Ways of expressing the attribute.

In colloquial speech, when the indirect object is a pronoun, the preposition to is often not used: Give it him, but: Give it to Mary.

There are a number of verbs after which the indirect object is used with the preposition to even when it comes before the direct object. These are: to explain, to dictate, to suggest, to relate, to announce, to ascribe, to attribute, to communicate, to introduce, to submit, to repeat, to dedicate, to disclose, to interpret, to point out.

Sometimes in the privacy of his bedroom James would reveal to Emily the real suffering that his son's misfortune caused him. (Galsworthy)

I shall dictate to you the names of books to be read for your examination.

He is not very bright, I attribute to his diligence the progress he has made in English in so short a time.

The professor explained to us some obscure passages in Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

This order of words is mostly found when the direct object is modi­fied by an extended attribute.

2. The indirect object of the second type, which is more frequently used with intransitive verbs than with transitive ones and which does not always express the addressee of the action.

An idea had occurredto Soames. (Galsworthy)

My childhood was passedwith a grandmother. (Dickens)

I want to thank youfor your kindness.

Here lies one of the points of its difference from the indirect object of the first type which is used with or without a preposition depending upon its place with regard to the direct object. The indirect object of the second type can be called the prepositional indirect object. So in the sentence She bought a piece of embroidery for me — for me is an indirect object, whereas in the sentence She did this piece of embroidery for me —for me is a prepositional indirect object. In contrast to the indirect object of the first type, which is used only with the preposition to and seldom for_y the use of the prepositional indirect object is not confined to any definite set of prepositions. Thus it can be used with any preposition.

The prepositional indirect object is used not only with verbs but also with adjectives, words denoting state, and nouns of verbal origin.

I am uneasyabout it.

She was not awareof his being there.

Her behaviourtowards her friends was irreproachable.

§ 27. The complex object.

The direct and the prepositional indirect object may be simple and complex.

The complex object consists of two components, of which the second stands in predicate relation to the first. The two components form an indivisible unit and consequently must be regarded as one part of the sentence. The complex object can be non-prepositional and prepositional.

I observedAgnes turn pale. (Dickens)

Thus these two waited with impatiencefor the three years to be over. (Buck)

The first component of the complex object is a noun in the com­mon case or in the possessive case, a personal pronoun in the objective case, or a possessive pronoun; the second is an infinitive, a participle, a gerund, seldom a noun, an adjective, a word denoting state, or a prepositional phrase.

He hatedher to work in the boarding house. (Prichard)

On looking towards her again, I perceivedher face clouded with embarrassment. (E. ВгоШё)

He could seethe man and Great Beaver talking together. (London)

She thinksherself very clever.

As he spoke, he felt himselfunusually on edge. (Lindsay)

Note. The group 'object + objective predicative' is very close to the complex object, but the connection between its two elements is not close enough to make them one part of the sentence; so while the complex object can nearly always be extended into an object clause, the direct object with its objective predicative cannot.

E.g. He felt himself unusually on edge can be changed into He felt that he was unusually on edge, but They left him alone cannot be changed in the same way.

All the predicative constructions when used in the function of an object due to their structure form a complex object. Thus we have a complex object expressed by a participial construction, a gerundial construction, an Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction and a for-to-Infinitive Construction.

Dick foundhimself walking in the direction of his friend Mike's place. (Lindsay)

His new duties had kepthim occupied. (Douglas)

My lady assures himof his being worth no complaint from her. (Dickens)

"Well," said Soames, "I wantyou to come out to the Stores, with me, and after that we'll go to the Park." (Galsworthy)

§ 28. The cognate object.

There is a special kind of object in English which has the following peculiarities.

1. It is used with intransitive verbs though it has no preposition.

2. It is expressed by a noun which is either of the same root as the verb or is similar to it in meaning.

3. It is almost regularly attended by an attribute with which it forms a combination that is close in meaning to an adverbial modifier: to live a happy life — to live happily.

The cognate object is generally used in such combinations as: to smile a sad smile, to laugh a bitter laugh, to die a violent death, etc.

But shedied a dreadful death, poor soul... (Collins) - Но она погибла ужасной смертью, бедняжка...

That night the roused forces of Good and Evilfought their terrible fight for her soul... (Collins) — В эту ночь пробу­дившиеся силы Добра и Зла вели ожесточенную борьбу за ее душу.

For the next four days helived a simple and blameless life on thin captain's biscuits. (Jerome) — В течение последующих четырех дней он жил простой непорочной жизнью и питался постными капитанскими сухарями.

The Attribute

§ 29. Theattribute is a secondary part of the sentence which quali­fies a noun, a pronoun, or any other part of speech that has a nominal character.

An attribute can be either in pre-position or in post-position to the word it modifies.

What did she do with herself... inthat little hole? (Galsworthy)

Under a treeopposite Knightsbridge Barracks... he took out once more the morocco case. (Galsworthy)

As a result of the loss of inflexions, the attribute in English, as dis­tinct from Russian, does not agree with the word it modifies in number, case, or gender. It may be expressed by almost any part of speech.

It can be expressed by:

1. An adjective (the most common way of expressing an attri­bute).

Thisbig girl is very lazy.

I am speaking about thebig girl, not thelittle one.

He seems a verysilent, awkward, bashful lad. (Thackeray)

Meanwhile she was thegayest andmost admired woman. (Thackeray)

2. A pronoun (possessive, defining, demonstrative, interrogative, relative).

His shrewd, steady eyes had lost none of their clear shining. (Buck)

Each of these ladies held fans in their hands, and each, withsometouch of colour,some emphatic feather or brooch, testified to the solemnity of the opportunity. (Galsworthy)

 I looked at her — at her, and at none other, fromthat moment. (Collins)

James once went down to see for himselfwhat sort of place this was that they had come from. (Galsworthy)

 In that great London,what time had they to be sentimental? (Galsworthy)

It should be kept in mind that possessive pronouns are often not translated into Russian. On the other hand when translating from Rus­sian into English one should often insert possessive pronouns.

He extendedhis hand to me. — Он протянул мне руку. «Пойди вымой руки», — сказала мать. — "Go and washyourhands," said mother.

3. A numeral (cardinal or ordinal).

In his final examinations he wonsix distinctions... (Aldington)

Thesecond generation of Forsytes felt that he (Bosinney)  was not greatly to their credit. (Galsworthy)

4. A noun:

(a)In the common case. One of the marked features of the English language is the wide use of nouns in the common case as attributes in pre-position; in Russian nouns are never used as attributes in preposition.

I recognized him as Dougal Todd, thevillage painter and carpen­ter. (Cronin)— Я узнал Дугала Тодда, местногодеревенскогомаляра и плотника.

Не was pleased that the girl seemed impressed because it showedbusiness instinct. (Galsworthy) — Он был дово­лен, что на девушку это произвело впечатление, ибо это свидетельствовало о том, что у нее естькоммерческаяжилка.

Не wore a largestraw hat. — На нем была большаясоломен­ная шляпа.

As seen from the above examples the attributive nouns arerenderedin Russian either by nouns in the genitive case used inpost-position or by adjectives.

(b)In the genitive case. This kind of attribute is generally used in pre-position.

Her father's nerves would never stand the disclosure. (Galswor­thy) — Нервыее отца не выдержат этого известия.

However, an attribute expressed by the preposition of a noun in the genitive case is used in post-position (the so-called Absolute Genitive): this clever jokeof mother's; a bookof my brother's.

How could he go up to Oxford now, among all those chaps, those splendid friendsof Crum's? (Galsworthy)

In this case the noun modified is always used either with the in­definite article or with a demonstrative pronoun. The latter makes it emphatic.

The same construction may be used with possessive pronouns in their absolute form: a friendof mine; that pretty sisterof his.

5. A prepositional phrase.

To think that a manof his abilities would stoop to such a horrible trick as that! (Dreiser)

And the impressionsof six years are not got over in such a space of time. (Thackeray)

Very often in translating English of-phrases into Russian nouns in the genitive case without any preposition are used.

the captainof the ship — капитан корабля

a cupof tea — чашка чая

6. An adverb:

(a)In pre-position.

In Russian an attribute cannot be expressed by an adverb in pre­position. Consequently in translating these sentences into Russian we use adjectives: thethen secretary —тогдашний секретарь.

In the light ofafter events one cannot but sympathize with them. (Fox) — В светепоследующих событий им нельзя не сочувствовать.

(b)In post-position.

A voiceinside said, "Come in." — Голосиз комнаты сказал: «Войдите!»

The roomabove is large and light. — Комнатанаверху боль­шая и светлая.

The manthere is my brother. —Вон тот человек — мой брат. Will it be a stepon or a stepback? — Это будет шагвпередили шагназад?

The above examples show that in Russian an adverb can also be used as an attribute in post-position. However, not every English attributive adverb in post-position can be rendered by an adverb in Russian.

7. Participles 1 and II or a participial phrase.

The participle in the function of an attribute can be used in pre­position and in post-position. In the latter case it is mostly used with accompanying words.

On the opposite side of the road to the site of thedestroyedchurch is a fine avenue of old trees. (Abrahams)

It looks brighter over there. I think it is only apassing shower. (Du Maurier)

I was dazzled by the snowglittering on the tree tops. (Ch. Bronte)

8. A prepositional phrase or a prepositional construction with a gerund.

Sally hated the ideaof borrowing and living on credit. (Pri- chard)

The thoughtof having it copied again and again set him to smiling. (Shaw)

The idea ofits being barbarous to confine wild animals had probably never even occurred to his father for instance... (Galsworthy)

(For ways of translating the gerund see Chapter VIII, The Ger­und.)

9. An infinitive, an infinitive phrase, or an infinitive construction. The infinitive as an attribute is always used in post-position.

They must have more companionship, more opportunityto broaden their life. (Dreiser)

All right, go back to your office, you've got workto do. (Heym)

But it was not easy to carry out the resolutionnever to approach her. (Hardy)

This is an English articlefor you to translate into Russian by tomorrow.

10. Quotation groups.

These are generally rendered in Russian by means of the conjunc­tion как будто, точно and a clause which stands in post-position.

I don't like his "don't-talk-to-me-or-l'll-contradict-you" air. — Мне не нравится то, что у него такой вид, как будто он хочет сказать: «Не разговаривайте со мной, а то я буду вам пе­речить».

Не was being the boss again, using the it's-my-money-now-do- as-you're-told voice. (Wilson) — Он теперь снова был хозяином и говорил тоном, в котором слышалось: «Теперь деньги мои, делайте как вам велят».

§ 31. Anapposition is a special kind of attribute which is expressed by a noun (with or without accompanying words) which characterizes or explains the word modified by giving the person or thing another name. There are two kinds of apposition, theclose apposition and thelooseordetached apposition.