Double Verbs

Question

I know that English sentences use limitaed number of patterns.
I have learned the five basic English sentence patters.
S V
S V DO
S V IO DO
S V DO OC
S LV SC
I brought many grammar books and I found some sentenes are not following the patterns.
I see double Verbs and I am very confused by the sentences.
I asked my American friends but they cannot explain.
* Many people HAVE HELPED MAKE this book possile, and...
* Every section has an exercise group TO HELP MAKE SURE that you..

I am thinking it might be some kind of a hidden pronoun indirect object between the Verbs?

Maybe "HELP" is kind of a special or irregular verb?

Please HELP me understand.
Thank you!

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Help is a special kind of verb, called a catenative verb.
Catenative verbs can be followed by another verb or verb form: infinitive, gerund, or bare infinitive.
You can read about them here (see the section on "help" at the bottom of the page:

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_catenative_verbs

Note that help is a little special because the "to" as well as the direct object are optional:
I helped clean the house.
I helped to clean the house.
I helped mother clean the house.
I helped mother to clean the house.

English also has causative verbs which follow a similar pattern

My brother made me do it.
He let me drive his car.
The teacher allowed me to ask a question.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#causative_verbs

BillJ · Answer

I'd also take auxiliary verbs, including "have", to be catenative verbs:

"Many people [have helped make this book possible]".

In this example, "have" has the underlined past-participial clause as catenative complement. And "helped" is also a catenative verb with "make this book possible" as catenative complement. So you get a 'chain' of verbs, which is what 'catenative' means.

BillJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Hi BillJ;

Two questions:

1) Isn't have helped just the present perfect of help? Why wouldn't this be the same as:
Many people help make this book better.

If "have" is catenative, then I suppose the verb "be" and all the modal auxiliaries are also catenative.

2) I have an aside on vocabulary related to verbs:
What type of verb is sell and pass in this usage:

He sells plums for $5 per kilo.
Plums sell for $5 per kilo.

Congress passed the law today.
The law passed today.

The object can also be the subject, and the voice does not change to passive.
Does this pattern have a name?
Are there any other verbs in this class?

BillJ · Answer

AlpheccaStars1) Isn't have helped just the present perfect of help? Why wouldn't this be the same as:Many people help make this book better. If "have" is catenative, then I suppose the verb "be" and all the modal auxiliaries are also catenative.

Hello AS

Yes, it is the present perfect. Traditionally "have helped" has been taken as a constituent (and commonly called 'the verb’). There was a lot of argument about this in the 70s, and many have come round to the view that the auxiliary verbs are special cases of catenative verbs. This is a BIG topic, and I'd hesitate before attempting to set out here the arguments about catenative vs dependent-auxiliary analysis.

"Many people help make this book better" is also a catenative construction with "help" as a catenative verb and "make this book better" as catenative complement. Here, both verbs are lexical ones whereas in the perfect example one verb, "have", is an auxiliary.

All the auxiliaries (including "be" and the modals), when used as markers of tense, aspect, mood or voice are catenative verbs.

AlpheccaStars2) I have an aside on vocabulary related to verbs:What type of verb is sell and pass in this usage:He sells plums for $5 per kilo.Plums sell for $5 per kilo.Congress passed the law today.The law passed today.The object can also be the subject, and the voice does not change to passive. Does this pattern have a name?Are there any other verbs in this class?

But the voice does change to passive. In your second example, "passed" is a transitive verb. Past-participial clauses that lack the be marker are still passives, more specifically 'bare passives'. They normally figure as complement of a verb or as in your example modifier in an NP:

"The law passed today ..." (modifier in NP)

The underlined past-participial clause is a bare passive - it modifies the noun "law". It is essentially equivalent to the finite relative clause "which was passed today" where the passive interpretation is more obvious.

There are a vast number of verbs - too many to list here - that can enter into this kind of construction.

BillJ

Tanit · Answer

AlpheccaStars2) I have an aside on vocabulary related to verbs:
What type of verb is sell and pass in this usage:
He sells plums for $5 per kilo.
Plums sell for $5 per kilo.
Congress passed the law today.
The law passed today.
The object can also be the subject, and the voice does not change to passive.
Does this pattern have a name?Are there any other verbs in this class?

Hi,

Ergative verbs (at least, that's what I was taught).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_verbs#Ergative_verbs
http://arts-ccr-002.bham.ac.uk/ccr/patgram/ch07.html

Here's a link to an old discussion:

Such technicalities are beyond my understanding

, but maybe you'll find the thread useful (or, at least, some posts like Clive's one).

AlpheccaStars · Answer

BillJBut the voice does change to passive.

I suppose my example was not entirely clear.

In the Senate, the bill passed by a margin of 34 votes.

To me, "passed" is not a participle, it is the simple past tense.

The passive would be this:
The bill was passed by the Senate by a margin of 34 votes

And the participle:
The bill passed by the Senate was approved by a margin of 34 votes.

Does this make sense?

BillJ · Answer

Verbs like "pass" have 'dual-transitivity', by virtue of their ability to be used both transitively and intransitively. There are a great number of them - such verbs greatly outnumber those that are restricted to just one or other of the two constructions.

AlpheccaStarsIn the Senate, the bill passed by a margin of 34 votes. To me, "passed" is not a participle, it is the simple past tense.

Yes, "passed" is a simple past tense form here.

AlpheccaStarsThe passive would be this: The bill was passed by the Senate by a margin of 34 votes

Yes, it's the passive. "Passed" is a past participle here. It heads the passive past-participial clause "passed by the Senate by a margin of 34 votes".

AlpheccaStarsAnd the participle: The bill passed by the Senate was approved by a margin of 34 votes.

This is a 'bare passive' construction, the kind without the be or get markers, with a past-participial clause headed by "passed" whose function is modifier in the NP "The bill passed by the Senate". It's equivalent to the be-passive relative clause "The bill which was passed by the Senate".

Past-participial clauses as noun modifiers are always passive.

BillJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Thanks, BillJ;

"Dual-transitivity" is the term what I was after.

A-

s

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI know that English sentences use limited number of patterns. I have learned the five basic English sentence patterns.

That English has five sentence patterns is a vastly oversimplified statement. There are many more than that if you choose to include all these extra cases that have what you call "double verbs". There are four different patterns with "double verbs" alone.

With a full infinitive. I want to read that new book.
With a bare infinitive. I helped find the lost key.
With an -ing form. I remember seeing that movie.
With an -en form. My brother got fired.

And another four that have an intervening element between the two verbs.

With a full infinitive. I expect Robert to arrive at 8.
With a bare infinitive. They made him apologize for his behavior.
With an ing form. The police caught the the boys stealing the paintings.
With an -en form. They had the old carpet removed.

By no means all verbs can take all eight patterns. You have to learn which verbs go with each pattern.

CJ

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