THE OBJECTIVE-WITH-THE-INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTION

The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction (or Complex Object) is a construction

in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a
personal pronoun in the objective case: e.g. I saw her cross the street.
N (common case) / Pr (objective case) + to V inf (in any form) / V0 (bare infinitive)
In this sentence two things are predicated: the first predication is “I saw” and the
second – “her cross”. The two elements “her” and “cross” are closely connected and
syntactically form a complex object.
Any form of the infinitive with particle to is used after the following verbs:
1) Verbs of mental activity, such as to think, to believe, to consider, to expect, to
suppose, to understand, to find, to consider, to imagine, to feel, to trust, etc.: e.g. I
thought her to be watching TV in the dining room. We can’t believe him to have robbed
the bank. I find him to have been sleeping in the dining room all the afternoon.
Note: After these verbs the verb to be is generally used: e.g. I know you to be the most
honest creature that ever lived. This does not apply, however, to the verb to expect: e.g.
I expect you to come. With the verbs to think, to consider, to find the same idea may be
expressed without the infinitive: e.g. John thought her beautiful. She found the subject
rather interesting. You consider yourself an impressive person.
2) Verbs of declaring, such as to pronounce, to declare, to report, etc.: e.g. They
reported the train to have arrived. The doctor declares the patient to be absolutely
healthy.
3) Verbs of wish and intention, such as to want, to wish, to desire, to intend, to mean,
to choose (meaning want), to desire, etc.: e.g. I wanted the letter to be sent today. She
desired me to follow her upstairs. I don’t choose you to do it alone.
Note: If the action of the finite verb and that of the Infinitive refer to the same person or
thing a corresponding reflexive pronoun must be used: e.g. He declared himself to be
the leader.
4) Verbs of emotion and feeling, such as to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to detest, to
adore, cannot bear, cannot stand, etc.: e.g. She hated him to have behaved like that.
5) Verbs denoting order, permission, request, compulsion, such as to order, to allow,
to have, to permit, to ask, to command, to force, to cause, etc.: e.g. He ordered a taxi to
come at 9 o'clock.
6) with such verbs as to wait for, to rely on, count on, to listen to, etc. followed by the
prepositional object with the Infinitive: e.g. I rely on you to do it. Can’t I count upon
you to help me? After the verb to listen to the Infinitive is used without the particle to:
He was
listening attentively to the chairman speak.
Bare infinitive (V0 without the particle to) is used after the following verbs:
1) Verbs of sense (physical) perception, such as to see, to feel, to watch, to observe, to
notice, to hear, etc. This structure is used to express a complete action, something that
one saw or heard from beginning to end: e.g. I saw him throw rubbish out of the
window. (I saw all of the rubbish being thrown out of the window). I watched her get up
and walk slowly out of the room. (I saw the action from beginning to end). The witness
saw the burglar break into the house and steal the television. (The witness saw every
precise detail of the action).
Note: a) To express an incomplete action, an action in progress or a long action the
Objective-with-the-Present Participle (Ving) construction is used: e.g. I saw him
throwing rubbish out of the window. (I saw part of the action. I didn’t wait until he had
finished; perhaps he threw more rubbish). Tim saw Jill standing outside the butcher’s as
he was driving to work. (Tim saw only part of this action. He didn’t wait until Jill left
that place).
b) When the verbs to see (in the meaning of "to understand"), to hear (in the meaning of
"to be told, to learn"), to feel (in the meaning of "to have an opinion") express mental
perception, they cannot be followed by a complex object, but require an object clause:
e.g. I saw that he didn’t know anything. I hear you have dropped the idea of leaving
him.
2) Verbs denoting compulsion (to make (“to force”) or to have (“to ask somebody to do
something for you”)), and permission (to let “to allow someone to do something”): He
had Liz send a fax. (He asked Liz to send a fax). She made me obey. (She forced me to
obey). The teacher let us go. (The teacher allowed us to go).
The most common ways of translating the Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction
are the following:
1) by means of a subordinate clause or with the help of the infinitive: e.g. Everyone
watched him walk across the garden. (Усі спостерігали, як він іде садком). He
ordered them to drive on. (Він наказав їм їхати/щоб він їхав далі).
2) by means of the infinitival word-group forming a part of the compound modal
verbal predicate: e.g. The teacher made us learn the rules. (Вчитель змусив нас
вивчити правила).
3) by means of a noun derived from the infinitive: e.g. He heard the birds sing. (Він
чув спів пташок).
4) by means of a phrasal/simple verbal predicate: e.g. He never made me laugh. (Він
ніколи не міг мене розсмішити/викликати у мене посмішку).

EXERCISES

Ex. 1. Underline the CO with the infinitive and comment on the verbs it is used after.
Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.
1. There is some information I want you to obtain. 2. He liked to see them work. 3.
Let’s get to the point. 4. Oh, Jack, you made me start. 5. I don’t want them to say
anything to me. 6. James watched her go. 7. She gave a meaningful sigh which made
him drive all the faster.8. I was dusting the saloon, I saw him pass, and his face was
white. 9. Lawson nodded quickly and walked away. Philip felt a shiver pass his heart.
10. He watched them go. 11. He let them go. 12. He saw the pain come into Lawson’s
eyes.
Ex. 2. Paraphrase the following using CO with the infinitive.
Model: She watched how he went.
She watched him go.
1. He heard how one of the other girls in the shop addressed Jane. 2. He felt that the
eyes of his fellow-students rested on him. 3. She saw that the door of the sitting room
opened and her mother entered. 4. What I want is that your uncle shouldn’t be left
alone. 5. She smiled when she heard how he locked the door loudly. 6. What she
wanted was that he would come and see her. 7. Jack watched how Eliza left, then he
walked slowly down the hall to his father’s room. 8. I’ve never heard him how he
spoke of his life in Canada.

Ex. 3. Make up sentences with CO with the infinitive. Translate the sentences into
English.
1. speak, I, have heard, of his boyhood, never, him. 2. Swing, at once, open, the door, I,
saw. 3. About something, I, quite different, me, you, want, to tell. 4. You, don’t, worry,
that, let. 5. What, this, her, say, made? 6. Without, her, let, my sister, go, a word. 7.
Young, her long hair, made, look, her.

Ex. 4. Paraphrase the following sentences using the Complex Object:

1. I noticed how he nodded to her. 2. The old lady liked when people greeted her
politely. 3. I think I hear that somebody is moving upstairs. 4. We expect that he will
deliver a speech at the conference. 5. I felt that somebody touched me on the shoulder.
6. They expected that I should say everything myself. 7. On entering the room we saw
that they were talking very lively. 8. I felt that she was trembling from head to foot. 9. I
heard that he was singing in the bathroom. 10. My little daughter likes when I am
reading to her.

Ex. 5. Translate the sentences, paying special attention to the use of the Complex
Object.
1. Seeing her enter the room he rose to greet her. 2. Did you feel the bridge shake? 3. I
don’t like you to say such things. 4. Put on a thicker coat, I don’t want you to catch
cold. 5. We knew him to be very brave. 6. Nobody said anything, we just watched him
put it away in his case. 7. You could have heard a pin drop. 8. She wouldn't explain, just
urged me to use my own eyes. 9. Well, tell him to see us tomorrow morning, will you?
10. After lunch he begged me to accompany him home. 11. By the way, did she ask you
to sign any papers yesterday? 12. Her visit agitated the patient so much that the doctor
advised her not to come again. 13. There is no harm, I think, in letting you know. 14. I
understood you to say that you had received no letter from your brother since he left
England.

Ex. 6. Fill in the blanks with the particle “to” where necessary.
1. This is the place from which I saw John __ arrive to the house. 2. I tried to induce
him __ see a doctor. 3. The family suspected it and wanted to get him __ see a lawyer.
4. He asked her __ destroy his letters. 5. I told her ___ bring in the tea. 6. Women
always want you ___ write them letters. 7. I'd love you __ see my little daughter. 8. You
can't make me ___ say what you want me say. 9. She begged me to let her ___ know
when Mother would be back. 10. I had expected him ___ be disappointed. 11. Don't let
it ___ trouble you. 12. She watched me ___ open the safe.

Ex. 7. Replace the following complex sentences or groups of sentences by simple

sentences with the infinitive construction.
Model: I looked out of the window. He crossed the street.
I saw him cross the street.
1. I shall stay at home and do my lessons. Mother said so. 2. I never smoke indoors. My
wife doesn't like it. 3. He's an honest boy. I know it. 4. We don't eat ice-cream before
dinner because Mother has forbidden it. 5. You got off the train at Saltmarsh city. The
porter saw you. 6. He ordered that tea should be brought at once. 7. No one had
expected that she would marry the man. 8. I could hear it perfectly well. They were
discussing me. 9. Don't shout so! The whole house will know what has happened. Do
you want it?

Ex. 8. Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs. Give several variants where possible:
1. Why don't you __ her to wear high heels? 2. The way she looks at me __ me blush. 3.
Do you __ me to show you the place on the map? 4. No one had __ her to return so
early. 5.Ihave never __ her look so sweet. 6. Who __ you to miss lectures? 7. She __
the children to be well behaved. 8. You can't __ him come if he doesn't want to.

Ex. 9. Paraphrase the following sentences so as to use Objective-with-the Infinitive

constructions.
1. I still consider we were right to resist them. 2. They required that I should arrive at 8
a.m. 3. The judge ordered that the prisoner should be remanded. 4. I believe they are
very good in physics and other pure sciences. 5. He did what he could, though
considered he got little thanks for it from his wife and five kids. 6. And she saw that the
lower part of her face was twisted out of shape. 7. He felt that she was unreasonable and
unjust. 8. He knew he was a bad leader. 9. I think his father is one of the heads in
Universal Stores. 10. He thought I was just a kid to be ordered.

Ex. 10. Translate the sentences into English using CO.

1. Він стояв нерухомо і дивився як вона йде. 2. Він ніколи не бачив, як вона плаче.
3. Чи Ви коли-небудь чули як вона грає на скрипці? 4. Я не знав, що він так багато
читає. 5. Я ненавиджу, коли ти так говориш. 6. Дівчинка любила, щоб мати
співала їй. 7. Мама не дозволяє мені грати у футбол. 8. Не змушуйте мене
брехати. 9. Не дозволяйте їм так кричати. 10. Змусьте його прийняти ліки. 11. Що
змусило Вас покинути курити? 12. Не смішіть мене. 13. Дозвольте мені
допомогти. 14. Дайте подумати. 15. Не дозволяйте дітям їсти так багато цукерок.
16. Повідомили, що літак приземлився. 17. Я розраховую, що Ви прийдете вчасно.
18. Ми розраховували, що ти прийдеш і допоможеш нам. 19. Вона чекала, що він
зателефонує. 20. Він слухав уважно, як вона співала.