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284
(complexes) fall into two large classes:
1. verbal constructions and 2. non-verbal constructions.
I. Verbal constructions can be transformed into clauses with a verbal predicate:
We saw the storm approaching ———> We saw that the storm was approaching.
It raining cats and dogs, we stayed at home. ——> As it was raining cats and dogs, we stayed at home.
The train is reported to have landed. ———> lt is reported (They report) that the plane has landed.
II. Non-verbal constructions can be transformed into clauses too, but with a compound nominal predicate.
The door was painted green.——> The door was painted and it became green.
They elected him president.——> They elected him and he became president (and he is president now).
He stood there trembling with his face ablaze. ——> He stood and his face was ablaze.
Verbal constructions fall into two groups:
1. those containing an infinitive and 2. those containing a participle.
The infinitive constructions are:
the objective infinitive construction, the subjective infinitive construction, the for-to-infinitive construction
and the absolute nominative infinitive construction.
The participial constructions are:
the objective participial construction, the subjective participial construction, the nominative absolute
participial construction and the prepositional absolute participial construction.
The subjective predicative constructions *
* It is traditionally called the Complex Subject. The other term often used the Nominative with the infinitive construction does not
embrace all variants, as the second element may be not an infinitive.
The subjective construction with an infinitive
§ 123. The construction consists of a noun (or a noun-pronoun) in the common case or a personal pronoun in
the nominative case and an infinitive. The peculiarity of the construction is that the first element is separated
from the second one by a finite verb-form which together with the infinitive forms a compound verbal predicate
of double orientation, whereas the nominal part of the construction forms the subject of the sentence. Thus the
construction does not function as one part of the sentence but falls into two parts each functioning separately.
Semantically of these two parts of the predicate only the second one refers to the subject, as only this part
denotes either the action or the state of the person or non-person expressed by the subject. Thus in the sentence:
He is said to know five languages it is the relation. He knows five languages that is important.
In between the subject and the infinitive there is a part of the predicate expressed by a finite verb which
grammatically indicates subject-predicate relations. However, Semantically this finite verb cannot serve as the
predicate of the subject, as it denotes some comment, or estimate, or judgement, or conclusion, or attitude to
the action or state expressed by the infinitive. The comment or attitude comes from somebody not mentioned in
the sentence, therefore such sentences can be transformed into complex ones with the indefinite-personal
subject in the principal clause:
He is reported to have left. ————> They report (or somebody reports) that he has left.