The question about interpreting the grammar of the sentence ‘How do we make the stories within them come alive to a listening audience?’ involves understanding sentence structure and its components. Specifically, the user is curious whether this sentence follows the pattern of ‘make + O + C’ and why ‘come’ appears where it does. Let’s dive into the details of this sentence structure.
Breaking Down the Sentence: ‘make + O + C’
In this sentence, we have the verb ‘make,’ which often follows the structure ‘make + O + C’ (Object + Complement). Here, the object is ‘the stories within them,’ and the complement is ‘come alive.’ This fits the general structure of causative verbs, where the subject causes something to happen to the object.
The key here is that ‘make’ is being used as a causative verb, meaning the subject (we) is causing the object (the stories) to undergo a transformation (coming alive). The verb ‘come’ in this context functions as part of the complement, explaining how the stories are affected.
Why ‘come’ Appears in This Position
‘Come alive’ is a fixed expression that means to become lively or vivid. The structure ‘make + O + come alive’ follows a common pattern where ‘come’ does not act as the main verb but as part of the phrasal verb ‘come alive.’ Thus, ‘come’ is positioned after ‘make’ to form the complete idea of making the stories vibrant and engaging for the audience.
This usage is idiomatic and involves a transformation, not a literal action performed by the object itself. It is important to note that the causative verb ‘make’ is helping to trigger this transformation, which is why the verb ‘come’ follows in its usual idiomatic form.
Understanding the Grammar of Causative Verbs
Causative verbs like ‘make,’ ‘get,’ and ‘have’ are used to indicate that someone or something is causing an action to happen to the object. In the case of ‘make,’ it implies that the subject is influencing or causing the object to undergo a change or perform an action. In ‘make the stories come alive,’ the transformation of the stories is triggered by the subject.
In a broader grammatical sense, the sentence follows a structure where the verb ‘make’ is used causatively, and the complement ‘come alive’ adds meaning to the transformation caused by the subject.
Summary: Clarifying the Sentence Structure
To sum up, the sentence ‘How do we make the stories within them come alive to a listening audience?’ follows the ‘make + O + C’ structure, where the object (‘the stories’) undergoes a change or transformation. The verb ‘come’ in this sentence is part of the expression ‘come alive,’ describing the result of that transformation. Understanding causative verbs and their structure helps clarify why ‘come’ appears in its position in this sentence.


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