Грамматика английского / verb complementation THEORY (вместо темы Predicate из учебника)
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THE PREDICATE
VERB COMPLEMENTATION
The predicate is the verbal component of a sentence or clause which expresses a state, an action, or an event.
The predicate may consist simply of a verb as in Tom disappeared or of a verb followed by one or more complements, that is words or phrases added to a verb to complete the predicate, without which sentences would be incomplete as in All the men wore [dark suits], or have a different meaning as in They found the test [difficult].
I. Intransitive verbs (непереходные)
Intransitive verbs denote actions and events which involve only one person or thing – the performer of the action.
1. Pure intransitive verbs: appear, fade, rise, rain.
e.g. It is raining. The sun rose.
Many intransitives express behaviour which is involuntary: blush, faint, smile, scream.
e.g. He screamed, she fainted.
!!! Verbs of position such as be, belong, hang, lie, live, remain, sit, stand, stay and verbs of movement such as come, creep, flow, go, run, stroll, travel, walk require a complement (an obligatory adverbial) denoting place, direction or time.
e.g. I used to live here.
He strolled towards the bar.
2. Ergative verbs. These verbs can be used transitively, followed by the object, or intransitively, without the original performer being mentioned. The object of the transitive verb, which is the subject of the intransitive verb, usually refers to a thing, not a person.
e.g. I opened the door.
Suddenly the door opened.
There are a number of ergative verbs which relate to food and cooking: bake, boil, cook, fry.
e.g. The porridge is boiling.
A small number of ergative verbs have an obligatory adverbial of manner. These verb are: clean, freeze, polish, sell, wash.
e.g. Wool washes well.
II. MONOTRANSITIVE VERBS
Monotransitive verbs describe events which in addition to the subject involve someone or something else. These verbs take one object (a direct object or a prepositional object).
e.g. Children seek independence.
How can you account for his mistake?
There are a small number of verbs which are usually intransitive, but can be transitive when used with one particular object, a cognate object. The object is directly related to the verb.
e.g. to dance a dance, to die a death, to dream a dream, to laugh a laugh, to live a life
He smiled a patient smile.
A transitive verb may be followed by a complement, which, unlike objects, cannot become the Subject in a passive structure. The complement can be an infinitive or gerundial phrase, an infinitive, gerundial or participial complex, or a clause.
e.g. He doesn’t enjoy dancing.
He wants to stay.
He asked what I meant.
The verbs which take complex objects are called complex transitive verbs.
e.g. She saw them enter the shop.
I can smell something burning.
We found the house deserted.
Delexical verbs. These are verbs which are used with nouns to indicate that someone performs an action, often a brief one. The noun is often used in the singular and is usually preceded by the indefinite article. These verbs have little meaning when they are used in this way. The most common delexical verbs are: give, have, make, take.
Delexical structures are very common in English. Although the total number of delexical verbs is small, they include some of the commonest words in the language. Delexical structures contribute to the impression of fluency in English given by a foreign user.
In most cases only one delexical verb is used with a particular noun.
The verb have is followed by:
|
belief chat |
dance fall |
grumble need |
quarrel respect |
sleep talk |
The verb take is followed by:
|
chance decision interest |
photo picture risk |
care offence blame |
office power responsibility |
shape time trouble |
There are a number of nouns which can be used after either have or take. Have is more common with these nouns in British English, whereas take is more common in American English. These nouns refer to physical activities or to actions which involve using our senses.
|
bath break drink |
holiday job rest |
run shower swim |
bite look sip |
smell sniff taste |
The verb give is followed by nouns which often refer to verbal or facial reactions or speech actions:
|
cry gasp giggle chuckle |
grin groan laugh scream |
shout sigh smile whistle |
advice answer lecture warning |
news reason report speech |
III. Ditransitive verbs
Ditransitive verbs take two objects, a direct object and an indirect one. These verbs denote actions which involve someone in addition to the people or things that are the subject and the object of the sentence. This third participant is someone who benefits from the action or receives something as a result.
Order of objects. The indirect object is put immediately after the verb phrase, in front of the direct object.
e.g. He had lent Tim the money. (indirect object + direct object)
If the direct object comes first after the transitive verb, it is followed by a prepositional phrase.
e.g. Ralph passed a message to Jack. (direct object + indirect object)
!!! It is normal to use this prepositional structure when the direct object is a pronoun.
e.g. God has sent you to your friend. (direct object + indirect object)
IV. COPULAR (LINK) VERBS
Copular verbs take one complement and serve as a link to what the referent of the subject is or becomes. The complement of a copular verb is often called the subject complement and can be expressed by a noun, or a prepositional phrase. The most common copular (link) verb is be.
Copular verbs can be sensory (look, feel, smell, sound, taste); situational (remain, keep, seem, appear) or refer to a process of becoming or changing (become, get, grow, turn, prove, come, turn out, end up).
e.g. The reason is simple.
He kept quiet about his win at the lottery.
Verbs referring to a process of becoming or change of state usually occur in certain fixed idiomatic expressions.
Get angry/ excited/ wet.
Become ambitious.
Come loose(расшататься) / come undone (расстегнуться) / come true (исполниться)
e.g. The handle has come loose.
The buttons on my coat came undone.
Fall asleep / sick / ill.
Go sour (прокиснуть) / bad (испортиться) / mad (сойти с ума) / bankrupt (обанкротиться) / red (покраснеть)
e.g. The milk went sour.
The company has gone bankrupt.
Grow fat (набирать вес) / faint (затихать) / louder(становиться громче)
Run dry (высохнуть) / short (закончиться) / high (распаляться) / wild (одичать, отбиться от рук)
e.g. The well has run dry.
Our supply of coal is running short.
Since their parents divorced those children have been running wild.
Turn sour (прокиснуть) / traitor (стать предателем) / informer
e.g. The milk will turn sour if you don’t put it in the fridge.
The King’s minister turned traitor and poisoned him.
Some intransitive verbs can be used with complements in the same way as link verbs.
e.g George stood motionless for at least a minute.
He died young.
I used to lie awake all night.
EXAMPLES OF COMMENTS:
1. It was snowing.
The verb “to snow” is a pure intransitive verb.
2. I often stayed in this hotel.
The verb “to stay” is a pure intransitive verb used with an obligatory adverbial of place.
3. The fish is frying.
The verb “to fry” is an intransitive ergative verb, the subject of it refers to a thing.
4. He needs care.
The verb “to need” is a monotransitive verb.
5. They lived a long life.
The verb “to live” is used here as a monotransitive verb with a cognate object.
6. I saw her crossing the street.
The verb “to see” is a complex transitive verb as it is followed by a complex object.
7. He gave a speech at the conference.
The verb “to give” is a delexical verb.
8. He told me his secrets.
The verb “to tell” is ditransitive. “Me” is an indirect object, “his secrets” is a direct one.
9. At last my dream came true.
The verb “to come” is copular, it is used with the subject complement “true”.