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Seminars 5 & 6: NON-F INI TE COMPLEM ENTS (Infi niti ves + Gerunds & Participles)

A. I NFI NITI VE COMPLEMENTS

1. Point out dif ferences & simil ari ties between inf ini tive complement clauses and that-complement

clauses. Give examples.

2. The classif ication of i nf in iti ve clauses (f rom the poin t of view of the type of (logical) subject)

3. Distinguish between Control and Raising constructions. Which contain traces and whi ch contain the

empty subject notated PRO?

1. I persuaded John to come to the party.2. Mary happened to have fallen ill.3. The Smiths turned out to be very forthcoming.

4. I didn’t expect John to come to the party.  5. Everybody knows John to be a hard-working man.6. Tom promised his parents to behave himself.

7. June managed to ace the test.

8. I consider June to be the most beautiful girl in the class.9. Mary seems not to like syntax.10. I want John to invite me to the party.

4. Specify the function of the controll er of PRO in the foll owing in f in iti ve clauses:

a. Man retains the ability to deceive himself. b. John told his son to behave himself. c. John received fromMary a book to read. d. Bill bought his wife a flashy car to drive. e. the university should provide thestudents a good library to work in. f. Please, begin to read, Mr. Jones. g. I agreed with Bill to go. h. Ishouted to Bill to go. i. I rely on him to solve the problem.

5. Identif y the NOM+inf and ACC+inf constructions:

a. She seems to be in love with him. b. I expected the students to study hard for the test. c. She did not

expect there to be a man behind the door. d. They happened to be there. e. She turned out to be a liar. f.He is said to be a good leader. g. They expect him to win. h. There seems to be a problem. i. I expected

there to be a problem. j. John is believed to be a handsome man.

6. Identi fy the in fi ni tival constructions below. State their type and syntactic function:

a. For him to have done that would have been suicide. b. To live in London in November is to know whatfog means. c. Wasn’t it reckless of you to drive at 80 m.p.h.? d. His idea is for us to travel in two different

cars. e. It’s expensive to build good public transportation systems. f. If I happen to be interested inlinguistics I cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm. h. He’s anxious for the painting to beready in time. i.He was hardworking to please his boss. j. Philosophers are always trying to climb up the

fine hairs of the fur in order to stare right into the magician’s eye.

7. I nf ini tive complements do not have (deictic) tense, but they have aspect and voice. Comment on theauxil iary i n the foll owing i nfi niti ve complements:

a. He seems to have always thought that he is a genius. b. John is believed to have already met Sue whenhe married Cynthia. c. The letter appears to have been mailed a month ago. d. We promise to go theretomorrow. e. I expect to be having dinner tomorrow around that time. f. It is absolutely necessary for thenation to know the truth. g. He claimed to have been cheated. h. He appears to be sleeping.

8. In the following sentences a) identify the syntactic f unction of the in f in iti ve clause; b) identify the

subject of the inf ini tive clause; c) say what rules of the complement system have applied. 

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To speak of his death was high treason by Act of Parliament, yet to let him perish without giving him thechance to repent was an even greater crime. / I can’t bear to be treated like that. / To discontinue helping

them embarrassed and depressed him. / To have a few crisp fivers in his pocket would make him feel aman again. / It was no uncommon thing for an earl’s daughter to marry a commoner. / It is a special treatto me to see you there. / It wasn’t wise of John to have left so early. / It is good for me to mar ry her. / Wasit fun to do it? / By what amounted to a miracle, this offspring of his had contrived to lure a millionaire’s

daughter into marrying him. / She had longed to be kissed by him. / He cannot wait for either side toinvite him / I would prefer for you to call me Rocky. / He could trust her to make deception right. / Heonly asked for some chance to occur by which he might show his fidelity to her. / Don’t bother to see usto the station. / I’m sorry to be such a bore. / They decided for me to represe nt them. / He said he hadasked for the price to be settled by arbitration. / I’d be happy for him to get that grant. / He vowed to meto avenge the insult. / A solution would be for the shops to open at noon and close at 9 p.m. / The great

thing is to let oneself go. / To admire oneself is to deceive oneself. / I shouted to Bill for the next recruitto be tall. / They believe in their power to make their dream come true.

B. -ING COMPLEMENTS  

1. Identi fy the types of  – I NG f orms in the sentences below (Gerund, Participle, Verbal Noun) :

a. I insist on you doing it as soon as possible. b. They consider doing it as soon as possible of utmost importance.c. Studying syntax can be fun.

d. Weather permitting, we will go to the seaside.e. They found John sleeping in a ditch.f. Never flog a willing horse.

g. Their cruel flogging of the horse upset everybody.

2. On the basis of the  – I NG constructions identi fi ed in 1, discuss evidence that gerunds and parti ciples

are non-fi ni te constructions.

3. Identify the type of gerundial construction (ful l gerund, half gerund, PRO-ing):

a. His leaving that soon surprised everybody. b. We insisted on him leaving immediately.c. Being honest is important to few people.

4. Provide evidence that gerund constructions have both (i ) nominal and (ii ) verbal and clausal

properties.

5. Provide evidence that verbal nouns (V-i ng) are exclusively nominal.

6. Provide evidence that parti ciples are exclusively verbal.

7. I ll ustrate the dif ferences between half gerunds and full gerunds with respect to: (i) agreement

(i i ) admissible subjects; (i ii ) the case of the logical DP subject

8. I denti fy the participial constructions in the sentences below. State their syntactic function:

1. This being unimportant, we passed on to another item on the agenda. 2. The children having gone to bed, I was now able to read. 3. It was a nice house and, it being a holiday time, owner and tenants wereaway. 4. He fell, running on the wet pavement. 5. Although not knowing English, she went to study in theStates. 6. Weather permitting, we shall go camping. 7. Seeing him there, she started to cry. 8. When

seeing him there, she started to cry. 9. The man running down the street is a thief. 10. The thief saw themcoming round the corner. 11. Jim found them searching your house. 12. The party being over, they wenthome. 13. He pictured his parents smoking.14.He went out banging the door. 15. While visiting a school,he noticed that teacher looked sad. 16. Having laughed for some time, he at last spoke. 17. When seeingthe child weep, she felt sorry. 18. He behaved as if not knowing the truth.

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9. I denti fy the Accusative + Present parti ciple constructions used as a complex object and the

Nomi native + Present Par ticiple constructions used as a complex subject:

1.  They saw her coming round the corner.2.  The boy noticed the cat running after the dog.3.  They were seen crossing the street.4.  You will find me watching TV.

5. 

Don’t keep your students waiting in the room.6.  The student was heard cursing below his breath.7.  She could feel the rabbit’s paw trembling.8.  The old man was found sleeping in the armchair.

10. Give examples of Accusative + part iciple constructi ons. Compare their syntax to Accusative -

gerund constructions. Identi fy the ACC + parti ciple and the ACC + gerund constructions below:

a. They found him sleeping in a ditch.

 b. They regretted him leaving so early.c. I saw them entering the house.

d. They kept me waiting.e. I deplored him being treated like that.

11. Comment on the – ing forms in the texts below (gerund /participial constructions, fu ll gerund/hal f - 

gerund/PRO gerund, syntactic function):

A. I can’t imagine introducing any managerial concepts from outside, he said. Each company willhave to continue restructuring in its own way. Other companies had refrained from making large-scalelayoffs or withdrawing from major business lines to focus resources in more promising areas. The new

executives have difficulties in going beyond mere tinkering with the hall-marks of the Japanese corporatesystem , like life-time employment. But making major changes may be the only way to restore the

focused energy that made many Japanese companies world leaders. Paradoxically, Japan has America tothank for helping to create the earlier more dynamic generation of corporate leaders.B. The poor man hesitated: it cost him such an effort to broach the subject of terms, to speak of money to

a person who spoke only of feelings. Yet, he was unwilling to take leave treating his engagement as

settled . The lady was sitting there drawing. John just came back from the other room with the casualobservation that he had been unable to find what he had been sent to fetch. While dropping thisconfession, he looked straight at the candidate for the honour of taking his education in hand. This

 personage reflected that the first thing he should have to teach his little charge would be to appear to

address himself to his mother when he spoke to her.

12. Identi fy the controller of PRO in the gerund clauses below:

a. I am glad of having met you. b. They congratulated him on having won the contest. c.I regret leaving soearly. D. I argued with John about leaving. E. She knew that forgetting her umbrella would make it rain.

F. There is nothing so bad as oarting with one’s friends. G. Going there alone would be a big mistake. H. Not getting home until 3 p.m. worried mother, she was sure you had had an accident. i. John dreads

singing a solo.

13. I denti fy the gerunds and the  – ing verbal nouns below. Provide arguments in favour of your

choice:  

a.  He was expelled for wantonly killing the birds.

 b.  She had witnessed the wanton killing of the birds.c.  Kim had not been involved in the killing of the letter.d.  Kim hates writing thank-you letters.