----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 7:55
AM
Subject: Re: <no subject>
`Mary is trying to improve the condition of her
house':
There is no question in the above sentence of
the verb's being anything more or less than `is trying to improve', nor of
its object's being anything other than `the condition of the house'.
`Mary', the subject of this active-voice verb, is not acting upon `to
improve the condition of her house'; she is acting upon `the condition of
her house'.
Analysis of this sentence must note that it
contains an active-voice verb, and that the characteristic of an
active-voice verb is that its subject acts upon its object: Its subject
names its actor, and its object the acted-upon. `To improve the condition of
her house' does not name the acted-upon. This sequence cannot, therefore,
be the object of this sentence, direct or indirect.
This really is a very basic exercise in
part-of-speech recognition.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 12:18
PM
Subject: Re: <no subject>
to improve the condition of her house is an infinitive
phrase that functions
as the direct object.
Mary is trying what?
to improve the condition of her house