GRAMMAR II

WORD ORDER AND VERB PATTERNS

Word order in English is very important in signaling the relationships between the different
elements within a sentence. Although the subject usually precedes the verb in English, there are
many different ways of ordering the other elements in the sentence.

WORD ORDER IN ENGLISH: Sentence word order:

Word order shows us which element of the sentence is the subject and which is the object. In
affirmative sentences, the subject is usually first, followed by the verb:

Sarah really enjoys a hot dog (for tea occasionally).

(subject, verb, object)

This is not the same as:

A hot dog really enjoys Sarah (for tea occasionally). S+V+O

The main part of the example above (i.e. outside the brackets) shows subject-verb-object word order
(SVO). There are, however, occasions when we change this word order. In questions, we usually
place a verb (main or auxiliary) before the subject.

Is the Prime Minister discussing the issue of debt with the Cabinet?

We also change the order when we place adverbs such as never, seldom, rarely at the beginning of
the sentence for stylistic reasons:

'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. '
‘Rarely have I come across such a beautiful painting.’

In these sentences that begin with a negative adverbial particle it is necessary to use inversion,
therefore the word order is different.

Variations:

Apart from the variations mentioned, a number of patterns can follow verbs in English. Note that
even verbs with similar meanings can take different patterns:

I said that you could go. (verb + clause)

I told you that you could go. (verb + indirect object + clause)
She told me a lie. (verb + indirect object + direct object)

The indirect object is often a person who receives something (a lie, in the example above) and it is
often introduced by a preposition.

1
VERB PATTERNS: Verb only (intransitive verbs).

Some verbs do not have an object. These are intransitive verbs:

They've arrived. The cup shattered.

With these intransitive verbs we can use adverbs or prepositional phrases:

They've arrived there.

The cup shattered into hundreds of tiny shards of glass.
After admitting the charge, the politician apologized to all his constituents.

Some common intransitive verbs are: come, fall, go, happen, lie, sleep, swim, wait.

Some verbs can be intransitive or transitive (used with an object):

The door opened. (intransitive) He opened the door. (transitive)

The meat burnt. (intransitive) The cook burnt the meat. (transitive)

Some common verbs that can be transitive or intransitive are: begin, break, change, close,
continue, dry, finish, hang, hurt, move, separate, stand, start, stop, tear, turn.

Sometimes the two uses of a verb can have very different meanings:

He ran to catch the bus. (intransitive = moved quickly)

He ran the new software to show us how it worked. (transitive = operated)

In modern usage, some transitive verbs are used as intransitive verbs:

I don’t know why you’re bothering with those boots - they won’t sell.

And some intransitive verbs are used as transitive verbs:

In order to survive we need to grow the business by 100 per cent within two years.

Verb + complement:

Some verbs are followed by complements (not objects). A complement is usually a noun phrase or
an adjective that identifies, describes or gives information about the subject:

George Carey has become the new Archbishop of Canterbury. (complement)

My grandmother has become very forgetful recently. (complement)

Some common verbs which introduce complements are: be, become, appear, keep (+ adjective),
remain, taste, make. (these are linking verbs)

You don’t want to remain a shop assistant all your life, do you?
A quiet afternoon at home would make a nice change.
Chris was very good -he kept quiet all through the boring sermon.

After seem, appear, look, feel and sound we can use an adjective to describe the subject:

2
 The whole group seemed very keen. Marie's new outfit looked fantastic.

We can also use a noun phrase to describe the subject after these verbs:

That sounds a wonderful idea! Your suggestion seems the best solution.

However, when we use a noun phrase after seem or appear to identify (rather than describe) the
subject, we have to use to be to introduce the noun phrase:

Surprisingly, the young fresh-faced boy seemed the boss.

Surprisingly, the young fresh-faced boy seemed to be the boss. (correct)

A complement can also describe the object of a verb. (This complement is also called an object
predicative) In this case, the object comes before the complement:

The committee named Frances President.

The journey made the children fractious.
(Subject + verb + object + complement)

We often use verbs of naming, e.g. name, call, elect, with this pattern:

The President finally decided to call his new dog Buddy.

We can use a noun or an adjective as the complement after verbs such as think, keep, consider,
prove, call, find:

Although he was twenty, Katherine still considered him a child/childish.

Many critics call Kevin Costner's 'The Postman' his worst movie yet!

We can use an adjective as a complement in the same pattern in a number of idiomatic phrases after
verbs such as drive, send and turn:

The noise of the planes flying over us at night drives me crazy.

The new aftershave from Givenchy is guaranteed to send women wild!
Did you see his expression? It could turn milk sour!

Verb + object(s):

Transitive verbs have a direct object, which can be a noun or a pronoun:

We discussed the problem/it at great length.

The object can also be an -ing form (with or without a prepositional phrase).

The instructor suggested practicing (on the nursery slopes first).

3
We can omit the object after some transitive verbs where the context is clear:

Geoff was mortified to find that he had failed (the test) again.

Some common transitive verbs which can omit the object are: answer, ask, drink, eat, enter, fail,
leave, pass, play, practice, sing, study, wash, win, write. In English a number of verbs can take two
objects, e.g. give, bring, buy, show. These verbs take a direct object and an indirect object and there
are two possible patterns:

The judges gave the enormous marrow/it first prize.

(subject / verb / indirect object / direct object)
The judges gave first prize to the enormous marrow.
(subject / verb / direct object / indirect object)

The judges gave to the enormous marrow first prize.

If we put the direct object first, we introduce the indirect object with a preposition (either to or for).
We do not vary from this.
If the indirect object is a pronoun, we prefer to put it before the direct object:

(The Shakespearean actor brought a certain amount of class to us).

The Shakespearean actor brought us a certain amount of class.

Which pattern we use often depends on what information in the sentence is new.We prefer to put
new information at the end of the sentence.

Verb + prepositional phrase:

We can use a prepositional phrase after intransitive verbs:

The train departed from platform 9 - but we were waiting on platform 5!
(subject / verb / prepositional phrase)

We can also use prepositional phrases after transitive verbs:

He carefully removed the egg from the nest.
(subject / verb / object / prepositional phrase)

We do not usually change the order of object + prepositional phrase in this pattern, unless the
object is very long.

He carefully removed from the nest the egg.

He carefully removed from the nest the three fragile blue-speckled eggs and the one chick that
had already hatched.
Verb + verb:

Many verbs can be followed by another verb:

4
 The consultant refused to take responsibility for the decision.
(subject / verb / verb)

We can use a direct object between the verbs:

We require all students to attend the pre-sessional English course.

(subject / verb / direct / object verb)

With some verbs we do not need to, for example, modal verbs, auxiliary verbs, semi modals (need
and dare), and make and let:

He daren't leave early without my permission.

Let the dish stand for at least a minute after removing it from the microwave.

We can use the verb help with or without to:

The volunteers helped (to) provide support and comfort to the refugees.

Verb + clauses:

Verbs can be followed by that clauses or wh-clauses (those which start with a question word). We
often use that clauses after verbs of speaking and thinking:

The staff agreed that redundancies were the only course of action.
(subject + verb + clause)

We can omit that after the verbs mentioned above:

The warden told the visitors (that) the prisoner did not want to see them.

Examples of wh-clauses are indirect questions

I couldn’t meet you. You didn't tell me when you were arriving.
(subject / verb / object / clause)

Wh-words can be followed by to + infinitive after verbs such as show, explain, teach:

Is it common for people to teach their children how to drive here?

****************************************