YAMATO2201
Senior Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2016
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Japanese
- Home Country
- Japan
- Current Location
- Japan
I'd like to know the grammatical structure of the following sentence:
He knows a lot about the town.
I have come up with the following three possibilities (a), (b), and (c):
(a)
"knows" is an intransitive verb.
"a lot" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows".
"about the town" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows a lot".
(b)
"knows" is a transitive verb.
"a lot" is a pronoun and is the direct object of the verb "knows".
"about the town" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows a lot".
(c)
"knows" is a transitive verb.
"a lot" is a pronoun.
"about the town" is the adjective phrase modifying "a lot".
"a lot about the town" is the direct object of the verb "knows".
Which is correct?
My answer is (c).
Please note:
(1) "A lot" as it is used as a pronoun can be found in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
(2) By an adjective phrase, I mean "a phrase functioning as an adjective". I use the term adverbial phrase in the same manner.
I welcome any comments, opinions, and suggestions from non-native English speakers as well as from native English speakers.
He knows a lot about the town.
I have come up with the following three possibilities (a), (b), and (c):
(a)
"knows" is an intransitive verb.
"a lot" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows".
"about the town" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows a lot".
(b)
"knows" is a transitive verb.
"a lot" is a pronoun and is the direct object of the verb "knows".
"about the town" is the adverbial phrase modifying "knows a lot".
(c)
"knows" is a transitive verb.
"a lot" is a pronoun.
"about the town" is the adjective phrase modifying "a lot".
"a lot about the town" is the direct object of the verb "knows".
Which is correct?
My answer is (c).
Please note:
(1) "A lot" as it is used as a pronoun can be found in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
(2) By an adjective phrase, I mean "a phrase functioning as an adjective". I use the term adverbial phrase in the same manner.
I welcome any comments, opinions, and suggestions from non-native English speakers as well as from native English speakers.
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