Ways of expressing the object.
The object is expressed by the following parts of speech:
1. A noun in the common case.
We ought to give him a present, too. (Mansfield)
2. A pronoun (personal in the objective case, possessive, defining, reflexive, demonstrative, indefinite).
C o k a n e. Our little discussion has given me quite an appetite.
T r e n c h. It has taken mine away. (Shaw)
“I must do my best for her,” thought Jolyon. (Galsworthy)
You ought to know all about statues and things. (Galsworthy)
What will you do with yourself? (Galsworthy)
“Who gave you that?” he asked. (Bennett)
...she’s alone in the world, and she must have someone to take care of her.
(Maugham)
Here we must mention the peculiar use of the pronoun it in the function of an object, similar to its use in the function of the subject. Sometimes the pronoun it is used as a real (notional) object.
She pulled out a cigarette and let it dangle between her lips unlighted.
(Wilson)
Она достала сигарету и держала ее во рту, не зажигая.
But sometimes it only introduces a real object expressed by an infinitive or gerundial phrase or by a subordinate clause. In this case it is a formal introductory object which is not translated into Russian. The formal it is characteristic of literary style and is mostly used after certain verbs followed by adjectives (sometimes nouns). Here belong such verbs as to think, to find, to consider, to make etc.
He found itimpossible to utter the next word. (Kahler)
Он почувствовал, что не может произнести больше ни одного слова.
Не made ita point to save so much every week. (London)
Он поставил себе целью каждую неделю откладывать определенную
сумму.
She made itclear from the beginning that she had come with Bing.
(Sanborn)
Она с самого начала ясно дала понять, что пришла с Бингом.
3. A substantivized adjective or participle.
June Forsyte always championed the unfortunate.
In old times nomadic tribes when moving to another place left the dying
behind.
4. An infinitive, an infinitive phrase, or an infinitive construction.
The sergeant ordered his men to stop.
When he saw someone come toward them, he avoided him neatly. (Sanborn)
The old woman held the child tight and waited for the storm to pass.
(Dickens)
5. A gerund, a gerundial phrase, or a gerundial construction.
Could they prevent flying in war-time? (Galsworthy)
I remember seeing you at the opening of the Transport workers summer club.
(Shaw)
I don’t like him going away with Lord Illingworth. (Wilde)
6. Any part of speech used as a quotation.
Through the door in the hall leading to the basement he called “Hsst!” several
times... (Galsworthy)
7. A prepositional phrase with a noun or a gerund.
Several times he had sought for a suitable opportunity to disclose his
exciting secret. (Bennett)
They all approved of his not being beaten by that cousin of his. (Galsworthy)
Do you object to my going away for a month?
Improving a husband! No. I shall insist upon my husband improving me,or
else we part. (Ch. Bronte)
8. A group of words which is one part of the sentence, i. e. a syntactically indivisible group.
But it was only Mrs. Bunting who asked for a pinch of salt.(Lindsay)
He found a number of personsin the Morse home. (London)
Kinds of objects.
There are three kinds of objects in English: the direct object, the indirect object, and the cognate object.
The direct object.
The direct object is used after transitive verbs with which it is closely connected as it denotes a person or thing directly affected by the action of the verb. It is used without any preposition.
Again I moved my headnegatively. (Braddon)
If we compare Russian and English we shall see that in English there are more verbs taking a direct object than in Russian. This is due to the loss of case inflexions in English, the result of which is that the old Accusative and Dative have assumed the same form.
Thus, if a transitive verb takes only one object expressed by a noun or pronoun without a preposition, it is always a direct object.
I help my brotherin his work.
Consequently very often the indirect object in Russian corresponds to the direct object in English.
I helped him.Я помогал ему.
I envied him.Я завидовал ему.
It should be kept in mind that sometimes the prepositional object in Russian also corresponds to the direct object in English.
Он сел на лошадь. Не mounted the horse.
Он играет в шахматы. Не plays chess.
There are a few English verbs which can have two direct objects.
I asked him his name.
Forgive me this question.
She taught them French.
The indirect object.
The indirect object denotes a living being to whom the action of the verb is directed. There are also cases when it denotes a thing.
There are two types of indirect object:
1. The indirect object of the first type, which expresses theaddressee of the action.
It is used with transitive verbs which take a direct object, so it hardly ever stands alone.
She gave him an interesting book to read.
Don’t forget to buy him a toy on his birthday.
He забудьте купить ему игрушку ко дню рождения.
C o m p a r e :
“I shall buy him,” said the slave-owner.
«Я его куплю», — сказал рабовладелец.
Thus, when translating into English such Russian sentences as дайте мне, покажите мне, a direct object must be introduced, otherwise the sentence either has no meaning at all, or its meaning is changed altogether.
N o t e. — There are three verbs which may take an indirect object without
any direct object. In this case the indirect object is used with the preposition
to. These verbs are: to read, to write, to sing.
When I was ill she often read to me.
Won’t you sing to me?
Write to me as often as you can.
There is, however, a tendency in Modern English to use no preposition with the verb to write.
Write me as often as you can.
As a rule the indirect object comes before the direct object. In this case it is used without a preposition.
Much upset and without hope now she sent Soames the telegram. (Galsworthy)
When the direct object precedes the indirect object, the latter is used chiefly with the preposition to and sometimes for. These prepositions make the indirect object more prominent.
Farrish was giving an interview to the correspondents. (Heym)
But sometimes we cannot change the order of words at will, namely when the direct object is a pronoun and the indirect object, a noun. In this case the indirect object follows the direct object.
I sent him to his mother.
When the direct object is expressed by the pronoun it, it always precedes the indirect object.
Give it to him.
In colloquial speech, when the indirect object is a pronoun, the preposition to is often not used: Give it him, b u t: Give it to Mary.
There are a number of verbs after which the indirect object is used with the preposition to even when it comes before the direct object. These are: to explain, to dictate, to suggest, to relate, to announce, to ascribe, to attribute, to communicate, to introduce, to submit, to repeat, to dedicate, to disclose, to interpret, to point out.
Sometimes in the privacy of his bedroom James would reveal to Emily the
real sufferingthat his son’s misfortune caused him. (Galsworthy)
I shall dictate to you the names of booksto be read for your examination.
He is not very bright, I attribute to his diligence the progresshe has made in
English in so short a time. The professor explained to us some obscure
passagesin Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet.
This order of words is mostly found when the direct object is modified by an extended attribute.
2. The indirect object of the second type, which is more frequently used with intransitive verbs than with transitive ones and which does not always express the addressee of the action.
An idea had occurred to Soames. (Galsworthy)
My childhood was passed with a grandmother. (Dickens)
I want to thank you for your kindness.
Here lies one of the points of its difference from the indirect object of the first type which is used with or without a preposition depending upon its place with regard to the direct object. The indirect object of the second type can be called the prepositional indirect object.So in the sentence She bought a piece of embroidery for me — for me is an indirect object, whereas in the sentence She did this piece of embroidery for me — for me is a prepositional indirect object. In contrast to the indirect object of the first type, which is used only with the preposition to and seldom for, the use of the prepositional indirect object is not confined to any definite set of prepositions. Thus it can be used with any preposition.
The prepositional indirect object is used not only with verbs but also with adjectives, words denoting state, and nouns of verbal origin.
I am uneasy about it.
She was not aware of his being there.
Her behaviour to her friendswas irreproachable.
It is difficult sometimes to distinguish between an attribute and a prepositional indirect object.
Yates’s mind was like a caldron in which boiled the general tension in town,
the expectation of getting to Yasha.(Heym)
The phrase of getting to Yasha can be treated both as an attribute and as a prepositional indirect object.
The complex object.
The direct and the prepositional indirect object may be simple and complex.
The complex object consists of two components, of which the second stands in predicate relation to the first. The two components form an indivisible unit and consequently must be regarded as one part of the sentence. The complex object can be non-prepositional and prepositional.
I observed Agnes turn pale. (Dickens)
Thus these two waited with impatience forthe three years to beover. (Buck)
The first component of the complex object is a noun in the common case or in the possessive case, a personal pronoun in the-objective case, or a possessive pronoun; the second is an infinitive, aparticiple, a gerund, seldom a noun, an adjective, a word denoting state, or a prepositional phrase.
He hated her to workin the boarding house. (Prichard)
On looking towards her again, I perceived herface clouded with
embarrassment.(E. Bronte)
He could see the man and Great Beaver talking together.(London)
She thinks herself very clever.
As he spoke, he felt himself unusually on edge.(Lindsay)
N o t e. — The group ‘object + objective predicative’ is very close to the
complex object, but the connection between its two elements is not close
enough to make them one part of the sentence; so while the complex object
can nearly always be extended into an object Clause; the direct object with its
objective predicative cannot.
E.g. He felt himself unusually on edge can be changed into He felt that he was
unusually on edge, but They left him alone cannot be changed in the same
way.
All the predicative constructions when used in the function of an object due to their structure form a complex object. Thus we have a complex object expressed by a participial construction, a gerundial construction, an Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction and a for-to-Infinitive Construction.
Dick found himself walkingin the direction of his friend Mike’s place.
(Lindsay)
His new duties had kept him occupied.(Douglas)
My lady assures him of his being worthno complaint from her. (Dickens)
“Well,” said Soames, “I want you to come outto the Stores, with me, and
after that we’ll go to the Park.” (Galsworthy)
The cognate object.
There is a special kind of object in English which has the following peculiarities.
1. It is used with intransitive verbs though it has no preposition.
2. It is expressed by a noun which is either of the same root as the verb or is similar to it in meaning.
3. It is almost regularly attended by an attribute with which it forms a combination that is close in meaning to an adverbial modifier: to live a happy life — to live happily.
The cognate object is generally used in such combinations as: to smile a sad smile, to laugh a bitter laugh, to die a violent death, etc.
But she died a dreadful death,poor soul... (Collins)
Но она погибла ужасной смертью, бедняжка...
That night the roused forces of Good and Evil fought their terrible fightfor
her soul... (Collins)
В эту ночь пробудившиеся силы Добра и Зла вели ожесточенную борьбу
за ее душу.
For the next four days he lived a simple and blameless lifeon thin captain’s
biscuits. (Jerome)
В течение последующих четырех дней он жил простой непорочной
жизнью и питался постными капитанскими сухарями.
THE ATTRIBUTE
§ 29. The attributeis a secondary part of the sentence which qualifies a noun, a pronoun, or any other part of speech that has anominal character.
An attribute can be either in pre-position or in post-position to the word it modifies.
What did she do with herself... in that littlehole? (Galsworthy)
Under a tree opposite Knightsbridge Barracks... he took out once more the
morocco, case. (Galsworthy)
As a result of the loss of inflexions, the attribute in English, as distinct from Russian, does not agree with the word it modifies in number, case, or gender. It may be expressed by almost any part of speech.