Dear all,

What if we turned the sentence into an answer to a question (i.e., put it in
a specific context). Which question would be best:

"What did Mary try?", "What did Mary try to do?", or "What did Mary try to
improve?" and does the asking of these questions in any way help clarify the
grammar?

Paul E. Doniger

----- Original Message -----
From: Martha Kolln <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 12:10 PM
Subject: Re: <no subject>


> Dear Sophie:
>
> Quirk et al., in A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (my
> grammar bible), discusses at great length the gradations of verbs, from
> full verbs, which can act only as main verbs, to primary verbs (be, have,
> and do), which can act as either main verbs or auxiliary verbs, to modal
> auxiliary verbs, which cannot act as main verbs.  There's also a gray area
> of verbs, including what they call semi-auxiliaries and catenatives, which
> have a status intermediate between that of main verbs and auxiliaries.
> (page 96)
>
> The semi-auxiliaries they list include have to, be going to, be supposed
> to, etc.
>
> They use the term catenative to denote verbs in such constructs as appear
> to, come to, fail to, get to, seem to, etc.
>                 Sam failed to realize the importance of the problem.
> "Such constructions have meanings related to aspect or modality, but are
> nearer to main verb constructions than are semi-auxiliaries, patterning
> entirely like main verbs in taking do-support:
>                 Sam didn't appear to realize the importance of the
problem.
> Unlike man verb constructions such as expect (to), want (to), and attempt
> (to), catenative constructions are in no way syntactically related to
> transitive verb constructions in which the verb is followed by a direct
> object or prepositional object.  Compare:
>
>         John appeared to attack the burglar
>         John attempted to attack the burglar.
>
> But:
>
>         *John appeared an attack on the burglar
>         John attempted an attack on the burglar.  (page 146)
>
> In a later discussion, on the topic of verb complementation (page 1186ff),
> the verbs and TRY and ATTEMPT are  on a long list of verbs that take the
> infinitive as direct object.    They are among those that take the -ing as
> well.  Others on the list are NEED, PLAN, PROPOSE, WANT, WISH, FORGET,
> REMEMBER.
>
>  Let's compare these two:
>
>         Mary tried to improve the condition of her house.
>         Mary tried improving the condition of her house.
>
>         Mary forgot to clean the house.
>
>
> One test that is often definitive is the passive transformation:
>
>         Improving the condition of her house was tried by Mary.
>         To clean the house was forgotten.
>
>
> Here the direct object has become the subject of the passive voice.
>
> I should mention that I have always included all of these verbs in my
> definition of catenative verb; that is, any verb that takes another verb
as
> its object (whether infinitive or gerund--that is, -ing).  So my
definition
> is different from that of Quirk, et al.--and I bow to their scholarship.
>
> The term CATENATIVE, of course, comes from concatenate: to link together
in
> a series of chain.
>
>         I vowed to try to stop smoking cigarettes.
>
> Here the verb phrase SMOKING CIGARETTES is the direct object of TO STOP,
> and that verb phrase (to stop smoking cigarettes) is the direct object of
> TO TRY, and that verb phrase (to try to stop smoking cigarettes) is the
> direct object of VOWED.
>
>
> In an earlier posting, Geoff used the word treacherous in relation to
these
> tricky verbs, some of which take both the -ing and the infinitive, others
> that take only one, and some in which the meaning changes depending on the
> form of the object:
>                 I stopped to talk to Geoff.
>                 I stopped talking to Geoff.
>
> In fact, for native speakers they're not treacherous at all; we know them.
> I can't think of any that cause problems.  And in a discussion of these
> tricky verbs, students are amazed to think of their own internal rules
that
> make these selections automatically.  It's a great piece of evidence that
> justifies calling us all [unconscious] grammar experts.
>
> However, for nonnative speakers, it's a different story.  And for them,
the
> nuances of meaning that Dick and others mentioned are important.
> Unfortunately, those nuances don't apply across the board; there is no
real
> system that applies to use of these verbs.  It's important that teachers
> recognize the difficulties that these verbs cause for their ESL students.
>
> Happy grammaring!
>
> Martha Kolln
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >I disagree with the analyses offered so far of this sentence:
> >
> >Mary is trying to improve the condition of her house.
> >
> >It seems obvious to me that `is trying to improve' is the verb phrase of
> >which the subject is `Mary' and the object the noun phrase `the condition
of
> >her house'.
> >
> >Sophie Johnson
> >at ENGLISH  GRAMMAR TUTOR
> >http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/
> >[log in to unmask]
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: carol kieninger <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 3:34 AM
> >Subject: <no subject>
> >
> >
> >> How about a response to this sentence:
> >>
> >> Mary is trying to improve the condition of her house.
> >>
> >> My question is about the infinitive. Is "to improve" acting as the a
noun
> >> and the object of the verb, or is it an adverb?
> >>
> >> thanks,
> >> carol
> >>
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