Distinguishing Intransitive and Transitive Verbs Intransitive n These

Distinguishing Intransitive and Transitive Verbs

Intransitive n These do not take objects We slept for three hours. n She walked across the street. n I smiled at my sister. n

Transitive verbs n These take objects (though the objects are sometimes implied, not stated) Leon bit the dentist. n We at four o’clock. (implied object) n

Some verbs can be intransitive or transitive (depending on their function in the sentence) n My dog smells. n My dog smelled the scent of a rabbit. n The child sucked the candy. n That assignment sucked. (informal)

A challenge: Verbs followed by prepositions 1. I turned down the offer. transitive or intransitive with a prepositional phrase? Analysis 1 I turned down the offer. S Vi PP Analysis 2 I turned down the offer. S Vt O

Testing for phrasal verbs I turned down the offer. TESTS: a. Adverb question: Where/when/how/why did I turn? Answer: *Down the offer. b. Adverb movement: *Down the offer I turned. c. Pronoun replacement of object: I turned it down. (p. 288: If an adverb used with a main verb must move after the object when the object is replaced by a pronoun, then the adverb is part of a phrasal verb)

A preposition that is NOT part of a phrasal verb The truck turned down the road. a. Adverb question: Where/when/how/why did the truck turn? Answer: Down the road. b. Adverb movement: Down the road the truck turned. c. Pronoun replacement of object: *The truck turned it down.

Correct labeling of Vt + PP The truck turned down the road. det noun Vi Prep. Phrase

Are the following phrasal verbs or prepositional phrases? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Jane asked about my daughter. We looked up his phone number. I will look into changing the date of the assignment. I stayed in on Friday night. I stayed with some friends. They wandered up the path. They made up a new card game.

Object complements In addition to transitive verbs that have DO and IO, we also have verbs that take object complements. They elected her president. S Vt DO Obj. Comp Object complements = the DO

Object complements vs. Transitive verbs that take 2 objects They elected her president. S Vt DO OC They gave her a new car. S Vt IO DO

What about: 1. The boss deemed Laura a suitable candidate. S Vt DO Obj. Comp 2. Please give us some candy. (you=S) Adv Vt IO DO 3. He wiped the counter clean. S Vt DO Obj. Comp 4. She is a good doctor. S LV Subject Complement (Predicate Nominative) ***linking verbs are neither transitive nor intransitive