Can we say "Did you fix me that account?" Or should it be "Did you fix that account for me?" assuming something is wrong with the account. Account represents a computer based system user id.
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2"fix me" can get used for things like, "Would you fix me some eggs?" or "Could I fix you some breakfast?" But always in a sense of "to make" and usually used with food.– JimAug 26, 2012 at 7:08
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2 Answers
It is always
'Did you fix that account for me?'
More politely:
'Did you manage to fix that account?',
or
'Did you fix my account?'
if it is your own account.
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1Or even, "Is that account fixed yet?" or "Did that account ever get fixed?"– JimAug 26, 2012 at 7:04
Ditransitive constructions in English do seem to occur idiosyncratically (I can't avoid that word!) rather than predictably. English Ditransitive Verbs: Aspects of Theory ... - by Joybrato Mukherjee (some parts available online) gives a good analytical overview of prototypical to peripheral examples. Colleman and De Clerk ( http://benjamins.com/series/fol/15-2/art/02col.pdf ) also give a good and thorough treatment, including a table of 'Ditransitive verb classes in English and associated constructional subsenses'. (A list!)
There does seem to be a gradual increase in the number of verbs, and number of allowable direct objects, used in such structures. 'Pick me a bunch of flowers' seems more common nowadays. The multi-word verb variant "fix me up a" gives a lot of returns, with diverse object types, in a Google search. The expression 'led her a merry dance', surely involving a reduced prepositional phrase, has acquired a similar form as a ditransitive construction, and 'led them a wild goose chase' is becoming more common.
answered Aug 26, 2012 at 7:52
