The formal object it

§ 78. Some verbs cannot take an infinitive object or a clausal object. In this case the formal object it precedes the notional object. It is called introductory (or anticipatory) it. The sentence thus has two objects, the formal object it and a notional object, which is an infinitive or a clause. The formal object it may be either a direct object, or an indirect non-recipient object.

1. As a direct object it occurs after the verbs to take, to like, to find, to understand, to learn and some others.

Is she to take it that everything is О.К.?

I understand it that you are my wife’s brother.

We found it difficult to talk to him.

2. As an indirect non-recipient object it occurs after certain verbs which take objects with obligatory prepositions: to count (on), to depend (on), to hear (of), to insist (on), to object (to) and some others.

He objected to it that they should be taken to the island too.

§ 79. There is another use of it as о formal object: it can be attached to transitive or intransitive verbs to convey a very vague idea of some kind of an object.

I was angry. I made him take the present away. An hour later he returned and we made it up.

We therefore decided that we would sleep out on fine nights, and hotel it, and inn it, and pub it, when it

was wet.

The cognate object

§ 80. The verbs that most frequently take a cognate object are:

to live (a life), to smile (a smile), to laugh (a laugh), to die (a death), to sigh (a sigh), to sleep (a sleep), to

dream (a dream), to run (a race), to fight (a, fight,, a battle).

He died the death of a hero.

Here she stopped and sighed a heavy sigh.

One must live one's own life, you know.

The cognate object is always used with words modifying it, never alone:

the death of a hero, a heavy sigh, one’s own life, etc.

to die the death of a hero = to die like a hero;

to sigh a heavy sigh = to sigh heavily, etc.

Semantically cognate objects characterize the action expressed by the predicate-verb. Nevertheless they are considered to be objects, not adverbial modifiers, because:

a) they are expressed by nouns without prepositions, which is not characteristic of adverbials;

b) they may occur in the position of the subject of a passiveconstruction.

He never doubted that life should be lived as he lived.