We agreed that the proposal was a good one.

Question

Hi,We agreed that the proposal was a good one.Please what is the function of the abive noun clause?Is it a direct object? But, isn't the verb 'agree' intransitive?Is it an appositive?Thanks a lot.

BillJ · Accepted Answer

No, it's not a direct object, or an appositive. It's actually called a content clause, and in your example it functions as complement to the verb "agreed".

Two points:

(i) appositives are noun phrases, not clauses, e.g. "My friend the mayor is attending the function".
(ii) the verb "agree" can be used transitively, e.g. "They agreed a price for the car".

BillJ

CalifJim · Answer

BillJThey agreed a price for the car

Off-topic parenthetical observation. This must be BrE. I've never heard it here (AmE).

CJ

Big dream · Answer

BillJNo, it's not a direct object, or an appositive. It's actually called a content clause, and in your example it functions as complement to the verb "agreed".

I don't understand what do you mean by complement of the verb. I know two types of complements: subject comlement and object complement, but, I think neither of them is the function of the clause.

BillJ(i) appositives are noun phrases, not clauses, e.g. "My friend the mayor is attending the function".

According to many grammar sites, one of the many functions of the noun clause is as an appositive.
Here is an example: http://www.english.ucalgary.ca/grammar/course/sentence/2_3c.htm

Thanks.

BillJ · Answer

CalifJimBillJThey agreed a price for the car Off-topic parenthetical observation. This must be BrE. I've never heard it here (AmE).

What a pointless post, CJ. And that part of my reply not off-topic. The OP asked if the verb "agree" was intransitive, and I gave an example of it being used transitively. A similar example is also cited in the Oxford dictionary - a pretty authoritative source, don't you think?

BillJ

BillJ · Answer

big dreamBillJNo, it's not a direct object, or an appositive. It's actually called a content clause, and in your example it functions as complement to the verb "agreed". I don't understand what do you mean by complement of the verb. I know two types of complements: subject comlement and object complement, but, I think neither of them is the function of the clause.

Definition of complement: `A syntactic element seen as completing the construction of another element’ (the syntactic concept construction is preferable to the semantic concept meaning). More specifically, it applies to elements which are within the valency of a verb or other lexical unit. And the meaning of 'valency’: 'The range of syntactic elements either required or specifically permitted by a verb or other lexical unit’.

Objects are just one type of complement. The content clause in your example is not an object, but a subordinate clause functioning as a clausal complement. Declarative content clauses (sometimes wrongly called that-clauses or noun clauses) almost always function as complements, often of verbs but of other items as well:

[1] The thought that we might get killed never entered our minds. (complement of noun "thought")
[2] This made me glad that I stayed at home. (complement of adjective "glad")
[3] I was lucky in that the other candidates were useless. (complement of preposition "in")

big dreamBillJ(i) appositives are noun phrases, not clauses, e.g. "My friend the mayor is attending the function".According to many grammar sites, one of the many functions of the noun clause is as an appositive.Here is an example: http://www.english.ucalgary.ca/grammar/course/sentence/2_3c.htm

I wouldn't take too much notice of some websites; their grammar is often way out of date, and frequently wrong. The specific one that you cited makes a jaw-droppingly stupid error by saying that the clause "that oppose me" in "I hate those that oppose me" is an appositive clause when it's clearly a relative clause!

BillJ

CalifJim · Answer

BillJWhat a pointless post, CJ.

I see you're your usual cheery self today!

BillJAnd that part of my reply [was] not off-topic.

I didn't say it was, and you would have known that if you were paying attention. You know, not everything anyone says is an attack on you.

The "off-topic" remark was mine. You call it pointless; I call it merely off-topic. In any case I believe it's at least somewhat useful for students to hear occasional remarks about the difference between British and American English.

CJ

RandomGuy · Answer

I have a pointless remark of my own: as a speaker of AmE, I would certainly say They agreed on a price for the car.

CalifJim · Answer

Aspara GusI have a pointless remark of my own: as a speaker of AmE, I would certainly say They agreed on a price for the car.

Same here. Merriam-Webster has this entry under 'agree - transitive':

chiefly British : to settle on by common consent : arrange <agreed rental terms with him — Eric Bennett>

CJ

BillJ · Answer

CalifJimI didn't say it was, and you would have known that if you were paying attention. You know, not everything anyone says is an attack on you. The "off-topic" remark was mine. You call it pointless; I call it merely off-topic. In any case I believe it's at least somewhat useful for students to hear occasional remarks about the difference between British and American English.

If only you had put a colon after the word "observation", CJ, the real meaning of your post would have been clear! It just goes to show how the omission of a simple little punctuation mark can cause unfortunate ambiguities. My apologies for not spotting that and hence going off half-cocked.

I just checked the stats and they show that in BrE the transitive "agree a price" has a slight edge over the intransitive "agree on a price", but in AmE, the former hardly registers on the scale at all. I'll make a careful note of that for future reference.

BillJ

CalifJim · Answer

BillJIf only you had put a colon after the word "observation", CJ, the real meaning of your post would have been clear!

Oof! I really thought I had used the colon there.

CJ

We agreed that the proposal was a good one.

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