Grammar for a Gift-giving Season

2023-12-15

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1
  • We are entering a major gift-giving season in the United States.
  • 2
  • People purchase goods and services for their loved ones, friends, coworkers, and others.
  • 3
  • But how do we talk about giving gifts? How do we use subjects, verbs, and objects to describe gift giving?
  • 4
  • Those questions will be the subject of today's Everyday Grammar.
  • 5
  • Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
  • 6
  • In a recent Everyday Grammar lesson, we explored questions about gifts - asking what others might want in terms of a gift.
  • 7
  • In today's lesson, we will talk about statements we might make after we purchase the gift.
  • 8
  • Before we continue with the lesson, we need to identify the key elements of a sentence.
  • 9
  • The simplest way to divide a sentence is into two parts: the subject and the predicate.
  • 10
  • The subject is generally a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.
  • 11
  • The predicate, on the other hand, says something about the subject.
  • 12
  • The predicate contains a verb, objects, indirect objects, and so on.
  • 13
  • Now that we have our basic building blocks of language, we should explore how to put them together.
  • 14
  • We will start with the predicate. Why? Because the predicate is central to today's lesson.
  • 15
  • The language we use in the predicate to describe a gift purchase often falls into a simple pattern: transitive verb + noun phrase 1+noun phrase 2.
  • 16
  • A transitive verb is one that takes a direct object.
  • 17
  • A direct object is the receiver of the verb's action.
  • 18
  • So, in the pattern we just learned about, we can say that the transitive verb takes a noun phrase that acts like the direct object.
  • 19
  • Finally, we might have a second noun phrase that acts like the indirect object - the person who receives the direct object.
  • 20
  • Please note that the direct object does not always appear directly next to the verb, as we will see.
  • 21
  • Some examples will clarify this explanation.
  • 22
  • When we talk about gift giving, we often use three transitive verbs: get, buy, and give.
  • 23
  • The direct object is the gift. The indirect object is the person receiving the gift.
  • 24
  • So, let's imagine we have a friend named Mary.
  • 25
  • We might say the following about Mary's gift-giving decision:
  • 26
  • Mary got her son a book.
  • 27
  • In our example, the subject is Mary. The predicate is "got her son a book."
  • 28
  • The direct object is "a book."
  • 29
  • What did Mary get? She got a book.
  • 30
  • Who is going to receive the book? Her son. In this case, "her son" is the indirect object.
  • 31
  • So, in the sentence "Mary got her son a book," we can say that the structure is subject + transitive verb + noun phrase 1 + noun phrase 2.
  • 32
  • Here are two other examples. Let's use the transitive verbs "buy" and "give":
  • 33
  • Jonathan bought his mother a sweater.
  • 34
  • Felicia gave her friend a painting.
  • 35
  • All of these examples are in their past forms. But we can also use these verbs in other forms as well.
  • 36
  • Let's take some time to work with these ideas.
  • 37
  • Create a sentence using the following elements:
  • 38
  • The subject is "My father."
  • 39
  • The predicate consists of the verb "get," the noun phrase "a vase," and the noun phrase "my mother."
  • 40
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
  • 41
  • Here is one possible answer:
  • 42
  • My father got my mother a vase.
  • 43
  • The order of the sentence is subject + transitive verb + indirect object + direct object.
  • 44
  • Today we explored one pattern we often use to describe gift giving. To be clear: we use other patterns as well.
  • 45
  • One of these makes use of the prepositions "to" and "for." But that will have to be the subject of a future lesson.
  • 46
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 1
  • We are entering a major gift-giving season in the United States. People purchase goods and services for their loved ones, friends, coworkers, and others.
  • 2
  • But how do we talk about giving gifts? How do we use subjects, verbs, and objects to describe gift giving?
  • 3
  • Those questions will be the subject of today's Everyday Grammar.
  • 4
  • Let's start with some important terms and ideas.
  • 5
  • Elements
  • 6
  • In a recent Everyday Grammar lesson, we explored questions about gifts - asking what others might want in terms of a gift.
  • 7
  • In today's lesson, we will talk about statements we might make after we purchase the gift.
  • 8
  • Before we continue with the lesson, we need to identify the key elements of a sentence.
  • 9
  • The simplest way to divide a sentence is into two parts: the subject and the predicate.
  • 10
  • The subject is generally a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun.
  • 11
  • The predicate, on the other hand, says something about the subject. The predicate contains a verb, objects, indirect objects, and so on.
  • 12
  • Now that we have our basic building blocks of language, we should explore how to put them together.
  • 13
  • Putting elements together
  • 14
  • We will start with the predicate. Why? Because the predicate is central to today's lesson.
  • 15
  • The language we use in the predicate to describe a gift purchase often falls into a simple pattern: transitive verb + noun phrase 1+noun phrase 2.
  • 16
  • A transitive verb is one that takes a direct object. A direct object is the receiver of the verb's action.
  • 17
  • So, in the pattern we just learned about, we can say that the transitive verb takes a noun phrase that acts like the direct object.
  • 18
  • Finally, we might have a second noun phrase that acts like the indirect object - the person who receives the direct object.
  • 19
  • Please note that the direct object does not always appear directly next to the verb, as we will see.
  • 20
  • Some examples will clarify this explanation.
  • 21
  • Examples
  • 22
  • When we talk about gift giving, we often use three transitive verbs: get, buy, and give.
  • 23
  • The direct object is the gift. The indirect object is the person receiving the gift.
  • 24
  • So, let's imagine we have a friend named Mary. We might say the following about Mary's gift-giving decision:
  • 25
  • Mary got her son a book.
  • 26
  • In our example, the subject is Mary. The predicate is "got her son a book."
  • 27
  • The direct object is "a book." What did Mary get? She got a book. Who is going to receive the book? Her son. In this case, "her son" is the indirect object.
  • 28
  • So, in the sentence "Mary got her son a book," we can say that the structure is subject + transitive verb + noun phrase 1 + noun phrase 2.
  • 29
  • Here are two other examples. Let's use the transitive verbs "buy" and "give":
  • 30
  • Jonathan bought his mother a sweater.
  • 31
  • Felicia gave her friend a painting.
  • 32
  • All of these examples are in their past forms. But we can also use these verbs in other forms as well.
  • 33
  • Practice
  • 34
  • Let's take some time to work with these ideas. Create a sentence using the following elements:
  • 35
  • The subject is "My father."
  • 36
  • The predicate consists of the verb "get," the noun phrase "a vase," and the noun phrase "my mother."
  • 37
  • Pause the audio to consider your answer.
  • 38
  • Here is one possible answer:
  • 39
  • My father got my mother a vase.
  • 40
  • The order of the sentence is subject + transitive verb + indirect object + direct object.
  • 41
  • Closing thoughts
  • 42
  • Today we explored one pattern we often use to describe gift giving. To be clear: we use other patterns as well.
  • 43
  • One of these makes use of the prepositions "to" and "for." But that will have to be the subject of a future lesson.
  • 44
  • I'm John Russell.
  • 45
  • John Russell wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
  • 46
  • _____________________________________________
  • 47
  • Words in This Story
  • 48
  • predicate - n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject
  • 49
  • pattern - n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens
  • 50
  • phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence
  • 51
  • vase - n. a container that is used for holding flowers or for decoration