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Chapter 7

Sentence Pattern #2 : Subject + V _t + DO [Direct Object]

Examples:

                                        Carol threw the ball.

The swarthy old man in the dirty sweatshirt and torn slacks has been eating a slimy lunch of fried worms and pickled beets.

In order for you to know that a sentence contains a direct object, you must know two or three other things at the same time. Of course, you know these things; but your knowledge of them might not be conscious. That is, you unconsciously read, write, hear, or speak sentences with direct objects as a natural part of your language performance and you understand perfectly what you have read, written, heard, or spoken. (I might say this again in other lessons. It is important enough to bear repeating.) One of our main purposes in this course is to bring what you do unconsciously to your conscious level of thinking so that you can examine it with a scholarly eye. Without conscious understanding, you can be an excellent user of language, but you probably will find it difficult to be a language teacher, editor, or whatever other type of linguistic drudge you intend to be. Also, without conscious knowledge of syntactic structures, you are closed off to important avenues of systematic linguistic analysis which can lead you to personal growth in your understanding of various dialects and languages including your own. Don’t expect that this understanding will automatically make you a better writer or speaker. Conscious systematic grammatical knowledge is only one small piece in the complex puzzle of linguistic mastery that folks like you are trying to assemble. It’s a lonely game sometimes. You will find (or have probably already found) that few persons seem to enjoy solving these kinds of puzzles.

New paragraph! Let’s start this again. The direct object, as I said above, is a common appliance in language. Remember normal sentence order: SVC. The reason some grammarians use the "O" instead of the "C" is that a common thing to hang out in this position is the direct object. So common is it that if someone says "object" and not "direct object," we assume that "direct object" is implied by the omission. Also, if there is only one object in an unelaborated basic sentence pattern sentence, it is the direct object.

Already, you know one thing about direct objects. In the normal sentence order SVC ( or SVO), the direct object comes last. So you have the S and the V and then the direct object. A second thing you need to learn about direct objects is that they follow transitive verbs. This is a sort of symbiotic relationship between the verb and the direct object. A verb becomes a transitive verb because it is followed by a direct object and a direct object must be preceded by a transitive verb. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. The following pattern #1 sentence contains an intransitive verb:

John swims.

Notice that we are completely comfortable with the sentence as it stands. It means that John knows how to swim or that he sometimes swims. We don’t need any words after the intransitive verb swims to make the sentence complete. Now, let’s add a Noun Phrase (NP) to the sentence:

John swims laps.

Notice that we now have a different kind of verb. It is the same word as in the pattern #1 sentence; but, because we have added the NP laps after the verb, the verb now requires such a nominal (naming) constituent for the sentence to be complete. Now if we remove laps and don’t rethink the verb as an intransitive verb we have an incomplete sentence like

John swims (something).

We aren’t comfortable with swims as an intransitive verb anymore. You see what I mean by a symbiotic relationship? For the above sentence, (something) is a good way to test whether we have a direct object or not. Be careful though. The (something) test will be used in connection with Sentence Patterns #3, #4, and #6 in contexts other than direct object. Actually, the (something) test indicates the need for a nominal constituent such as an NP. It works in sentences where only one nominal constituent follows a V_t. That constituent will normally be a DO. (Get to know your acronyms PDQ. O.K.?)

Now, I want you to work in your peer groups. I’m sure you know one another well by now. F2F  In the following exercise, underline the sentences that are generated by Basic Sentence Pattern #2). Place square brackets around Basic Sentence Pattern #1 sentences.  

(Note:  We haven't studied the linking verb yet.   As a hint to help you avoid marking sentences that have linking verbs, remember that linking verbs are sometimes called "state of being" verbs while transitive verbs are sometimes called "action" verbs.  This is perilously close to a definition.  Don't trust it.  It might bite.)

The Pergrine Falcon

The peregrine falcon is beautiful. Every part of the peregrine falcon’s body fits. The fit creates a

whole. The whole is perfect. The whole is graceful. The whole is symmetrical. The symmetry is

complete. The peregrine falcon’s body promises joy. It is the joy of freedom. The peregrine

falcon’s body promises nobility. It is the nobility of being the best there is. The colors of the

peregrine falcon promise joy. The colors promise nobility. The head of the peregrine falcon is

brown. The brown is rich. The brown is dark. The brown is continued on the wings. It is continued

on the tail-feathers. The underside of the peregrine falcon is white. The white is mixed with tan

specks. The white is mixed with black specks. The white and brown zones of color combine. The

combination produces a special effect. The colors supplement each other. They form a whole. The

whole is perfect. The colors are part of the symmetry. The peregrine falcon's body establishes that

symmetry.

(Stephen Goldman. "The Peregrine Falcon." A sentence combining exercise used in the University of Kansas V6 program for the training of English department graduate teaching assistants, 1982.)

Chapter 7 Homework Assignment: Type a paragraph of at about 100 words on any subject you choose.  When you finish, put at least one sentence that follow Basic Sentence Pattern #1 in parentheses ( ) and at least one  sentence that follows Basic Sentence Pattern #2 in square brackets [ ].  Italicize the DOs (the entire phrase or clause).  Write naturally. If you happen to write compound or complex sentences or sentences with compound structures of any kind, you might need to examine some subordinate clauses or other structures for direct objects. This might be confusing, but do the best you can, and F2F post your results on eCompanion or bring the results to class. Online  Post your paragraph on the Chapter 7 Homework Thread by Friday.  As soon as possible, I want you to begin working with the basic sentence patterns as they occur in compound and complex sentences and in sentences that have other compound structures. That way, when we come to these in the normal sequence of our lessons, you will have already done some of the work. Remember, you already know all of these structures. We are just putting names on them.

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