Search results for 'tag:Direct objects tag:Verbs' matching tags 'Direct objects' and 'Verbs'

Re: Questions on the word but

Avangi — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:05:08 GMT

wholegrain
1) Can "but" be used instead of that when an idea of doubt, fear or distaste?

2) Can "but" mean that...not, therefore "There never is a tax law presented but someone will oppose it" means "There never is a tax law that someone will not oppose"?

Hi, wholegrain.
I think it's a gross oversimplification to say that "but" is substituted for "that" in your example. "That" is just a relative pronoun, while "but" in your example (IMHO) is a conjunction connecting two independent clauses. (I may be all wet!)

I never saw a tax law which/that someone didn't oppose. To me, this is a relative clause, or dependent clause (surely not indepent) where "that" serves as direct object of the verb "to oppose." (In your example, "to oppose" has its own direct object, "it.")

In you example, "someone will oppose it" is an independent clause, so I'd take "but" as a conjunction. I cant think of another common conjunction or conjunctive phrase which can replace it in this example. The sentence would probably have to be rewritten, as you have done.

Perhaps you realize this: << that.....not, therefore >> , but what you say is a little hard for me to follow. (Does question 1) apply to the example in question 2), or is there no example for question 1) ?)

- A.

Re: the verb "to bind"

Avangi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:23:51 GMT

Seraphin
(a) Protein X can bind to DNA
(b) Protein X can bind DNA

Are these two sentences describing the same scenario ?

Yes and no. I guess the result is the same if I join you or you join me, but you could say that in a sense, the scenario is different.

The verb "to bind" may be either transitive or intransitive. (a) is intransitive; (b) is transitive. Many verbs may be only one or the other.

(b) is like "I hug you." I do something to you. "You" is the direct object of the transitive verb. The object is necessary to complete the sentence grammatically. (I know "I hug." is possible as a sentence, but then I guess "hug" would be considered intransitive.)

(a) is like "I stick to you." "Stick" is intransitive here, and the prepositional phrase "to you" is extra. That is, grammatically, "I stick." is a complete sentence, just like, "I can bind." (I am capable of binding.) In my sentence, "to you" modifies the verb "stick," giving additional information.

I'm having trouble with this, as you can probably tell, since all the verbs here may be both transitive and intransitive, and you don't know until you complete the sentence which is which.

When you say "I can bind to you," "you" sounds like the direct object of a transitive verb, but it is not. I'm trying to think of better examples, and failing miserably. - A.

Edit. Of course, "to stick" can also be transitive. "Please stick a stamp on that envelope." "Stick A to B." Likewise "to bind" (with a rope): "Bind A to B."

Re: the reason

Tanit — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:58:50 GMT

On reflection, I think I must amend one thing I wrote earlier. (General statements are always dangerous when speaking about English...sorry )

Tanit
...while some need to be followed by an indirect object (i.e. one preceded by a preposition) ...

Sometimes indirect objects are not preceded by a preposition. This happens, for instance, with verbs like send/give/write:
        John gave me the book.
        John sent me a parcel.
        John wrote her a letter.
It's easy, though, to distinguish the objects if we rewrite these sentences as:
        John gave the book to me.
        John sent a parcel to me.
        John wrote a letter to her.

Re: the reason

Tanit — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:31:15 GMT

Buddhist-Accountant
Could you mention other intransitive verb ??

Hi,

I can mention a couple of them.

To be: I was here at five. - I am tired. - To be or not to be?
To exist: Do you believe UFOs exist?
To appear: He appeared suddenly.
To die: My grannie died at the age of 92. - John has died.
To rain: It's raining heavily. - It's going to rain.
To lie: She's always lying.
To work: Tom works in a farm.
To talk: They have been talking for two hours.
To go: I usually go to the beach on Sundays.

As you can see, some are "complete" (i.e. they don't require any object), while some need to be followed by an indirect object (i.e. one preceded by a preposition) or by an adjective.
Also, some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, depending on the meaning and on the context.

To run: Ann is running in the park (intransitive) - Ann ran the marathon in 1989 (transitive) - Ann runs a business in London (transitive)

The best thing you can do is to look verbs up in a dictionary like this one. For each verb, you will find (T) and/or (I), which stand for "transitive" and "intransitive" respectively. I am pretty sure you also can find many useful posts about this topic in the forums (especially in the linguistics section).

Re: the reason

Tanit — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:46:57 GMT

Buddhist-Accountant
the answer is B " Happened"

But,I wonder why that is the answer.I think it should be use "was happened" because it is passive..

Hi,

Why do you think it should be passive? Only transitive verbs (i.e. those that need to be followed by direct objects, without any preposition) have passive forms, and "happen" is intransitive.

To put it simply (and only as a rough guideline):
    Write => transitive verb:
        Active: My friend John wrote a letter.
        Passive: A letter was written by John.
    Laugh => intransitive verb:
        Active: Yesterday, I laughed at my friend's joke.
        No passive (we cannot say "~~My friend's joke was laughed~~")

Happen => intransitive verb:
        Active: Yesterday, something weird happened to me.
        No passive (we cannot say "~~I was happened something weird~~")

Does this help?

Basic ESL Grammar

angel_tristan0409 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:58:19 GMT

A word is a âpart of speechâ only when it is used in a sentence. The function the word serves in a sentence is what makes it whatever part of speech it is.

For example, the word ârunâ can be used as more than one part of speech:â¨
Sammy hit a home run. (run is a noun, direct object of hit)â¨
You mustnât run near the swimming pool. (run is a verb, part of the verb phrase must (not) run)

Here is a simple overview of the English parts of speech and what they do. Each part of speech is linked to an DWT article that tells more about it.

NOUN - Nouns are naming words. We canât talk about anything until we have given it a name.

PRONOUN - A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun.

VERBS - The verb is the motor that runs the sentence. A verb enables us to say something about a noun.

ADJECTIVE - An adjective is a word that describes a noun.

ADVERB - An adverb adds meaning to a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

PREPOSITION - a preposition is a word that comes in front of a noun or a pronoun and shows a connection be

Re: Please help interpret this sentence

Philip — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:01:12 GMT

Welcome, EvetsEgap, to the forums. I think you'll find this a very interesting place to spend some time.

As for your question about parsing the bold part of your question, I see it as Subject [He], Verb [gave], and four-part direct object [some, some, some, some]. I'm not qualified to determine if that was the intent of the writer/translator.

Re: Him killed I!

Huevos — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:32:13 GMT

Anonymous
Is that correct? it seems wrong

It's not wrong. Normally in English sentences are ordered "Subject (S), Verb (V), Indirect Object (IO), Direct Object (DO)" but can run OSV, and, where pronouns are used in substitution of either the subject or object (e.g. your sentence) there are no word order constraints so OVS is possible. That said, such a construction is pretty unusual and almost certainly would be limited to use in literature for effect.

Re: have given to us

Abil — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:46:08 GMT

Thanks Clive. One more question. Do you think the same preposition (to) is outright wrong becauseÂ weÂ know '"give" is an intransitive verb and takes a direct object?

Re: sentence analysis

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:44:18 GMT

I disagree.
My and his are possesive adjectives. They modify nouns (friend and girlfriend) A possesive pronoun can replace a noun. My cannot replace any nouns.
Additonally, "with my best friend and his rather unusual girlfriend" is a prepositional phrase led by the preposition with.
It is an adverbial prepositional phrase.
A subjective complement follows a linking verb.
An objective complement "complements" a direct object.
You have no DO in this sentence. You only have objects of the prepostion with: friend , girlfriend