Acknowledgments -- A note on interlinear glosses -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1. Some historical threads -- 1.2. Theoretical framework and basic concepts -- 1.3. Overview -- Chapter 2: The meaning of the dative -- 2.1. The concept of personal sphere -- 2.2. The dative and the semantics of the verb -- 2.3. The ethic dative -- 2.4. The structure of the dative category -- 2.5. Conclusion -- Chapter 3: Dative and nominative experiencers -- 3.1. Preliminaries -- 3.2. Perception vs. hallucination -- 3.3. "Reasoned" convictions vs. mistakes and idiosyncratic associations -- 3.4. "Wanting": definite intention vs. wistful longing or biological drive -- 3.5. Attitudes: Judgement vs. natural inclination -- 3.6. Subjective experience vs. objective properties -- 3.7. Nominative-dative verbs -- 3.8. Conclusion -- Chapter 4: Dative and accusative targets -- 4.1. Introduction -- 4.2. Verbs of communication -- 4.3. Bodily experience -- Chapter 5: The dative and prepositional constructions -- 5.1. Expressing the beneficiary: the dative and prepositional phrases with dla 'for' -- 5.2. Target person, source and goal: the dative and prepositional phrases with do 'to' and od 'from' -- 5.3. Personal sphere vs. location: the dative and prepositional phrases with u 'at' -- 5.4. Dative and prepositional constructions: A summary -- 5.5. Prepositional constructions with datives -- Chapter 6: The personal sphere in other languages -- 6.1. The English verb have -- 6.2. External NP constructions in Japanese -- 6.3. The personal sphere in Polish, English and Japanese -- 6.4. A word on English ditransitives and the "dative" ni in Japanese -- Chapter 7: Conclusion -- 7.1. Comparison with other analyses -- 7.2. Schemas and prototypes -- 7.3. The status of semantic roles -- 7.4. The importance of conventional imagery -- 7.5. Motivation and predictability -- 7.6. Final remarks.

Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.