Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, Free University of Berlin (Anglistics), course: Seminar Verb classes and alternations, language: English, abstract: [...] “This work is guided by the assumption that the behaviour of verb, particularly with respect to the expression and interpretation of its arguments, is to a large extent determined by its meaning.” (Levin 1993) [Levin tries to develop a system which enables the speaker to determine the behaviour of a verb by its meaning] Levin points out that a native speaker is able to make subtle judgements about the syntactic behaviour of a verb. She hypothesises that it is the meaning of the verb which enables the speaker to make such judgements about a verb’s syntactic behaviour. //In particular, the ability of a verb to exist in certain syntactic frames or constructions (see examples below) is sensitive to certain components of meaning. The book aims to establish the relevant components of meaning, and thereby classify the English verbs into classes of shared behaviour and meaning. Levin (1993:.. following ... 1987) uses the verb “gally” - a nearly obsolete whaling term little-known to native speakers - to illustrate this relationship between a verb’s meaning and its syntactic behaviour. [...]

In this rich reference work, Beth Levin classifies over 3,000 English verbs according to shared meaning and behavior. Levin starts with the hypothesis that a verb's meaning influences its syntactic behavior and develops it into a powerful tool for studying the English verb lexicon. She shows how identifying verbs with similar syntactic behavior provides an effective means of distinguishing semantically coherent verb classes, and isolates these classes by examining verb behavior with respect to a wide range of syntactic alternations that reflect verb meaning. The first part of the book sets out alternate ways in which verbs can express their arguments. The second presents classes of verbs that share a kernel of meaning and explores in detail the behavior of each class, drawing on the alternations in the first part. Levin's discussion of each class and alternation includes lists of relevant verbs, illustrative examples, comments on noteworthy properties, and bibliographic references. The result is an original, systematic picture of the organization of the verb inventory. Easy to use, English Verb Classes and Alternations sets the stage for further explorations of the interface between lexical semantics and syntax. It will prove indispensable for theoretical and computational linguists, psycholinguists, cognitive scientists, lexicographers, and teachers of English as a second language.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,0, University of Cologne (Institut für Englische Sprache und ihre Didaktik), course: Introduction to Syntax - Proseminar Linguistics, language: English, abstract: There are many English sentences in which the subject is omitted (most of all imperative sentences like ‘Sit down’) – but it is impossible to leave out the predicate in an English sentence. This predicate can contain several complement stuctures, a direct and an indirect object and adverbs – but it must contain a verb. The category verb can be sperated into the following types: • Transitive Verbs • Intransitive Verbs • Ditransitive Verbs • Copulas (Linking Verbs) and • Complex Transitive Verbs According to these types some verbs require a direct object, others may allow one; some verbs require two objects – a direct and an indirect one; other verbs can be followed by adjectives and some have to be connected to adverbs. It is very important to distinguish between these different categories. The type of verb of course has implications for the rest of the verb but also for the subject. In active sentences patient subjects, which are subjects that are acted upon, always take Intransitive Verbs; agent subjects can have both verb types and instrument subjects, which are acting on something else, need to co-occur with Transitive Verbs in order to show what they are acting on.