(3)
(b) The earth is thirsty.
(c) The earth is dry.
In this example, (b) is metaphorical and (c) is nonmetaphorical. But they are of the same structure, namely, the same SVC pattern. In other words, the metaphorical sentence and the nonmetaphorical sentence are the same both in meaning and in structure. However, this kind of example seems to be few in English and Chinese. Sometimes even though the sentence patterns are the same, the structure may be analyzed differently. For instance:
(4)
(b) He is an eagle.
(c) He is brave.
In this example, the metaphorical sentence and the nonmetaphorical sentence are both expressed in SVC pattern. But we may still argue that the two sentences are different in structure because the Complement is realized by a noun phrase in (b) and by an adjective phrase in (c).
Moreover, some metaphorical sentences are difficult to recognize. They are often regarded as nonmetaphorical by common people, because they are used too frequently. However, logical analysis will show clearly that they are still metaphorical sentences. For example:
(5) The tourist season extends from May till October.
(6）我们一定要根除这种不良状况。
These two sentences are so common in English and Chinese that they are seldom considered as metaphorical by native speakers. However, they are really metaphorical if they are analyzed logically. The material verb process extend usually requires an extendable
physical entity such as a road or a river represented by the Subject. But sentence (5) does not satisfy this requirement and has a Subject denoting an abstract entity.Similarly,the verb 根除 should have an Object denoting plants, but sentence (6) does not meet the requirement. Therefore, the two sentences are in fact metaphorical sentences. One is represented by the Subject-verb transitivity system, the other is represented by the verb-Object transitivity system.
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