Grammar I Graciela Palacio (2012)

COMPLEX TRANSITIVE VERBS

There are two groups of verbs that can be called complex transitive. The first group is made
up of verbs that take a Complement/ Direct Object and a Predicative Complement:

She called the dog Topsy.

The government set the prisoners free.
They appointed him manager.
The acid turned the litmus paper red.
The man flung the door open.

The first question is: do we have one constituent or two? The fact that we cannot say *She
called that the dog was Topsy leads us to hypothesize that the dog Topsy cannot be analysed
as one constituent. In this sense these sentences contrast with the ones that had a small clause
complement:

John thinks Mary pretty.

that Mary is pretty.

She called the dog Topsy.

*that the dog was Topsy.

These verbs are transitive. The sentences can be turned into the passive. The first
complement called direct object in traditional grammar can become the subject of the
passive:

The dog was called the dog Topsy.

The prisoners were set the prisoners free.
He was appointed he manager.
The door was flung the door open.

Why is the second element called a Predicative Complement? To begin with they are
adjectival phrases or noun phrases which are predicating something, in this case about the
complement/ direct object.

In most cases they cannot be omitted. We cannot say *The government set the prisoners,
*The acid turned the paper, *The man flung the door. In the case of She called the dog Topsy
what we mean is ‘she gave the dog this name’ and not ‘she called the dog so that it would
come’. This verb call is a verb of calling or naming. Omission of Topsy would change the
meaning of the verb.

In the case of appoint the predicative complement can be omitted. They have appointed him
is a perfectly grammatical sentence. But omissibility is not a criterion for not calling it a
complement. We have defined complement as that element lexically required by a predicate
and if you appoint somebody, you appoint somebody to some position.
Semantically, all these predicative complements express some resulting attribute. The dog
has now a name, the prisoners are now free, he is the manager, the litmus paper is red, the
door is open.

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The second group is made up of verbs that take a Complement/ Direct Object and an
Adverbial Complement:

You must put the toys in the box (immediately).

John keeps the car in the garage.
John took Bill to San Francisco.
John brought Bill to Argentina.
The police posted twenty men around the house.
Alice placed the books on the table.

The adverbial complements in all of the sentences given above express a location (in the box,
in the garage, to San Francisco, to Argentina, around the house, on the table). They are
called locative adverbial complements.

THE PICTURE SO FAR:

In the case of complex transitive verbs there are two options:

1. TV + C/DO + Predicative complement or

2. TV + C/DO + Adverbial complement

Subject Verb
1. Mono TV + C/DO (Adjunct)

2. Bi TV + C/IO + C/DO (Adjunct)

3. Bi TV +C/DO + Preposition to +C/IO (Adjunct)

4. IVCP (Adjunct)

5. IVIP +C/Predicative C (Adjunct)

6. IVIP +C/Adverbial C (adjunct)

7. Complex TV + C/DO + C/Predicative C

8. Complex TV + C/DO + C/Adverbial C

Examples:
1. The man painted the wall (yesterday).
2. The man gave Mary the book (this morning).
3. The man gave the book to Mary (this morning).
4. The woman laughed (loudly).
5. The boy was very nervous (that morning).
6. John went to the cinema (yesterday).
7. The governor set the prisoners free.
8. He put the book on the table.

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EXERCISE: Analyse the following sentences.
1. I slipped the key into the lock.
2. Take your hands out of your pockets.
3. The cat licked the saucer clean.
4. The man was seen at a disco last night.
5. She emerged from her room at noon.
6. The police posted twenty men around the house.
7. I must be told the truth.
8. A ghostly face appeared at the window.

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