CHAPTER IX

THE VERB: CLASSES AND VOICE

Classes of Verbs

96. A verb is a word that declares something about the subject of the sentence. There are two classes of verbs, divided according to meaning: transitive or incomplete verbs, and intransitive or complete verbs.

97. Some verbs are incomplete in meaning unless they have an object in which the action is said to end. When you say,

(1) The soldiers await orders;

(2) The train carries passengers;

the verbs await and carries are incomplete in meaning until the objects orders and passengers are supplied. This completing object is known as the object complement. Such verbs are called transitive (Latin transire, to pass over) or incomplete.

A transitive or incomplete verb requires an object to complete its meaning. It cannot stand alone, without an object, as the predicate of a sentence.

98. Some verbs of themselves express the com. plete action asserted of the subject. When you say, (1) The train stands;

(2) The woman weeps;

the verbs stands and weeps completely express that which is asserted of the respective subjects, train and woman. Such verbs are called intransitive or complete.

An intransitive or complete verb requires no object to complete its meaning. It can stand alone, without an object, as the predicate of a sentence.

99. The copulatives are incomplete verbs, requiring a predicate instead of an object complement. The verb is is called the copula because it joins the subject to a predicate noun or to a predicate adjective; as,

1. John is strong.

2. He is a man.

A few other verbs are used in a similar way and are called copulative verbs. For instance, when you

say,

(1) The soldier looks brave;

(2) The man appears a gentleman;

the verbs are incomplete until the complements brave and gentleman are added.

The copulative verbs, become, seem, appear, feel, taste, smell, look, etc., require a predicate noun or adjective to complete their meaning. They cannot stand alone, without a predicate complement, as the predicate of a sentence.

100. Many verbs may be transitive or incomplete in one use, and intransitive or complete in another. A difference in meaning accompanies the change in

use.

Transitive or incomplete 1. He runs a train. 2. Boys fly their kites. 3. The boys roll hoops.

4. The gardener grows trees. 5. Then they appeared men.

Intransitive or complete

1. The train runs.

2. Birds fly.

3. The balls roll.

4. The tree grows.

5. Then the men appeared.

101. Some apparently complete verbs take an object complement which has a meaning kindred or cognate to the meaning of the verb; as,

1. The boy runs a race.

2. She sings a song.

Here belong also the expressions where the object complement has become absorbed in the copula or is used as a verb; as,

1. She masquerades it from She is a masquerader.

1. Classify the following verbs as transitive or incomplete, intransitive or complete, and copulative.

2. Write sentences illustrating the use of each verb.

i Set, lay, await, render, sell, aid, sleep, find, feel, keep, send, leave, seem, hunt, learn, come, flee, see, hear, smell, show, gather, blow, call.

Voice of Verbs

102. Voice is the property of the verb which shows whether the subject acts or suffers the action of the verb. There are therefore two voices, the

active voice which shows that the subject is acting; and the passive voice (Latin passus, suffer) which shows that the subject receives or suffers the action expressed by the verb.

103. The transitive or incomplete verb must always be followed by the object which suffers the action asserted of the subject. When you say,

The boy hurts the dog,

the subject boy is an agent; the verb hurts asserts an action of the subject or agent; and the object complement dog suffers the action performed by the agent. These three ideas, agent, action, sufferer, are always present with the transitive or incomplete verb. When the ideas are in this order, (1) subject (or agent), (2) verb (or action), (3) object (or sufferer), the verb is said to be active voice.

104. The order of the thought may be reversed. When you say,

The dog was hurt by the boy,

you have the same ideas as before, and the thought expressed by the sentence remains the same, but the word order has changed. The sufferer has become the subject and the agent is expressed by the phrase by the boy. In this order, (1) subject (or sufferer), (2) verb (or action), (3) agent, the verb is said to be passive voice.

105. Voice is therefore a matter of thought order and applies to transitive or incomplete verbs only. The intransitive or complete verb never has an object

complement naming the sufferer of the action. Its subject always names the agent, never the sufferer.

106. To form the passive voice of any verb, its past participle (§ 132 : 2) is used with the various forms of the verb be. This is the passive verb phrase;

as,

Active

1. I carry books.

Passive

1. Books are carried by me.

2. I asked him to carry books. 2. I asked that the book be

3. I have carried books.

carried by him.

3. Books have been carried by me.

107. A few intransitive or complete verbs may form a close union with a preposition and become transitive or incomplete; as,

1. We talked about novels.

2. She laughed at his picture.

In these sentences the preposition belongs in each case with the verb rather than with the noun. The noun is an object complement and may become the subject of the verb in the passive; that is, you may say,

1. Novels were talked about.

2. His picture was laughed at.

EXERCISE 17

In the following sentences tell whether the verb is active or passive; and where possible, give also the form of the voice not used here:

1. They also serve who only stand and wait.

2. The next train will leave at noon.