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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