The Blind Men and The Elephant

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Aug 8, '09 7:56 PM by Rogelio for everyone

The Blind Men and The Elephant

by

John Godfrey Saxe

1

It was six men of Indostan,

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the elephant,

(Though all of them were blind,)

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

2

The first approached the elephant,

And, happening to fall ..

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the elephant

Is very like a wall!"

3

The second, feeling of the tusk, !

Cried: "Ho! what have we here,

So very round, and smooth, and sharp?

"To me 't is very clear, ..

This wonder of an elephant

Is very like a spear!"

4

The third approached the animal,

And, happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up he spake: ,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a snake!"

5

The fourth reached out his eager hand, .

And felt about the knee:

"What most this wondrous beast is like,

"Is very plain," quoth he;

'T is clear enough the elephant "

Is very like a tree!"

6

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said:"Ellen the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most:

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an elephant

Is very like a fan!"

7

The sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a rope ! "

8

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

-----------

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Link

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Aug 8, '09 7:56 PM by Rogelio for everyone

The Blind Men and The Elephant

by

John Godfrey Saxe

1

It was six men of Indostan,

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the elephant,

(Though all of them were blind,)

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

2

The first approached the elephant,

And, happening to fall ..

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the elephant

Is very like a wall!"

3

The second, feeling of the tusk, !

Cried: "Ho! what have we here,

So very round, and smooth, and sharp?

"To me 't is very clear, ..

This wonder of an elephant

Is very like a spear!"

4

The third approached the animal,

And, happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up he spake: ,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a snake!"

5

The fourth reached out his eager hand, .

And felt about the knee:

"What most this wondrous beast is like,

"Is very plain," quoth he;

'T is clear enough the elephant "

Is very like a tree!"

6

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said:"Ellen the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most:

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an elephant

Is very like a fan!"

7

The sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a rope ! "

8

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

-----------

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Link

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Aug 8, '09 7:56 PM by Rogelio for everyone

The Blind Men and The Elephant

by

John Godfrey Saxe

1

It was six men of Indostan,

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the elephant,

(Though all of them were blind,)

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

2

The first approached the elephant,

And, happening to fall ..

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the elephant

Is very like a wall!"

3

The second, feeling of the tusk, !

Cried: "Ho! what have we here,

So very round, and smooth, and sharp?

"To me 't is very clear, ..

This wonder of an elephant

Is very like a spear!"

4

The third approached the animal,

And, happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up he spake: ,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a snake!"

5

The fourth reached out his eager hand, .

And felt about the knee:

"What most this wondrous beast is like,

"Is very plain," quoth he;

'T is clear enough the elephant "

Is very like a tree!"

6

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said:"Ellen the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most:

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an elephant

Is very like a fan!"

7

The sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a rope ! "

8

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

-----------

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Link

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Aug 8, '09 7:56 PM by Rogelio for everyone

The Blind Men and The Elephant

by

John Godfrey Saxe

1

It was six men of Indostan,

To learning much inclined,

Who went to see the elephant,

(Though all of them were blind,)

That each by observation

Might satisfy his mind.

2

The first approached the elephant,

And, happening to fall ..

Against his broad and sturdy side,

At once began to bawl:

"God bless me! but the elephant

Is very like a wall!"

3

The second, feeling of the tusk, !

Cried: "Ho! what have we here,

So very round, and smooth, and sharp?

"To me 't is very clear, ..

This wonder of an elephant

Is very like a spear!"

4

The third approached the animal,

And, happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up he spake: ,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a snake!"

5

The fourth reached out his eager hand, .

And felt about the knee:

"What most this wondrous beast is like,

"Is very plain," quoth he;

'T is clear enough the elephant "

Is very like a tree!"

6

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said:"Ellen the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most:

Deny the fact who can,

This marvel of an elephant

Is very like a fan!"

7

The sixth no sooner had begun

About the beast to grope,

Than, seizing on the swinging tail

That fell within his scope,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a rope ! "

8

And so these men of Indostan

Disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong!

-----------

The Blind Men and The Elephant

Link

youtube

Grammar Rules

Agreement of subjects and verbs

1. One of every four people in the workforce lacks health insurance.

2. A few of the employees of the food court at the Southland Mall won a three-week . vacation to Europe.

3. The mayor gave her assistant a difficult task.

4. Another of her favorite rock band is Luna.

5. Across the street from the restaurant was a new supermarket.

6. There were several magazines in the mailbox.

7. Losing the 'first three games was a big setback.

8. What she wants is a fresh start in life.

rb

Exercise: Modals 2

How are the modals being used in each of these sentences? Decide whether
they express: request, permission, invitation, offers, promises, suggestions,
advice, obligation, necessity, possibility or impossibility, future time, predictions,
logical inferences, abilities, or past habitual actions.

Examples: Can I ask you a question? request
Can you speak Spanish? ability

1. Will you open the door?
2. Will the office be open tomorrow?
3. I can't hear you.
4. You cant smoke here; it's a church.
5. You shouldnt smoke; it's bad for your health.
6. You really ought to see a doctor.
7. The doctor has just finished with another patient, and ought to be
ready to see you in just a minute.
8. You walked twenty miles today? You must be tired!
9. You must leave at once if you dont want to miss the train.
10. I may be late tonight, so plan on eating dinner without me.
11. Can I speak to Dr. Martinez?
12. You may not leave before the teacher tells you to.
13. I'm interested in buying that cat but it could be too expensive.
14. Could you pass the butter?
15. Could you read when you were five years old?

Answers: 1.request 2.future time 3.abilities 4.permission 5.advice 6.permission/necessity
7.predictions 8.logical inference 9.necessity 10.prediction 11.request 12.permission 13.prediction 14.request 15.abilities

rb

Noun and its Functions

A word has been bracketed in each sentence. On the line before the sentence, tell how the
noun functions by writing the function's corresponding letter. The functions and their
letters are as follows: [s] subject; [do] direct object; [io] indirect object; [prep] object of the
preposition; [pn] predicate noun; [da] direct address; and [ap] appositive. Score 5 points for
each correct answer.

1. - Our [dog] chased the truck down the road.
2. - [Children,] please move toward the next door.
3. _ We handed the [packages] to the clerk.
4. --The salutatorian gave [Roberto] a sign of approval.
5. --Mr. Bauer is our new [assemblyman.]
6. --The Empire State, [New York,] has several large cities.
7. --When are we going to the [movies?]
8. --Joe Josephs passed the [ball] to his favorite receiver, Phil Phillips.
9. --Can you, [Bertie,] look for my keys in the den?
10. --One of the salespeople presented [Dad] with the required information.
11. --A [shower] of bullets alerted the soldiers of the imminent danger.
12. --[Tactics] such as these will no longer be tolerated.
13. --Do you think this can be accomplished sooner, [Ed?]
14. --Lucille is the current [champion] of the tennis club.
15. --The director of the organization is [Ricardo Alvarez.]
16. --None of the tickets had been removed from the [bucket.]
17. --Present the [boy] with the plaque, Rudy.
18. --Take these [parts] to the front desk.
19. --Tina, the team's best [player], will be missed next year.
20. --We will remember her for a long [time.]

answers: 1.s 2.da 3.do 4.io 5.pn 6.ap 7.op 8.do 9.da 10.io 11.s 12.s 13.da

14.pn 15.pn 16.op 17.io 18.do 19.ap 20.op

rb

Three of a kind.

"#2-2 Three of a kind

1] article 2] adjective 3] subject 4] helping verb 5] main verb 6] adverb
7] prepositional phrase 8] direct object 9] indirect object 10] dependent clause

Write the part of speech and function of the bracketed portion of the sentence.

1] [The] man in the [blue] suit is my father's [best] friend.

2] The [doctor] [slowly] [handed] [me] the [instrument] [near the machine.]

3] Those [who forget the past] [will] [be] in trouble in the future.

4] [Each] of the people in the room knows your sister's [fame.]

5] The talented architect [who designed this city] [gained] [lasting] fame because of
his feat.

6] [Lately] I [have] not been [feeling] well and think I should see a doctor.

7] The painting [that is hanging in the adjacent room] was a gift [to the embassy.]

8] [He] gave [me] [a] chance to take the last shot in the game.

9] [An] intelligent decision must be made [immediately] in this case.

10] Jayson will [be] studying [physical therapy] [for the next three years.]

answers: 1. art/adj/adj 2. sub/adv/mai/ind/dir/prep 3. dep/hel/mai 4. dep/dir 5. dep/mai/adj 6. adv/hel/mai 7. dep/prep 8. sub/ind/art 9. art/adv 10. hel/dir/prep

rb

Identify the subject and the verb.

By definition, a simple sentence has a single main [or independent] clause. A simple sentence must have a subject and a predicate. Type the first letter of the subject and the main verb in each sentence.

1. The warden handed the prisoner a towel.

2. All of the soldiers talked about the strenuous drills.

3. The song took me back to the days of my youth.

4. The hawk quickly elevated itself toward the mountains.

5. War overtook the small foreign town.

6. The boy's sad realization lingered for days.

7. The days speed by.

8. The skilled linguist articulated the phrases beautifully.

9. That particular region of the state generated much revenue.

10. The estimates of our treasurer seem reasonable.

answers: 1warden, handed 2All, talked 3song, took 4hawk, elevated 5war, overtook 6realization, lingered 7days, speed 8linguist, articulated 9region, generated 10estimates, seem

rb"
sentence

The Simple Sentence and Its Parts 7, 8, 9, 10

"SENTENCE 7: Object case after preposition

Sentence 7: She fell over me.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [She] Predicate [fell over me.]

Sentence analysis: S:pronoun [She] P:verb[fell] P:prep [over] P:pro[me.]

Why is sentence 7 not *She fell over I? Because prepositions take the object case. Me can't be the object of fell, because we know that fall is an intransitive verb. In a sentence such as She sent him to me, him is the object of the verb send, and me is the object of the preposition to.

SENTENCE 8: Noun phrase

Sentence 8: The poor girl fell over the chair.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [The poor girl] Predicate [fell over the chair.]

Sentence analysis: S:noun phrase[The poor girl] P:verb[fell] P:prep[over] P:noun phrase [the chair.]

Noun phrase: a group of words made up of a noun and one or more words modifying or specifying it.

SENTENCE 9: Preposition phrase

Sentence 9: The poor girl fell over the chair.

Constiuents of a sentence: Subject [The poor girl] Predicate [fell over the chair.]

Sentence Analysis: S:noun phrase[The poor girl] P: v[fell] P:prep. phrase, prep[over]
P:prep.phrase, noun phrase [the chair.]

SENTENCE 10: Adverbial

Sentence 10: The poor girl fell over the chair.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [The poor girl] Predicate [fell over the chair.]

Sentence Analysis: S:noun phrase[The poor girl] P:verb[fell] P:adverbial[prep. phrase] [over the chair.]

A preposition phrase usually functions as an adverb and so is called an adverbial.


rb"
sentence parts

The Simple Sentence and Its Parts 4, 5, 6,

"SENTENCE 4: The articles, modals, infinitive

Sentence 4: The little moggy can pounce rapidly.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [The little moggy] Predicate [can pounce rapidly.]

Sentence analysis: S: d.article [The] S:adj [little] S:noun [moggy] P: modal aux. verb [can] P: /main verb/ bare infinitive [pounce] P: adv. [rapidly.]

In sentence 4 we are introduced to the definite article, a modal auxiliary verb [shortened to modal aux., modal verb, even simply modal] and the infinitive.

SENTENCE 5: 'Be' as auxiliary verb, + -ing participle

Sentence 5: A new day was dawning.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [A new day] Predicate [was dawning.]

Sentence Analysis: S: indef.art.[A] S: adj.[new] S: noun [day] P:'be' as aux. verb [was] P: /main verb/ -ing participle [dawning.]

In sentence 5, the indefinite article a, and the verb be [in the form of was] in its function of primary auxiliary verb [two types of aux. verb: modal and primary]. The main verb takes the -ing form [pronounced '-ing'' or I-N-G] and may be called the -ing participle.

SENTENCE 6: Pronoun, preposition

Sentence 6: She left him in Yonkers.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [She] Predicate [left him in Yonkers.]

Sentence Analysis: S:pronoun[She] P:verb [left] P:/object/ pronoun [him] P:preposition [in] P:noun [Yonkers.]

In sentence 6, we are introduced to [personal] pronouns and prepositions. You may notice that personal pronouns are the only words in English that have a different form for subject and object, i.e. sentence 6 is not *She left he.

rb"
sentence parts

The Simple Sentence and Its Parts 1, 2, 3,

Sentence - is a group of words that express a complete meaning makes a sentence. In order to have a meaning, two elements are necessary: a subject, a person or thing to speak about, and a predicate, something to say about the person or thing.

The term part of speech refers to the job that a word does in a sentence - to its function or use. Since there are eight separate jobs, words are divided into eight classes or eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection.

The simple sentence and its parts

SENTENCE 1. Subject, verb, object

Sentence 1: Mary makes music.

Contituents of a sentence: Subject [Mary] Predicate [makes music]

Sentence Analysis: S:noun [Mary] P:verb [makes] P:object: noun [music]


Sentence 1 shows that a sentence must have two main branches: the subject and the predicate. The subject is usually the 'doer', or the person/thing described. The predicate means 'the rest of the sentence' to put it crudely but simply.
The verb conveys an action or state. The object is the person/thing at the receiving end of the action, hence music is the object of the verb makes.
Noun, verb, noun are the constituents called word classes or parts of speech. Words are classed according to their grammatical properties.
In every sentence there must be a finite verb, i.e. a verb with a tense. A verb can change its form to show tense, e.g. make; made. The verb in sentence 1 is in the present tense.
In sentence 1 the subject and object are nouns. They could be pronouns: She makes it.

SENTENCE 2: Subject, verb

Sentence 2: Mary fell.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [Mary] Predicate [fell]

Sentence Analysis: S:noun [Mary] P:verb [fell]

In sentence 2 there is no object. Mary didn't fall her body, etc. The verb to fall can't take an object; it is an intransitive verb. Other intransitive verbs are to cough, to hesitate, etc.
Verbs that must take an object are called transitive verbs. Other transitive verbs are to have, to afford, etc.

SENTENCE 3: Adjective, adverb

Sentence 3: Big dogs snore loudly.

Constituents of a sentence: Subject [Big dogs] Predicate [snore loudly]

Sentence Analysis: S:adj [Big] S:noun [dogs] P:verb [snore] P:adverb [loudly]

Sentence 3 reminds us that adjectives mostly come before the noun, and adverbs of manner often follow the verb [or verb + object].

rb

Answers to Modals 1

1. come 2. have said 3. have taken 4. Would you [please] hand me that book? 5. Could I [please] borrow your wheelbarrow? 6. May I [please] have a cup of coffee? 7. closing 8. .... if I showed you.... 9. ....taking ..... 10. must not 11. must/have to 12. must/have to 13. ....did Tom have to...14. Did John have to ..... 15. ... don't have to..... 16. .... have had to .....17. ....has had to....
18. Don't you have to.... 19. .....had to ..... 20. .....doesn't have to.....

rb

Modals 1

Verb forms with modal auxiliaries. [Directions: Choose the correct completion.]

1. Mary can ---------- to the meeting. [comes, to come, come]
2. The children should ----------"thank you" when you gave them their gifts. [has said, to have said, have said]
3. I can't find the grocery list. Gail must ---------- it with her when she went out. [has taken, to have taken, have taken]

Making polite requests. [Directions: Change the sentences into polite requests using the words in parentheses]]

4. I want you to hand me that book. [would]
5. I want to borrow your wheelbarrow. [could]
6. I want to have a cup of coffee. [may]

Using would you mind. [ Directions: Using the verb in parentheses, fill in the blank either with if I + past tense or with the -ing form of the verb, as appropriate]

7. A] It's cold in here. Would you mind [close] ---------- the window? B] Not at all. I'd be glad to.
8. A] This story you wrote is really good. Would you mind [show] ---------it to my English teacher? B] Go right ahead. That'd be fine

9. A] Would you mind [take] ---------- the book to the library for me? B] Not all


Answers:
1. come 2. have said 3. have taken 4. Would you [please] hand me that book? 5. Could I [please] borrow your wheelbarrow? 6. May I [please] have a cup of coffee? 7. closing 8. .... if I showed you.... 9. ....taking ..... 10. must not 11. must/have to 12. must/have to 13. ....did Tom have to...14. Did John have to ..... 15. ... don't have to..... 16. .... have had to .....17. ....has had to....18. Don't you have to.... 19. .....had to ..... 20. .....doesn't have to.....


Must [not] and [do not] have to. [Directions: Chooses the correct completion according to meaning.

10. Soldiers ---------- disobey a superior officer. [ must/have to, must not, don't have to]
11. To stay alive, people ----------breathe oxygen. [must/have to, must not, don't have to]
12. To be a successful mountain climber, you ----------have a great deal of stamina. [must/have to, must not, don't have to]

Verb form review. have to [Directions: Complete the sentences with any appropriate form of have to. Include any words in parentheses]

13. Why [Tom] ---------- leave work early yesterday?
14. [John] ----------- buy a round-trip ticket when he went to Egypt?
15. I [not] ----------water the garden later today. Joe has agreed to do it for me.
16. I ----------write three term papers since the beginning of the semester.
17. Matt is nearsighted. He ----------wear glasses ever since he was ten yours old.
18. [you, no] ----------return these books to library today? Aren't they due?
19. Last night Jack ----------go to a meeting. [you]
20. Joan travels to the Soviet Union frequently. Luckily, she speaks Russian, so she [not]-------
rely on an i nterpreter when she's there.

rb

Basic Sentence Pattern 7

"Pattern 7: SVOA (Subject + Verb + Object + Adverbial]

Mr. Jensen set the cup on the table.

For most of the sentence patterns we have previously listed, an adverbial may accompany the verb but is not required. But pattern 7 is listed here as its own pattern because of the obligatory nature of the adverbial element. In this regard it is like pattern 3 except that pattern 3 involved be or intransitive verbs whereas pattern 7 contains transitive ones.

The determination of whether an adverbial is required or not of course depends on the verb. With some verbs, such as set, leaving the adverbral out makes the sentence sound ungrammatical as in an utterance such as *'We set the book.'

With other verbs, the sentence does not sound ungrammatical, but the meaning of the verb is significantly changed without the accompanying adverbial.

For example, consider what happens to the meaning of the verb kept in the sentence 'We kept the smelly dog outside' if the adverbial outside is removed from the sentence. Without the adverbial it sounds as if the point of the sentence is that we kept the dog (as opposed perhaps to selling it).

But the meaning of the verb in a sentence containing the adverbial outside relates to how we maintain the dog.

With pattern 7 we complete the list of the basic sentence patterns in English.

rb"

Basic Sentence Pattern 6

Pattern 6: SVOC (Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Objective Complement]

1] We considered Salvatore noteworthy. 2] The coach made their sister a manager.

Pattern 6 is much like pattern 2 except that in this case the complement describes or completes the direct object rather than the subject of the sentence. As with pattern 2, the complement may involve either an adjective or a noun (or pronoun).

Thus the adjective complement in the sentence "We considered Salvatore noteworthy" function like the predicate adjective complement in subpattern 2A ("The food is good').
And the noun complement in the sentence "The coach made their sister a manager" functions like the predicate nominative complement in subpattern 28 ("Our friend is a senator").

And even though the main verb of pattern 6, unlike the main verb of pattern 2, is a transitive rather than a linking verb, a linking verb is at least implied between the object and its complement.

This is suggested by the way many SVOC sentences,t hough not all, can be changed i n form to use a linking verb while preserving the same meaning. In the three sets o f sentences b elow, note how the SVOC sentence represented by each sentence A can be altered to render the B and C versions:

l. A. The voters elected him president. B. The voters elected him to be president.
2. A. He considered her brilliant. B. He considered her to be brilliant. C. He considered that she was brilliant.
3. A. I thought the caller you. B. I thought the caller to be you. C. I thought that the caller was you.

As pattern 6 is most commonly exemplified by an NP in the final position, we will restrict our attention to this form ofthe pattern. Pattern 6, like its predecessor pattern 5, has two NPs following the verb, as in the sentence "The basketball team chose Charlotte captain." But it differs from pattern 5 in three respects:

1. In pattern 6 the first of the two NPs is the direct object. In some sentences. If we eliminate the second NP, we are left with pattern 4, which contains only the direct object after the verb:
The basketball team chose Charlotte.
The second NP is called the objective complement, because it completes the direct object.

2. In pattern 6 both NPs following the verb have the same referent; that is, both Charlotte and captain refer to the same person.

3. In pattern 6, only the direct object can be made the subject of a passive verb. We can transform the pattern sentence into Charlotte was chosen captain but we cannot make the objective complement such a subject, for *Captain was chosen Charlotte makes no sense.

In the passive of pattern 6 the subject comes from the direct object of the active.
Example: Active: He appointed [DO]Ruth [OC]secretary. Passive: Ruth was appointed secretary.

Only a very small group of verbs can be used for pattern 6. Among them are name, choose, elect, appoint, designate, select, vote, make, declare, nominate
call, fancy, consider, imagine, think, believe, feel, keep, suppose, fnd, prove, label, judge.

rb

Basic Sentence Pattern 5

Pattern 5: SVOO (Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object]

The mother bought the girl a dress.

In pattern5 there are some important matters to be observed:

1. The verb of this pattern must be transitive.

2. We see two grammatical objects after the verb bought. These two objects are called, in order, the indirect and the direct object. If we omit the first one, the pattern becomes number 4 and dress is seen to be the direct object.

3. The indirect object may often be replaced by a prepositional phrase beginning with to or for, or occasionally with a different preposition.
Examples: a] He sold the student a ticket. b] He sold a ticket to the student. c] He built them a playpen. d] He built a playpen for them. e] He played me a game of chess. f] He played a game of chess with me. g] He asked her a question. h] He asked a question of her.

4. The verbs that can be used in pattern 5 are in a restricted group. Some of the common ones are give, make, find, tell, buy, write, send, ask, play, build, teach, assign, feed, offea throw, hand, pass, sell, pay.

5. A pattern 5 sentence may be transformed into the passive by making either the direct or the indirect object the subject ofthe passive verb: a] A dress was bought the girl by her mother. b] The girl was bought a dress by her mother.
In some cases, however, the passive transformation does not sound fully natural and seems to demand a preposition, as in a] The sergeant found the recruit a rifle. b] A rifle was found (for) the recruit by the sergeant.

6. The grammatical meaning of the indirect object is "beneficiary of the action of the verb-plus-direct-obj ect."

7. If the direct object is a pronoun, it must precede the other object, which is moved back within a prepositional phrase: a] The mother bought it for the girl. Not *The mother bought the girl it.
This movement occurs even if both objects in the sentence are pronouns: a]The mother bought it for her. Not *The mother boueht her it.

rb

Basic Sentence Pattern 4

"Pattern 4: SVO [Subject + Verb + Direct Object]

The girl bought a dress.

In pattern 4 the verb is transitive and is completed by a noun phrase, for which one can readily substitute him, her, it, or them. This noun phrase is called the direct object of the verb and has the grammatical meaning of 'undergoer of the action' or 'that affected by the verb.'

A direct object does not always experience any actual action. e.g. 'We heard the radio' in which 'the radio' is the direct object but does not experience any real action.

Normally the direct object is not the same person or thing as the subject. However, with two kinds of pronouns, the direct object does have the same referent as the subject.

One is the set of -self/-selves pronouns, generally known as the reflexive pronouns. These occur as direct object in sentences such as: e.g. i]She saw herself. iii]The lifeguards splashed themselves.

The other set consists of the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another, which function as direct objects in such sentences as: e.g. i]They found each other. ii] They fought one another.

Transitive/Intransitive verb:
Iv: She sang beautifully. Tv: She sang a beautiful folk song.
Iv only: The ship had vanished. Tv only: We enjoyed the party.

A transitive verb has two forms, which we call active and passive. The active form is the one that is followed by the direct object, which we have seen in pattern 4. From this active form we can make the passive form: e.g. Active: The chef cooked the meal. Passive: The meal was cooked [by the chef]

In this process there are four things to notice:
1. The object of the active form becomes the subject of the passive form. This is shown above
in the shift of meal.
2. The passive is made up of a form of the verb be plus a past participle, as was cooled.
3. The subject of the active verb may be made the object of the preposition by, or it may be suppressed.
4. In the passive, two grammatical meanings are shifted around. The performer of the action, chef, is now the object of the preposition, and the undergoer, meal, is the subject.

rb