Re: Transitive/intransitive

From: Tom Breton (tehom_at_REMOVEpanNOSPAMix.com)
Date: 08/18/04 

Date: 18 Aug 2004 16:06:36 -0400

Joseph C Fineman <jcf@TheWorld.com> writes:

> kleinecke@astound.net (Kleinecke) writes:
>
> >There are VERY few verbs in English which are ALWAYS intransitive. I
> >remember being startled at a transitive usage of sleep (analogous to
> >the examples) in a novel I am reluctant to admit I ever read.
>
> No shame required. MWC10 gives as examples "to sleep away the hours",
> "to sleep off a drunk", and "the boat sleeps six".
>
> Neither of the verbs "to lie" has any transitive uses that I can think
> of.

They are difficult to find. I took it upon myself to dig up a few.

For "lie" as prevaricate:

    To lie one's head off / one's ass off.
    To lie a blue streak.

which simply use idioms that attach to verbs of communication or
demonstration.

    To lie a little / a lot / a ton / etc.
    "If you can lie a little bit" (a Kenny Rogers song)

which use measure phrases.

For more normal direct objects:

    "I Lie The Truth"
    (www.nutscape.com/ChrisButler/ilie.htm)

and the old joke about a chronically dishonest individual:

    "Hello", she lied.

For "lie" as recline, subject demotion/object promotion is fairly
common, and eclipsed everything else I looked for:

    "Here lies so-and-so"
    "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown"
    "Therein lies the rub" 

-- 
Tom Breton, the calm-eyed visionary

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Is the "lie - lay" distinction falling by the wayside?
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    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: open letter to the Google company, on the value of the scientific groups
    ... lay - laid - laid ... lie - lied - lied ... More confusion. ... BTW I forgot to mention that the paradigms are further confused by the loss-in-progress of the simple past of the strong verbs -- "I seen it" is probably more common than "I saw it" in demotic speech: mere assimilation of the strong verbs to the weak verbs. ...
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  • Re: CRIT: Battlefield Scene
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    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: CRIT: Battlefield Scene
    ... lie ahead. ... It's singular vs. plural. ... The lay/laid distinction is because there are two different verbs: ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Is the "lie - lay" distinction falling by the wayside?
    ... November lay in districts like Virginia's 11th ... order a dog "Lie down"? ... It's normal for derived verbs ... therefore likely to have more regular derived forms. ...
    (alt.usage.english)