Dative verb & relative clause
1) He had refused to give the boy his shirt (OK)
1-1) The boy that he had refused to give his shirt (??)
2) He had refused to give his shirt to the boy (OK)
2-1) The boy that he had refused to give his shirt to (OK)
'give' is a to dative verb
'the boy' is an indirect object and 'his shirt' is a direct object
So, is it possible to make a sentence like 1-1 ??
Top answer
Hoony So, is it possible to make a sentence like 1-1? That (and 2-1) is not a sentence. It's a (longish) noun phrase.
- Hoony So, is it possible to make a sentence like 1-1?
- That (and 2-1) is not a sentence.
- It's a (longish) noun phrase.
- No.
- You can't do that.
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HoonySo, is it possible to make a sentence like 1-1?
That (and 2-1) is not a sentence. It's a (longish) noun phrase.
No. You can't do that.
I can't find the thread, but about 12 years ago this discussion came up on the forum. I argued that a construction like 1-1 was possible. Nobody agreed with me. They all said it sounded ungrammati
0Hoony'give' is a to dative verb
I think you mean 'ditransitive'.
Present-day English does not have a 'dative' case -- it was lost in earlier stages of the language.
0Hoony1-1) The boy that he had refused to give his shirt (??)
'the boy' is an indirect object and 'his shirt' is a direct object
So, is it possible to make a sentence like 1-1 ??
The boy
0
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