Seminar X. The Secondary Parts of the Sentence. The Object

I. Theoretical questions for discussion

1. The object. Ways of expressing the object.

2. Structural classification of the object (simple, phrasal, clausal and complex).

3. Types of objects:

a) the direct object;

b) the indirect object (prepositional);

c) the cognate object.

II. The material to be read for the seminar

The secondary parts of the sentence (the object, attribute, adverbial modifier, apposition) serve to modify the principal parts or one another. Classification of the secondary parts is based both on grammatical and semantic criteria. The object modifies a verb, adjective or a noun (e.g.: to write a letter, beautiful of face, a ray of hope). The attribute is also a secondary part of the sentence modifying a noun or a noun-pronoun and denoting its property, an adverbial modifier modifies a verb or a noun (to speak slowly, very difficult).

The object is a secondary part of the sentence which completes or restricts the meaning of a verb or an adjective or a stative: 1. Lena likes music. 2. I am happy tomeet you. 3. She is afraid of walking alone in the evening. The object in English can be expressed by the following parts of speech: a noun in the common case, a pronoun in the objective case, demonstrative, indefinite, reflexive pronouns, a numeral and also by an infinitive, gerund, a clause and various predicative complexes.

According to their structure objects in English are subdivided into 1) a simpleobject, which is expressed by a single word-form (1. She often reads English newspapers. 2. We like to travel), 2) a phrasal object, which is expressed by a phrase (1. They’ve bought a lot of books. 2. Yesterday we met Professor Brown), 3) a clausal object, which is expressed by a clause (1. I wonder if they will come in time. 2. Do you know where Jack lives?), 4) a complex object, which is expressed by a predicative complex (1. We expected him to tell her the truth. 2. I watched themcrossing the street).

From the point of view of their value and grammatical peculiarities three kinds of objects can be distinguished in English: direct, indirect and cognate.

1. A direct object is an object that follows a transitive verb and completes or restricts its meaning. A direct object is the direct receiver or product of the action denoted by the transitive verb: 1. She turned her head and saw me. 2. He took a candle and lighted it.

2. An indirect objectis an object which denotes the person towards whom the action of the finite verb is directed: 1. He offered us his help. 2. We sent them a telegram yesterday. The peculiar feature of an indirect object is that it cannot be used without the direct object. The indirect object has a fixed position in the sentence – it precedes the direct object: 1. Den gave her the towel. 2. He handed her the paper.

3. A cognate objectis an object similar in meaning to the verb of the same root: 1. She sighed a sigh of satisfaction. 2. He slept the sleep of one who had spent a night in a car. The cognate object occupies a place intermediate between an object and an adverbial modifier, expressing rather adverbial than objective relations: 1. He laughed a hearty laugh. – He laughed heartily. 2. She lived a happy life. – She lived happily.

III. Practical task

Task I Point out all the objects and state of what type they are.

1. Tom gave up the brush with re1uctance in his face. 2. She will be glad of your company. 3. He presently took from the drawer a carefully tied bundle of letters... 4. Anthony looked forward eagerly to his mother’s letters. 5. And then Peggotty opened a little door and showed me my bedroom. 6. You must forgive me for coming at such an hour. 7. I was awakened by hearing my own name spoken in a whisper. 8. Soames smiled a sneering smile and said, “I wish you a good luck!” 9. The old couple has lived a long and happy life.

Task II.Change the place of the indirect object, where possible, making all other necessary changes.

1. I shall explain to you my viewpoint on the matter again some other time. 2. If he promised his help to you, you may be sure he’ll keep his word. 3. He can’t have offered you such a strange proposition. 4. The other day Peter told me a finny story. 5. The commander gave instruction to the scouts.

Task III. Analyze the complex object in the following sentences and translate them into Ukrainian.

1. He ordered his dinner to be served at 6.30 instead of 7 o’clock. 2 The manager asked for the newspaper to be brought in the morning. 3. If we could rely on him not to be late, we shouldn’t be so nervous now, when there are only twenty minutes left before the train starts. 4. I can’t believe myself to be the only person who could help them. 5. We won’t have you go there alone in the rain. 6. She ordered the door to be locked. 7. The doctor advised the room to be aired. 8. The policeman ordered every corner in the house to be searched.

Task IV. Consider the nouns, gerunds and infinitives used as objects to adjectives in the following sentences.

1. We were aware of strange activity going on around us. 2. Mr. Brown was indignant at his son’s having married Becky. 3. Why is he afraid to take the responsibility upon himself? 4. Persuading is always preferable to compelling. 5. The young inspector was proud of having resolved the mystery upon so little evidence. 6. Aren’t they tired of listening to his endless complaints? 7. She is certainly fond of art in all its manifestations. 8. His pictures are not only true to life, their chief merit lies in their concentrations on the typical.

The recommended list of literature

1. Blokh M.Y. A Course in Theoretical English Grammar / M.Y. Blokh. – М.: Высшая школа, 1983.

2. Morokhovskaya E.J. Fundamentals of Theoretical English Grammar / E.J. Morokhovskaya. – K.: Вища школа, 1984.

3. Каушанская Л.В. Грамматика английского языка. Морфология. Синтаксис / Л.В. Каушанская. – M.: Высшая школа, 2000.

4. Kobrina N.A. English Grammar. Morphology. Syntax / N.A. Kobrina. – M.: Просвещение, 1986.

5. Паращук В.Ю., Грицюк Л.Ф. Практикум з грамматики англійської мови / В.Ю. Паращук, Л.Ф. Грицюк. – Вінниця, 2002.

6. Хаймович Б.С., Роговская Б.И. Теоретическая граматика английского языка / Б.С. Хаймович, Б.И. Роговская. – М.: Высшая школа, 1967.