[e-mail]_2012-06-24_15-33-11 английский язык / 29 object

29. The Object

The O. is a part of the complementation of a verb, a verbal or an adjective within verb, verbal (non-finite) or adjective phrases. It refers to a person or thing, or a state of affairs which is affected or produced by, or is related to the action or state expressed by the predicate of a sentence. There may be 2 objects in one simple sentence: Mary sent Jane a letter. The pronoun it can be used as a formal object (expressed by an infinitive or gerundial phrase) extraposed to the end of the sentence: I don’t like it to be treated like this. The O. may be represented by a single word, a phrase, a predicative construction or a subordinate clause.

Parts of speech: a noun, a pronoun, a numeral, a substantivized adjective or participle (the wounded), an infinitive, a gerund, a predicative construction (non-finite clauses) – They insisted on my answering him, a quotation – She exclaimed “My God”. In a complex sentence, a subordinate clause may serve as an O. to a verb in the main clause – I didn’t know where they lived.

Kinds of O:

1. The direct O. is used after transitive verbs and denotes a person or a thing wholly involved and/or directly affected by the action of a transitive verb: She saw me and smiled. The d.O. may complement monotransitive phrasal verb with the adverb preceding or following it: Ray gave up his work. Come on, I’ll show you around.

2. The indirect O. is the first complement of the distransitive verb. The second noun phrase complementing the verb functions as direct object: Give me a chance! Sometimes the i.O. is used alone to complement the verb: Shall I tell hem? The i.O. is related to a prepositional phrase introduced by to, for, of: He bought a dress for her.

3. The prepositional O. is a nominal phrase introduced by a preposition which serves as part of the complementation of the prepositional verb or an adjective with a “fixed” preposition: The value of liberty depends on other values. Ditransitive prepositional verbs are complemented by a direct object and by a prepositional phrase, which follows it: She blamed herself for saying it.