146 Verb Phrases Or the past time can be defi ned by some other event as expressed in a past-tense subordinate clause. For example: past progressive past tense We were watching TV when the lights went out. past past tense progressive When you called, we were working in the garden. past past progressive tense They were driving to Richland when they had the accident. The past progressive can also be used for a past-time action or event that spans a defi ned period of past time. For example: All last week, my boss was meeting with the sales reps. From noon on, I was raking leaves in the backyard. All the time he was talking, I was looking at my watch. Exercise 9.7 Examine each verb in italics in the following sentences. Rewrite the verb as a past progressive. At midnight, I sleep. At midnight, I was sleeping. 1. The chef bake the pie when the guests came. 2. As she walk down the street yesterday, she noticed the stray dog. 3. All last month, the teacher grade tests. 4. At the time of the hurricane, they live on the west side of the city. 5. The police control the rioters when the convention began. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 146 3/16/09 12:34:11 PM Verb Tenses 147 Future progressive The future progressive (F Prog) consists of the future tense (FT) of the verb be (will be) followed by a verb in the present participle form. The present progressive describes some activity that will be carried out at some future time. The future time can be a specifi c moment or period in time. For example: At noon, I will be fl ying to Houston. Next week, the kids will be staying with their grandparents. During the school year, she will be living in a dorm. Or the future time can be defi ned as taking place during some future-time event that is expressed in a present-tense subordinate clause. For example: PT F Prog While you are in California, I will be working on my thesis. F Prog PT He will be arranging more interviews while you enter the data. F Prog FT I will be working from home when they repaint my offi ce. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 147 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM 148 10 Simple Verb Complements In this chapter we cover basic verb complement terminology and examine simple complements— verbs with no complements (a zero complement) or only a single complement. Overview of basic verb complement terminology. Verb complements are conventionally classifi ed according to the following hierarchy: VERBS Action verbs Linking verbs Transitive Intransitive The distinction between action verb and linking verb is determined solely by the nature of the subject-verb-complement relationship. If the complement describes the subject, the verb is a linking verb. If the complement does not describe the subject, then it is an action verb. By far the most common linking verb is be. Here are two examples of be used as a linking verb: Mary’s new car is a Prius. Mary’s new car is red. The term linking verb refers to the fact that linking verbs connect (link) the words following the linking verb back to the subject. In the two examples above, is links the noun phrase a Prius and the adjective red back to the subject (Mary’s car). Clearly, the subject, Mary’s car, is perform- ing no action in these two examples. The subject in linking-verb sentences is the topic of the sen- tence rather than the doer of any action. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 148 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM Simple Verb Complements 149 In this book, we will use the term complement to refer collectively to any and all grammati- cal structures that are required by a verb to make a grammatically complete sentence. For exam- ple, consider the complement in the following sentence: Thomas put his car in the garage. This complement contains two components: an object noun phrase (his car) and an adverb expression of place (in the garage). Both of these components are required by the verb put to make a grammatical sentence. If we delete either component, the sentence becomes ungrammatical: X Thomas put his car. X Thomas put in the garage. In other words, when we use the verb put, we have to put something somewhere. Consequently, we would describe the complement of put as noun phrase ϩ adverb of place. Linking verbs have a special terminology for their complements. Consider again our previ- ous examples: Mary’s new car is a Prius. Mary’s new car is red. The noun phrase a Prius is called a predicate nominative, and the adjective red is called a predi- cate adjective. Note that the term object is not used for noun phrases that are the complements of linking verbs. Since almost all verbs are classifi ed as action verbs, it is hard to fi nd any very helpful defi - nition of action verbs except negatively: action verbs are those verbs that are not linking verbs. While many action verbs do indeed express action as their name suggests, some so-called action verbs express no action at all. For example, compare the following pair of sentences: Jackson bought a new car. Jackson has a new car. In the fi rst sentence, Jackson is clearly the performer or doer of an action: he has engaged in the action of buying a new car. In the second sentence, however, Jackson is not engaged in any action at all. He is not doing anything. The sentence is more a statement about Jackson rather than an expression of what Jackson is doing. Nevertheless, both verbs are classifi ed as “action” verbs since they are not linking verbs. The second distinction in verb terminology is between transitive and intransitive verbs. (This terminology is normally applied only to action verbs. We do not use these terms in refer- ence to linking verbs.) The term transitive is derived from a Latin word meaning “to go across.” A (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 149 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM 150 Verb Phrases transitive verb “goes across” to an object. In other words, a transitive verb controls or “takes” an object. An intransitive verb does not control or take an object. For example, compare the follow- ing sentences: Transitive: The cat killed the birds. Intransitive: The birds died. The verb kill is a transitive verb that requires an object. That is, when we kill, we have to kill something. Leaving off the object would make the transitive verb kill ungrammatical (in the way that the verb is normally used): X The cat killed. The verb die is an intransitive verb that does not take an object. As this pair of examples shows, transitive verbs typically describe what a subject is doing to an object (killing it in the case of our example), while intransitive verbs typically describe what is happening to the subject (dying in the case of our example). When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you will notice a little vi or vt right after the pronunciation guide and the origin of the word but before the defi nitions begin. vi means that the verb is intransitive, and vt means that the verb is transitive. It is striking that most verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively. If a verb is used both ways, the dictionary will give all the defi nitions for the most common use fi rst (either vi or vt) and then give a second set of defi ni- tions associated with the other use. This chapter and the next one are organized according to the number of complements that verbs require. In this chapter we will address the verbs that take no complements at all (zero- complement verbs) and verbs that take only a single complement. The following chapter will address verbs that take multiple complements. Zero-complement verbs Verbs that take no complement are called intransitive verbs. (All zero-complement verbs are action verbs. Linking verbs are always used with a single complement.) Here are some examples of sentences with intransitive verbs: The old cow died. My knee hurts. The kids are sleeping. Most of the time we use intransitive verbs with various kinds of optional adverb expressions. For example: (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 150 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM Simple Verb Complements 151 The old cow fi nally died during the night. My knee hurts whenever it rains. The kids are sleeping at my cousin’s house tonight. It is important to realize that these adverb expressions are not part of the complement. In other words, these verbs do not require these adverb expressions for the sentences to be grammatical. Exercise 10.1 The verbs in the following sentences are in italics. If the verb is intransitive, write vi above it. If it is transitive, write vt above it. If the verb is intransitive, confi rm your answer by deleting all the material that follows the verb. vi My nephew just smiled when I asked him what he was doing. 1. The window broke with a loud crash. 2. The kids broke the window playing baseball. 3. The cheese sandwich fi nally melted in the toaster oven. 4. The leaky faucet dripped all night long. 5. The candidates for city council spoke at the meeting. 6. The football team was practicing on the athletic fi eld. 7. My ears rang for several days after the accident. 8. The head of our company will retire at the end of next year. 9. The thin cardboard tore when I tried to bend it. 10. Only votes cast before the deadline counted in the election. 11. The committee counted the ballots. 12. Their application succeeded despite all of our misgivings. 13. Real wages have declined over the past decade. 14. The kids laughed uproariously at the cartoons. 15. The spilled milk spread slowly across the fl oor. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 151 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM 152 Verb Phrases Single-complement verbs Both action verbs and linking verbs can take a single complement. We will address the two types of verbs separately. Action verbs The complement of a transitive action verb is called an object or direct object. The word object normally implies direct object. (There is also an indirect object, which we will encounter in the next chapter.) An action verb followed by a single object is by far the most common of all types of complements. All objects are either noun phrases or pronouns. (Compound nouns and pronouns are counted as single complements.) Here are some examples, fi rst with noun phrases, and then with pronouns. Verbs are in italics and objects are in bold. Noun phrase objects John saw Mary. Theo washed his new car. Lois cashed her check. The bright lights frightened the birds We met Susan and her friends. Pronoun objects I watched them. Ralph cut himself. Someone called you. The children saw us. The noun phrase can be any structure that can be replaced by a third-person pronoun: noun clauses, infi nitives, or gerunds. Here are some examples: Noun clauses it I loved what they proposed in the new budget it I loved that they accepted most of our ideas. it I loved where we went out for dinner. Infi nitives it I love to go for long walks in the fall. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 152 3/16/09 12:34:12 PM . Prog) consists of the future tense (FT) of the verb be (will be) followed by a verb in the present participle form. The present progressive describes some activity that will be carried out at some. at my cousin’s house tonight. It is important to realize that these adverb expressions are not part of the complement. In other words, these verbs do not require these adverb expressions for