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Gopulative Predication
(40)
Copula verb
Predicative
Structure:
o o r
asleeP.
LIE:
coach's
ience
e o o o
have
Sit
.\\o
..-+
' -li f ^ -. klf
r
"1
't I
,- i, I "'.o.-tl,{ .
*-"'d
{t; '
']
rrr
;'ll-L ,";,
'n
Lre-eT'l
*i'y,!
{6-\
Tt'r" ho.l '.-,. r-r*, ' .ir'114 | ^.,., '\.r'.t-'r \5 '.. .'.\.
.r.-.",
r.ht-ut*'t- *{o
I /)\-
''oi;\ ift"'!'
'
for
an
of each type.
Traditionalists
Acttviqz. Provlde examples to illustrate the grammatical regime of the verb ,,to be" (copular BE,, existential BE, auxiliary BE, (Progressive;
Passive), modal BE).
Despite the distinct syntactic and semantic features of the types of BE, they all share the same behavioural features, namely:
(42)
* In interrogative *
sentences
it
undergoes inversion
with
the
115
Attributive Type: A is B; A diffirs from B; A - the attributed - is the entity to which the Predicate assigns a property; B - the
1. the
attribuant
(43)
and consequently
B is A; A is the
deskmate
is the
a.tinity. Distinguish
the
1.
4. Margaret Thatcher was the United Kingdom's first female PrirneMinister in 1979.
lr6
(minimally two) or by
plural NP.
were separated
Mathematics.
Grammar
ls similar to
of
Simple Intransitives
(46)
in a
transitive
tr7
There remains little chance of stopping them. There have arisen several changes in the timetable. There have occurred some unexpected incidents.
into the VP right after the main verb and then insertion of
expletive "there" in the position left empty by the moved Subject'
the
118
1. Prepositional
(49)
for
her friends.
iust before
the
finish line.
They have fallen behind with their instalments.
119
ro):
o
(51)
eventive:
to
your aunt.
o relational: (53) The Dean talked down to the teacher infront of the students.
This car belongs to the moYor.
(Vintr. + PO/IO
o Vintr. + PO + PO (54) The student was arguing with his teucher about his mark.
Down the shore you could bargain with the truders over the price of uny item.
John agreed wittr his parents about the change of itinerary.
o Vintr. + IO + PO (55) The manager talked to the employees about the crisis.
They signaled to the waiter
for another
beer.
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Adverbial
The Process of Intransitivization Basically a transitive verb can become intransitive when it gives up on
its Direct Object. This can take place by means of two important
processes:
1.
(55) In order to get on time to work she has to drive (her car) each and every morning.
2. 3.
t2l
Complement position, being governed by the transitive verb. The verb governor assigns Accusative case to its governee.
(60)
Simple Transitives
Linguists make the difference between monotransitive verbs, i.e. those transitive verbs that have only one argument functioning as DO,
and ditransitive verbs or better ditransitive complementation which
DOs (The teachers have asked him a lot of questions-/ This car cost
him a lot of money.) or one having the function of DO and the other
of
us
IO (lftr father handed him the keys yesterday./ A clown has given
the tickets.).
pinker (1989) suggests that productive use ofthe ditransitive syntax is the result of
a lexicosemantic rule which takes as input a verb with the semantics
'X
CAUSES
Y fO
'X
CAUSES
Z fO URVp
'X
CeUSgS Z
Y'
122
102- I 04):
1.
(61)
Mother froze some vegetables last month' The underlined NPs functioning as DOs are obviously affected by the
action denoted by the transitive verb. In the examples above the DOs
are assigned the thematic role of Patient. However there are verbs that denote actions performed to the benefit of their arguments, as in:
(62)
2. Monotransitive verbs
(63)
iforn i a Un iv er s itY.
r23
3. Monotransitive verbs
(64)
Vtransitive
She
affected DO
fashioned
clay.
The child has painted a nice
frame.
Grandma cut her finger by
mistake.
(65)
fishr
or hyponymic terms:
(66)
fight a battle
5. Monotransitive verbs
(67)
t24
6. Monotransitive verbs
(68)
The
all of a sudden.
7. Monotransitive verbs
with Abstract DO
abstract activity or process followed by an Affected or Effected [Animate] NP functioning as direct object:
(69)
fficiency'
.4
8. Relational verbs:
fit
me at all'
b. verbs of possession:
t25
(72)
exam.
for
the
well.
(73)
yesterday.
up.
: to cause somebody to remember; to raise : to cause sb.isth. to rise; to teach: to cause sb. to learn; to kill: to cause sb. to
to remind
die; to
(74)
c. morphological causatives are transitive verbs that have been derived from other lexical items by means of word-formation
processes, such as:
126
- conversion:
(75)
The lady suddenly faced the man who was following her.
- affixation:
(77)
e. dative causatives are ditransitive causative verbs followed by a DO and an IO: give, send, sell, show
(78)
in due time.
the products
to
its
purchaser
There are also Some transitive verbs that have developed a causative meaning, as in:
(79)
a semi-final place
against
t21
f. ergative verbs
sink,
to
intransitive without any change in form and without passivization (to Jloat, to dry, to ring, to break):
Vintransitive
(80)
Vtransitive The sunfaded the T-shirt. She dropped her voice dramatically.
10. Lexically complex transitive verbs are phrasal verbs (verb + particle) followed by a direct object. The whole verb phrase can be
subjected to particle movement or not. The particle must accompany
the verb or it may move after the direct object sometimes changing the
meaning of the VP. For instance, considering the verb to run, one can
notice that in the phrase run into somebody with the meaning 'meet
sb. by chance' no particle movement is allowed, whereas
sth. and
'to knock
kill it'
(81)
I had to cut the article down to I500 words. Researchers have caruied out a survey on learning
standards.
t28
Complex Transitives
Complex transitive predications have the following underlying syntactic frame as it can be noticed in the analysis of the examples
below:
(82)
from landing.
[_ NP, PP]
(oc)
are
the direct object NP to pass into a different state. The new state is
expressed by a Predicative Adjunct/ Object Complement that follows the DO.
(84)
The
The con man talked the old lady into buying the old carpet'
She couldn'tforgive
t29
(85)
Her accurate style set Jamie apart from other competitors. The President managed to talk the iournalists round to ltis way
of thinking.
1. Her dream
2. A gang of thieves broke in last night. 3. She passes for an experienced doctor. 4. The married couple has recently separated. 5. That possibillty has never occurred to anyone. 6. She talks to her husband about her latest success.
130