Spring open

[joseph0928]

Hi,
One meaning of the word "spring" as a verb is "to be released suddenly from a constrained position".
I've found one sentence to be the example: The door sprang open.
In this case, if "open" is adj,
1. Is "sprang" in this case a linking verb so "open" is adj?
2. Or, there is "to be" omitted. The door sprang (to be ) open.
Or, "open" is adv for the verb "sprang" ?
Thank you

 

[MikeNewYork]

I don't consider "sprang" to be a linking verb. For me "sprang open" is a phrasal verb.

 

[Matthew Wai]

For me "sprang open" is a phrasal verb.

'Phrasal verbs are idiomatic expressions, combining verbs and prepositions .'── quoted from https://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/

Can 'verb + adjective' also be a phrasal verb?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Phrasal verbs can also be verb + adverb. Open is closer to an adverb here.

 

[Tdol]

I, personally, don't consider 'spring open' to be a phrasal verb.

Are you a purist on the definition?

 

[TheParser]

1. Is "sprang" in this case a linking verb so "open" is adj?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Joseph:

A great American grammarian seems to agree with you.

Dr. George Oliver Curme in his 1931 masterpiece A Grammar of the English Language (Volume II, page 37) gives this sentence:

""But, then, evening came, and the stars sprang alight." [He graciously gives credit for this sentence to one Sarah Gertrude Millin.]


He considers this to be an example of copula + adjective.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Perhaps "sprang" was a copula in 1931. It doesn't seem to be today.

 

[Tdol]

I am not greatly convinced that it is/was a copula verb. It strikes me as a lexical verb denoting the change, and rate of change, in the stars' appearance.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Withdrawn.

 

[MikeNewYork]

There is an undeniable action and a movement contained in the verb sprang. That by itself goes against a copular verb.

 

[Tdol]

So if a door slams shut, does that make slam a copular verb? I am still not convinced by the 1931 argument.

 

[TheParser]

I am still not convinced by the 1931 argument.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

The 1985 edition of Quirk et al.'s A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (pages 1171 -1172) discusses this topic in detail.


They first list a group of copular verbs ("be friendly," "smell sweet," "go sour," etc.).

They then say, "In addition to the copular verbs above, there are verbs which have this function with severe restrictions on the words occurring in the complement."

That's when they list "slam shut" and "spring open."

Interested parties should read it. It may help them settle the matter.

Quirk et al. are usually way over my head.

Dr. Curme's opinion is good enough for me.

P.S. I was shocked (shocked!) when I read their opinion earlier that "The kitchen is downstairs" = copular verb with adverbial complementation. Most books feel that "is" in such a sentence is a full verb meaning "to exist." It just proves that there are often two or more ways to analyze an English sentence. A fact that can be very confusing to conscientious learners.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I am also shocked by that analysis of "the kitchen is downstairs". In my opinion, that is just wrong.

 

[Tdol]

It just proves that there are often two or more ways to analyze an English sentence. A fact that can be very confusing to conscientious learners.

But also a source of endless interest. :up: