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The movie “Born Yesterday,” released in 1993, is a remake of a film originally released in 1950. It tells the story of Harry, a wealthy and powerful figure in the steel industry, who attempts to make his unsophisticated but cute fiancée more cultured by providing her with private tutoring. The English title “Born Yesterday” suggests someone who is naïve or ignorant, which reflects the character of Billie, the protagonist, who is an innocent woman.

However, as Billie starts to see the world for what it is, thanks to Harry’s intentions, she ends up rejecting Harry’s corruption and twisted lifestyle. Becoming smarter doesn’t just mean acquiring more knowledge; it means becoming wiser. Here is a piece of dialogue where Billie confronts Harry:

The sentence “do somebody a favor” simply lines up two nouns ‘somebody’ and ‘a favor’ right after a verb. A direct translation of this constructed sentence into Korean would be incomprehensible without particles. However, in an English sentence, by just listing two nouns after a certain verb, the first noun is interpreted as ‘to someone’ and the second noun as ‘something,’ without the need for complex particles. In English grammar, such awkward expressions are classified as ditransitive (or four-form) sentences, where the noun placed first is interpreted as the indirect object ‘to someone,’ and the noun that comes after is taken as the direct object ‘something.’

Although this expression itself is simple, if the words maintain their respective positions, it resolves our questions of ‘Who?’ and ‘What?’ at once, according to the structure we define as (Who + What) + [Where + Why + How + When].

Not all verbs can be used in such expressions. Let’s examine a few important verbs that are frequently used in expressions like this:

Give-type verbs: Ditransitive Verbs

Ditransitive verbs are capable of taking two objects: an indirect object (usually the recipient) and a direct object (the thing being given, shown, sent, etc.). These verbs can often involve a notion of giving or transferring something from the subject to the indirect object. For instance, in English, the phrase “buy me a book” suggests the act of purchasing and then giving the book to ‘me’. Similarly, “do me a favor” can conceptually be understood as “perform a favor for me”. These examples illustrate how the structure and meaning of ditransitive verbs are utilized to convey actions involving two objects within a single sentence.

The verb “do” can be used to express the action of doing something for someone, such as ‘to do something for someone’. Other verbs like Buy, Send, Tell, Teach, and Get can also create expressions that mean performing an action for someone. The verb Get primarily means ‘to obtain’ or ‘to have’. However, it’s used so universally that it’s almost like a magic verb with no place where it can’t be applied. Get implies the meaning of making oneself or someone else reach a certain state. If there is no specified object in the English expression, it might be interpreted as if [~self] is implicitly omitted, suggesting an action done by or for oneself.

MR. ALBERT OSBORNE: “Why don’t you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?” translates to “How about you take off that wet coat and have a dry martini?” <THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR, 1942>

For instance, in the phrase “you get out of that wet coat” from the sentence above, one could imagine that “yourself” is omitted after “Get out.” Thus, it could be interpreted similarly to “get yourself out of.”

The phrase ‘I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse,’ made famous by Al Pacino’s portrayal of Michael Corleone, signifies Michael’s rise to power within the family’s criminal empire. This line is delivered with confidence when Michael addresses the situation with Moe Greene, a rival gangster who has turned down the Corleones’ bid to buy out his casino. In line with the foreboding promise of the quote, Greene’s refusal ultimately leads to his demise, and the casino comes under the control of the Corleone family.

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse” – The Godfather 1972

This iconic quote has its roots with Michael’s father, Don Vito Corleone, and recurs in various forms throughout the original movie and its sequels, The Godfather: Part II and The Godfather: Part III.

The origin of the quote is traced back to a scene where a desperate Fontane seeks help from his godfather, Don Vito. With reassurance, Corleone tells him, ‘I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.’ This scene sets the stage for one of the movie’s most shocking moments—the discovery of a racehorse’s head in a movie producer’s bed—ensuring Fontane’s cinematic success. The legacy of this chilling proposition is thus established as a cornerstone of the Corleone family’s method of negotiation.

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“Make” is a verb meaning to create, build, or produce something. However, as shown in the example above, it can also be used in expressions implying making and giving something to someone. Here, “an offer he can’t refuse” implies a threat of death. It suggests that there is no stronger proposition than the threat of death.

Verbs + Prepositions for ‘to give something to someone’

Not all verbs are this straightforward. To directly address ‘Who’ and ‘What’ as in the order of syntax in Korean, some verbs require something akin to Korean particles. Prepositions serve a similar function to these particles. Some intransitive verbs can take objects with the help of prepositions, as already explained. Likewise, there are verbs not typically classified as ditransitive that can, with the use of a preposition, express ‘to give something to someone.’

For instance, verbs like remind, inform, and convince can be accompanied by the preposition of to enable the expression “to make someone aware of something.” If we slightly modify and rewrite the syntactic structure, it looks like this:

S + V + (Who + <preposition + What>) + [Where + Why + How + When]

Peter: “You remind me of someone, it’s probably you.” – While You Were Sleeping, 1995)

While verbs like remind, inform, and convince take an indirect object using the preposition “of,” there are verbs that prefer the preposition “with.” Verbs such as present, provide, furnish, and supply can be used with “with” to express the idea of “to give something to someone.

Ron Steigler: “I’ll provide you with the very best ghost-writer, proof-readers…” – Being there)