4. Gerunds in Passive Sense

We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive sense.

• I have three shirts that need washing. (need to be washed)

• This letter requires signing. (needs to be signed)

• The house wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)

The expression "something wants doing" is not normally used in American English.

LECTURE 8: COMPLEX OBJECT and COMPLEX SUBJECT

1. Complex Object

Complex Object is a syntactic construction typical of modern English. It’s used as one member of the sentence – an object. It’s called complex because it consists of two parts: a nominal part & verbal part.

The nominal part names the doer or the recipient of the action, state or property denoted by the verbal part.

The verbal part names an action, a state or a property which is performed, directed at or ascribed to the nominal part.

Hence the relations between the nominal and the verbal parts are like those between the subject and the predicate.

That’s why the nominal part of complex object can be treated as a secondary subject, while the verbal part as a secondary predicate only within complex object.

So complex object is a secondary predicative construction which is actually a compressed subordinate clause or a sentence:

I saw him enter the room. ( --> I saw him as he entered the room. He entered the room and I saw it.)

The nominal part or the secondary subject can be expressed by:

1. a noun: She wants her son to enter the University.

2. a personal pronoun in the objective case: She invited her to come.

3. an indefinite personal pronoun: I heard somebody open the door.

4. a reciprocal pronoun: They asked each other to forget it.

5. a reflexive pronoun (We have it when the subject of the sentence and the secondary subject in CO denote the same agent): He imagined himself dancing with her. Cf.: He imagined him  Not himself but some other guy.

6. a negative pronoun: He wanted nobody to bother him.

7. a demostrative pronoun: I consider those to be nice flowers.

8. a relative pronoun: She didn’t know who to invite.

9. a phrase (pronoun phrase): I found some of them learning grammar.

10. an infinitive (In such casses the inf. of the secondary subject is mostly placed after the verbal part of CO and its position is filled by the anticipatory “it”): I find it (to be) difficult* to say it to him. * - verbal part.

11. a gerund: He considers learning grammar (to be) difficult.

12. a For-phrase ( the For-phrase is usually placed after the verbal part and the position of the nominal part is filled in by “it”.): I believe it necessary for him to learn grammar.

13. a subordinate clause (which is placed after the verbal part of CO and its position is filled in by “it”): I find it difficult that everybody should be present there.

The verbal part of CO which is a secondary predicate can correspond to different types of primary predicates: Simple Verbal, Compound Verbal, Compound Nominal:

I find him to be rather naive. (CNP)

He noticed the child start falling asleep. (CNAP)

The wanted me to try to persuade her. (CVMP)

When the verbal part corresponds to the Compound Nominal predicate, the link-verb is omitted and the secondary predicate is expressed by any meaningful unit but the finite form of the verb:

I find him (to be) a brilliant humorist. She believed it strange that she should have failed to do it.

The verbal part or the secondary predicate can be expressed by:

1. an infinitive She made me do it.

2. a participle I (which stresses the development of the action) I saw him talking.

3. a participle II (which shows that the action is directed at the agent expressed by the nominal part because participle II is mostly passive in its meaning) I found the flowers already watered.

A complex object with participle II after “to have, to have got, to get” shows that the action named by participle II is performed by somebody for the benefit or to the detriment of the agent expressed by the subject of the sentence:

I want to have my hair cut. She had a new dress made last week.

Complex Object is used: 1. After the verbs of PHYSICAL PERCEPTION: see, hear, watch, notice, feel, observe:

I saw him run (running). I watched her cry (crying). I noticed him smile (smiling). I felt my hand trembling.

NB. After “to see” = to understand, to realize a subordinate clause should be used: I saw he was trying to deceive me

“to hear” = to be aware of: I hear he has left for London.

2. After the verbs of MENTAL PERCEPTION: think, consider, find, believe, expect, admit, know, suppose, imagine, feel, trust, acknowledge, assume, deny, prove:

I think him to be a good man. I found him broken. She felt her story to impress him.

I consider it (to be) foolish. I trust you to do this work on time.

+ after the verbs of Declaring: pronounce, declare: I pronounce you (to be) man and wife.

3. After the verbs expressing ORDER, PERMISION, REQUEST, COMPULSION:

let, make, have * order ask force cause allow suffer, command, compel, request, persuade, mean, get:

I’ll have him do it. Don’t let her go. You made her cry. She asked him to come on time. I won’t have you object to me.

4. After the verbs expressing LIKING, DISLIKING, WISH, PREFERENCE: want, wish, would like, hate, can’t stand, desire, mean, intend, choose, like, dislike, love:

I would like you to go there. I hate you to think we’re late on purpose.

CO is translated into Russian by a) a subordinate object clause (я видел, как (что)) or b) a construction with an infinitive.

Verbs which require a preposition preserve it with CO (wait for, rely on, listen to): He listened to the wind blowing outside.

Participle I shows the action in progress: I saw him running.

Participle II is used in CO after “have” in “to have smth done”: I’ve had my hair cut.