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Professor Qian Column
Professor Qian's Column

Verb Patterns

Monday, 04 May 2009

Few students new to a non-credit ESL, Level 5 class can use the verb mean correctly, a sorry fact I have found out in the past three years. When asking a language question, the student is likely to say, ·        What means the word obsolete? ·        What is the word obsolete mean? ·        What the word obsolete mean?           All three mistaken sentences are taken from a real-life classroom.           Many, however, can say “What is the meaning of the word obsolete?” Their trouble is that they don’t know how to use mean as a verb.           To explain, you can say that of all the different parts of speech in English, the verb is probably the most complicated and difficult to learn.Also, you can say that unless the ESL instructor at various levels has made a special effort to teach the correct uses of mean as a verb, most students will misuse it.             One way to attack the problem outlined above is to pay attention to verb types and patterns, which concern the idiomatic ways of using a verb.           First of all, English verbs fall into three types, namely, the transitive verb, the intransitive verb, and the linking verb. Read the following sentences: ·        We accept credit cards. ·        Birds fly. ·        She is from El Salvador. Her husband is a doctor. Verb to be (am, is, are, was, or were) is a linking verb, as inthethirdsentence.  More linking verbs appear in the following sentences: ·        She became a nurse when she graduated from college. ·        The tomatoes are fresh from the fields. They taste especially delicious. ·        Leaves turn brown, yellow, and red in autumn. ·        The kids played soccer until it got (or, grew) dark. (Get is more informal than grow.)   Link Verbs Other Than Verb to Be             Note that some usually intransitive verbs can be used as a linking verb and followed by an adjective or even a noun. For example: ·        Bread goes stale overnight. ·        Lots of food would go bad in summer without the refrigerator. ·        Is it possible for a person’s hair to go gray overnight? ·        Helen Keller went blind and deaf at the early age of one and a half. ·        They emerged from the defeat wiser and more capable. ·        Let’s go Lakers! ·        “Stay hungry and stay stupid,” Steve Jobs advised in a commencement speech （毕业典礼讲话）at Stanford University in 2007.   Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs             Most verbs are used either intransitively or transitively. However, some verbs can only be used intransitively. They never take any object, nor are they ever used in the passive voice. Such words include happen, occur, emerge, etc.   Look at the examples that follow: ·        A bad accident happened (or, occurred) at the crossroads this morning. ·        A man emerged from the shadow. By the way, happen and occur are interchangeable in most cases. The only time when happen cannot replace occur is in the pattern “It occurs…that…”. For example: ·        It occurred to him that he was entitled to a refund.   Different Transitive Verb Patterns             Now  let’s discuss the use of transitive verbs. As the name suggests, these verbs can all take an object. But if you look at the following examples, you’ll find they vary widely in terms of what follows them. ·        Scientists have found a new planet. (verb + object) ·        They called him Jolly John. (verb + object + noun as object complement) ·        Everyone thought her beautiful. (verb + object + adjective as object complement) ·        She gave her son a birthday gift. ( verb + double object ) [2] ·        I don’t think (that) your plan will work. (verb + that clause as object)   The Verb Mean: See How Confusing It Can Be             Even the same verb can be used in different verb patterns, especially when used in different meanings. Let’s look at the verb mean. (Examples are taken from the Oxford ESL Dictionary.) ·        What does this mean? (verb + object) ·        The bell means that class is over. (verb + that-clause as object) ·        Does the name “Charles Bell” mean anything to you? (verb + object + prepositional phrase) ·        This job means a lot to me. (Mean means “to be important to somebody.” It’s not used in the -ing forms. The verb pattern: verb + object + prepositional phrase) ·        The shortage of teachers means that classes are larger. (Mean means “have as result.” It’s not used in the -ing forms. The verb pattern: verb + that clause as object) ·        The new law means higher taxes for businesses. (Mean means “have as result.” It’s not used in the -ing forms. The verb pattern: verb + object) ·        He said he loved me, but I don’t think he meant it! (Mean means “to be serious or sincere about sth.” It’s not used in the -ing forms. The verb pattern: verb + object) ·        I’m sure she didn’t mean to upset you. (Mean means “want or plan to do sth.” or “intend sth.” Verb pattern: verb + object) ·        They didn’t mean any harm. (ditto) ·        This dessert is meant to be served chilled. (Usually passive, the word mean means “intend or expect sth. to be or do sth.” Verb pattern: verb (in the passive) + infinitive) ·        What’s this picture meant to be? (ditto)   Verb Patterns at a Glance             ESL students make numerous mistakes that are related to verb patterns. Some of them are big mistakes, like using an intransitive verb transitively. Some of them are not so big, but still they are mistakes. And the trouble is that in oral English their mistaken sentences make sense to the listener, who is unlikely to correct them. But if the listener is a native speaker, he will probably get the impression that you don’t speak good English.           So what can we do about it? It is obvious that no instructor is able to teach all there is to know about verb patterns. The only reliable source of reference is a good ESL dictionary, which usually tells how to use a verb correctly, both by signs and by examples. For the ESL students, it is absolutely necessary to enhance their awareness of verb patterns. In other words, every time they use a verb, they should ask themselves if the verb is transitive or intransitive or if it is a linking verb. If they are not sure, they will be well advised to go to an ESL dictionary. What follows is a list of the commonly seen verb patterns.   VP Types Structure Example VP1 (v.i.)   V (intransitive verb) Birds fly. The baby is sleeping. An earthquake happened last night.     VP2 (v.i.) V + Preposition + Object to the Preposition (Also known as: V + Preposition Combination) The visitor talked about his strange experience. Betty is listening to rock music. Many immigrants dream of a brilliant future. His wife objects to his smoking.   VP3 (v.t.)   V + Object (noun, pronoun, gerund) John loves books. They respect each other. Wayne enjoys sharing ideas with his friends. VP4 (v.t.) V + Indirect Object (person) + Direct Object (thing) The teacher gives us homework. The teacher gives homework to us. VP5 (v.t.) V + Object + Adjective They thought his idea wrong (naïve). The chairman considered my proposal impracticable. VP6 (v.t.) V + Infinitive The child wants to go and visit a zoo. I expect (hope) to hear from you soon.   VP7 (v.t.) V + Gerund Not many of us like parachuting. Doctors always recommend eating more vegetables than meat. VP8 (v.t.) V + Infinitive or Gerund The mechanic stopped to smoke. The mechanic stopped smoking. He likes to dance. (He likes dancing.)   VP9 (v.t.)   V + Object + Infinitive The hostess asked everyone to sit down. Helen expects (not hopes) you to succeed. Peggy helped them to adopt a positive attitude. VP10 (v.t.) V + (object) + What (When, Where, How) + Infinitive Smith knows where to turn for help. Joshua told the girl what to do in case of emergency.   VP 11 (v.t.) V + Object + Past Participle Leslie had his shoes shined. They left the job unfinished.   VP12 (v.t.)   V + that-clause as the object The reporter said that there had been no casualties. The policeman insisted that the car driver had exceeded the speed limit.   VP13 (v.t.)   V + Object + that-clause The reporter told us that there had been no casualties. The boss warned her employees that some of them might be laid off.   VP14 (v.t.)   V + if-question (or wh-question) as the object The guest asked if it was okay to smoke. Many of us wondered why there was no response to our questions.   VP15 (v.t.) V + Object + Participle (or Participial Phrase) I never heard him complaining. His words set his students thinking. All of us watched her playing the violin. VP16 (v.t.) V + Object + Preposition Combination The doctor warned him of possible infection. The voters voted him out of office. VP17 (Verb to Be) Verb to Be + Noun (Adjective, Preposition Combination, Infinitive or Gerund) My aunt is a nurse. My uncle is optimistic. My parents are in Florida. His job is to supervise (supervising). VP18 (Verb to Be)   Verb to Be + Noun Clause Their conclusion is that productivity is highest in the U.S. Her question is when it will be possible to take a make-up test. VP19 (Verb to Be)   Verb to Be + too + Adjective + to do something John and his brother were too young to join the army three years ago. The classroom is too small to hold 40 people. VP20 (Verb to Be)   Verb to Be + Adjective + enough to do something Now John and his brother are old enough to join the army. The Brown brothers are now mature enough to be on their own. VP21 (Verb to Be)   It + Verb to Be + Adjective + of It is nice of you to come. Cf. That is nice of you. It was careless of him to lose his way.     [1] In contrast, the most difficult-to-learn thing in Chinese is the noun. [2] The person is the indirect object, and the thing is the direct object. A sentence with a double object can usually be rewritten like this: She gave a birthday gift to her son.

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