Some verbs can be i ntransitive or transitive (used with an object "" 30.

2C below):

Wo rd o rd e r a n d ve rb
The door opened. [i ntransitive) He opened the door. (transitive)
The meat burnt. (intransitive) The cook burnt the meat. (transitive)
Some common verbs that can be transitive or intransitive are: begin . break . change,

p a tte r n s
Word order in English is very i mportant i n signalling the relationships between the
d i fferent elements within a sentence. Although the subject usually precedes the verb in
English. there are many d i fferent ways of ordering the other elements in the senten ce.
This unit examines word order in sentences. as well as the most common verb patterns
in English and the way we l i n k clauses to make complex sentences.
o
close. continue. dry , finish . hang. hurt, move. separate . stand, start. stop . tear. tum.
Sometimes the two uses of a verb can have very d i fferent meani ngs:
He ran to catch the bus. (intransitive = moved q uickly)
He ran the new software to show us how it worked. (transitive operated)
In modern usage. some transitive verbs are used as intra nsitive verbs:
I don't know why you 're bothering with those boots - they won 't sell.
And some intransitive verbs are used as transitive verbs:
In order to survive we need to grow the business by 1 00 per cent within two years.

30.2B Some verbs are followed by complements (not objects). A complement is usually a n o u n
WORD O R D E R IN E N G L I S H Verb + phrase or a n adjective that identifies, describes or gives information a b o u t t h e subject:

30. 1 A Word order shows u s w h i c h element o f t h e sentence is t h e subject and which i s the
I yI .
George Carey has become the new Archbishop of Canterbur
I
My grandmother has become very forgetful recently I.
i i i
Sentence object. In affirmative sentences. the s u bject is usually first, followed by the verb:
word order l
Sarah really enjoys a hot d ogl (for tea occasionally).
i i i
subject verb complement

(+ adjective ) . remain, taste. make:

Some common verbs which introduce complements are be . become. appear. keep
o
subject verb object
This is not the sam e as:
A hot dog really enjoys Sarah You don't want to remain a shop assistant all your life. do you?
(for tea occasionally). A quiet afternoon at home would make a nice change.
Tile main part of tile example above Chris was very good - he kept quiet all througll the boring sermon.
( i . e . outside the brackets) shows After seem , appear, look. feel and sound we can use an adjective to describe the subject:
su bject-verb-object word order (SVO). The whole group seemed very keen. Marie's new outfit looked fantastic '
There are. however. occasions when we We can also use a noun phrase to describe the subject after these verbs:

o
That sounds a wonderful idea! Your suggestion seems the best solution .
the s u bject (to U nit 7 ) :
change t h is word order. In q uestions. we usually place a verb (main or auxiliary) before
However, when we use a noun phrase after seem or appear to ide ntify (rather than
[tiieJS"su e of deb] with the Cabinet? describe) the subject. we have to use to be to introduce the noun phrase:
i i i i X Sur-pFisingly;-theiJOOl�esIHaGf!£J-·ooy-seeme£i·the-bess-,
Is the Prime Minister discussing

auxiliary verb subject main verb object v Surprisingly, the young fresh-faced boy seemed to be the boss.
A com plement can also describe the object of a verb. I n this case. the object comes
(I' 3 4 . 3 B ) at t h e begi n n i n g of t h e sentence for stylistic reasons:
We also change the order when w e place adverbs such as never, seldom, rarely
before the complement:
'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. . The committee named � IPresidentl .
(For more on word order with adverbs "" Unit 24. ) I I IfractiousI.
The journey made the children

3 0. 1 B Apart from the variations mentioned (II> 3 0 . 1 AJ. a n u mber of patterns can follow verbs i i i i
subject verb object complement

I said that you could go. (verb + clause)

Variations i n English. Note that even verbs with similar meani ngs can take d i fferent patterns:
We often use verbs of naming. e.g. name. call. elect. with this pattern:

I told you that you could go. (verb + i n direct object + clause) i
The President finally decided to call his new dog I IBuddy I·
She told me a lie. (verb + indirect object + d irect object)
o The i n direct object i s often a person who receives something (a lie. i n the example
We can use a noun or a n adjective as the complement after verbs such as tilink, keep.
consider, prove. call. find:
above) and it i s often i ntroduced by a preposition ("" 30.2CJ. Although he was twenty, Katherine still considered lli!iliJ f(iCiifidlchildish I
i
MallY critics call Kevin Costner 's The Postman ' I Ihis worst mov� .
VERB PATTERNS
We can use an adjective as a complement in the same pattern i n a n u m be r of i diomatic
30.2A Some verbs d o not have a n object. These are i ntransitive verbs: phrases after verbs such as drive , send and tum:
Verb only They 've arrived' The cup shattered. The noise of the planes flying over us at night drives me I I Icrazy] '
(intransitive We can use adverbs or prepositional phrases with these verbs: The new aftershave from Givenchy is guaranteed to send women I I IwildI ·
verbs) They 've arrived there ' The cup shattered into hundreds of tiny shards of glass.
I
Did you see his expression ? It could turn milk IIsourI'
After admitting the c/lOrge. the pOlitician apologised to al/ his constituents.
Some common intransitive verbs are: come, fall, go, happen, /ie. sleep, swim , wait.
291
 [!:he problem/itI at great length.
30.2C Transitive verbs have a d i rect object, which can be a noun or a pronoun : W e c a n u s e t h e verb help w i t h or without to:
Verb + We discussed The volunteers helped (to) provide support and comfort to the refugees.
object(s) i i i 30.2F Verbs can be followed by that clauses or wfl- clauses (those which start with a q uestion
subject verb object
word). We often use tlwt clauses after verbs of speaking and think ing:
The object can also be a n -ing form (with or without a prepositional phrase):
I
Tile staff agreed tl1at redundancies were the only course of action j.
i i i
The instructor suggested practising (on the nursery slopes first).
We can omit the object after some transitive verbs where the context is clear:

o We can
Geoff was mortified to find that l1e had failed (the test) again. subject verb clause
Some common transitive verbs which can omit the object are answer. ask. drink . eat. omit t!Jat after t h e verbs mentioned above:

Examples of Wll- clauses are i n direct q uestions (Il!> 7 . 3 ) :

enter, fail, l eave, pass. play, practise. sing. stUdy, wash . win, write. Tile warden told the visitors (that) the prisoner did not want to see them.
I n English a n u m ber of verbs can take two objects, e.g. give, bring, buy. show. These
verbs take a direct object and an indirect object and there are two possible patterns: l
I couldn 't meet you. You didn 't tell me l i whel1 You were arriving! .
The judges gave I]i!f'enormous marrOW77t] Ifirst prizeI. i i i i
i i i i o
subject verb object clause
subject verb indirect object d i rect object WI1- words can be followed by to + infinitive after verbs such as show. explain , teach:

The judges gave first prize I 1 [tOJhe enormous marrowI. Is it common for people to teach their children how to drive here?

i i i i
subject verb direct object indirect object L I N K I N G C LA U S ES
X The-judges-fj(fve-ttr·tI1e·efler-met/5-m£fFFew-fi�-pfire,
o If we put the direct object first, we introduce the indirect object with a preposition
3 0 . 3A We can l i n k clauses of equal value ( i . e . both can stand on their own) with and, but or or.
With these conjunctions we can often put either of the clauses first:
(either to or for) . We do not vary from this.
We con pay ill one lump slim or we can pay in instalments.

( Tile Shakespearean actor brought a certain amollnt of class to us. J

I f the i n direct object is a pronoun , we prefer to put it before the direct object:
We can pay in instalments or we can pay ill ane lump sum.
I f the subject is tile same in both clauses, we can omit it in the second clause ( "" 3 5 . 3A) :
v The Shakespearean actor brought us a certain amount of class.
He rang the doorbell and knocked on the door.
Which pattern we use often depends on what information in the sentence is new. We
We can also use the 'two-part' conjunctions both . . and, eitlJer . . or, neither . . . nor and
prefer to put new information at the end of the sentence (... 36. 1 A).

We can use a prepositional phrase after intransitive verbs (� 30.2A):

n o t only . . but (also):
30.2D At the French Open Hewitt both proved his return to form and won the only Grand
Verb + I 91 - but we were waiting Ion platform 5!' Slam title to have evaded him.

i i
The train departed from platform
prepositional
p h rase subject verb prepositional pllrase
We can also use prepositional phrases after transitive verbs:
He carefully removed
i i
i
30.3B When we l i n k a main clause with a subordinate clause (i.e. dependent on the main
clause) , we use conjunctions (when, if, althougll) . With subordinate clauses we can not
usually change the order of the events in the clauses without changing the meaning:
[t!i�1 from the nestI. ! l
i i
The flowers were delivered just after she left . (she left first event)
i t
=

subject verb object prepositional phrase main clause subordinate clause

We do not usually change the order of object + prepositional phrase i n this pattern,
2 She left jjust after the flowers were delivered! . (flower delivery
u nless the object is very long (II> 3 6 . 1 B ) :
first event)
i i
=

X H e earef!llly removed frent ·the··nest-the. .egg.

v He carefully removed from the nest the three fragile blue-speckled eggs and the
main clause subordinate clause
It is. however, usually possible to change the order of the clauses themselves:
Just after she left the flowers were delivered. ( = sam e as 1 above)
one chick that had already hatched.

30.2E Many verbs can be followed by another verb (... 1 2 . 2A) : Just after the flowers were delivered. she left. ( = sa m e as 2 above)
Verb + verb
t i i that or wl1- clauses: Didn 't the notice say when the water was going to be cut off?
Tile consultant refused to take responsibility for tile decision. Common types of subordination are:

subject verb verb Adverbial clauses, e.g. o f condition ( ... U nit 1 0) o r contrast ( "" U n it 3 2 ) :
We can use a direct object between the verbs: There may well b e more accidents in future if air traffic contillues to grow.
i
i .,.
We require all studentsI to attend the pre-sessional English course.
i
Although the Aztecs were rich and powerful, the Spanish conquistadors overpowered
t tl1em.
subject verb direct object verb Relative clauses, i ntroduced by pro nouns, e.g. who, wl1ich, tl1at ( ... U nit 3 1 ) :
With some verbs we do not need to . for example, modal verbs. auxiliary verbs. semi­ It was surprisingly not their latest CD tha t went platinum. but the aile before.
Inodals (need and dare] , and make and let: Comparative clauses ("" Unit 2 2 ) : With tfle strengtIJ of the pound at present we paid
He daren 't leave early without my permission. less for our 110liday this year than we did last year.
Let tile dish stand for at least a minute after removing it from the microwave.
292 293
 5 The invitation doesn't tell what we should wear at the reception us.

P ra ct i c e The key 10 tiles!' exercises IS on page 568 Ii The new President of the U nited States has been elected George W Bush.
. ..
1 It is said that Ollr thinking power really im proves studying phi losophy.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 30. 1
.

Choose the correct sentence, A or B , 8 She carefully placed the 24-carat gold , diamond-encrusted engagement ring that her france had just

9 The course director insists on attending at least 80 per cent of classes the fi rst-year students.
for e a c h cartoon . I n s o m e cases both bought her onto her finger . . .

sentences are correct.

. . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . ..
. . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

\ 0 Prizes can be claimed by sending the form and proof of purchase us, at the address below.

A The dog chased the cat dowll the

,-_. '
garden.
B The cat chased the dog down the
30.2
garden .
the letter of the chosen phrase in the space. Some of the answers do not fit at all. The exercise
Read the newspaper article and then choose the best phrase (A-P) to complete each space. Write

begins with a n example (0).

Children at risk from mental illness

A recent study has shown that levels of mental illness (0) . Cj The study claims that
. ..

mental problems such as depression and anxiety ( I ) One of the reasons given for ... .

Parents today consider the streets (2) " so children are taken from home to school
this is tbe current obsessive preoccupation of parents with their children's safety.
2 A J o h n thought Harriet was wonderful.
.,.

B Harriet thought John was wonderful. 4 A Ollr priceless M i ng vase broke the picture of
and back, and their parents rarely let them (3) . This preoccupation has two .. .

Uncle Albert when it fell on it.

the streets. Parents' fears make (4) about the outside world and children in tum
causes: fear of trd.ffic accidents and anxiety about child molesters and murderers on
B The picture of Uncle Albert broke our
...

priceless M i ng vase when it fell on it.

miss the nonnal adventures of everyday life. In addition, they don'l leam (5) . with . .

. therefore realised and even increased. It is a vicious circle. It is a fact, however, Ihat
other children. Over-anxious children often become (6) ... and their fears are

children could be experiencing (7) . While parenl� may think a child molester
lurks (8) , this is not supported by statistics: very few children are attacked by
.. .

peopl e they don't,know, The fear o f tl'affic accidents is certainly more real but is
.,.

Netherlands, for. example, have created (9) ., and pedestrian-friendly zones, where
3 A Mary said Kevin was a n idiot .
something that needs lo be addressed by society in general. Some cities in The

cars, ifaliowed at aU, must give priority to people and bicycles. Children can
.

B 'Kevin , ' said Mary, 'was an idiot . ' 5 A Jerry has become a real little devil.
B A real little devil has become Jerry.
therefore play ( l0) ., . .

2 30. 1 30.2 '-. (J 1)

There are, however, critics of this study, Many child psychologists believe that
enough to cause mental problems. They consider the problems more likely
",

Each sentence below contains one mistake with word order, Rewrite the sentence correctly. ( 1 2) '" family breakdown ill modern society.
o The m i l itary regime den ied to the world's press access .
y .yfj�d.el'J.i#: .¥Y:fs. tp tfu.- Wf!yl:d:.�f.r��.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
to be a result of
. . . . . . T.4e:.�� , . . . . . . . . . . . , .
When he made out h i s will, Mr Smithson refused to leave anything his estranged son their children anxious
. B are affecting one in five youngsters more safely in these areas
. . .. . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . , , , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
go out on their own
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C this lack of independence not to be K

.

2 Geoff original ly believed Susan when he told her he was having long business
meetings after work. D traffic-free zones L their children to be anxious
3 Please leave by the door your shoes before entering the temple. E how to form relationships M too dangerous for their chi ldren
N victims of bull ies
iQ 'RiI8F@'� ftle Ii!;illg
F this lack of independence is not
. . . . .
. . . .. . . .. .
. . . . .
. . . .
. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
G 0 round every corner
.

4 The Managemen t recommend s that you keep safe you r valuables

by handing them in at Reception . H P being too dangerous for chi ldren
these fears unnecessarily
4
295
 contain mistakes. lick (v) the correct sentences and correct the mistakes.
/'lIne of these sentences
0
Rewrite the jumbled phrases to make sentences with the correct word order.
k e thousands of pieces.
named/Samantha/their first daughter/the couple 1 Th e wind knocked the vase off the ta ble and it bro

2 ! Th e attitude of some shopkeeper s today makes me absolutely furious! o

3 to stay/a legal assistant/I woul d n ' t like/for long 3 The children seemed content to remain to be tenants i n
their parents' 11Ouse. o

4 brought/to the team/Amanda/all her expertise .4 I can ' t u nderstand what's happened. There a ppears
some m istake. o

5 brought/the team/Amanda/all her expertise 5 The whole teaching staff found the new head teacher very i nefficient and
positively offensive. 0

0
. . .
. .. . .
. . . .. . .
. . . . ". .. . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

we recommend ed book the resta urant at

6 Ilas becom e/a very inexperienced salesman/the Sales Manager 6 No wonder you can't get a tab l e for tonight -
least a week in advance .
w ��;���d/� h �
'
o
7 into the box/sparkling, diamond encrusted/he placed/1 8-carat gold rin carefUllY
. . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ... . . ..
7 The winning team proudly showed to their gathered fans their trophy .

o
8 provided/all rubbish/please/in t h e bins/put
8 The voice over the loudspeake r explained us the problem.

o
9 let/to/your parents/all-night parties/do/go/youf?
9 I don't know the way to the l i b rary. Can you tell m e to go?

tb o
1 0 the grenade/removed/the paratrooper/the p in/from/carefully
. .. . ..
. . . . .. . ..
. .. . .
. . . . ..
... , . . . . . . . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. The young boy looked a round and gingerly placed back i n its correct position the gold
1 1 so her daughter/the bracelet/bought/for her/Susan l iked/it watch. He wouldn't steal it after all.

1 2 a l l day l o ng/their resistance/sta n d/the prisoners/they/to/made/reduce The neighbours very kindly hel ped move us our fu rniture i nto the new house . o

o
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . ...
. . . . . . .
. . ..
. . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 3 of destruction/all sick/the scenes/us/made/in the film The smell of fish cooking drives absolutely wild my cats!

1 4 an easy progra m m e/trying/first/recommended/the trainer

. .
. . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . " . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fill each gap i n this text with no more than three words.
Few things are more detested by drivers than the ' Denver
Match the clauses in A and B to make sentences, using a linking word from the box to join them. ; Boot' - the wheel clamp. Motorists in many countries
.
Decide .If each sentence contains co-ordinated clauses or a subordinate clause, and write C or S. consider ( 1 ) . . . . one of the IllOSt odious inventions ever.
�
. . . .

Everyone dreads the consequence s of finding one of these on

after and even though if or so than that to arrive. paying the fine for removing the
their car - phoning the clamping company. waiting ( 2 ) . . . . . . . .

A B clamp, and then. on top of that , paying the original parking fine!
(3) . . . . cause
One inventive motorist recently found an ingenious way of releasing h is car. however.
. . .

0 Did the doctor say exactly a the pilot diverted the plane to the came
1 It was the finest portrait
any damage at all to the clamp or his car. A local shop keeper takes u p the tale: 'This motorist
nearest airport. ed man. but this
back to his car and found a clamp on the wllee l . H e seemed (4) . . a mild-manner
.

2 Some of the passengers were b stay i n a cheap hotel. his breat h . Til e n
causing trouble c we only bought it two months ago. had obviously made him really ( 5) . . . .. as h e started muttering and swearing under
.

d h i m (6)
h e calmed d o w n . He took o u t a mobile and phoned the c l a m p i n g conlpany and t h e y t o l
. .

3 The holiday will be d h e smashed the World and Olympic idea . He took a
Would be there in 45 m i n utes. which obviously did n't please h i m . Then he had an
4 The policeman was rushed to hospital
automatically cancelled Records. .... ..•..•..•..

match and started fiddling with the car tyre. I realised that he was ( 7 ) . the air escape from the
. . . . . . .

e he had bee n stabbed in the park. clamp then slid off the w h ee l
tyre. Then h e got the jack out of the car boot and jacked u p the car - the
5 We can either go camping f the a!1ist had ever painted.
with no problems! ( 8 ) . . . . . . . h e h a d carefully placed (9) . on the pavement, h e p umped his tyre

wl.tfflr (S)
. . . . . . .

6 M a u rice Greene won the gold

"f:
g see a play at the theatre. . to find n o
back u p . smiled at m e , got in the car a n d drove off. Five m i n utes later the clampers arrived
. . . .. . . . . . ...... .

medal h you ' l I be able to go back to work? absolutely

7 Our car broke down last week c a r and a n undamaged c l a m p . I explained t o t h e m ( 1 0) . . . . . . . he had d o n e it and t l l e y were
i we don't receive the balance on the
l
furious! I t was Ililarious "
8 The whole class would rather go due date. . . . . . - . . . . . . . .
.

to the cinema
296 297