A variety of strategies exist to mark the recipient[1] (indirect object) in a ditransitive sentence. Besides the explicit use of the noun or pronoun, strategies include verbal agreement and the use of non-verbal morphemes. Strategies may be obligatory or optional. When evaluating sentences for this parameter, first- and second-person recipients should be considered as well.

Types:

NPPonly: The recipient is exclusively marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun; no other strategies exist.[2]

NPPobl: The recipient is obligatorily marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun, but other strategies also exist.[3]

NPPnonobl: The recipient may be optionally marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun.[4]

NPPor: The recipient is marked by the explicit use of the noun or an independent pronoun; only in the absence of these are other strategies available.[5]

Agr: The recipient is marked by morphosyntactic verb agreement[6].

Clit: The recipient is marked by the use of a clitic[7].

Aux: The recipient is marked by the use of an auxiliary, which may also mark other grammatical categories [8].

Clsfr: The recipient is marked by the use of a verb classifier, which may also mark other grammatical categories.

When a language displays more than one strategy, multiple values can be listed. If one strategy is (structurally) dominant, a slash (/) can separate the two values, with the dominant value appearing first; if neither is dominant, they are listed with an ampersand (&) separating the two. The use of a plus sign (+) instead of an ampersand indicates that the two strategies must be used simultaneously, whereas that of parentheses indicates that use of the strategy is not obligatory.

[1] Ditransitive constructions have three arguments: the subject (agent), the object (theme), and the recipient. For the verb give, the recipient is the person to whom the object of the verb is given.

[2] Both of these conditions must apply.

[3] This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+).

[4] This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+). For example, NPPNonobl+Agr refers to a language in which the recipient may be marked by verb inflection, and the verb can mark the recipient without the use of an explicit noun or pronoun.

[5] This value should appear alongside another value, separated by a plus sign (+).

[6] This value includes affixes, internal flexion, and the use of bound person markers that attach to the verb.

[7] Clitics attach not directly to the verb but to a structure encompassing it, such as a phrase or clause.

[8] These categories may include agent, theme, tense, aspect, and mood.