c) Subjects used with the verb only in the plural

1. defective individual nouns - pluralia tantum - trousers, tongs, thanks, annals, earnings
The tongs are in the tool box
These trousers want taking in a bit
2. Nouns of multitude: people, folk, police, clergy, gentry, poultry, cattle
The police are on his track
3. A variety
There were a variety of difficult problem
4. One or two (vreo doi) requires a verb in the plural
There are one or two points I should like to talk with you on.
Note:
a + noun +or two is often followed by the Predicate verb in the singular
A word or two is enough to make him get over such a situation

5. Abstract or concrete nouns in the singular take a plural predicate if they are modified by two coordinated
attributes
Good and bad are inculcated by example.
Secondary higher education have also been made available.
Sweet and sour milk are not to be mixed.
6. Personal adjectival heads: the rich, the poor, the needy, the helpless, the dead
The wounded were taken to hospital
B. The Proximity Agreement
Following the principle of proximity the last phrase of coordinate Subject (where the coordinator is or,
either or, neithernor) determines the person of the verb.
Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else knows the answer.
Either my wife or I am going
Because of the awkwardness of the device, a speaker may avoid it by using a modal auxiliary, which is
invariable for person
Either my wife or I will be going
Notes
1. Some speakers feel that
Either you or I are going
is more natural than:
Either you or I am going
2. In cleft sentences, a relative pronoun Subject is usually followed by a verb in agreement with its
antecedent:
It is I who am to blame
But 3rd person concord prevails (in informal E) where the objective case pronoun me is used
Its me whos to blame

The principle of proximity is the only one which could explain the pair of sentences.
Either your brakes or your eyesight is at fault.
Either your eyesight or your brakes are at fault.
The same proximity principle may lead to plural concord even with the indefinites: each, every, everybody,
anybody, and nobody, which are otherwise undoubtedly singular:
Nobody, not even the teachers, were listening.
Every member of the vast crowd of people were pleased to see him.
However, these sentences are uttered more frequently in casual speech, most people regarding them as
ungrammatical. Other, more acceptable instances arise with nouns of kind and quantity:
A large number / plenty of people have applied for the job.
The majority of them are Moslems.

Heaps/loads/gallons of the stuff is going to waste.

Those kind/sort/type of parties are dangerous.
The last two, however, are used informally, the latter illustrating an idiomatic anomaly: there is lack of
number concord between the nouns and the determiner those, as well as with the verb. This awkwardness can
be avoided by rephrasing:
Parties of that kind
The first two show the nominally singular phrases a large number of, etc being treated as plural and as
equivalent to many and most. (A large number has applied would be a very pedantic adherence to
grammatical concord.) The opposite phenomenon, singular attraction, is observed in the last sentence, where
phrases like lots of are treated as if equivalent to singular much.
The proximity principle can also explain a singular verb in case of inversion or of an adverbial quasi-subject:
Wheres the scissors?
Heres John and Mary.
Theres several bags missing.
Theres hundreds of people on the waiting list.
As what precedes the subject here is not marked for plural, the singular verb follows by attraction. These are
colloquial examples, in formal English are would be substituted.
Co-ordinated Subjects
They pose different problems when concord with the verb is to be analysed. When they are coordinated by
and, a distinction has to be made between appositional and non-appositional coordination.
Under non-appositional coordination, we include cases that can be treated as an implied reduction of two
clauses. These have a verb in the plural:
What I say and what I think are my own affair.
(What I say is and what I think is)
Conjoinings expressing a mutual relationship, even though they can only indirectly be treated as reductions of
clauses in this way, also take a plural verb:
Your problem and mine are similar.
(Your problem is similar to mine and mine is similar to yours).
With the less common appositional coordination, no such reduction is possible at all, for the coordinated
structures refer to the same thing. Hence, a singular verb is used:
This temple of ugliness and memorial to Victorian bad taste was erected at the Queens express wish
and under her supervision.
The two noun phrases refer to one object (the Albert Memorial in London). The following example, however,
is ambiguous, and could have either a singular or plural verb.
His aged servant and the subsequent editor of his collected papers was/were with him at his
deathbed.
The problem is: are the servant and the editor the same person or two different people?
Ambiguity is also present in the interpretation of abstract nouns:
Your fairness and impartiality has/have been much appreciated.
There is doubt whether the fairness and impartiality represent two qualities or one. Invoking the principle of
notional concord, we may use either singular or plural, depending on whether unity or separateness is
uppermost in the mind.
Notes:

1. The correlatives bothand occur only in non-appositional coordination:

Both your fairness and your impartiality have been appreciated.
2. The principle of notional concord also explains:
The hammer and sickle was flying from the flagpole.
Bacon and eggs makes a good solid English breakfast.
3. For arithmetical sums see B.a.5. Note 2

The negative correlatives neithernor, although disjunctive in meaning, behave in colloquial speech more
like and than like or as regards concord:
Neither he nor his wife have arrived.

is more natural in spoke idiom than

Neither he nor his wife has arrived.,
the form recommended by traditional grammar.
This preference is probably connected with the use of the plural verb with neither or a determiner or pronoun
(see B6); but it may also reflect notional concord in that logically neither A nor B can be interpreted as a
union of negatives: both (not A) and (not B)
If two nouns (subjects) are linked by with or together with, the verb agrees in no and person with the first
noun. The subject is expressed in this case by a whole group of words:
A driver with two tyres was just coming into the garage.
Note:

Sometimes in speech the preposition with is treated as if it were a conjunction like and, giving rise to plural concord:
One man with his wife, both looking very anxious, were pleading with a guard to let them through.
This kind of mistake is natural in view of the similarity of meaning between this sentence and the equivalent sentence with and. Here
the tendency towards notional concord (the idea of plurality in the subject is transformed to the verb) prevails over strict grammatical
concord.

If two subjects expressed by nouns or pronouns are joined by the conjunctions: as well as, rather than,
more than and as much as, the verb agrees in number and person with the first subject.
The pupils as well as the teacher were looking forward to that trip.
The Volga as well as its tributaries is very picturesque.
Note: As with with (see Note above), however, there may be occasional counter-instances, in which nominal concord prevails.

In contrast, the coordinating correlatives notbut and not onlybut, behave like or; the latter of the two
subject noun phrases determines the concord:
Not (only) one, but all of us are hoping to be there.
Constructions introduced by there take a verb in the singular or plural depending on the no of the first
subject:
There was much traffic at sight and many mules on the road.
There comes a young woman and her two children.

Other Types of Concord

Subject Complement concord (S-C)
S-C concord of number (but not of person) exists between subject and complement in clauses of type SVC.
Thus:
The child was an angel.
The children were angels - are grammatical, whereas:
* The child was angels.
* The children were an angel - are not.
This type of concord arises naturally from the denotative equivalence of subject and subject complement.
There are, however, exceptions:
1. What we need most is books.
2. That man is nuts/crackers.
3. Good manners are a rarity these days.
4. Those chairs are reproduction (esp. BE)
5. Children can be a nuisance/an investment

All these sentences except the first (where what is ambivalent with respect to number) contain a subject
complement which, although nominal in form, has a function closer to that of an adjective than of a noun.
There is often no singular/plural contrast; for eg:
Those men are crackers does not have a singular form.
* That man is a cracker.
For (1) and (3) (in BE) there are variants in which the number of the verb is in agreement with the
Complement:
What we need most are books.
Good manners is a rarity these days.
These are probably ascribed to the workings of notional concord, the idea of plurality being dominant in the
first and that of singularity in the second.
There is an equivalent type of concord between object and object complement in SVOC clauses:
He thinks children angels is acceptable, but not
* He thinks children an angel.
This type of concord is, in fact, common to all cases of intensive relationship.
(I imagined her beautiful I imagined her to be beautiful
I imagined that she was beautiful)

Subject Object Concord

S-O concord of number, person and gender is necessary, as well as S-C concord, where the second element is
a reflexive pronoun:
He injured himself in the leg.
* She injured himself in the leg.
He hasnt been himself for weeks.
* She hasnt been yourself for weeks.
The same concord relation holds when the reflexive pronoun occurs in other functions (eg as prepositional
complement), or when the reflexive genitive his own, etc. is used:
Shes making a sweater for herself.
Theyre running their own chances.
In BE, collective noun subjects permit plural concord:
The navy congratulated themselves on their victory.

Pronoun Concord
The relation between the reflexive pronoun object and its subject may be seen as a special case of the concord
between a pronoun and its antecedent, i.e. the noun phrase for which it may be regarded as a substitute. This
type of concord may extend beyond clause boundaries. Thus the relative pronouns: who, whom and which
agree with their antecedent in the superordinate clause in gender, the first two being personal, and the last
non-personal:
The car which I saw
The man who(m) I saw
Whose can be used with either animate or inanimate antecedents:
The car whose wheels were worn out ...
The man whose purse he stole
There is a feeling, however, that those is more appropriate to personal antecedents, and some speakers cannot
use an expression such as:
The car whose wheels
without some feeling of uneasiness.
Third person personal pronouns agree with their antecedents both in no and (in the case of the third person
singular pronouns he, she and it) in gender:

Jack hurt his foot.

Jane hurt her foot.
Jack and Jane hurt their feet.
The violation of concord in the case of non-reflexive personal pronoun substitutes does not lead (as it does in
the case of reflexive pronouns) to an unacceptable sentence, but to a different interpretation. Thus we may
have:
Jack hurt her foot. where the suggestion is that Jack hurt someone elses foot (the someone else
having been previously mentioned). That is, her cannot be a substitute for Jack but may be one for some other
noun phrase
English has no sex-neutral third person singular pronouns (i.e. one that expresses the common meaning
of he and she), and so the plural pronoun they is often used informally (esp. in BE), in defiance of number
concord, as a substitute for the indefinite pronouns everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone,
anybody, no one, nobody.
1. Everyone thinks they have the answer
2. Has anybody brought their camera?
3. No one could have blamed themselves for that.
The plural pronoun is a convenient means of avoiding the dilemma of whether to use he or she form.
Note: The same dilemma can arise with coordinate subjects and with some indefinite noun phrase subjects, but here resort to the
evasive device of the plural pronoun is perhaps not so acceptable:
? Either he or his wife is going to have to change their attitude.
? Not every drug addict can solve their problems so easily.

The use of they in sentences like (1-3) is frowned upon in formal English, where the tendency is to use he as
the unmarked form when the sex of the antecedent is not determined. The formal equivalent of:
Everyone thinks they have the answer
is therefore:
Everyone thinks he has the answer.
The same choice is made in referring back to a singular noun phrase with a personal noun of indeterminate
gender as head:
Every student has to make up his own mind.
Although this use of he often sounds pedantic, there is no obvious alternative to it, in formal English, except
the rather cumbersome device of conjoining both male and female pronouns:
Every student has to make up his or her own mind.
We have noted that singular collective nouns have plural Subject-Verb concord in cases where the speaker
thinks of the group as made up of separate individuals. The same principle extends to pronoun concord:
The government are cutting their losses. (BE)
The government is cutting its losses.
Although there is no number contrast in relative pronouns, this distinction can be expressed by the choice of
who (personal, i.e. the group thought of as a set of individuals) or opposed to which (non-personal, i.e. the
group or an indivisible abstraction).
Thus we may have:
The government, who are cutting their losses. (BE)
The government which is cutting its losses.
but not:
* The government, who is cutting their losses

THE OBJECT

The part of the sentence called in the Romanian grammar complement is translated into English as
Object for the Direct, Indirect and Prepositional Object, and Adverbial for the Adverbial Modifier,
corresponding to the Romanian complement circumstanial. The English complement is not used as an
equivalent of the Romanian complement, but for the Romanian nume predicativ, or Predicative in
English.
The Object is a secondary part of the sentence, which is closely connected with a verb, completing,
restricting or modifying its meaning. It may refer to a finite verb or to a non-finite verb in any of the functions
in the sentence.
He closed the door.
I was very proud of it.
All the morning was devoted to digging. (the object refers to a finite form)
He dislikes speaking to strangers. (gerund taking an indirect object)
Note
1. As to the form of the pronoun found before a gerund, the Object form is used especially in the spoken language:
Do you mind me coming as well?

It is also preferred in cases where the use of a possessive would entail a difficult construction:
I remember him and his sister coming to that party.
*his and his sisters coming
The possessive case tends not to be used with objects:
I object to the car being left here.
And not to the cars being
Some other examples with the object referring to a finite form:
Shes been doing the room since morning.
2. The Object may also refer to some adj. or nouns of verbal or adjectival nature: hope, doubt, surprise, possibility.

To adj.: He was so fond of painting.

He was not very good at cashing in wood.
All the customers were delighted with their boots.
To nouns: He forgot his promise of a ring.
Our trust in his abilities was deceived.
She didnt mind the possibility of an error.

The Object may be expressed by:

1. a noun: We ought to give him a present, too.
2. a substantivized adjective or participle:
Youd better not champion the unfortunate.
In old times nomadic tribes when moving to another place left the dying behind.
3. a pronoun:
Our little discussion has given me quite an appetite.
You ought to know all about such issues.
Note:
We must mention the peculiar use of the pronoun it in the function of an object, similar to its use in the function of the subject:
She pulled out a cigarette and let it dangle between her lips unlighted.
But sometimes it only introduces a real object expressed by an infinitive or gerundial phrase or by a subordinate clause. In
this case it is a formal introductory object. The formal it is characteristic of literary style and is mostly used after vbs. followed by
adjectives (sometimes nouns). Here belong such vbs. as to think, to find, to consider, to make etc.
He found it impossible to utter the next word.
He made it a point to save so much every week.
She made it clear from the beginning that she had come with Bing.

4. a numeral:
He ran over the nicely bound books; then he took the two leather bound.
5. an infinitive, an infinitive phrase or an infinitive construction:
The sergeant ordered his men to stop.
When he saw someone come toward them, he avoided him.
The old woman held the child tight and waited for the storm to pass.
6. a gerund, a gerundial phrase or a gerundial construction:
Could they prevent flying in war-time?
I remember seeing you at the Grand opening.
I dont like him going away with Lady Illingworth.
7. a prepositional phrase with a noun or a gerund:
Several times he had sought for a suitable opportunity to disclose his exciting secret.
They all approved of his not being beaten by that cousin of his.
Do you object to my going away for a month?
8. a syntactical combination:
You shall like a good deal of that story.
She liked neither of them.
I have quite a number of books on this subject matter.
In English we distinguish the following kinds of objects: Direct, Indirect and Prepositional.

The Direct Object

The Direct Object is a secondary part of the sentence indicating the person, thing or abstract notion
that directly receives, suffers or attracts the action of a transitive vb. as well as of a transitive verbal phrase. It
always stands in the objective case and it corresponds to the DO. in Romanian, but in case of some vbs. it also
corresponds to the IO. in Romanian: to address, to answer, to approach, to suit, to oppose, to escape, to
resemble, to reproach, to resist, to thank.
They wont answer my question.
She addressed him.
It answers the questions whom? and what?
Note: Not all Romanian transitive vbs. are transitive in English; the same holds
good for the intransitive ones:
R: L-a visat ast-noapte.
E: She dreamt of him last night.
R: Ai ascultat concertul?
E: Have you listened to the concert?
R: Rspunde-mi la ntrebri.
E: Answer my questions.
There is a tendency in contemporary English of replacing certain intransitive vbs. by a transitive construction
containing an almost meaningless transitive vb. followed by a DO. which is a noun having the actual semantic
value.
To walk to have a walk
To dance to have a dance
There are some transitive vbs. in English which take two DO.: to answer, to ask, to forgive, to excuse, to envy,
to strike. Some of them may have two passive constructions, while others are used in the passive only with
the name of the person as the passive subject:
They answered him nothing.
1. He was answered nothing.
2. *He was answered some questions.
3. ?Nothing was answered him. (hardly possible)
They struck him a heavy blow.
1. He was struck a heavy blow.
2. A heavy blow was struck him (less usual)
They envied him his luck.
1. He was envied his luck.
2. ?His luck was envied by him.
Such vbs. as to order, to beg, to implore, to allow, to help, to permit, to advise, to persuade usually have two
objects: a noun or a pronoun the first object, and an infinitive the second object.
He helped me to do that.
For the complex object with some of the above vbs. we may take such examples as:
He taught him to sit up at table and not put his elbows on it.
Reflexive pronouns may be used in the function of a DO. to some transitive vbs. importing them a reflexive
meaning. In this function, reflexive pronouns are unstressed.
The young couple settled themselves into the little room.
A reflexive pronoun may also be used as a DO. or as a prepositional O. importing a reflexive meaning to the
verb.
She saw herself in the mirror. (DO)
She is too young to look after herself. (PO)
Reciprocal pronouns are also used in the function of a DO. The meaning of this object shows that the action
performed by two or more persons passes from each person to the other.

Mr. A and I nodded at each other.

They took terms whispering cheerfully to one another.
They kissed each other and Lucy went away.
They meet (tr. vb.) each other (its DO.) every day.
They meet every day. (intr. vb. with reciprocal meaning)
When the vb. is used without a reciprocal pronoun acquires a new intransitive reciprocal meaning.
The use of a gerund as a DO. occurs with vbs. associated with the gerund such as: to avoid, to delay, to put
off, to mind ( in the interrogative and negative), to excuse, to need, to want.
Avoid making mistakes.
These shelves need mending.
It also occurs with adj. such as: like, busy, worth.
We saw all the plays that were worth seeing.
Also with cant bear, cant afford, cant help or with to enjoy, like, dislike.
The infinitive as a DO. occurs when the action refers to the object of the sentence.
I want you to give me some further information.
The objective infinitive is used as a DO to verbs expressing order, request, permission.
Note: The infinitive may also refer to the subject of the sentence and in such a
case it is a subjective infinitive.
Wed better take shelter.
Im glad to hear that.
A complex object is also referred to in connection with the use of the infinitive as an object.
He saw Irene come in, pick up the telegram and read it.
Classification of Direct Objects
DO. can be classified in terms of semantic value and of composition (structure).
As to their semantic content, they are divided into:
- significant (meaningful)
- impersonal (non-significant, meaningless)
- cognate
The significant is the usual kind of DO.
They have been playing football for half an hour.
The impersonal is a formal object generally expressed by it.
Suffice it to say.
The cognate (internal) usually accompanies vbs. normally intransitive (to die, to laugh, to sleep, to dream, to
live, to smile), taking no object. It is called internal because the nouns which express it are related (cognate)
to the verb in meaning as well as in etymology.
To smile a smile, sing a song, laugh a laugh, fight a fight / a battle, dance a dance.
He lived a long and happy life.
Last night I dreamt a strange dream.
Note: Internal / cognate objects are specific to formal language and as could be
noticed from the examples above they are generally accompanied by attributes or
rather modified by them.
As to their structure or composition DO may be:
- simple
- compound
- double
- complex

Simple objects are expressed by a single word, modified or not by attributes or by a whole attributive clause:
He told several funny stories.
Coordinated objects are two or several nouns or noun-equivalents in the accusative (connected either by
conjunctions or asyndetically), discharging an identical syntactical function in relation to a trans. vb. or a
verbal phrase.
They brought famine, starvation, pestilence, scourge.
Compound objects are made up of two or more nouns referring to one person or thing or abstract notion;
compound objects are quite rare in both written and spoken language.
I resent your question and innuendo.
Double objects designating the DOs connected with the same tr. vb., but answering different questions,
usually accompany such vbs. as: to ask, to answer, to envy, to forgive.
They envy (him) his success.
Forgive (me) my curiosity.
Complex objects are objective constructions used to complete the meaning of many tr. vbs. A characteristic of
such objects is that they include two inseparable parts: a nominal part an object proper (a name or pronoun
in the objective case) linked with another part which completes it- which may be either a non-finite form of
the verb or an adj., noun or adverb.
They often hear him say that necessity is the mother of invention.
I thought I would be able to make things perfectly clear.
Sometimes the predicative to the object is closely connected with the predicate vb. as a result of the
action performed by the subject and the object assumes the state denoted by the predicative:
They painted the house white (the house became white)
She swept the floor clean.
We boiled the egg hard.
They elected him chairman
They called the baby Jim
A complex object is also expressed by an infinitival or participial construction
He watched her ring the bell
He watched her playing the piano.
A. by an accusative with the past participle having a resultative meaning. Usually these constructions follow
to get or to have
Get it done till noon
I had my hair cut last week
The same resultative force may be involved by constructions with accusative followed by an adjective or a
noun
I suppose we can make it clear.
I think it a great success
B. by a gerundial construction
a) the genitive with the gerund
I appreciate your coming over
b) the accusative with the gerund, very often used colloquially instead of the former
I appreciate you coming over?
C. by an adverb with the accusative
I ordered him away
By changes from the active to the passive voice, DOs of all kinds may become subjects of passive
constructions.
The Indirect Object

10

The IO is that secondary part of the sentence which completes the meaning of the verb, denoting the person
who the action of the verb affects or influences. It points to the person or thing or concept indirectly receiving
the action of the verb.
The IO is usually employed together with DO. Nevertheless, there are also cases of utilization of
without the D one especially after verbs which are normally transitive but also intransitive: to write, to read,
to sing
Reading to my father is not always a pleasure
The indirect object is built up with the preposition to (or with the prep for). But if it is formed of a single word
- especially if a personal pronoun or a proper name, the preposition is omitted. The construction
a - I wrote him a letter yesterday
is preferred to the construction
b - I wrote a letter to him yesterday
a is often used in contemporary English because the object designating persons naturally precede those which
designate things or abstract notions and also because spoken English prefers shorter constructions.
We may distinguish two kinds of IOs : long or prepositional IO and short or non-prepositional IO.
There may even be a difference in emphasis between the two
Compare
Ive brought a message to you - it is confidential
Ive brought you a message - unemphatic form
or

Ive brought a present for her - it is only for her and not for Somebody else - even possibly
you shouldnt touch it
Ive brought her a present - neutral, normal form

As we have already mentioned, the prepositional IO is used:

a. to emphasize the IO or to contrast it with another IO (explicit or implicit)
I shall show the letter to you (but not to her)
b. when the DO is expressed by a pronoun, while the IO is expressed by a noun
She sent him to the manager
c. when both objects are expressed by a personal pronoun
Show them to me
d. when the IO is placed at the head of the sentence which is interrogative
To which of the boys did you give the sweets?
To whom did you lend it?
Who did you lend it two? - colloquial
also in emphatic clauses
To him I gave the orded, not to you
e. with a range of verbs, the most common being:
to administer
convey
observe
reveal
to announce
deliver
post
say
to appear
describe
prescribe
secure
to ascribe
devote
propose
seem
to attribute
explain
prove
speak
to beckon
impute
relate
submit
to belong
introduce
repeat
suggest
to communicate
leave
reply
swear
to confide
listen
represent
translate
to consign
mention
resign
yield
Wont you explain to her how did you did it?
Non-Prepositional IO are the most frequently met with and are used when the IO immediately follows the
verb

11

She gave Jane her tea a moment ago

There are several verbs which take only non-prepositional IO: to do a favour/an honour/a service; to spare
expanse/labour/money/trouble
Do Jane a favour, will you?
Reach me down that vase, please!
This saved him needless expense.
But:
to play a trik on somebody
The position of the IO
The DO generally precedes the IO. This happens especially the following verbs: to arrange, begin, describe,
drive, explain, finish, introduce, post, pronounce, propose, say, speak, start, etc.
However, when the DO is longer or accompanied by attributes, the order changes due to the fact that:
a. in English the shorter element precedes the longer one due to the fluency, stressing of the nucleus and
intonation
b. it may give undesirable emphasis
Ive brought a message to you
Ive brought you a message
But if the DO is the pronoun it the IO follows the DO
He gave it them. We usually use a preposition here He gave it to them.
We may also take into consideration a syntactical analysis where the presence of the prep to or for in front of
an object gives rise to the difficulties in discriminating between Io and Prep O
There are several criteria to follow, namely:
a. the essence of the IO is that of receiving and or target of a verb of conveyance a transmission
b. only the IO allows of the possibility to transform the prepositional construction into a non-prepositional
one. Thus in:
Im appeling to you to help me
I want you to know what this chance means to me
to you, to me are Prep Objects because the verbs in the sentence (appeal,mean) do not convey or transmit
anything to them, or the persons do not bought from or suffer by the action, and since, on the other hand, from
the formal point of view, they cannot be transformed into non-prepositional dative constructions, as could be
done in:
Tell the truth to me - tell me the truth
I offered a chair to him - I offered him a chair
The confusion usually arises with verbs with obligatory prep and when that preposition is to difficulties of
interpretation appear. For eg. the verb to belong which many people consider it is followed by an IO, yet there
are several elements which contradict it due to the fact that it does not involve a genuine dative relation while
in contemporary British and especially American English it may be followed by other prepositions besides to
(to belong in/with/among) as well as by adverbs of place (it belongs here, sailors belong ships).
Difficulties also appear when the IO is in the form of a reflexive pronoun:
I told myself that I was not right
The confusion with a possible reflexive verb to tell oneself should be avoided by comparing
I told myself with he told me
Therefore the presence of the non-prepositional IO appears quite clear.
The Prepositional Object

12

It is not always easy to state whether a prepositional phrase stands for an object or for an adverbial modifier.
It is an object when it denotes a certain person or thing connected with the action expressed by the verb and
an adverbial modifier when it denotes the time, place, manner, etc., of an action. The difference of meaning is
shown in the question asked to an object or to an adverbial modifier: we use a pronoun to ask of an object and
an adverb when the prepositional phrase is an adverbial modifier:
With whom did he talk about that?
He talked about that with the manager? (object)
How did they manage to get in the house?
With great difficulty. (adverbial modifier).
The prepositional object is a secondary part of the sentence completing the meaning of a verb, not
necessarily the predicate, of a noun or of an adjective and consisting of a noun or of a noun-equivalent
preceded by prepositions:
He drank his tea with lemon and with satisfaction.
(Prep. O)
(adv. modifier of manner)
The prepositional object is closely connected with verbs taking an obligatory preposition such as: to
dream of, to wait for, etc. It may also follow adjectives and nouns: surprise, satisfied, contended,
concerned, angry and surprise, concern, satisfaction, reaction, preoccupation, anger, attitude, etc.:
I was surprised at his behaviour.
His usual reaction was surprise at any event.
When active sentences containing a prepositional object are turned into the passive, the prepositional object
may generate a subject:
The are looking into the matter.
Turns into: The matter is being looked into.
Usually the preposition remains at the end of the sentence or clause

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Classification of Prepositional Objects

1. Prepositional object of agent denoting the person performing the action that is the real/logical
subject within the passive constructions. The common preposition employed with thus type is by and
sometimes through:
The two disobedient boys were punished by their father.
2. Prepositional object of instrument, denoting the instrument, the agency through which the action is
performed:
This national stuff was made by hand.
It was paved with brick.
3. Prepositional object of means, referring mainly to the means of transport. The common preposition
is by:
All these goods have been brought by plane.
4. Prepositional object of association, denoting the person who takes part in an action:
They dined at the Ritz with the Smiths.
5. Prepositional object of relation, including different kind of relations as well as attitudes, feelings:
They were against such a cruel punishment.
The Place of the Prepositional Object
Usually it is placed after the direct object:
Youd better inform them of your intentions.
When there are all the three kinds of objects in the sentence the order is: direct object (with or without
attributes), indirect object (if followed by attributes), prepositional object (with or without attributes).
She sent those good poems to the editor by post.
The prepositional object may be placed at the beginning of a sentence, acquiring special prominence,
when emphasis is intended:
With your cousin Ill never go out again.
When adverbial modifiers of place are closely bound up with the verb so that they form syntagms, the
prepositional object may be moved after the adverbial modifier, such as in: to go to school / church / the
cinema / the theatre / home:
The little girl went home with her elder brothers.
Prepositional objects often turn into direct objects (of an instrumental value). Thus:
He wiped his face with a tovel.
often turns into: He wiped a towel all over his face

THE ADVERBIAL MODIFIER

The adverbial modifier is another secondary part of the sentence, which modifies a verb, an adjective or
another adverb. It is rendered by an adverb or by an adverbial phrase.
According to their function in the sentence adverbial modifiers may be classified into:
1. Adverbial modifiers of time, which in their turn, are subdivided into:
adverbial modifiers of definite time and
adverbial modifiers of indefinite time. The former are connected with:
- the past tense indefinite (yesterday, last week, a couple of days ago);
- past perfect (a few days before);
- future indefinite (tomorrow).

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They are usually placed at the end of the sentence. The latter denotes the anteriority of the action in
relation to the moment of speaking; they may be considered adverbial modifiers of recent time: lately,
of late, just, recently, in the last weeks or so, etc.
The other subcategory of adverbial modifiers of frequency express the habitual character of the action:
usually, sometimes, ever, never, always, often, seldom, rarely, as a rule, etc. They are employed with:
- the present perfect tense, when the moment or period of action is not mentioned;
- past tense when the period of action is stated
I have never been interested in such a matter.
I was never interested in such a matter as a pupil.
I. As to their place in the sentence, we have to distinguish between short adverbial modifiers of
indefinite time of frequency and long ones.
1. The short ones are usually placed with the predicate.
a). if the predicate is made up of one verb alone, the adverbial preceding the latter:
He often comes here.
b). if the predicate includes an auxiliary or modal verb, the adverbial is placed between the
auxiliary and the notional verb:
He has often come here.
c). if the predicate includes several auxiliaries or modals, the adverbial is placed immediately
after the first of them:
I should / could / might / would often have come here.
Note: Sometimes may also appear in initial position
2.The long adverbial modifiers normally take the last or even the first (with a slight degree of
emphasis or for the sake of contrast) place in the sentence.
As a rule, he had to face all the hardships alone.
II. Most adverbial modifiers of time showing the moment of action take the last place in the sentence.
Note: Nowadays and presently usually take initial position (or O position).
Nowadays all children attend school.
If in a sentence there are more adverbial modifiers of time denoting the moment (now, nowadays,
today, then), they occur from the most to the least precise or from the shortest to the longest period
He was born on Monday, the 19th of February 1970.
III. Adverbial modifiers indicating sequence of actions (afterwards, before, eventually, formerly, soon)
usually occur in initial or medial position:
First he rang the bell.
He then knocked on the door.
IV. The order of different adverbial modifiers of time is: duration - frequency - moment
I went to the country for a month every year during my childhood.
2. Adverbial modifiers of place (here, there, somewhere) are placed before those of time:
They are to arrive in London at ten.
There are however expectations.
a). If the D.O. is too long or is expressed by an object clause, the adverbial modifier of place
precedes it:
They took into the reading room all the books they needed.
b). Adverbial modifier of place can also take O position, especially if prepositional
constructions:

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Somewhere near the river the children were playing football.

c). When showing direction it usually follows the verb
He went to school by bus.
They may even appear in initial position:
1) in literary language, for emphasis, with verbs in the Simple Present or Past:.
e.g.In they come! Away they went!
2) in the colloqial speech, with verbs like go, come, get at Present or Imperative:
e.g. Here she comes! There they go! In (bed) you get!
3. Adverbial Modifiers of Manner denoting the manner in which the action is performed; they are
placed either before the main verb (when short)or after the verb(when long)
e.g. Hendel Hull so obviously adored his wife.
Their conversations were conducted with icy formality.
Adverbial modifiers of manner emphasizing the idea carried by the verb or another part of speech (actually,
certainly, obviously, really, surely, honestly, simply, just) generally procede the part of speech they are
referring to:
e.g. I simply don't understand your behaviour.
Note: indeed may also take final position
e.g. Thank you very much indeed.
(Very) much usually preceds a participle but follows a notional verb
e.g. He was very much impressed
I like E. very much.
Enough follows an adjective or an adverb
e.g. This lesson is long enough.
However, if used attributively, he either precedes or follows it.
e.g. He has time enough.
He has enough time.
4. Adverbial Modifiers of Degree denote the degree, extent, measure, intensity of an adjective or
another adverb:
e.g. He ran much faster than they all.
The movie was awfully disappointing.
They may also denote approximation, size, depth, length, that is whatever refers to measurements or
quantities. Besides them are: quite nearly, almost, to a certain extent, quite a lot, a great deal, pretty well, etc.
5.Adverbial Modifiers of Attending Circumstances refer to the condition beyond or outside the
subject in which the action is performed. They usually take the last place in the sentence.
e.g. They managed to get out in the dim light.
Now I can go to bed at last without dreading tomorrow.
6.Adverbial Modifiers of Comparison have a comparative function.
e.g. Judice is as white as mud. He's as perfect as sin.
He much behaved like a father to him.
They are often employed as similes.
7. Adverbial Modifiers of Comparison and Concession are formed by contracting adverbial clauses
of comparison and concession (comparative-concessive clauses) through the ellipsis of a verb.
e.g. He shouted as if frightened (as if /as though he had been frightened)
8.Adverbial Modifiers of Concession Proper are formed without a predicative verb and are
introduced by the prepositions despite and in spite of.
e.g. In spite of his carelessness he is a good fellow.
They may also derive from contracting concessive adverbial clauses through ellipsis of the predicate or
another verb
e.g. Though frightened he carried it off very well.
Notwithstanding the success achieved by Napoleon in the initial stage of the war in 1812 he was
finally defeated.

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9. Adverbial Modifiers of Purpose are the equivalents of a final clause, being introduced by in order
to or simply by to.
e.g.He left to pick us out the largest boat he had.
(so that he could pick
in order that he could pick)
10.Adverbial Modifiers of Condition are equivalents of adverbial clauses of condition: if necessary,
with perseverance , as well as in phrases beginning with given.
e.g.Given patience the problem can be solved
If necessary he will assume all the risk.
She never would have been able to make a success of the dining-room, but for the kindness and
assistance of the men
11.Adverbial Modifiers of Cause/Reason denote the motivation of an action, usually placed in the
first part of the sentence: because of the weather, considering the circumstances, for having done this, for
having behaved like that.
e.g. The men were weary, having run behind the beasts all day
I have great fear of the knife for my poor boy, his mother having died under it due to negligence.
12.Adverbial Modifiers of Result/Consequence are the opposite of the previous type of adverbials,
showing the effect, result.
e.g. He is too fond of the child to leave it.
It is too hard for me to carry it out only in a few days.
Ways of Expressing the Adverbial Modifier
It can be expressed by:
1. an adverb
e.g. Rachel turned instinctively to prevent a possible intruder from entering.
2. a noun with or without accompanying words; the noun may show:
a) space: He travels miles (on end).
b) time: He worked months(on end).
c) size: He is only five feet tall.
d) price: It costs a pound.
e) manner: They rose arms in hands.
3. a prepositional phrase
e.g.The red dust spread up and out and over everything.
I walked straight up the lane.
4. a noun, pronoun, adjective, infinitive, participle, or prepositional phrase with a subordinating
conjunction.
e.g. Mary swims better than her sister.
My sister plays tennis better than I.
If necessary she must see Mr.B.
He shrank back, his arms lifted as though to ward off physical violence.
While waiting dor the water to boil, he held his face over the stove.
Sometimes he, when with her, noted an unusual brighteness in her eyes.
5. a participle or a participle phrase
e.g.Having decided to accept his sister's council he was anxious to perform his duty.
Turning away, she caught sight of hte extra special edition
When questioned, she explained everything.
6.absolute constructions
a) the nominative absolute participial construction
He had wrapped her up with great care, the night being dark and frosty
She burst in, the terror of the streets written on her face.

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b) the nominative absolute construction

He stopped and turned around, his eyes brightly proud.
c) the prepositional absolute participial construction.
He looked at her attentively, with his whole face breathing short and quick in every feature.
d) the prepositional absolute construction
He rushed forward with fury inhis looks and fire in his eyes.
7. a prepositional phrase or costuction with a gerund
e.g. Her father looked up without speaking.
He was arrested for being a member of the Communist Party.
On her going to his house he happened to see her through a window.
I left the room without anybody noticing it.
8. an infinitive, an infinitive phrase or an infinitive construction
e.g. They rose to go into the drawing-room
We assembled to discuss and arrange our plans.
He put it on the table for George to get a better view of it.

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