Clause Pattern: Subject – Verb – Direct Object – Object Predicative
(SVO_d P_o )

Understanding the construction and use of the subject – verb – direct object - object predicative clause pattern

This pattern consists of a subject, a complex transitive verb, a direct object and an object predicative.

The object predicative gives information about the object and may be a noun phrase, an adjective phrase, or (rarely) a wh-clause.

• They find such explanations exciting. (Satterley 2020)
• Grains like rice, wheat and corn make civilisation possible. (Bohra and Varshney 2023)
• It is important to keep the wound clean, damp and covered to help it heal quicker . (Parker, Edwards, and Finlayson 2019)
• This is another adaptation to keep them warm. (Younger 2019)
• In a nutshell, music puts us in a better mood which makes us better at studying – but it also distracts us, which makes us worse at studying. (Byron 2019)     (info)
• When we’re sleeping, our bodies and brains are still working to keep us healthy and happy. (Agostini 2019)
• Over 75% of participants consider it good or very good. (Rosell-Aguilar 2018)
• We need to remember that Nauru wasn’t always like this. We helped make it what it is today. (Kanngieser 2018)

Test your understanding of this Subject – Verb – Direct Object – Object Predicative
(SVO_d P_o ) pattern Go to the (SVO_d P_o) exercise page.

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