Abstract: Verbs are the core of sentence structure. The transitivity of verbs in Chinese and English is different. Comparing Chinese and English languages ??can help us better understand the characteristics of Chinese verbs. This article mainly takes the verb "eat" as an example to analyze the transitivity of Chinese and English verbs. Keywords: eat transitive object

1. The relationship between verb and object

When mentioning the transitivity of verb, it is necessary to talk about the relationship between verb and object, and it is necessary to move the object Classification. The semantics of objects are very rich and can express various meanings. When Meng Cong (1987) compiled the "Verb Usage Dictionary", he divided noun objects into fourteen categories based on their syntactic changes and semantic characteristics. Huang Borong and Liao Xudong (2007) ) divides the semantic types of objects into three types. This article divides the object of "eat" into object object (the action or behavior is directly related to the thing, generally the word "ba" can be used to advance the noun), tool object (the object refers to the tool or material used by the action), and mode object (To be carried out in a certain way, generally you can use "use" to put the noun in front of the verb), place object (the action or behavior is somewhere or happens somewhere), source object (the object indicates the source of the action) and performer Object (the object is the sender or participant of the action or activity, the positions of the verb and the object can be reversed, the object becomes the subject but the meaning remains roughly the same).

2. The transitivity of “eat” in Chinese

“Eat” is a transitive verb in Chinese, with rich semantics. It can refer to putting food in your mouth for sucking or drinking. Chewing and swallowing, such as "eating" and "taking medicine"; it can also refer to living on people or things, such as "eating parents"; it can also refer to absorbing (liquid) and enduring hardship, such as "eating oil" and "suffering a loss"; and Often used in military affairs and chess, it refers to elimination, such as "eating a rook". "Eat" in the middle of the sentence and the following noun object form a semantic relationship between subject, object, method, place and source:

(1) Southerners like to eat rice, while northerners like to eat steamed buns.

(2) Grandma likes to eat big bowls.

(3) Eat in the canteen every day.

(4) He is a military general all year round and never eats small dishes.

(5) Rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, rely on the water to eat the water.

(6) One table feeds ten people.

In example (1), "rice" and "steamed buns" are the subjects of eating, and are used as subject objects. The action "eat" directly acts on the object "rice" and "steamed buns", so "rice" and "steamed buns" are "have eaten. The Chinese word "eat" has a wide scope. All edible foods, whether solid or liquid, can be paired with "eat" and used as the object of "eat". The "big bowl" in example (2) is the tool for "eating" and serves as the object of the tool. "Big bowl" is the tool on which the action "eat" relies. In Chinese, not all nouns can be used as the tool object of "eat", but only nouns for food containers, such as large bowls, small bowls, steel bowls, etc. In example (3), "canteen" is the place where "eat" is used as the local object. The action of "eating" occurs in the canteen, which means eating in the canteen. Similarly, not all nouns that refer to places can be used as the local object of "eat". Only nouns in places where food is supplied can be used as the local object of "eat". For example, you can say "eating canteen", "eating restaurant", etc., but But we cannot say "eat the school" or "eat the dormitory". Because "canteen" and "restaurant" are originally places that provide food, and the purpose of people going here is to eat, while "school" and "dormitory" are places for people to study and sleep, so they cannot be used as the local object of "eat". "Xiao Zao" in example (4) is the way of "eating" and is used as the object of manner. To eat in this way of "Xiao Zao" means to eat with Xiao Zao. Only nouns expressing the way of cooking can be used as the mode object of "eating", such as "eating small stir-fry", "eating big pot rice" and "eating in a group", but other nouns cannot. In example (5), "mountain" and "water" are the sources of "eat". They are used as source objects, which means living on the materials that mountains or water can produce. This type of source object generally refers to direct or indirect food sources. Nouns, such as "eating friends", "eating rent", etc. "Ten people" in Example (6) is the agent of "eat" in the sentence and serves as the agent object, meaning that ten people eat from one table. The agent object must contain a quantitative component, and the noun must refer to people. For example, "ten people", but not "ten mice on one table".

In addition to noun objects, "eat" in Chinese can also take adjective objects. Such as "suffering a loss", "eating hardship", etc.

3. The transitivity of "eat" in English

"Eat" in English can be used as both a transitive verb and an intransitive verb. When used as an intransitive verb, there is no object after it; when used as a transitive verb, it is followed by an object:

(7) I don't eat meat.

In example (7) "meat" is the object of "eat".

As the subject object, the English "eat" is far less semantically rich than the Chinese "eat". "Eat" can only take nouns that represent food as the subject object. It cannot take the agent, object, place, method, etc. like Chinese. If you want to express the object, place, method, etc. of "eating" in Chinese, you need to use the preposition "in/with/by" to express it, such as "eat something with a big bowel" (eat a big bowl) , "eat something in the canteen". English is a language that emphasizes object pronouns and voice. English verbs have clear voice. The active voice is used when the subject is acting, and the passive voice is used when the subject is passive. Therefore, there is no agentive relationship between the verb and the object in English. .

4. Conclusion

When the Chinese word "eat" has a noun object in the sentence, "eat" can be directly matched with food, or with a tool for holding food, or with Pair it with the way the food is prepared, where it comes from, etc. "Eat" in English can only take solid food nouns as objects.

Compared with English, the transitivity of "eat" in Chinese is more concise and economical. Nouns expressing things, methods, places, etc. are used as objects, eliminating the tedious use of prepositions to express.

References:

[1] Xu Jie. "Transitivity" characteristics and related four types of verbs [J]. Language Research, 2001,

(3).

[2] Meng Cong. Verb Usage Dictionary [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, 1987.

[3] Huang Borong, Liao Xudong. Modern Chinese [ M]. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2007.

(Lu Xingyan, Department of Pharmacy, Tongren Vocational College, Tongren, Guizhou 554300)