English grammar - Roger Berry 2012
B8.1 Five patterns
B8 Verb patterns
Section B Development
As we have seen, it is the verb that determines the structure of clauses: which elements can be included and which cannot. This mainly involves the use of objects, predicatives and (to a small extent) adverbials, but can also be extended to subjects (e.g. to the use of there and it, as in It is raining and There seems to be a problem). This is the ’pattern’ of the verb. (It is sometimes called ’verb complementation’.)
For example, in addition to a direct object, say allows a prepositional object but not an indirect object, which tell does allow:
I said something to her and not ’I said her something.
I told her something.
And discriminate requires a prepositional object, not a direct object (in standard English):
They discriminated against him/He was discriminated against.
B8.1 Five patterns
It is common to classify verbs into five types, according to the pattern that they occur in: intransitive, link, link transitive, monotransitive and ditransitive. However, individual verbs, especially the more common ones, occur in more than one pattern (as we saw with verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive in C6), so it is more accurate to specify which patterns verbs are used in. Indeed, we can go further and identify a number of sub-patterns involving the following types of elements:
□ phrases (noun, adjective, prepositional)
□ subordinate finite clauses (beginning with that or wh-words)
□ non-finite clauses beginning with infinitives and participles
□ quotes
Below is a list of the most common sub-patterns. In some cases typical verbs are indicated.
Intransitive patterns (i.e. with the clause structure SV)
I’ve been walking.
We can also include ergative verbs here (see C7):
The lesson ended.
Link (copular) patterns (i.e. with the clause structure SVPs)
These verbs have three types of subject predicative:
It is usual to include cases where there is an obligatory adverbial in this category (although they are SVA):
The kitchen is downstairs. She is lying on the grass.
Link transitive patterns (i.e. with the clause structure SVOPo)
These generally have a noun phrase as their object, but there are a number of different elements that can function as the object predicative, depending on the verb:
It is usual to include cases with an object and obligatory adverbial (i.e. SVOA) in this category:
I put it in the cupboard.
Note how verbs of perception have a choice between infinitive and -ing participle, e.g.:
I saw him run/running.
with a difference in meaning (a complete action vs an activity in progress).
Activity B8.1
Some link and link transitive verbs are closely associated with their predicatives, in that they may just have a few adjectives that they co-occur with. Complete these sentences with a subject or object predicative chosen from the list on the right. Think of other adjectives that could be used in these patterns.
Monotransitive patterns (i.e. with the clause structure SVO)
These have a range of direct objects, depending on the particular verb. These include:
As we have seen there can also be a prepositional object (Oi):
They laughed at me.
Ditransitive patterns (i.e. with the clause structure SVOO)
Typically the first element is a noun phrase but there is a variety of second elements. There are four main combinations:
Activity B8.2
You may have noticed that some of the different patterns above appear to be identical in that there is a pronoun and a to infinitive following the verb in each case e.g.
1. They forced him to leave. (link transitive)
2. They want us to help. (monotransitive)
3. They advised us to leave. (ditransitive)
However, we can discover the differences by trying to ask questions.
First of all, try to make a wh- interrogative by replacing everything after the verb. Then, where it is not possible, try to make a wh- interrogative by replacing the two separate parts.