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287
He was appointed secretary of the state.
The child was christened Fernando.
The road to the estate was marked private.
The boy had been brought up as a Catholic.
D. Verbs implying movement to a different position or state (to bring, to fling, to set, to tear, etc.).
All the windows were flung open.
The little bird was set free.
The envelope was torn open.
The objective predicative constructions*
* This construction is often called the complex object.
§ 124. The objective predicative construction functions as a complex object. It consists of a nominal part
and a part which stands in subject-predicate relations to the first part. The nominal part is a noun or a noun-
pronoun in the common case or a personal pronoun in the objective case. The second element of the
construction is a verbal (an infinitive, participle I, participle II) or non-verbal (an adjective or a noun).
Accordingly the following objective construction can be distinguished:
I. The objective with the infinitive construction:
I saw Nick take your book.
We hate him to go away.
II. The objective with participle I (or participle II) construction:
They heard somebody knocking at the door.
We found him murdered in his own house.
III. The objective with a non-verbal part construction:
I never thought her clever.
The objective with the infinitive construction
§ 125. This construction is the most recurrent as it may be used after a wider range of verbs, both taking a
direct (I didn’t want him to see me here) and an indirect non-recipient object (We were relying on him to put
things right); in the latter case the objective construction is introduced by the preposition generally used with
this particular verb.
The objective predicative construction of this type is used after the following verbs:
1. Verbs of wish and intention
(to wish, to want, to desire, to choose, to prefer, should/would like, to
intend, to mean). Owing to the meaning of these verbs, the infinitive in the construction can be only non-
perfect, as it denotes an unfulfilled action.
He would like you to see him in his office.
I did not mean it to be told to her.
2. Verbs of emotion and attitude (to like, to dislike, to love, to hate, cannot/could not bear). Those too can
be followed only by non-perfect forms of the infinitive.
I can’t bear people to be unhappy or upset.
I hate you to go away.