The English Language english language

Basic Clause Patterns

As the formula indicates, the last two functions occur in this order: indi-
rect object (IO)—direct object (DO). (Recall that in pattern 4 the DO ap-
peared immediately after the verb head.) Formally, both objects are typically
NPs. The formal version of pattern 5 is:

(114)a. NP AUX [VPV NP NP] (114)b. VP

V NP NP

In each of the following examples the IO is italicized:

(115)a. Willard gave Susie roses.
b. The eighteenth century brought England great prosperity.
c. She paid her creditors a part of the debt.
d. Oscar made his friend a beautiful desk.

In patterns 4 and 5, a verb may be followed by two NPs. These two struc-
tures can be readily distinguished. In pattern 4, the two NPs refer to a single
entity; in pattern 5, each NP refers to a separate entity.
As usual, semantics plays a role in the pattern, both in the nature of
the verb and in the semantic role of the indirect object. The verb has the
prototypical meaning of GIVING or of BENEFITING. In (115a,b,c),
the notion of giving is clear; (115d) illustrates the meaning of benefiting.
On these semantic grounds, we can identify certain verbs that take indi-
rect objects. We list a typical sample in Table 4.

allow ask assign bequeath bring
buy deny forbid forgive grant
hand leave lend make owe
pardon pay refund refuse remit
sell send show sing spare
teach tell throw write

table 4. some double object verbs

The list in Table 4 hides some complexities. First, most of the verbs
commonly occur in patterns that do not have explicit indirect objects:

(116)a. Allison asked a profound question. (Pattern 2)
b. Walpole refused. (Pattern 1)