Chapter: SVOC Patterns (including Bare Infinitive)
Welcome! In this chapter, we are going to explore one of the most useful sentence patterns in English: SVOC. Have you ever wanted to say "This music makes me happy," or "We call our dog Pochi," or "I helped my brother clean his room"? These all use the SVOC pattern. Don't worry if these letters look like secret code right now—by the end of this guide, you will be able to build and understand these sentences with confidence!
Note: Related patterns like telling or wanting someone to do something using to-infinitives (such as "tell/want + object + to-infinitive") belong to another chapter in this section. Here, we focus purely on the SVOC pattern itself!
---1. What Does "SVOC" Mean?
Let's break down the four building blocks:
• S (Subject / 主語): The person or thing doing the action (e.g., I, We, The news, Music).
• V (Verb / 動詞): The action word (e.g., make, call, name, help).
• O (Object / 目的語): The person or thing that receives the action.
• C (Complement / 補語): The word that explains, describes, or completes the object!
The Golden Rule of SVOC: The "Equals" Sign (\(O = C\))
The magic trick to spotting an SVOC sentence is simple: look at the relationship between the Object (O) and the Complement (C).
In an SVOC sentence, there is always an equal or subject-verb relationship between them: \(O = C\) (Object = Complement) or O does C.
Let's see an example:
"The movie made her sad."
• S = The movie
• V = made
• O = her
• C = sad
Does \(O = C\) work? Yes! She was sad (\(\text{her} = \text{sad}\)).
Key Takeaway: Whenever you see an SVOC sentence, check whether the last two parts connect with an equal sign: \(O = C\)!
---2. Pattern 1: SVOC with a Noun as the Complement (Naming & Calling)
In this pattern, the complement (C) is a noun. We use this when we name someone or something, or when we call them a certain title or nickname.
Common Verbs: call and name
1. call + O + C ("call O C" / OをCと呼ぶ)
• "We call the cat Mike."
- S: We
- V: call
- O: the cat
- C: Mike (noun)
- Check: \(\text{the cat} = \text{Mike}\). That makes sense!
• "My friends call me Ken."
- S: My friends
- V: call
- O: me
- C: Ken
- Check: \(\text{me} = \text{Ken}\).
2. name + O + C ("name O C" / OをCと名づける)
• "They named their baby Emma."
- S: They
- V: named
- O: their baby
- C: Emma (noun)
- Check: \(\text{their baby} = \text{Emma}\).
Common Mistake to Avoid: Don't put "as" or "to be" between O and C here! In English, we simply place the two words side by side: call me Ken (NOT call me as Ken).
Key Takeaway: With verbs like call and name, the pattern is: Subject + Verb + Object (person/thing) + Noun (name/title).
---3. Pattern 2: SVOC with an Adjective as the Complement (Making & Keeping)
In this pattern, the complement (C) is an adjective (a word that describes a condition, feeling, or state, like happy, sad, excited, clean).
Common Verb: make ("make O C" / OをC（の状態）にする)
This is one of the most frequently used patterns in everyday English! It expresses how an event, a piece of news, music, or a person changes someone's feeling or state.
• "The good news made us happy."
- S: The good news
- V: made
- O: us
- C: happy (adjective)
- Check: \(\text{us} = \text{happy}\) (We became happy because of the news).
• "Playing soccer makes him excited."
- S: Playing soccer
- V: makes
- O: him
- C: excited
- Check: \(\text{him} = \text{excited}\).
• "We must keep our classroom clean."
- S: We
- V: keep
- O: our classroom
- C: clean
- Check: \(\text{our classroom} = \text{clean}\).
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Translate or Form "make + O + adjective"
1. Identify the cause (What causes the change?) \(\rightarrow\) This is your Subject (S).
2. Put the verb make (watch your tense: makes for third-person singular present, made for past).
3. Put the person or thing affected in the objective form (me, him, her, us, them) \(\rightarrow\) This is your Object (O).
4. Add the descriptive word (e.g., happy, angry, famous) \(\rightarrow\) This is your Complement (C).
Memory Trick: Think of make as an artist painting a color onto the object. The subject does the painting, the object receives it, and the adjective is the color it becomes!
Key Takeaway: make + O + adjective means "to cause O to become C."
---4. Pattern 3: SVOC with a Bare Infinitive (原形不定詞)
Now let's tackle something exciting: the bare infinitive (原形不定詞). Don't let the technical name scare you!
What is a "Bare Infinitive"?
You already know the to-infinitive (which is to + base form of a verb, like to run, to help).
A bare infinitive is simply the base form of the verb WITHOUT "to"! It is "bare" because it has stripped off its to jacket.
• To-infinitive: to wash
• Bare infinitive: wash (just the plain verb!)
SVOC with Bare Infinitive: Subject + Verb + Object + Plain Verb
In this pattern, the complement (C) is a verb in its base form. Here, the relationship between O and C is: O does C (the object performs the action).
Case A: help + O + bare infinitive ("help O do something" / Oが〜するのを手伝う・助ける)
• "I helped my father wash the car."
- S: I
- V: helped
- O: my father
- C: wash (bare infinitive—no "to"!)
- Relationship: My father washes the car. I helped him do it.
• "She helped me do my homework."
- S: She
- V: helped
- O: me
- C: do (bare infinitive)
- Relationship: I do my homework.
Case B: Causative make + O + bare infinitive ("make O do something" / Oに〜させる)
When make is followed by an object and a bare infinitive, it means to cause or make someone do an action.
• "The funny story made everyone laugh."
- S: The funny story
- V: made
- O: everyone
- C: laugh (bare infinitive)
- Relationship: Everyone laughs.
• "His mother made him clean his room."
- S: His mother
- V: made
- O: him
- C: clean (bare infinitive)
- Relationship: He cleans his room.
Case C: Verbs of Perception / Sensory Verbs (see, hear, etc.)
Verbs related to our senses (seeing, hearing) can also take an object followed by a bare infinitive to describe seeing or hearing someone do an entire action from start to finish.
• "I saw him cross the street."
- S: I
- V: saw
- O: him
- C: cross (bare infinitive)
- Meaning: I saw him perform the action of crossing the street.
• "We heard the birds sing in the tree."
- S: We
- V: heard
- O: the birds
- C: sing (bare infinitive)
- Meaning: We heard the birds sing.
Caution: Do NOT add -s or -ed or to to the complement verb, even if the subject is singular or the sentence is in the past tense! The verb in C must always stay in its base form (bare infinitive).
• Correct: I saw him cross the street.
• Incorrect: I saw him crossed the street.
• Incorrect: I saw him to cross the street.
Key Takeaway: With verbs like help, make, see, and hear in this pattern, the complement is a bare infinitive (plain verb with no "to"). The object (O) is the one doing that action!
---5. Quick Summary Table of SVOC Patterns
Review the different forms of the complement (C) at a glance:
1. Complement = Noun
• Pattern: call / name + O + Noun
• Meaning: "call/name O (Noun)"
• Example: "They named the dog Kuro." (\(\text{the dog} = \text{Kuro}\))
2. Complement = Adjective
• Pattern: make / keep + O + Adjective
• Meaning: "make/keep O (Adjective)"
• Example: "Soccer makes me happy." (\(\text{me} = \text{happy}\))
3. Complement = Bare Infinitive (Base Verb)
• Pattern: help / make / see / hear + O + Base Verb
• Meaning: "help O do / make O do / see O do"
• Example: "I helped Ken cook dinner." (\(\text{Ken cooks dinner}\))
• Example: "The joke made us laugh." (\(\text{We laughed}\))
6. Check Your Understanding! (Review Quiz)
Try these quick questions to see how well you understand the SVOC pattern. The answers and explanations are right below!
Question 1: Fill in the blank.
"His kind words made her ( )." [ happy / happily ]
Question 2: Put the words in the correct order to make a natural sentence.
( me / my sister / clean / helped / the living room ).
Question 3: Spot the error and correct it.
"I heard someone to knock on the door."
Answers & Explanations:
1. Answer: happy
Explanation: In the pattern make + O + C, the complement (C) must be an adjective describing the object. Happy is an adjective (\(\text{her} = \text{happy}\)), while happily is an adverb.
2. Answer: "My sister helped me clean the living room."
Explanation: Subject (My sister) + Verb (helped) + Object (me) + Bare Infinitive (clean) + Rest of the predicate (the living room).
3. Answer: Change to knock to knock.
Explanation: Sensory verbs like heard use a bare infinitive (base form without to) for the complement. The correct sentence is: "I heard someone knock on the door."
Great job! You now have a solid foundation in the SVOC sentence pattern and the bare infinitive. Practice using these structures in your own speaking and writing!