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Some words are usable in multiple (and often confusing) grammatical ways
THE PROBLEM OF COMPLICATED GRAMMAR
A major concern of this blog is the kind of grammar that is found not in “grammars”, but in dictionaries. Grammars focus on wide-ranging features like verb tense usage; dictionaries on word-specific requirements like the complexities of whole. Traditionally, these respective kinds of grammatical description tended to be called “grammar” and “usage”; my preferred terms are “broad grammar” and “narrow grammar” (see the rationale for my grammar practice book).
Narrow English grammar has various features that can make it difficult to learn. One is words that behave differently from what might be expected from the behaviour of words like them (see 10. Words with Unexpected Grammar 1 and 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar). Another is words whose grammatical possibilities are so diverse as to be easily confused.
It is this second source of difficulty that the present post is concerned with. As the title indicates, other parts of this blog deal with it too (for a list, see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1). The approach is the same: in-depth consideration of the grammatical properties of a small number of problem words. This is a different kind of analysis from that in various Guinlist posts entitled Tricky Word Contrasts, where the focus is on meaning rather than grammar.
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PROBLEM WORDS
1. FACE
The verb FACE is mostly transitive (object-requiring). As such, it can express various meanings, of which the main ones might be illustrated and explained as follows:
(a) The cinema faces the hotel.
The message here is that the front of the cinema is directly opposite the nearby front of the hotel with nothing in between. FACE with this meaning is very unlikely to have the passive form: as with MARRY (see 201. Words with Complicated Grammar 1, #4) and ACCOMPANY, there is no problem keeping the verb active if the subject and object change places.
The expression of a permanent location is fairly typical of this use, but temporary ones are possible too, especially with a living subject, as in …turned and faced the crowd or …stand facing their headquarters.
(b) The economy faces an uphill struggle.
In this use, the object (an uphill struggle) represents a difficult future (see 316. Future Verbs without “Will” or “Shall”, #1). Faces might be paraphrased as “is going to suffer”. Surprisingly, this meaning of FACE is often able to be expressed as well with the passive form as with the active. However, the passive must be followed by with, not by: …is faced with an uphill struggle above (see 21. Active Verbs with Non-Active Meanings, #4).
(c) Unpleasant truths must be faced eventually.
Again, the object of FACE (here expressed as the subject of its passive form) refers to something unwelcome. FACE means “no longer avoid”, thereby conveying recognition and confrontation.
(d) Speakers will face detailed questioning.
The meaning here is close to “endure”. Other typical objects are severe consequences, a crisis, difficulties, opposition, problems and threats. Note also face the music, where the music metaphorically represents angry censure for having behaved in a proscribed way (see 241. Some Common Figurative Phrases).
In addition to these transitive uses, FACE has one notable intransitive one, usually in combination with towards…:
(e) The house faces towards the sea.
Towards suggests a large separating distance. Indeed, the noun after it may represent something too far away to be seen. If this noun represents a compass point, like (the) west, towards may be dropped, e.g. …faces (the) west. In this situation, including the makes FACE transitive again, but without it FACE remains intransitive: west alone is not an object but a directional adverb (see 151. Ways of Using Compass Words).
Finally, there is the phrasal-prepositional verb FACE UP TO. Its meaning is close to that of FACE in (c), but perhaps implies greater determination.
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2. FAIL
This verb sometimes means “not do”, sometimes “do unsuccessfully”. It also suggests that the doing is desired, so should not be used just as an alternative to not. It may go directly before a noun (an object), or a to verb (an infinitive), or be alone with nothing after:
(f) Failing an exam is not always a disaster.
(g) Hard work may fail to gain a reward.
(h) When persuasion failed, force was necessary.
A familiar object type after FAIL is a test of one kind or another, like an exam in (f). In such cases, FAIL means “do unsuccessfully”. In a related use, an examiner can fail someone by giving them a “fail” grade. Outside of testing contexts, however, a person who is failing someone is themself the unsuccessful one, their failure being to act at an expected level.
In one other object-requiring use, FAIL has a personal quality or ability as its subject and a human object, and it indicates non-achievement of the former by the latter. For example, Words failed X means X could not find suitable words to use. This possibility is the only object-using one that cannot be passive.
FAIL before an infinitive – to gain in (g) – normally means “not do (despite trying)”. The infinitive looks like an object of FAIL, but is arguably not one because of the tendency of FAIL with noun objects to mean “do unsuccessfully” rather than “not do” (see 302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive).
FAIL used alone, as in (h), often seems to imply either an object or an infinitive, both identifiable from the surrounding words or the speech situation. In (h), for example, an infinitive like to motivate is implied. When an object is implied, FAIL might be classified as what I have elsewhere called “object-dropping” (see 8. Object-Dropping Errors). When an infinitive is implied, FAIL might be called “infinitive-dropping”.
Infinitive-dropping verbs seem to be a subset of verbs that can combine with an infinitive, just as object-dropping ones are a subset of object-taking verbs. Consider this:
(i) Rain failed to fall in summer.
The fact that the infinitive to fall here can be dropped after failed further marks FAIL as infinitive-dropping. However, if tended replaces failed, dropping to fall would be ungrammatical, which suggests TEND is not infinitive-dropping. The same logic excludes LIKE, NEED and SEEM as infinitive-dropping and includes CEASE, CONTINUE, START, THREATEN and TRY.
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3. “Average”
This word may be a verb, noun or adjective. The verb AVERAGE is transitive (object-needing), its object often a number expression. If such an object follows a number-implying subject (figure, temperature, time etc.), as in the temperature averages 20 degrees, the verb cannot be passive, just like other measurement verbs (COST, LAST, MEASURE, WEIGH etc: see 113. Verbs that cannot be Passive). However, with other subjects, as in the following, the passive becomes possible:
(j) Walkers average 6 km/hour.
A further verb meaning is “find the average of”. The subject is likely to be a human or robotic calculator, the object a number-implying word:
(k) The software averages the values found.
The noun average often has a following of phrase specifying either the average (e.g. an average of 20 km) or its possessor (the average of the distances). Alternatively, the noun may follow the preposition on within a phrase typically located at the start of a sentence as a sentence-spanning adverbial:
(l) On average, humans live for 72 years.
The adjective average often accompanies a number-implying noun (the average speed, average temperatures). Where it does not, it is likely to mean “ordinary”:
(m) The service was average.
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4. “Instruction”
This noun has three main meanings: “teaching”, “command” and “direction”. The “teaching” use is uncountable – usable without special words before it, and not normally combined with an or -s. It generally means the same as the related -ing verb instructing, so that it can be considered an “action” noun (see 14. Action Outcomes):
(n) Instruction takes place in the mornings.
As with most action nouns, the recipients of instruction in this sense can be indicated with of, e.g. instruction of the trainees… (see 31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1). The content of the instruction is typically shown with in (…in safety procedures).
By contrast, instruction meaning “command” is always countable. The recipient is usually indicated with to, e.g. instructions to visitors…, while the instructed action is likely to be expressed with a verb in the to (infinitive) form (…to register their name).
The “direction” use of instruction is also countable. Directions are information about how to do something (see 128. Imperative Verbs in Formal Writing, #1). Instructions in this sense are not obeyed like the “command” kind, but rather followed. The recipient (often not indicated) can be shown with to or for, e.g. instructions to/for applicants…, while the target of the instruction is likely to follow for (…for completing the form).
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5. ADVISE
This verb is probably most familiar as a near-synonym of RECOMMEND (see 187. Advising and Recommending). The advice itself can take various forms:
– a directly-following that statement (…that action is taken)
– a directly-following -ing verb (…doing something)
– an “action” noun (…action)
– an object (representing the advisee) + infinitive (…you to do something: see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive, #3).
In all of these except that statements, negative advice can be shown by adding against (the infinitive in the last example becoming an -ing verb instead: …advise you against doing anything). In that statements after ADVISE, the verb can optionally be in the “subjunctive” mood (be taken above), just as verbs can after various other future-referring speech words (see 269. Exotic Grammar Structures 7, #7).
An alternative meaning of ADVISE is “inform”. This usually has the information receiver as its object, followed by either that (+ statement) or of (+ noun expression):
(o) We wish to advise passengers that service disruptions are likely next week (or of likely service disruptions next week).
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