Re: Question about transitivity/intransitivity

Rob Haden wrote:
> and with
> word-order fixed so that indirect object precedes direct object
> with "give," the preposition "to" can easily be omitted (since it could be
> considered semi-redundant) in sentences like "I give John the dog."
I don't think there is an omitted preposition.  ?"I give to John the
dog" is a very awkward, possibly ungrammatical, sentence.  The correct
syntax is "I give the dog to John".

In my view, "I give the dog to John" is derived from "I give John the
dog" rather than the other way around.  The form with "to" is used to
move "dog" to the position of primary object by demoting "John" from
that position.

Consider:
I give John the dog -> John is given the dog
I give the dog to John -> The dog is given to John

In each case, the primary object (marked by being the first noun after
the verb) is moved to subject position replacing the agent, the verb is
made passive, and other features of the sentence remain.

--
"There's no such thing as 'cool'.  Everyone's just a big dork or nerd,
you just have to find people who are dorky the same way you are." -
overheard
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTaylor42

Reply