Commonsense Composition

http://www.ck12.org Chapter 12. Verbs and Sentence Types

TABLE12.7:

Subject Transitive Direct object [NP]

The children Kicked The ball

My dog Chews The furniture

The professor Answered The question

The second transitive-verb pattern includes a second complement, theindirect object.We traditionally define the
indirect object as the recipient of the direct object.

2. (subject)+(transitive verb)+(direct object [NP])+(indirect object [NP])

TABLE12.8:

Subject Transitive Indirect object [NP] Direct object [NP]

The students Bought Their teacher A present

My dog Brought Me The tennis ball

The professor Called Himself A genius

Transitive verbs takeobject complements. Similar to subject complements inbeverbs and linking verbs, object
complements describe or redefine their object. Object complements take the form of noun phrases [NP] and
adjectives.

3. (subject)+(transitive verb)+(direct object [NP])+(object complement [NP])

TABLE12.9:

Subject Transitive Direct object [NP] Object complement

[NP]

The child Named Her cat Charlie

I Make My living The hard way

4. (subject)+(transitive verb)+(direct object [NP])+(object complement [adj.])

TABLE12.10:

Subject Transitive Direct object [NP] Object complement

[NP]

The children Painted The fence White

The teacher Made The test Easy

Review Questions

Identify the subject, transitive verb, and direct object of the sentence. If applicable, identify the indirect object or
object complement as well.

1. Mrs. Nakamura considers her hometown beautiful.


2. Before setting out on the road trip, I put air in my tires.


3. Joyce gave her father a gift card for Christmas.


4. He hadn’t broken his promise.