Using two verbs together to add information about actions
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Overview | page 3 of 7 |
Two different types of double-verb structure
For teaching purposes it makes sense to focus on two main types of double-verb structure:
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Type 1: two aspects of a single action associated with one person |
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Type 2: two aspects of a single action associated with different people |
The following example illustrates the first type of double-verb structure:
He began stealing money from the coin box.
In this example, the writer can convey information about two aspects of a single action
which is associated with one person, the subject He 
. Note that there are two verbs used together:
He began stealing money from the coin box.
The first verb began provides important information about the main action steal - in this case, it tells us something about the timing.
The following example illustrates the second type of double-verb structure, ie two aspects of a single action associated with different people:
She started me laughing.
In this example there are two distinct aspects ("starting" and
"laughing"), and each aspect is associated with two different people: the
subject She and the direct object pronoun me . Note that in this example there are two verbs used together:
She started me laughing.
The first verb started has a direct object me, which is also the "doer" of the action represented by the second verb laughing. In double-verb constructions like this, the first verb usually has a causative meaning, ie such a sentence could be paraphrased as "she caused me to start laughing".
For further information about Type 1 structures, see 
Using two
verbs together to add information about actions: Kinds of information represented by
double-verb structures.
For further information about Type 2 structures, see Using two
verbs together to add information about actions: Adding information about the causes of
actions and events.
Introduction
Two different types of double-verb structure
