Verbs which can take an object or a prepositional phrase

3.56 There is a small group of verbs which can be followed by either an object or a prepositional phrase. The verb 'fight' is one of these verbs, so that, for example, you can say 'He fought the enemy' or 'He fought against the enemy'.

The Polish Army fought the Germans for nearly five weeks.

He was fighting against history.

The New Zealand rugby team played South Africa's Springboks.

In his youth, Thomas had played against Glamorgan.

3.57 There is usually little difference in meaning between using the verb on its own and following it with a preposition. For example, there is very little difference in meaning between 'brush' and 'brush against', 'gnaw' and 'gnaw at', and 'hiss' and 'hiss at' in the following examples.

Her arm brushed my cheek.

Something brushed against the back of the shelter.

Rabbits often gnaw the woodwork of they cages.

Insects had been gnawing at the wood.

They hissed the Mayor at the ceremony.

Frederica hissed at him.

3.58 Here is a list of verbs which can be used with a direct object or a prepositional phrase, with little difference in meaning:

boo (at) brush (against) check (on) distinguish (between) enter (for) fight (against) fight (with) gain (in)

gnaw (at) hiss (at) infiltrate (into) jeer (at) juggle (with) mock (at) mourn (for) nibble (at)

play (against) rule (over) sip (at) sniff (at) tug (at) twiddle (with)

verbs of movement 3.59 Many of the verbs which can take an object or a prepositional phrase are verbs such as 'wander' and 'cross' which describe physical movement. The preposition is one which indicates place, and so allows you to emphasize the physical position of the subject in relation to the object.

He wandered the hills in his spare time.

He wandered through the streets of New York.

I crossed the Mississippi.

The car had crossed over the river to Long Island.

We climbed the mountain.

I climbed up the tree.

Here is a list of verbs which describe movement, and the prepositions that can follow them:

chase (after) climb (up) cross (over)

jump (over) leap (over) roam (over)

roam (through) skirt (round) walk (through)

wander (through)

Changing your focus by changing the subject: ergative verbs

3.60 Some verbs allow you to describe an action from the point of view of the performer of the action or from the point of view of something which is affected by the action. This means that the same verb can be used transitively, followed by the object, or intransitively, without the original performer being mentioned.

In the first example below, 'the door' is the object of the verb 'opened', but in the second example 'the door' is the subject of 'opened' and there is no mention of who opened the door.

When I opened the door, there was Laverne.

Suddenly the door opened.

An explosion shook the rooms.

The whole room shook.

Note that the object of the transitive verb, which is the subject of the intransitive verb, usually refers to a thing, not a person.

Verbs which can have the same thing as their object, when transitive, or their subject, when intransitive, are called ergative verbs. For many students of English, the ergative verb is a new idea, and may take a little time to learn. However, it is an important type of verb, as the common examples below make clear. There are several hundred ergative verbs in regular use in current English.

3.61 Many ergative verbs describe events which involve a change from one state to another.

He was slowing his pace.

She was aware that the aircraft's taxiing pace had slowed.

I shattered the glass.

Wine bottles had shattered all over the pavement.

He should have closed the beaches.

The street markets have closed.

The Director of the Budget has changed his title but not his authority.

Over the next few months their work pattern changed.

The driver stopped the car.

A big car stopped.

3.62 Here is a list of ergative verbs which describe events which involve a change of some kind:

age begin bend bleach break burn burst change close

continue crack darken decrease diminish disperse double drown dry

empty end fade finish grow improve increase open quicken

rot shatter shrink shut slow split spread start suck

stop stretch tear thicken widen worsen

3.63 There are many other ergative verbs which relate specifically to certain areas of meaning. For example, there are a number which relate to food and cooking, others which describe physical movement, and others which involve a vehicle as the object of the transitive verb or the subject the intransitive verb.

I've boiled an egg.

The porridge is boiling.

I'm cooking spaghetti.

The rice is cooking.

The birds turned their heads sharply at the sound.

Vorster's head turned.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

Her head rested on the edge of the table.

She had crashed the car twice.

Pollock's car crashed into a clump of trees.

3.64 Here is a list of verbs relating to food, physical movement, and vehicles:

bake boil cook defrost fry melt roast

simmer thicken ~ balance drop move rest

rock shake spin stand steady swing turn

~ back crash drive fly park reverse

run sail

restrictions on ergative subjects 3.65 Note that some verbs are used ergatively with one or two nouns only. For example, you can say 'He fired a gun' or 'The gun fired'. You can also say 'He fired a bullet', but you would not normally say 'The bullet fired'.

I rang the bell.

The bell rang.

A car was sounding its horn.

A horn sounded in the night.

He had caught his sleeve on a splinter of wood.

The hat caught on a bolt and tore.

3.66 Here is a list of verbs which can be used ergatively with the noun, or kind of noun, that is given:

catch (an article of clothing) fire (a gun, rifle, pistol) play (music)

ring (a bell, the alarm) show (an emotion such as fear, anger) sound (a horn, the alarm)

ergative verbs which need adjuncts 3.67 There are a small number of ergative verbs which usually have an adverb of other adjunct when they are used intransitively. This is because you choose this structure when you want to emphasize how something behaves when affected in some way, and so the person who does the action is not important.

I like the new Range Rover. It handles beautifully.

Wool washes well if you treat it carefully.

Here is a list of ergative verbs which usually have an adjunct when they are used intransitively:

clean freeze

handle mark

polish sell

stain wash

comparison of passive voice and ergative use 3.68 Note that ergative verbs perform a similar function to the passive because they allow you to avoid mentioning who or what does the action. For example, you could say 'Jane froze a lot of peas from the garden'. If you were not interested in who froze them but in what she froze, you could say 'A lot of peas were frozen', using the passive voice. If you were interested in how they froze, you could say 'The peas from garden froze really well', making use of the fact that the verb is ergative.

For information about the passive, see 10.8 to 10.24.