In Direct objects^x, Difference between^x

Miriam wrote: But there is more to say about "alive": it is one of the few adjectives in English (such as alone and awake) which are generally used pospositively, that is, after the noun they modify. So, in this case, I wouldn't say "alive" is an object complement. Rather, the whole noun...

Hello, Hanuman. The practice of burning a woman alive on the pyre of her husband is called ...... "Alive" is certainly an adjective, so I basically agree with MrPedantic. But there is more to say about "alive": it is one of the few adjectives in English (such as alone and awake) which are...

A sentence may take the form of a single clause or be formed from several clauses. The typical clause has a noun phrase for a subject and a verb phrase for a predicate. The verb phrase may have another noun phrase or two embedded within it which serves as direct object or indirect object. ...

Hello again, MrP (IF I may I call you MrP). I think I understand now what you meant in the post I found confusing. You said: “...which implies that the subject of the <whosever/whose-ever> clause in the example is the same as the subject of the main clause. However, the subject of the...

The difference between stative and dynamic (called ‘active’ in this thread) verbs does not lie in transitivity (there are transitive stative and dynamic verbs), but in the type of relation in which the verbs stand with respect to the construction/s that follow them. In sentences such as the...

Thanks, Paco, I'd forgotten about that thread! Since we're discussing passive constructions ('who was given the book?') rather than active constructions ('to whom did you give the book?'), it might be easier to take an example whose 'active version' doesn't contain an indirect object: 1. Who...

JTT wrote: I'm confused by something you've said here, Casi. Are you saying that "Max" is the object in the sentence, "Max was given a book." ? Yes. That's correct, JTT. "Max" has a dual function: It's the structural subject but it's also the semantic object (indirect kind) of the verb. Does...

Hello, Lupa You are right about the first two pairs of sentences. Sentences "b" in both pairs have ergative verbs. You posted that "dinner is cooking" is a passive sentence. The sentence has passive meaning (because dinner cannot be cooking itself) but it is not a passive construction. The...

"Read me a tale" and "Read a tale to me" are correct. The rule you mention is that when, in a sentence that has both a direct and an indirect object, the direct object directly follows the verb, the indirect object is usually introduced by "to" or "for". "Read to me" is also correct. Here, you...

Hello, Lupa The difference between transitive and intransitive verbs is that transitive verbs take objects (direct and/or indirect), whereas intransitive verbs will not accept them. This difference applies also to phrasal verbs (multi-word verbs that consist of a verb plus an adverbial...