Syntax

1. Smart – Figments
dr. Alerto Augusto BIA
2013

2. You are not forced to believe in everything and Don’t let mental laziness impede your progress by dr. Alerto Augusto Bia 2013
Verb group (Vgrp)
So, verbs are divided into:
1. Simple -those verbs made up by only one verb. Eg. Help, go, think, cook, etc
2. Complex -those verbs made up by two or more verbs. E.g.: is helping, has been helped,
had helped, etc
Kinds of verbs
In theirs verb group (vgrp) are subdivided into branches. Check:
v Transitive – are those verbs that require an object/ a complement. E.g.: I saw the house.
Transitive verbs are subdivided into:
Ø Mono-Transitive - those which takes one object/complement. E.g.: I saw the house.
NOTE: There is a small difference between Mono-transitive and Transitive and I do believe
that many grammarians have despised it but it is very crucial to know that, check: Mono-
transitive verbs they only take a single/one object/complement and Transitive they take a single
object/complement. But the Mono-transitive verb lets to be a Mono-transitive to Transitive
when it takes another optional object/complement. E.g.: I saw the house yesterday. She ate the
mango in the morning. Then, the underlined constituents/string of words “yesterday and in the
morning” both are optional, in contrast when you omit them the sentence still with sense but
they let’s to be Transitive to Mono-transitive. E.g.: I saw the house. She ate the mango in the
morning. (Alerto Augusto BIA: 2013).
Ø Intensive – those verbs which describes the subject or give information about the subject
of the sentence. Well, Intensive verbs do not have much meaning in themselves; it is
believed that they just link the subject to what is being said about the subject. They do
not show any action, these kind of verbs show equality or state of being. E.g.: 1. Mary is
a teacher. 2. Tony felt really idiot.
Ø Di-transitive – those verbs which require two objects/complements, on which both
objects/complement are obligatory. E.g.: 1. Tony gave the money to Fred. 2. The teacher
offered the book to the students. It is that, in the first sentence if we omit “to Fred” the
sentence become senseless, as well as in the second if we omit “to the students”, this
because we give something to somebody; we offer something to somebody. Ergo the
verbs “give and offer” requires double objects/complement, therefore, are considered as
Di-transitive verb.

3. You are not forced to believe in everything and Don’t let mental laziness impede your progress by dr. Alerto Augusto Bia 2013
Ø Complex transitive – are those verbs which require 2 objects/ complements, on which the
second object/complement tells about the object (predicative object). E.g.: John considers
his brother a clever man. Here who is clever man isn’t John but his brother. So, they are
called complex verbs because the complement tells about object predicative.
v Intransitive – are those verbs which don’t require an object/complement. E.g.: John died.
Ed snores.
Ø Prepositional – those verbs which take a preposition, that’s the preposition it’s linked to
the main verb. E.g.: Janet looked at my umbrella. Charles laughed at him.
Ø Phrasal Verb - those verbs made up by a verb and particle. I called him up. The students
shouted out the answer.
NOTE: The difference between Prepositional and Phrasal Verb is that: Phrasal verb accepts
particle movement while prepositional phrasal verbs do not accept if you try it gives you
ungrammatical sentence. Check: ‫٭‬Charles laughed him at. ‫٭‬Janet looked my umbrella at.(
They are ungrammatical owing to prepositional verbs do not accept particle movement),
while, The students shouted the answer out. Waste your precious time checking the examples
above for your best understanding. There is no rule without exceptions and here you are.
Exceptions: When you utilize/ make use of phrasal verb with a pronoun make sure/ ensure that
the pronoun must be put between the verb and particle, never apply particle movement. E.g.: I
called him up. Unless you wish/ pretend to get an ungrammatical sentence like: ‫٭‬ I called up
him. (Alerto Augusto BIA: 2013).
Tips/ clues for identifying of the major elements in sentences
To pop the questions for locating the function of the major elements in sentences you ask:
Subject (S) – how or what? (Ask to the verb and get the answer before the verb).
Verb (V) – what is happening or what is? (Ask to the subject of the sentence )
Prepositional Complement (pC) – who or whom? (After the verb or Noun).
Direct object (dO) – what? (Ask to the verb).
Indirect Object (iO) – to whom or for whom? (Ask to the verb).
Subject Predicative (sP) – (talks about the subject in the sentence or qualifies it).
Object Predicative (oP) – (talks about the Object in the sentence or qualifies it).