2.4.1.2. Null objects
In addition to subjects, LIS also allows objects to remain unexpressed. Null objects may appear with both plain and agreement verbs. The example below contains a transitive plain verb (forget) and it is uttered after a dialogue about the importance of wearing rain boots when walking in Venice with high tide.
student forget
‘The student forgot (them).’
Since the object argument (boot) is salient in the discourse, it can be omitted.
The possibility to omit the object with agreement verbs is exemplified below with the transitive agreement verb help. According to previous context, a student has a hard time focusing and learning new concepts. He is thus struggling to study for his next test.
maria 3ahelp3b
‘Maria helps (him).’
In LIS, null objects are allowed regardless of whether agreement is marked non-manually or not. In the two examples discussed in this section, non-manual object agreement (i.e. eye-gaze) is absent.
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