A return question…

 

If we take the original sentence down a bit, we have <language convinces us>.  My eyes read <us> as the direct object, which would then make <that a…explanation> the clause that answers the question “What” (as in, what does the language convince us).  So…why would we take <us> as the indirect object?

 

-patty

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott Woods
Sent: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 9:40 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: "convinces us that..."?

 

List, I have a few questions about the following sentence: <Poe's language, however, gradually convinces us that a purely rational explanation will not suffice, however neatly it fits the external facts. >   Would you take <us> as the indirect object? Would you take the <that> clause after it as the direct object? Is this analogous to <He showed us a monkey>? Does <convince> always take a noun clause object when it takes an direct object? In <He convinced us>, is <us> now the direct object, that is, we were the convinced ones, or is there still an implied clausal direct object leaving <us> as an indirect object?   Thanks, Scott Woods

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