I see "their best" as adverbial, modifying "have  tried"--telling how hard 
they've tried; "to express...them" as infinitive  serving as direct object 
of "have tried" ...and "what love means to them" as  noun clause, direct 
object of the infinitive."
 
Is that too old fashioned to be useful?
 
 
In a message dated 4/30/2009 1:12:01 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

Hello

How would you analyze this sentence?

Artists of all  kinds have tried  their best to express what love  means to 
 them.

'their best to express what love  means to them' seems to be  the direct 
object of 'have tried,' but I am having trouble with 'their best'  as  a 
direct object.  Or is it a noun phrase now?  Or can an  adjective phrase function 
as a direct object?

I also see 'to express  what love  means to them' as an infinitive clause 
functioning as a  complement to 'best' and 'what love  means to them' as a 
clause  functioning as the direct object of 'express.' It seems to be a 
relative  clause (Love means something to them), but if it is, what noun is it 
relating  to? Or is it a nominal here/

I know structures like this occur all the  time:  the best is yet to come, 
etc.  I'm curious about how people  handle them, especially when discussing 
them with  students.

Janet

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