Lecture 4

INFINITIVE
COMPLEMENTS
Similarities and differences between
THAT-complements and infinitive
complements

SIMILARITIES:
1) They are part of the same class (they are both
complement clauses)
I told her [that she should be more careful in the future.]
I told her [to be more careful in the future.]

2.) They can both be extraposed

It is important [that you should know what you need.]
It is important [for you to know what you need.]
 Similarities
3. they can be topicalized:
[That you love her] is something wonderful.
[To love her] is something really wonderful.

4. they can be subject to clause shift:

She wished with all her heart that every man in the universe should stay away
from her.
She wished with all her heart to be left alone by every man in the universe.
*She wished that every man in the universe should stay away from her with all
her heart.
* She wished to be left alone by every man in the universe with all her heart.
 Differences

While THAT-complements belong to finite mood structures,
Infinitive complements are non-finite mood structures

Finite moods: the indicative, the conditional, the subjunctive (moduri
personale)

Non-finite moods: the infinitive, the gerund, the participle (moduri
nepersonale)

Non-finite structures do not have temporal features (to go, going does
not express an event anchored in a certain time)

BUT! They have aspectual features:

The infinitive has 4 tenses:

- present: to leave
- perfect: to have left
- progressive: to be leaving
- perfect progressive: to have been leaving
 Classification of Infinitives
Three criteria of classification:

Form

Split/unsplit

Expression of the logical subject
 Classification according to…
a) Form: - long (full) infinitive: They told her to leave.
- short (bare) infinitive: They saw her leave.
- Verbs which require bare infinitive:
- Modal verbs: He can come any time.

She must leave at once.

- Make, let, have (= cause), help (optional):

He made her smile.

He let her go.
He helped her climb the stairs.
He had her clear the table.
- Verbs of physical perception: see, hear, watch

They watched him cry.

I saw her cross the street.
We heard him come in.
 Classification according to…
b) Whether an adverb appears between to and the
infinitive:
- unsplit:
She often likes to look at the paintings.
The girl seemed always to be in half-mourning.
- split:
She likes to often look at the paintings.
Ask Peter to kindly make me a sandwich.
 Classification according to…
c) The way in which the logical subject of the infinitive is treated
(there is no syntactical subject)
1. Infinitives where the logical subject is not lexically overt
(PRO-TO inf.):
Harry tried [PRO to leave.] – it is in fact Harry that
performs the action expressed by the infinitive;
- the Subject ‘Harry’ controls PRO (the logical covert
subject)
2. Infinitives where the logical subject is lexically expressed in
the form of a prepositional phrase introduced by the
preposition FOR (FOR-TO inf.)
It is important [FOR him to come back home.]
FOR him – logical subject (the agent) gets its Accusative case
from the prep. FOR
3. The Accusative + Infinitive construction: where the logical
subject of the inf. is in the accusative and required by the main
clause verb wherefrom it gets its case
I believe him to be a good linguist.
- the DO of the main clause verb (him) is in fact the logical
subject of the infinitive
- the pronoun him gets the Accusative from the verb believe,
but it is the agent of the verb phrase to be a good linguist

4. The Nominative + Infinitive construction: where the syntactic

subject in the main clause is in fact the logical subject of the
infinitive
He appears to be a good linguist.
He seems to be a good linguist.
- the subject is not the agent of the main clause verb (we
cannot infer: he appears and he seems; but infer: he is a good
linguist.)
- the subject he is in fact related to the infinitive verb, not to
the indicative one
 Criterion of classification
How the subject of the infinitive clause is
expressed (how case is assigned to the
subject)?
a) It is introduced by FOR
b) It is introduced by PRO
c) It becomes the Subject of the main clause
d) It becomes the Object of the main clause
 Control constructions
FOR-TO constructions PRO-TO constructions

- control constructions
- free distribution (not required by a certain class of verbs in the
main clause)
- can hold the same syntactic function
Subject: PRO to err is human, PRO to forgive is divine./ It is
important for him not to err.
Object: He tried PRO to persuade her of his innocence. /I
hoped for him to be there in time.
Adjunct: He bought a new house PRO to please his nagging
wife. / He stepped aside for her to enter.
- they have subjunctive paraphrase (irrealis future):
It is important that he should not err.
He hoped that he should be there in time.
He stepped aside that he should enter.
 Raising Constructions
Nominative + Infinitive Accusative + Infinitive

- both of them borrow items from the main clause to round up

their meaning;
- lexically governed: they appear only with certain main clause
verbs (want, seem, hate, appear)
- indicative paraphrase
I believe him to be a good linguist. / I believe that he is a
good linguist.
He appears to be a good linguist. / It appears that he is a
good linguist.
Tom seems to be honest./ It seems that Tom is honest.
He happened to be here. / He happened that he was here.
 Classification of infinitive
complements
1. FOR-TO constructions

I arranged [for him to live with my parents for a
while.] complementizer overt lexical subject different from the main
clause subject (‘I’)

2. PRO-TO constructions

I want [PRO to go to this concert.]
subject: null pronoun (doesn’t have phonological features);
it requires an antecedent in the main clause

CONTROL CONSTRUCTIONS
(they resemble THAT-complements)
 Classification of infinitive
complements
3. Nominative + Infinitive

He happens [to have arrived earlier. ]

It happened [that he as arrived earlier.]
- the subject of the THAT-clause moves to the main clause of the infinitive clause –
Subject to Subject Raising (SSR)

4. Accusative + Infinitive

I believe [him to have arrived earlier.]

I believe [that he has arrived earlier.]
- the subject of the THAT-complement becomes the Object of the main clause –
Subject to Object Raising (SOR)

RAISING CONSTRUCTIONS
(they are dissimilar to THAT-complements)
 Type of Distribution Categorial Subject Temporal
construction status interpretation

FOR- Control Free Acc. assigned Irrealis future

TO constructions
CP
by FOR;
Subjunctive
paraphrase
PRO –
no case
PRO-
TO
Nom.+ Raising Lexically Nom. assigned Simultaneous and
inf. constructions governed
IP by Io of the anterior with
main clause main clause

Acc.+ Acc. assigned Indicative

inf. by the main paraphrase
verb
 Distribution of PRO-TO
constructions
Which are the most likely contexts in which
these structures appear?
a) Verbs of responsibility and control: attempt, fail, try,
manage, agree to, aspire to, seek (=try), endeavour,
contrive, refuse, decline, presume, venture, arrange, omit,
care to
He sought PRO to find out the truth about Freddy Mercury’s death.

b) Verbs like: abide, bear, afford, deserve, need

I cannot abide PRO to see such cruelty.
 Distribution of PRO-TO
constructions
c) Verbs of liking and disliking: choose, desire, expect, like,
dislike, intend, mean, hate, prefer, propose, want, wish, hope
She wanted PRO to become a famous opera singer.

d) Verbs of mental state and linguistic communication:

remember, forget, ask, conclude, claim, threaten, suggest, etc.
(allow alternative THAT constructions)
I remembered PRO to go to the post office.
vs. I remembered going to the post office. ??? Different
temporal interpretation -
 Distribution of FOR-TO
constructions
They normally appear in combination with:
- intransitive verbs or adjectives: arrange,
endeavour
- verbs of liking and disliking
- bear, stand, be important, possible, desirable
It is unlikely for all of them to have been killed.
extraposition