As soon as we start discussing various distinctions in describing patterns of verb complementation, it is worth mentioning Beth Levin's extraordinary work on the topic, English Verb Classes and Alternations (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1993). Levin identifies over 300 different verb complement patterns in English, organizing her study in terms of groups of verbs with related meanings.
I liked Dick's analysis, which set this use of "worry" parallel with other verbs of thought or intuition ("understood," "feared," "regretted"). Right away, I also heard a parallel with verbs related to speech: you could slot verbs like "said," "exclaimed," or "shouted" into the same sentence as in
Wemberly exclaimed that she might drip on her new dress.
But I've always had a problem with treating such verbs as taking direct objects: for core examples of transitive verbs, I tend to favor verbs that involve physical action directed at material objects: "eat," "hit," or "drive." But I think that what one does to the utterance when one speaks is very different from what one does to the food when one eats, or the object one hits. To call an utterance the direct object of "said" doesn't seem to me to be parallel with calling an apple the direct object of "eat." Levin, of course, makes many such distinctions; but there is the practical problem of how many verb complementation patterns we can teach in a class of junior high, high school or college students.
I would treat Bruce's examples ("worry about", "hope for", "rejoice over") as phrasal verbs that take direct objects. I would also offer that there is a variation on the original sentence that keeps the "about" of "worry about" and takes a noun clause as a direct object:
Wemberly worried about whether she might drip on her new dress.
Dr. Seth Katz
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Bradley University
________________________________
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Bruce Despain
Sent: Fri 3/12/2010 8:23 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: a query
I think it is relevant that "worry" takes a "prepositional object": "She is worried about dripping . . . " This preposition is regularly sublimated (omitted, deleted, ignored) when the content clause follows as object. I think all these verbs need to be tested for their affinity to a preposition when the object is a noun phrase or pronoun. We have "worry about", "hope for", "rejoice over" that are intransitive in the traditional sense, but whose object is also object of a preposition. Notice how some of them may be made passive: "A little dripping was worried about", "A decisive victory was hoped for", "Their long anticipated homecoming was rejoiced over." I believe that this kind of object has to be distinguished from the "direct object" of transitive verbs.
Bruce
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 6:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: a query
Good question, Natalie. If instead of "worried," the verb were "understood," "feared," or "regretted," we would immediately agree that the clause was a direct object, since it follows a transitive verb. The reason for your question is that "worried" (like "hoped," "rejoiced," etc.) is intransitive and presumably unable to take a direct object. That's the way the online dictionaries I consulted list them.
But I agree with your analysis that the clause is acting as a direct object, since there is no difference in the function of the clause regardless of whether the verb is "feared" (etc.) or "worried" (etc.). In other words, the dictionaries are not giving the full picture. "Worry" (etc.) can indeed be transitive--but perhaps only when the direct object is a that-clause.
Dick
On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Natalie Gerber <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Dear all,
Is my analysis of the following clause pattern correct?
Wemberly worried that she might drip on her new dress.
"That she might drip on her new dress" is a that-clause serving as the direct object.
Thanks in advance for your help. I wanted to double-check my analysis of this example before reviewing it with my class. If my using the list to check examples is not an appropriate use (I've been sensitive to concerns over community and collegiality recently), please let me know.
All best,
Natalie
____________________
Natalie Gerber, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of English
SUNY Fredonia
ph. (716) 673-3855
fax (716) 673-4661
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