----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, August 06, 2001 12:53
AM
Subject: Re: copular verbs
Sophie:
I agree completely with Martha. My Random
House Dictionary of the English Language defines copula (adj.
copular) as "a word or set of words, as the English verbs be and
seem, that acts as a connecting link between subject and predicate
complement; an equational verb." In other words, copulas are verbal equal
signs, saying that the subject is in some sense equivalent to its complement.
Copulas are forms of be, others like seem, appear, become, and
sense words used in the equational sense (Copular: "The horn sounded flat."
Not copular: "The horn sounded the alarm.")
Refused can never be
copular in the standard sense in which grammarians agree to use the term. You
seem to have created your own private definition of this term, as well as of
"verb" and "lest" in recent postings.
Dick Veit
At 10:09 PM
08/04/2001, you wrote:
"To call 'attempt' a copular (i.e,
linking) verb strikes me as
indefensible."
Martha
I should like
to make two points about this:
1. The nature of a copular verb is
understated in a description such as
`linking verb'. The copular verb
does far more than `link' (whatever that
is). Any instance of it does one
of the following things:
(i) describes the manner or the time
or the reason for the subject's act,
(ii) locates the place or the
direction of the subject's act,
(iii) specifies the content of the
subject's act,
(iv) describes the subject by joint effort of copular verb
and predicate
adjective.
2. No verb, apart from those formed from
`to have' or `to become', is
inherently a copular verb. The following
sentences should illustrate this:
`refused' as a verb:
(a)She
refused them permission
The subject `she' perpetrated an act, denoted by
the verb `refused', upon
the object `them'.
(b)The waiter refused
to serve the drunkard.
The subject `The waiter' perpetrated an act,
denoted by the verb phrase
`refused to serve', upon the object `the
drunkard'.
`refused' as a copular verb
(c) The waiter refused
service/permission.
The noun `service/permission' is not the object of
this sentence: The
subject `The waiter' did not perpetrate any act upon
`service/permission'.
So the noun `service/permission' is the complement
in this sentence. It
instructs the copular verb `refused' in the content
of the subject's act:
The subject's act is `service/permission
refusal'.
I doubt that Quirk et al ever get this wrong, but my copy
is still in
England.
Sophie Johnson
at ENGLISH GRAMMAR
TUTOR
http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/
[log in to unmask]
-----
Original Message -----
From: Martha Kolln <[log in to unmask]>
To:
<[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2001 3:11
AM
Subject: Re: <no subject>
> Paul:
>
>
Re: Mary is trying to improve the condition of her
house.
>
>
> Yes, the pronoun test works for both the
infinitive phrase and the noun
> phrase because both are functioning
as nominals; both are direct objects:
> the infinitive phrase is the
object of 'trying'; the noun phrase, the
> object of
'improve.'
>
> The pronoun test is a great one for students to
use, for example, in
> finding the break between the subject and
predicate. It's especially
> useful when the noun phrase in the
subject slot has postnoun modifiers
that
> include verbs.
Students tend to get confused when they come to a verb,
> such as
'playing' in the
following:
>
> All the
children playing on the swings in the playground saw
the
fight.
>
> Ask them to substitute a pronoun for the
subject, and they will come
up
with
>
>
They saw the fight.
>
> Their internalized pronoun expertise is
another way of emphasizing what
> great grammar computers they have in
their syntax machines.
>
> In response to Sophie's long message,
I would simply ask you, dear Sophie,
> to use the passive
test:
>
>
John attempted to attack the
burglar.
>
John appeared to attack the burglar.
>
>
>
Quirk et al. used this pair to distinguish between the catenative
>
'appear' and the transitive 'attempt'. I would add the passive test
to
> show that the infinitive phrase is the direct object of
'attempt'. If
> 'attempt' were a copular verb, as you suggest in
#4, then the passive
would
> not be possible. But it is
possible:
>
> To
attack the burglar was attempted.
>
> I admit that's not very
idiomatic. How about a
what-cleft:
>
>
To attack the burglar is what he attempted.
>
> Or, perhaps a
more acceptable passive, in which the active version used
the
>
gerund, rather than the
infinitive:
>
>
John attempted attacking the
burglar.
>
>
Attacking the burglar was attempted.
>
> In any
case,
>
> It was
attempted.
>
> To call 'attempt' a copular (i.e, linking) verb
strikes me as
indefensible.
>
> (And, yes, the 'appeared'
sentence is ambiguous, in that the infinitive
> could be adverbial,
with the 'in order to'
meaning:
>
>
John appeared in order to attack the
burglar.
> To attack
the burglar, John appeared [at just the right
moment].
>
>
> You also discuss the verb 'vowed' (in a
version of my 'string-of-verbs'
> sentence: I vowed to stop smoking
cigarettes), also calling it a copular
> verb. You label the
infinitive phrase, to stop smoking, "a noun phrase
> specifying the
content of the copular-verb 'vowed.' .
>
> To begin with, an
infinitive phrase is by its nature a verb phrase in
form,
> not a
noun phrase. In this sentence it is noun-like, of course, in
that
it
> is nominal in function: a direct object. You could
substitute the pronoun
> 'that' and produce a idiomatic
sentence: I vowed that. That is what I
> vowed. That
was vowed by me. Again, let's give it the passive test:
To
> stop smoking was vowed.
>
> In the opening of your
long response, you say 'I do not think that my
> approach to analysis
is at odds with theirs [Quirk et al]. But please
> correct me if
I'm wrong.'
>
> In your analysis of 'attempt' and 'vow' as
copular verbs, you are indeed
at
> odds with them. [See page
1187]
>
> Martha
>
>
>
>
>
>
>But we could also substitute 'it' for the noun phrase, "the condition
of
her
> >house."
> >
> >"Mary is trying to
improve it."
> >
> >The analysis seems to work both ways
at once!
> >
> >Paul E. Doniger
> > -----
Original Message -----
> > From: jacarta
> >
To: [log in to unmask]
> > Sent: Saturday, August 04,
2001 8:21 AM
> > Subject: Re: <no subject>
>
>
> >
> > The infinitive phrase "to improve the
condition of her house"
> > can be substituted by the pronoun
"it." Thus, the infinitive
> > phrase is actually a
NOUN PHRASE that functions
> > as the object of the verb "is
trying."
> > ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: Sophie Johnson
> >
To: [log in to unmask]
> > 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.
> >
>
> Sophie Johnson
> > at
ENGLISH GRAMMAR TUTOR
> > http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: Marylou Colucci
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> 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
> >
> ><!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC
"-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
>
><HTML><HEAD>
> ><META content="text/html;
charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
> ><META
content="MSHTML 5.00.2314.1000" name=GENERATOR>
>
><STYLE></STYLE>
> ></HEAD>
>
><BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
> ><DIV><FONT
face="Century Schoolbook">But we could also substitute 'it'
for
the
> >noun phrase, "the condition of her house."
</FONT></DIV>
>
><DIV> </DIV>
> ><DIV><FONT
face="Century Schoolbook">"Mary is trying to improve
>
>it."</FONT></DIV>
>
><DIV> </DIV>
> ><DIV><FONT
face="Century Schoolbook">The analysis seems to work both
ways
at
> >once!</FONT></DIV>
>
><DIV> </DIV>
> ><DIV><FONT
face="Century Schoolbook">Paul E.
Doniger</FONT></DIV>
> ><BLOCKQUOTE
>
>style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px;
MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px;
> >PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT:
0px">
> > <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">-----
Original Message ----- </DIV>
> > <DIV
>
> style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color:
>
>black"><B>From:</B>
> > <A
href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
[log in to unmask]>jacarta</A>
</DIV>
>
> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B>
<A
> > href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
> >
[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]</A>
</DIV>
> > <DIV style="FONT: 10pt
arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, August 04, 2001
8:21
>
> AM</DIV>
> > <DIV style="FONT: 10pt
arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re:
<no
subject></DIV>
> >
<DIV><BR></DIV>
> > <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2>The infinitive phrase "to improve
the
condition
> > of her
house"</FONT></DIV>
> > <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2>can be substituted by the
pronoun
"it."
> > Thus, the
infinitive</FONT></DIV>
> > <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2>phrase is actually a NOUN PHRASE that
>
> functions</FONT></DIV>
> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>as the object of the verb
"is
> > trying."</FONT></DIV>
> >
<BLOCKQUOTE
> > style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid;
MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT:
0px;
> >PADDING-LEFT: 5px;
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
> > <DIV style="FONT:
10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
>
> <DIV
> >
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color:
>
>black"><B>From:</B>
> > <A
href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
> >
[log in to unmask]>Sophie Johnson</A>
</DIV>
> > <DIV style="FONT: 10pt
arial"><B>To:</B> <A
> >
href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
>
>
[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]</A>
</DIV>
> > <DIV style="FONT: 10pt
arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 03, 2001
7:55
>
> AM</DIV>
> > <DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re:
<no
subject></DIV>
> >
<DIV><BR></DIV>
> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>`Mary is trying to improve the
condition
of
> >her
> >
house':</FONT></DIV>
> >
<DIV> </DIV>
> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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'.</FONT></DIV>
> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </DIV>
> >
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>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.
</FONT></DIV>
>
> <DIV> </DIV>
>
> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This really
is a very basic exercise in
> > part-of-speech
recognition.</FONT></DIV>
> >
<DIV> </DIV>
> >
<DIV>Sophie Johnson<BR>at ENGLISH GRAMMAR
TUTOR<BR><A
> >
>
>href="http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/">http://www.englishgrammartutor.c
om/<
>
>/A><BR><A
> >
>
>href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
</A>
>
></DIV>
> > <BLOCKQUOTE
>
> style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT:
5px;
MARGIN-RIGHT:
> >0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT:
0px">
> > <DIV style="FONT:
10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
>
> <DIV
>
> style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt
arial; font-color:
> >black"><B>From:</B>
>
> <A href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
[log in to unmask]>Marylou
> >
Colucci</A> </DIV>
> >
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
>
> href="mailto:[log in to unmask]"
>
>
[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]</A>
</DIV>
> > <DIV style="FONT:
10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 03,
2001
12:18
> >
PM</DIV>
> > <DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re:
<no
> >subject></DIV>
>
> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT
face=arial,helvetica><FONT color=#8000ff
face=Pooh
>
> lang=0 size=2>to improve the condition
of her house is an
infinitive
> >
phrase that functions <BR>as the direct object. <BR>Mary is
trying
what?
> > to improve the
condition of her house</FONT>
>
></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
>
>
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