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

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

This pattern consists of a subject, a monotransitive verb, and a direct object.

• This is very deep and will need medical treatment. (Larkin 2020)
• Solar panels on this roof create energy. (Abbas 2019)
• They travel at high speeds, so they damage spacecraft. (O’Neill 2023)
• We have polluted air and water, strewn plastic and other trash on land and in oceans and rivers, and destroyed habitats for plants and animals. (Denning 2022)
• Sulfur gases can create acidic fog which we call 'vog', for 'volcanic fog'. (Johnson 2022)
• It can change their heart rate and blood pressure. (Temple 2020)
• When fires burn plants they are doing exactly the same thing our bodies do when we eat plants: they are releasing the energy stored in the plant. (Archibald 2021)

Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive. Such verbs are known as ergative verbs.

• How does education increase labour productivity? (Teal 2016) (SVO pattern: verb is transitive)
• It’s clear that temperatures will increase and precipitation will change. (Weatherhead 2021) (SV pattern: verbs are intransitive)
• We would write a song and just have to remember it. (Noreen 2015) (SVO pattern: verb is transitive)
• You write differently for your friends, your parents and your teacher. (Britt-Smith 2021) (SVA pattern: verb is intransitive)

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

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