, feels, wants or perceives (Halliday, 2004: 201); as
in the example above 'Mary'. Senser is the one which is interacting, thinking, etc. In grammatical
terms, Halliday (2004) refers to, 'Senser' as "the participant that is engaged in the mental process is
one that is referred to pronominally as he or she, not as it"( ibid).
• The participant in a mental clause should be human, while this feature is not required in material
clause. According to Eggins (2004), one "participant in the mental process clause must be a conscious
human participant" (p. 227)
 MENTAL PROCESS

• The other main element in the mental process clause is called the ‘
Phenomenon'. The phenomenon is that which is thought, felt, wanted or
perceived by the 'Senser'. The set of things that can take on this role in the
clause is in fact wider than the set of possible participants in a ‘material’
clause. It is not only a thing, but also an actor is a fact. In a material clause,
every participant is a thing; it is a phenomenon of our experience. It includes
our inner experience or imagination — some entity like (person, creature,
institution, object, substance or abstraction).
 MENTAL PROCESS

• These ‘things’ may be the object of consciousness in a mental clause (Halliday,

2004: 203) for example:
You recognize her?
Senser Mental Process Phenomenon
I learned that lesson a long time ago.
Senser Mental Process Phenomenon Circumstance
she believed his cases.
Senser Mental Process Phenomenon
 MENTAL PROCESS

• Can be in the form of a cognition, perception, and reaction.

Mary understood the story. (cognition)
Sensor Mental Process Phenomenon
Anil noticed the damp patch. (perception)
Sensor Mental Process Phenomenon
Siobhan hates spicy food. (reaction/emotion)
Sensor Mental Process Phenomenon
Tense – mental process is ‘odd’ when in present progressive tense. (noticing)
material process is not ‘odd in present continuous/progressive tense. (breaking down)
 MENTAL PROCESS

• Let’s try
Dyosa remembered her assignment five minutes before the deadline.

She despises her ex boyfriend.

 BEHAVIOURAL PROCESS

• According to Halliday (1994), behavioural clauses are "processes of

(typically human) physiological and psychological behaviour, like breathing,
coughing, smiling, dreaming and staring" (p. 139). He (2004) adds "they are
partly like the material and partly like the mental" (p.250) which means
their meanings are in mid may between material on the one hand and
mental on the other.
• These clauses have two participant roles. They are' Behaver’ and the
‘Behaviour’.
• Halliday says that "The participant who is ‘behaving’, labeled Behaver, is
typically a conscious being, like the Senser".
 BEHAVIOURAL PROCESS

She is laughing. (Behavioral Process)

Behaver behaviour
In this example she is 'Behaver' and is laughing is behavioural process while the behaviour is
dressed up as if it was a participant, is called 'Behaviour' (Halliday, ibid:251).
She sang a song. (Behavioral Process)
Behaver Behaviour Circumstance
He gave a great yawn. / He yawned. (Behavioral Process)
Behaver Behaviour Behaver Behaviour
 BEHAVIOURAL PROCESS

• One important key in this process is that the ‘ behaver’ is a conscious entity.
That student fell asleep in my lecture again. (Behavioral Process)
Behaver Behaviour Circumstance
She frowned at the mess. (Behavioral Process)
Behaver Behaviour Circumstance
Tense – behavioural process is not odd in present progressive tense (same with material
process) but unlike material process, behavioural process is an act where another
participant or entity is not affected by the behavior (but could also change state of the
behaver).
 BEHAVIOURAL PROCESS

• Let’s try
She smirked at him.

The child stuttered while telling the story.

 RELATIONAL PROCESS

• It is the processes of being and having.

• The relational clause is the third type of process. Halliday (2004) states that
"Relational clauses serve to characterize and to identify"(p.210). The relational
clause is realized by the verb 'Be' in the simple present or past.
• There are three main types of relational clauses which are intensive’,
‘possessive’ and ‘circumstantial. These types come in two modes: of being,
attributive and identifying. The attributive clauses construe classmembership by
ascribing an attribute to some entity (the Carrier and the attribute). The
identifying clauses convey some attribute to an identity.
 RELATIONAL PROCESS

• In relational clauses, there are two inherent participants, attributive and

identifying clauses. In attributive clauses, the attribute is assigned to a
participant who is called Carrier, e.g.
She is atrocious. (Relational P. / Attributive)
Carrier Attribute
• In this example, (she) is considered as a (Carrier) which means that she carries
the attribute (atrocious)
 RELATIONAL PROCESS

In identifying clauses, they define a participant, they do not classify or ascribe

participant to attribute. For example:
The one in the back row must be you. (Relational P. / Indentifying)
Identified/ Token Identifier/Value
In this identifying clause, the one in the back row is ‘identified’ while you is the
‘identifier’.
 RELATIONAL PROCESS

• In an identifying clause there is a TOKEN-VALUE relationship.

Tom is the treasurer. (Relational P. / Indentifying)
Identified/Token Identifier/Value
Tom is the tall man. (Relational P. / Indentifying)
Identified/Value Identifier/Token
In the first identifying clause, Tom is assigned by Treasurer a 'Value', while in the second
one Tom is identified by assigning a 'Token' to him. 'Token' is the participant (that which
is being defined). 'Value' is the participant (that which defines). So, in the first sentence
Tom is 'Identified/Token' and the treasure is 'Identifier/Value'. In the second one, Tom
represents as 'Identified/Value' and the tall man is 'Identifier/Token'. In other words, "the
identity either decodes the Token by reference to the Value or it encodes the Value by
reference to the Token"(Halliday, 2004:230).
 RELATIONAL PROCESS

Type Mode: Attribute Mode: Identifying

Intensive Paula’s presentation was lively. The best Irish writer is Joyce.
X is Y Carrier Attribute Identified Rel. P. Identifier
Joyce is the best Irish writer
Identified Rel. P. Identifier
Possessive Peter has a piano. The Alpha Romeo is Clara’s
X has Y Carrier Relational P. Attributive Identified Rel. P. Identifier
Clara’s is the Alpha Romeo
Identified Rel. P. Identifier
Circumstantial The fête is on all day The maid is in the parlour.
X Carrier Relational P. Attribute Identified Rel. P. Identifier
is at/is in/ In the parlour is the maid.
is on/is with Identified Rel. P. Identifier
Y
 RELATIONAL PROCESS

Let’s try
The new car is in the garage.

That woman is the newly appointed principal.

 VERBAL PROCESS

• It is the processes of saying.

• These process clauses are an important resource in various kinds of
discourse. They contribute to the creation of narrative by making it
possible to set up dialogic passages. Halliday (2004) states that
"Verbal clauses, in news reporting, allow reporter to impute or
assign information to sources, including officials, experts and eye
witnesses"( p.252).
 VERBAL PROCESS

• In the verbal clause, there are four types of participants. The first one is the
'Sayer'; the person who is speaking, which means that 'Sayer' is restricted or
limited to the speaker or writer, e.g.
John said 'I am hungry‘.
Sayer Verbalisation Proces Verbiage
• In functional grammar, the example above consists of two clauses: primary
clause 'john said' and secondary clause 'I am hungry'. It functions as a secondary
clause being either directly quoted, as in ‘I am hungry’, or indirectly reported, as
in 'he was hungry' in the following example.
He said he was hungry.
Sayer Verbalisation Proces Verbiage
 VERBAL PROCESS

• The primary clause represents the verbal one while the other may represent a
process type of any kind. The other participant function is 'Receiver'. It represents
the person to whom the process is directed. Halliday (2004) says that "The
Receiver is the one to whom the saying is directed"( p. 255). Forexample:
Tell me the whole truth?
Verbalisation P. Receiver Verbiage
Did you repeat that to your parents?
Sayer Verbalisation P. Verbiage Receiver
Describe to the court the scene of the accident?
Verbalisation P. Receiver Verbiage
 VERBAL PROCESS

• The 'Verbiage' is the participant that matches to what is said,

representing it as a class of thing rather than as a report or quote.
Verbiage could be either the content of what is said. For example:
Can you explain the plan for me?
Sayer Verbalisation P. Verbiage Receiver
• Or it may be the name of the saying, e.g.
Let me ask you a question.
Sayer Verbalisation P. Receiver Verbiage
 VERBAL PROCESS

• Finally, the 'Target' is the fourth participant; this function occurs only
in a sub-type of ‘verbal’ clause. This type construes the entity that is
targeted by the process of saying. For example:
He also accused Krishan Kant.
Sayer Circumstance Verbalisation P. Target
She always blamed him.
Sayer Circumstance Verbalisation P. Target
 VERBAL PROCESS

• Let’s Try
The kid narrated what happened when his tooth fell off.

Will you dictate to me the answers before the teacher return?

 EXISTENTIAL PROCESS

• The last type of process which is called existential process has just
only one participant. Halliday (2004) claims that "The entity or event
which is being said to exist is labeled, simply, Existent"(p. 258). For
example
There was an old person of Dover. (Existential Process)
Existent
There was a storm. (Existential Process)
Existent
• ‘there’ as a dummy subject
 EXISTENTIAL PROCESS

In another sense, the existential process leads us right back to the

material process, the category with which we began this review of the
system of transitivity. Significantly, both types of process can often
accommodate a question like ‘what happened?’, the response to which
results in two possible configurations. Thus, both ‘X assaulted Y’ and ‘There
was an assault’ would offer a choice of responses to this hypothetical
question. However, what happens in the existential version is that no role
other than Existent is specified, and that role, moreover, is filled by a
nominalized element which is created by converting a verbal process into a
noun.
 EXISTENTIAL PROCESS

During the first part of the nineteenth century, there was a lighthouse
keeper who was in charge of the lighthouse. His name was Felipe. He
was a brave young man, very dedicated to his work. He lived very
happily in the lighthouse with his wife, Catalina, and his little daughter
Teresa. He loved them both very much. (Existential Process)
 EXISTENTIAL PROCESS

Let’s try
There was a problem at the construction site.
 SAMPLE TEXT ANALYSIS

Two and a half years later of course I (Sayer)can't tell (Verbal) you that all is
(Relational)well, but I (Sayer)can say (Verbal) this: Britain is ( Relational) on
the right track.
As Prime Minister (Sayer) it has fallen to me to say(Verbal) some hard things
and to help (Material) our country (Actor) face (Material) some hard truths.
All of my adult life, whatever the difficulties, the British people have at least been
(Mental) confident about one thing. We(Senser) have thought (Mental) we
(Actor) can pay( Material) our way. That we (Actor)can earn (Material) our
living as a major industrial country…and we (Senser) will always remain
(Mental) one.
-Excerpt fromDavid Cameron's Conservative Party Conference Speech
THANK YOUUUUU J