The Big Main Verbs Boss Battle of Syntax!

[major_kerina]

He talks too darn much! I swear...you don't need to explain the same idea, the same way... five times!!!
Identifying types of sentences in English

Reviewing Verb Groups
All sentences in English must have a verb group.
The verb group must minimally consist of a main verb;  auxiliaries are optional.
Main verbs can be sub-categorized depending on the number of complements they require and the types of complements. Obligatory constituent that follows the main verb to complete the compliment.

Complements of main verbs are constituents that appear after the main verbs and are required to complete the predicate.
The main verb is so important in English sentences that the names for the different types of sentences are taken from the main verbs that are in them.

The Types of Sentences

Intransitive (zero compliments, SO)
Intensive (1 each DO)
Monotransitive (1 each)
Ditransitive (2 each)
Complex transitive (2 each)

Intransitive
Intransitive sentences have intransitive verbs as their main verbs.
Intransitive verbs do not require a complement to complete the predicate.
Any constituent following an intransitive verb is an optional modifier.
These modifiers can be deleted, so the sentence can end with the main verb.

Examples of intransitive sentences:
They have been sitting for a long time.
They have been sitting.
Most politicians lie like rugs.
Most politicians lie.
Dr. Smith faints at the sight of blood.
Dr. Smith faints.

Never delete a NP; it has a grammatical function.
Fred ate turkey.
Fred ate.
If you delete turkey, your answer will be that the sentence is intransitive. So you can't delete pronouns and noun clauses.

To find sentence types, always begin by locating the main verb first.
To do the practice sentences that follow, begin by identifying the main verb.

Discover which of the sentences below are intransitives.  Try deletion.
The tornado destroyed the trailer park. (not)
Queen Victoria died in 1901. (yes)
His dog choked on a cat bone. (yes)
They put their wet coats on the couch. (not)
He smoked for two decades. (yes)
She was reading in the library. (yes) (intransitive verbs to not take a compliment)

The complement of an intensive verb is called a subject complement because it supplies additional information about the subject of the sentence.
Intensive verbs are also referred to as linking verbs.
The most frequently occurring intensive verb is the copula, be.

Intensive Sentences
Type of Verb
Intensive

Type of phrase
NP
AP
AvP
PP (cannot be deleted without an ungrammatical sentence)

You do not need to memorize all of the intensive verbs in English.
If you can substitute some form of the verb be for the main verb in a sentence and get approximately the same meaning, then you found another intensive verb.

Using be substitution, find the other intensive verbs below.
The students seem tired today. (yes - The students are tired today.)
The ex-felon became a politician. (yes - The ex-felon is a politician.)
We met the professor of the class. (no - We are the professor of the class.)
The dinner looks good. (yes - The dinner is good.)
George W. Bush hated the illogical speaker. ( no - George W. Bush is the illogical speaker.)

NP as Subject Compliment
When a NP is a subject complement, it is coreferential with the SV.
When NPs are coreferential, they each refer to the same entity.
Tolstoy is a Russian author.
Tolstoy = a Russian author.
NP1 = NP2
Only NPs can be coreferential.

AP
When an AP is subject complement, it modifies the SV.
The movie sounds awful.
The examination seems easy.
You can test for the adjective by moving it to a position of premodification.
the awful movie
the easy examination

PP
When a PP is the subject complement, it modifies the SV.
The concert was in the park.
The elderly patient appears in good health. (cannot be deleted)

AvP
An AvP as subject complement provides information about the time or place of the SV.
The main verb in these cases is almost always be.
The game was yesterday.
The test will be tomorrow.
The noise was downstairs.

If some form of be is the main verb of a sentence, then the sentence will always be intensive.
If some form of be can substitute for a main verb, then the sentence is intensive.

Find the intensive verbs below and identify the type of phrase that constitutes the SC.
The class seems lost today. (lost)
His daughter became a doctor. (a doctor)
Hannibal was a military genius. (was - a military genius)
A rose by any other name is still a rose. (is - a rose)
Warring nations can later become allies. (become - allies)

Intensive Sentences and Modifiers
Phrases that are modifiers include PPs, APs, and AvPs.
Most modifying phrases are optional constituents and can be deleted.
However, modifying phrases that are subject complements are not optional constituents and cannot be deleted.

The underlined phrases below are all modifiers, but they are not optional because they are SCs.
The book you want is in the new book room. (PP)
Because of the storm, many of their possessions were lost. (AP)
The examination was yesterday.  (AdVP)

Determine if the sentences below are intensive.
Neanderthals were cousins of homo sapiens. (yes)
The last Neanderthals died about 25,000 years ago. (no)
Some people are allergic to shell fish. (yes)
Few genetic mutations produce harmful effects. (no)

Monotransitive Sentences
Monotransitive sentences contain a monotransitive verb.
A monotransitive verb is one that requires a single NP to complement it.
This NP is the direct object of the verb.
One percent of Americans earn doctoral degrees.
verb = have
DO = doctoral degrees

The Direct Object
Traditionally, the direct object is said to receive the action of the verb.
The DO is the recipient of the action.
Examine the following sentence:
The mailman kicked our watch-iguana.
The DO in this sentence is our watch-iguana, and it receives the action expressed in the verb kick.

The Relationship Between SV and DO
In intensive sentences the NP that is the SC is always coreferential to the NP functioning as SV.
My uncle is a dentist.
In monotransitive sentences the NP that is the DO is not coreferential with the NP functioning as SV.
My uncle married a dentist.

The DO can be coreferential with the SV only if the DO is expressed as a reflexive pronoun.
The dog bit itself.
The speaker corrected himself.
Dictators elect themselves.

If a verb is followed by a single NP, the NP is either a SC or a DO
Test by be substitution; if it works, the NP is a SC; if it does not work, it is a DO.
His family bought a new car.
Be substitution --->
His family is a new car.

Using be substitution, decide if the sentences below are intensive or monotransitive.
Their children all became professionals. *int*
Sharks will eat almost anything. *mono*
They grow tomatoes in the backyard. *mono*
The couple remained friends after the divorce. *int*

Monotransitive sentences are active sentences; the SV is the agent of the action.
Most monotransitive sentences can be transformed into passive sentences.
The judge fined the drunk driver.
The drunk driver was fined by the judge.

How to Form Passive Sentences
Make the DO of the active sentence the SV of the passive sentence.
Express the SV of the active sentence as the object of by in the passive sentence.
Form a passive verb group--some form of the verb be followed by the main verb in past participle form.

The dog bit the bellicose cat.

The bellicose cat was bitten by the dog.

Transform the active monotransitive sentences below into passives.
The hurricane destroyed the fishing fleet. (The fishing fleet was destroyed by the hurricane).
John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln in 1865. (In 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.)
Many people admire good Samaritans. (Good Samaritans are admired by many people.)  
The instructor’s assistant read the lectures (The lectures were read by the instructor's assistant.)

The Semantic Relationship Between Actives and Passives
Active and passive sentences have dramatically different structures, yet they are synonymous.  why?
The answer involves the notion of thematic roles carried by NPs.
In addition to having a grammatical function, a NP has a thematic role--a semantic interpretation.

In active sentences, the SV is the agent of the action, and the DO is the recipient of the action.
The cat ate the bird.
In forming passive sentences, grammatical functions change, but not the thematic roles assigned to the NPs.
The bird was eaten by the cat.

Meaning changes if the thematic roles assigned to the NPs change.
The dog bit the cat.
The dog was bitten by the cat.
In both sentences, the dog is the SV, yet the sentences are not synonymous.
The dog is the agent in the first, and the recipient in the second.

Find the NPs in the pairs of sentences below and identify the thematic roles and the grammatical functions of each.
The parrot killed the cat. (The parrot / the cat - main verb= killed, active agent - parrot recipient - car)
The cat was killed by the parrot. (the cat / the parrot - killed = passive)
Florida sued the tobacco industry.
The tobacco industry was sued by Florida.

Ditransitive Sentences
Ditransitive verbs take two NPs as complements.
Verb NP NP
The first complement is the IO.
The second complement is the DO.
John gave Mary a poisoned cactus.
Mary is the IO
a poisoned cactus is the DO

The IO can follow the DO, but only if it is preceded by the object marker to or for.
John read Mary the book
John read the book to Mary.
John bought Mary a book.
John bought a book for Mary.

(Oh Goddess! He just keeps TALKING! He's like my dad!!!)

The object markers to and for mark the IO; the prepositions to and for create modifying phrases.
Find the markers and prepositions below.
John sent a letter to Spain. (true prep)
John sent a letter to Mary. (marker)
John bought a book for Mary. (marker)
John bought a book for six dollars. (true prep)

The DO and the IO are not coreferential.
John read Mary the book.
Mary is not the book.
The used car salesman sold Mortimer a lemon.
Mortimer is not a lemon.

Find the DO and the IO in each of the sentences below:
Texaco now gives promotions to minorities (DO - promotions, IO - minorities)
The judge gave the drunk driver a very heavy fine. (DO - a very heavy fine, IO - the drunk driver)
The father threw the baseball to his son. (DO - the baseball, IO - his son)
Fred sold his uncle a car. (DO - a car, IO - his uncle)

Ditransitive Sentences and the Thematic Roles of NPs
The SV is the agent.
The agent performs the action.
The DO is the recipient.
The recipient directly undergoes the action of the verb.
The IO is the beneficiary.
The beneficiary benefits from the action.

Ditransitive sentences can also be transformed into passives.
In such cases, the SV is not the agent.
Monarchs gave land to the nobility.
The nobility was given land by monarchs.
Land was given to the nobility by monarchs.

Transform the ditransitive sentences below into passives, and identify the thematic roles of the NPs.
Cortez’s troops gave diseases to the Aztecs. (Diseases were given to the Aztecs by Cortez's troops) Agent-Ben-Recipit
Some parents throw lavish birthday parties for their children. (Lavish birthday parties are thrown by some parents for their children)
Some volunteers make soup for the poor. (Soup was made by some volunteers for the poor.)

Identify the sentence type of each sentence below.
Old soldiers never die. (intransitive - ends in the verb)
The Acropolis is in Athens. (intensive - copula)
Mars was the god of war. (intensive - copula)
Napoleon gave very small pensions to his enlisted men. (Ditrans)
Male lions eat the young of other males. (monotransitive)

Complex Transitives
Complex transitive verbs take two complements to complete the predicate.
The first is a NP which functions as the DO of the verb.
The second is a NP, AP, AvP, or PP which function as the OC.
If the OC is a NP, it is coreferential with the DO.

SV - NP  
DO - NP
OC - NP AP AvP PP

Examples of complex transitives:
The students called Nixon Tricky Dickey. (NP)
The architects considered the project impossible. (AP)
The husband put the trash outside. (AvP)
Children always put their toys in the wrong places. (PP)

Testing
Because both ditransitive verbs and complex transitive verbs can be followed by two NPs, it is possible to confuse the two structures.
The DO and IO after ditransitive verbs are not coreferential.
Fred gave Mary a present.
Mary =/= a present

The DO and the OC after complex transitive verbs are coreferential.
The students called Nixon Tricky Dickey.
Nixon = Tricky Dickey
The fourth grade elected Harry president.
Harry = president

An intensive relationship exists between the DO and  the OC.
The architects considered the project impossible.
the project is impossible
The husband put the trash outside.
the trash is outside
Children put their toys in the wrong places.
their toys are in the wrong places

Decide if the following sentences are ditransitive or complex transitive.
The department members elected Dr. Smythe chairperson. (complex)
The administration gave Dr. Badnews an award. (ditransitive)
The faculty consider Dr. Badnews a fraud. (complex)
Dr. Badnews read the faculty his unimpressive paper. (ditransitive)

Because complex transitive sentences have Dos, they can be passivized.
The students called Nixon Tricky Dickey.
Nixon was called Tricky Dickey.
The architects considered the project impossible.
The project was considered impossible
The husband put the trash outside.
The trash was put outside.

Transform the following complex transitive sentences into passives.
The committee appointed Dr. Smythe chairperson. (Dr. Smythe was appointed chairperson by the committee.)
The faculty consider Dean Johnson a good administrator. (Dean Johnson is considered a good administrator by the faculty).
The fourth graders elected Fred classroom representative. (Fred was elected class room representative by the fourth graders.)
Nancy called John an ugly name. (John was called an ugly name by Nancy.)

Review (FINALLY!!!!)
There are five basic sentence types.
Intransitive
Intensive
Monotransitive
Ditransitive
Complex transitive

Sentence types are named after the main verb that each contains.
Verbs differ on the number and types of complements that they can take.
Intransitive verbs do not take a complement, so the sentence can end in the main verb.

Intensive sentences need a SC to complete the predicate.  The SC may be a NP, AP, AvP. or PP.
Discover intensive verbs by be substitution.
Monotransitive sentences need a DO to complete the predicate.  The DO is a NP.
Be substitution does not work.

Ditransitive sentences take a IO and DO as complements.  Both complements are NPs.
The IO can come second if marked by to or for.
Complex transitive sentences take a DO and OC as complements.  The DO is a NP.

The OC is a NP, AP, AvP, or PP.
There is an intensive relationship between the DO and the OC.
Only transitive sentences can be made passive.

Identify the sentence type of the following sentences.
Many people become disillusioned with their jobs. (intensive)
Mr. Johnson resigned abruptly yesterday. (intransitive)
The Vikings established a settlement on North America long before Columbus. (monotransitive).
Very few immigrants receive welfare. (monotransitive).