Exercise 2.3 Active and passive sentences (cf. 2.6) Identify whether each sentence below is active or passive
3.14 The meanings of the sentence elements
The sentence elements are grammatical, not semantic, categories. However, they are associated with certain meanings. In this section I will illustrate some typical meanings.
Subject 1. agentive
In sentences with a transitive or intransitive verb, the subject typically has an agentive role: the person that performs the action:
Martha has switched on the television.
Caroline is calling.
2. identified
The identified role is typical of structures with a linking verb:
Jeremy was my best friend.
Doris is my sister-in-law.
3. characterized
The characterized role is also typical of structures with a linking verb:
This brand of coffee tastes better.
Paul is an excellent student.
4. affected
With intransitive verbs the subject frequently has the affected role: the person or thing directly affected by the action, but not intentionally performing the action:
They are drowning.
The water has boiled.
5. ‘it’
Sometimes there is no participant. The subject function is then taken by it, which is there merely to fill the place of the subject:
It’s raining.
It’s already eleven o’clock.
It’s too hot.
It’s a long way to Miami.
Verb
The major distinction in meaning is between verbs that are stative and verbs that are dynamic.
Stative verbs introduce a quality attributed to the subject or a state of affairs:
I am a French citizen.
Their children are noisy.
She has two brothers.
I heard your alarm this morning.
Dynamic verbs introduce events. They refer to something that happens:
Her books sell well.
We talked about you last night.
Your ball has broken my window.
I listened to her respectfully.
Dynamic verbs, but not stative verbs, occur quite normally with the -ing form (cf. 4.12, 4.14):
Her books are selling well.
We were talking about you last night.
They have been playing in the yard.
She is looking at us.
When stative verbs are used with the -ing form, they have been transformed into dynamic verbs:
Their children are being noisy. (‘behaving noisily’) I am having a party next Sunday evening.
Direct object 1. affected
This is the typical role of the direct object. See subject (4) above.
She shook her head.
I threw the note on the floor.
2. resultant
The direct object may refer to something that comes into existence as a result of the action:
He’s written an account of his travels.
I’m knitting a sweater for myself.
3. eventive
The direct object may refer to an event. The eventive object generally con- tains a noun that is derived from a verb. In typical use, the noun carries the main part of the meaning that is normally carried by the verb, and is preceded by a verb of general meaning, such as do, have, or make:
They were having a quarrel. (cf: They were quarrelling.) I have made my choice. (cf: I have chosen.)
Indirect object
The indirect object typically has a recipient role: the person that is indirectly involved in the action, generally the person receiving something or intended to receive something, or benefiting in some way:
They paid me the full amount.
He bought Sandra a bunch of flowers.
David has been showing Andrew his computer printout.
Subject complement and object complement
The complement typically has the role of attribute. It attributes an identification or characterization to the subject – if it is a subject complement (sC) – or the direct object – if it is an object complement (oC):
sC: Susan is my accountant.
sC: Ronald became a paid agitator.
oC: I have made David my assistant.
oC: The sun has turned our curtains yellow.
Adverbial
Adverbials have a wide range of meanings, some of which apply to adverbial complements (cf. 3.10, 3.12). Here are some typical examples:
1. space
My school is south of the river. (position in space) She has gone to the bank. (direction)
2. time
They’re staying with us for a few weeks. (duration) We come here quite often. (frequency)
Your next appointment is on the last day of the month. (position in time) 3. manner
The students cheered wildly.
I examined the statement carefully.
4. degree
I like them very much.
We know her well.
5. cause
My brother is ill with the flu.
They voted for her out of a sense of loyalty.
6. comment on truth-value (degree of certainty or doubt) They certainly won’t finish on time.
Perhaps he’s out.
7. evaluation of what the sentence refers to Luckily, no one was injured.
Unfortunately, both copies were destroyed.
8. providing a connection between units
I was not friendly with them; however, I did not want them to be treated unfairly.
We arrived too late, and as a result we missed her.
E X E R C I S E S
Exercises marked with an asterisk are more advanced.
Exercise 3.1 Subject, predicate, verb (cf. 3.2)
In each sentence below, underline the subject and circle the verb constituent.
1. Since September, the airline industry has suffered its greatest ever slump in business.
2. Analysts predict several years of diminished business.
3. Several thousand airline workers lost their jobs.
4. The general public is still nervous about flying.
5. People prefer to travel by train.
6. In Europe, the tourism industry has been affected.
7. Tourist hotels report a 40% drop in bookings in the last six months.
8. In Athens, eight hotels have closed their doors for the winter season.
9. The loss of consumer confidence will damage the euro.
10. Everyone expects a drop in spending power.
Exercise 3.2 Operator; Do, have, be (cf. 3.3, 3.4)
Use the contracted form n’t to make each sentence below negative.
1. Protesters were in the streets.
2. The party was at war with itself.
3. The tide of revolution toppled one European government after another.
4. The changes had been foreseen.
5. The party could be humbled soon.
6. It will be forced to share power.
7. The party leader’s aim is constant.
8. He wants to build a stronger party.
9. He proposes to end the party’s guaranteed right to rule.
10. His reforms mean the end of the old guard.
11. The party apparatus has been the chief brake on the restructuring of the country.
12. His critics are right.
13. The party can hold on to power.
14. In their view, it should reimpose order.
15. Last week, however, the party leader moved closer to the radicals.
Exercise 3.3 Operator; Do, have, be (cf. 3.3, 3.4)
Turn each sentence below into a question that can be answered by yes or no, and underline the operator in the question.
1. Brain bulk is related to brain ability.
2. This correlation applies across species.
3. Within the human species, brain bulk is unimportant.
4. The largest human brains are those of idiots.
5. Humans are able to lose substantial portions of the brain without undue suffering.
6. The main part of the human brain is divided into two hemispheres.
7. Messages from one hemisphere can reach the other.
8. But the brain avoids the need for constant cross-references.
9. One hemisphere dominates the other.
10. Usually the left hemisphere is dominant.
11. It also contains the speech centre.
12. And it controls the right half of the body.
13. A psychiatrist discovered that human brains have fluctuating patterns of electric waves.
14. An electroencephalogram, or EEG, can record the constant electrical flickering of a living brain.
15. Many countries consider the absence of EEG fluctuations over a period of time to be evidence of death.