The Accusative with the Infinitive

Some verbs can be used with or without a noun or pronoun before the infinitive:

I want to speak to the manager. (=I shall speak)

I want you to speak to the manager. (=you will speak)

The difference is that the doer of both actions is the same in the first sentence, and the action of the infinitive has a doer of its own in the second sentence. The noun or pronoun and the infinitive are closely connected and form a complex.

The relation between the noun (or pronoun) and the infinitive is similar to that of subject and predicate. In this function the infinitive may be called a "secondary predicate" (action) and the noun a "secondary subject" (doer of the second action).

The two elements are closely connected, being one complex part of the sentence. They form a complex object. This construction consisting of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive is called the "Accusative with the Infinitive" (from the classical "Accusativus cum Infinitivo").

The "Accusative with the Infinitive" is used with verbs denoting:

1) perception – to hear, feel, see, watch, observe, notice:

I heard somebody slam the door in the middle of the night. It woke me up.

I saw Tom get into his car and drive away.

2) mental activity – to know, think, consider, believe, suppose, expect, imagine, find, feel, trust, understand, admit, deny, prove:

Until the disaster, everyone had believed the ship to be unsinkable.

I didn't expect the Robinsons to invite us to dinner.

3) feeling and emotion – to love, like, dislike, hate, bear (cannot bear):

He upset you very much, and I hate to see that.

4) wish and intention – to want, wish, like (=want), desire, choose (=want), intend, mean:

Have you got enough money or do you want me to lend you some?

5) order and permission – to order, command, recommend, advise, request, beg, ask, allow, permit, let, promise, forbid:

We allowed a little time to pass before we went in.

My father continued to address me, and I continued to stand still and let the cold wind slap my face.

6) compulsion – to cause, compel, make, force, get, have:

The car's broken and I can't make it go.

While I was filling up with petrol, I got the mechanic to check the pressure of the tyres.

Thus, the construction "the Accusative with the Infinitive" consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive. The action of the infinitive has a doer of its own expressed by that noun (or pronoun). The syntactical function of the construction is that of a complex object.

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