- I finished(tv) typing(O) the report.
- He finished(iv) with his typing work.
- I began(tv) teaching(O) in 1984.
- Shall we begin(iv) with a prayer?
Are my observations OK?
Note:
tv = transitive verb
iv = intransitive verb
O = object
Dozy,
Please help me.
Could anyone help me?
- I finished (tv) typing the report (O).
- He finished (tv) his typing work (O).
- I began (tv) teaching (O) in 1984.
- Shall we begin (tv) the function (O) with a prayer?
[Note: ‘Begin’ is both transitive and intransitive. The exam begins (iv) tomorrow.]
T_H_Lawrence,
- What time does school finish(iv)?
- She began(iv) to feel a sense of panic.
Are my observations in the above sentences OK?
What time does school finish? I don’t think this is good English. ‘What time does the school close? (iv)’ would be better.
The verb in 2 (begin), according to me, is transitive.
T_H_Lawrence,
- Sita usually eats(tv) whole-grain cereal(O).
- Sita always eats(iv) before leaving for school.
- In the spring, Raman will run(tv) his first marathon(O).
- Raman runs(iv) (daily[adv]) along the highway.
Are my observations in the above sentences OK?
- Sita usually eats(tv) whole-grain cereal [b]food/b.
- Sita always eats(tv) (something) before leaving for school.
- In the spring, Raman will run(iv) b[/b] his first marathon.
- Raman runs(iv) along the highway daily.
In 2 ‘something’ is implied; the verb ‘eat’ is always transitive.
Raman runs a motel on the highwayside (Here the verb is transitive)
Hello dear Teacher!
I am not a native speaker like YOU, but I always observe grammar rules and their practice in speech. In fact, I have no right to correct other’s writing since I have a large number of grammatical, stylistical and another type of mistakes in my own (oral or/and writing) speech. On the other hand, as Mr James M once said
“That’s what is so great about english-test.net. You can get the views of many people. Then it is your responsibility – and right – to make up your own mind.”
There’s no doubt what Mr James M said and I have arrived at a conclusion that If we correct our mistakes, we will definitely enhance our knowedge. That’s what I need —> If someone corrected every word I write, I would be very happy 
…
According to PRACTICAL ENGLISH USAGE we do not usually give our own opinions with according to. Compare:
According to Ann, her boyfriend is brilliant.
(=If what Ann says is true,…)
In my opinion, Ann’s boyfriend is an idiot (NOT According to me, …)
Native speakers, is Professor right about this? Can we not say “according to me”, in fact?
Hmm, not sure about some of this…
- “food” is not necessary (and actually seems a bit odd).
- If no object is specified then “eat” is intransitive.
- “for” is not correct (if you wanted to put a preposition there, the correct choice would be “in”).
It would not be used in formal English. Informally it may be used, but it has a certain nuance – maybe self-deprecating, humorous, deliberately colourful, or something else. It is not a neutral way of stating an opinion.
Dear Foreigner and Dozy
Thanks for the fruitful discussion. I think I had better eat my words about ‘eat’ which, as Dozy says, may function as intransitive in the absence of an object. So, Fathima is correct with her original.
As regards ‘for his first marathon’ I meant its successful completion as a merit, for the achievement of which one has to run.
A word about cereal food. Cereal is some sort of grain used for food. So I added the word ‘food’ to make it clearer. We say we eat vegetarian food, spicy food, cereal food, fruity food etc.
Now, coming to ‘according to me’ I must say this: A sentence containing ‘according to my opinion’ is usually set as a question for the identification/correction of the error. The students/candidates are advised to use either ‘according to me’ or ‘in my opinion’. As non native users of English we normally do not go beyond this, especially when we are more traditional than modern in grammar and usage. Nor are we aware of the nuances of all that we are taught. It’s great to know such formal usages in more detail. Thanks once again.
You can run “for” certain things in this sense; for example, you can “run for a place in the team” or “run for a medal”. However, for whatever reason, you can’t really “run for your first marathon”. At least, it sounds strange to me.
“cereal” in this case (presumably) means breakfast cereal or similar product. It is usual to call this simply “cereal”.
“What time does school finish?” is actually correct. “school” in this case refers to the normal daily schedule of lessons.
Even then, I think, any one of the following would have been more grammatical:
- What time does a school finish?
- What time does the school finish?
- What time do schools finish?
I have come late to this exchange of views but I have to query this:
To start with I can’t accept ‘more grammatical’. What time (or simply ‘when’) does school finish? is fine. It enquires about that time when ‘school’, meaning here that activity during which children receive education, ends
for the day. As soon as you add an article, you change the reference from general to specific. ‘School’ changes from being an activity to a place. You would therefore say: When does a school finish in France? Again, more specifically: When does the school in your road finish?.
Alan
It seems that the third is acceptable.
And yes, I meant it as a place rather than an activity. Thanks, Alan, for the semantic clarification.
If you mean the place (= building, institution) as opposed to the activity of lessons then you would have to say “close” rather than “finish”.
Dozy/Anglophile
- She held(tv) the railing(O) hard(adv).
- She held(iv) hard(adv) to the railing(O).
- She held(tv) to the railing(O) hard(adv).
Are these sentences OK grammatically?
Are my observations written within brackets correct or not?
- “tightly” seems a more likely word than “hard”. The parts of speech are correct.
2/3. These aren’t right. You cannot “hold to” something in this physical sense of holding; you can “hold on to” something, however.