VERB – TRANSITIVITY TYPES
Find subjects:
Sherlock’s unbelievable memory for crucial details never ceases to amaze Watson.
There was no way Moriarty could get away with this.
The fact that I have a knife in my pocket does not mean I’m not pleased to see you.
In 221B Baker Street, things were getting a bit complicated.
People who smoke like beginners should stick to low-tar cigarettes.
To fall forwards or to fall backwards seemed to be the only available options.
It was obvious from the start that Sherlock wasn’t dead.
Find adverbials:
Far over the misty mountains cold The pines were roaring on the height,
To dungeons deep and caverns old The winds were moaning in the night.
We must away ere break of day The fire was red, it flaming spread;
To seek the pale enchanted gold. The trees like torches blazed with light.
(J.R.R.Tolkien)
Circle the terms that label the underlined part of the sentence. Both may be correct.
Bilbo hesitantly agreed to invite the company to dinner. adverbial / adverb
Their leader was appropriately grim and heroic. adverbial / adverb
The guests were cheerfully eating their way through his pantry. adverbial / adverb
Singing loudly, they splashed the beer on all the carpets. adverbial / adverb
Bilbo wasn’t entirely satisfied with their table manners. adverbial / adverb
Such raucous parties do not happen every day. adverbial / adverb
Object or complement? One element is neither.
A red moon appeared in the sky.
The dragon appeared quite large and bad-tempered.
A fire-breathing dragon in the house can be a problem.
Thorin decided to hire a professional burglar.
Bilbo didn’t seem a very professional burglar at first.
The hobbit eagerly tasted all the dishes on the table.
“Will the hobbit taste good?” the dragon wondered.
Ditransitive or complex transitive? One verb is neither and one can be both.
John called Sherlock a taxi.
John called Sherlock a psychopath.
Mrs. Hudson made Sherlock some tea.
Mrs. Hudson regularly made him angry.
People consider his behaviour rather eccentric.
Irene texted him an invitation to dinner.
Watson punched Sherlock in the face.
Sherlock found Watson a very good doctor.
Identify all sentence elements and label them (Subject, Subject Complement, Object Direct, Object Indirect, Object Complement, Adverbial). Find the main verb and assign it to one of the transitivity classes (linking, intransitive, monotransitive, ditransitive, complex transitive).
Descriptive grammar | rules!
They | very quickly | grew | fond of descriptive grammar.
These long, complicated sentences in Quirk | are driving | me | crazy
I | will give | my students | an unannounced test | today
Never | make | your students |angry | by giving them unannounced tests
We | found | Quirk | quite easy.
Their parents | quickly | found | them | good psychoanalysts.
The teacher | received |many complaints about her test.
It | is | dangerous | to study the intricate secrets of descriptive grammar
When I opened Quirk, | I | found |all the pages | torn in half
They | elected | him | president | last summer.
Today | the Jedi knights |will sleep |in the kitchen.
The concert | will be | at six o’clock.
Yennefer | sent | Geralt | a brief thank-you note.
Instructions as above
They found her a new boyfriend .
They found her surprisingly resourceful.
It is impossible not to like her.
Will you find Neo another spoon?
She has no money.
I have been jogging in the woods.
How long will you be out of town?
They made him so unhappy!
So he finally got furious.
A man cannot save his soul by destroying another.
The spirits of that land consider human beings completely ignorant.
In the castle, the king was getting more and more suspicious.
The new moon was in the sky when they reached the stronghold.
Will you send me the details?
They made him the prisoner of the castle.
It was obvious that the defenses had been broken.
Identify and label the main sentence elements (S, V, Od, Oi, Cs, Co, A) in the sentences below and classify the main verb according to its transitivity type:
There is a dark side to each and every human soul.
We want to be Obi-Wan-Kenobi,
but there is a little Darth Vader in all of us.
The good and the bad merging make us human.
Give all that dark night of the soul a hug,
And howl the eternal ‘yes’.
Banish the darkness form our caves
and illuminate the insides of our refrigerators.
In kudo philosophy you do not really aim at the target.
You become one with it.
Then it is clear that there is nothing to aim at.
It works with women, too.
adapted from Chris-in-the-Morning (Northern Exposure)
Label the underlined parts as sentence elements and parts of speech:
Wrap the green flag round me, boys,
To die were far more sweet,
with Erin's noble emblem, boys,
To be my winding sheet.
In life I loved to see it wave,
And followed where it led,
But now my eyes grow dim - my hand
Would grasp its last bright shred.
I've been a wild rover for many a year
And I spent all my money on whiskey and beer,
And now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild rover no more.
I went to an ale-house I used to frequent
And I told the landlady my money was spent.
I asked her for credit, she answered me "nay
Such a custom as yours I could have any day."I took from my pocket ten sovereigns bright
And the landlady's eyes opened wide with delight.
She said "I have whiskey and wines of the best
And the words that I spoke sure were only in jest."
What part of speech and what sentence elements are the underlined strings of words?
Frodo woke and found himself lying in bed. At first he thought that he had slept late, after a long unpleasant dream that still hovered on the edge of memory. Or perhaps he had been ill? But the ceiling looked strange; it was flat and it had dark beams richly carved. He lay a little while longer , looking at patches of sunlight on the wall and listening to the sound of a waterfall. (J.R.R.Tolkien)
Using the information from the text above, build sentences of the following structure:
S + V intransitive + A place ....................................................................
S + V link verb + Cs ....................................................................
S + V intransitive + A time ....................................................................
S + V complex transitive + Od + Co ....................................................................
S + V monotransitive + Od ....................................................................
S + V monotransitive + Od ....................................................................
Label the sentence elements and the transitivity type of the main verb.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.
A new power is arising. Its victory is at hand.
The dominion of evil grows even stronger.
Give him the sword of the kings.
They will find the Ring and kill the one who carries it.
We can give Frodo a chance.
Mr. Frodo is not going anywhere without me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends
and break all bonds of fellowship.
But it is not this day.
This day, we fight.
She thinks that elves are gorgeous.
She found The Lord of the Rings a fascinating book.
Her parents quickly found her a good psychiatrist.
Construct sentences with the verbs below in the transitivity patterns in brackets:
Make (ditransitive, complex transitive)
Grow (monotransitive, link verb)
Consider (monotransitive, complex transitive)
Appear (intransitive, link verb)
Smell (monotransitive, link verb)
Go (intransitive, link verb)