Non-finite clause complementation of complex transitive verbs?

Question

This question has been bothering me for a while. It came up when I was reading Chapter 16 of "A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language." How to explain the grammatical structure of the following four sentences? "We knew him **to be a spy**." "I saw her **leave the room**." "I heard someone **shouting**." "I got the watch **repaired**." What category do the four non-finite clauses in boldface fall into? They do not seem to fall into any of relative, nominal, comparative and adverbial clauses.

Answer 1

Hi, Anita.

Let's first notice that your examples contain four different kinds of non-finite verbs. The first three belong to a class because their main verbs are all of perception (knew, saw, heard), they all involve a direct object (him, her, someone), and they all involve a non-finite verbal extension:

him to be a spy: infinitive phrase with a copulative verb and predicate noun

her leave the room: a hybrid infinitive/participial construction (neither "to leave" nor "leaving")

someone shouting: present active participle

In those examples, the subject (we, I) simply perceive someone else being or doing something.

The fourth example is different from those. It is "factitive," with a predicated perfect passive participle, "repaired." The subject has caused an action (repairing) to be done (by someone else) to the watch, such that the action resulted in the watch's repaired condition.

Best wishes,

Peter C.

Milton MA