Mostly causative verbs in the sentence “Sbj, Verb, Obj, Infinitive”
This list is all the English verbs (that I’ve been able to find) whose complement has the syntax “OBJECT, INFINITIVE” whose object is a person who is the subject of the infinitive verb.
Why can only these ninety verbs use this special syntax? We can guess that the answer points to the centrality of Desire, Conflict and Influence in human relations and interests.
This list doesn’t include verbs whose complement has the syntax “OBJECT, INFINITIVE” whose object is the subject of the infinitive verb only when the subject (of the non-infinitive verb) is the non-referential “it,” as in “It disappoints/surprises/shocks/thrills me to hear this.”
Almost all English verbs can have a complement whose syntax is “OBJECT, INFINITIVE” when the subject is the subject of the infinitive verb. But in those sentences, “to” has a different meaning: “in order to.” The note below on “need” explains this.
want
would like*
like
prefer
need*
tell*
command
instruct
order
direct
require*
obligate
oblige
behoove*
force
coerce
bind
compel
ask
beg
urge
implore
beseech*
remind
nag
nudge
needle
badger
warn
advise
exhort
influence
encourage
embolden
push
press
pressure
persuade
get*
motivate
inspire
stimulate
induce
incite
provoke
prompt
goad
prod
tempt
entice
bribe
cause
lead
drive
bring
impel
move
dispose
incline
allow
permit
forbid
authorize
entitle
enable
empower
invite
rush
hurry
hasten
teach
train
prepare
raise
help*
pay
hire
employ*
engage
commission
retain
send
expect
trust
know
thank*
Without “to”:
make
have
let
Notes on the asterisked verbs
behoove & beseech. formal and rare.
employ. This verb belongs in this list only when it means “hire.” When “employ” means “use,” its subject is the subject of the infinitive complement.
get. “Get sb to VERB” means “cause/persuade/ trick/enable sb to VERB by using creativity or some other kind of special effort.”
help. The word “to” is optional before the infinitive verb in the complement of “help.”
need. “To” has two different meanings in different sentences: the meaning it has in the complement of all this list’s other verbs and “in order to.” In the latter case, the subject (not the object) is the infinitive’s subject. Examples: If I say, “I need my wife to pick me up today,” then I hope that she will pick me up, and she is the only person who can be understood as the infinitive’s subject, but “I need my wife to be happy” can mean either “I need my wife’s being happy” or “To be happy, I need my wife,” and “I need my computer to be happy” can have only one interpretation (the one that doesn’t fit the special syntax of this list’s verbs).
require. The verb has two different meanings in different sentences: “obligate” and “need”. When the meaning is “need,” the subject (not the object) is the infinitive’s subject.
tell. The meaning of “tell sb to VERB” is “instruct/command sb to VERB.”
thank. In its meaning and attitude, “thank sb to VERB” differs from the much more common syntax of the complement of “thank,” which is “sb for VERB-ing.” A speaker who says, “I’ll thank you to VERB” expresses an impatient wish for the listener to VERB; this use of “thank” is a polite euphemism which uses irony to thinly cover the speaker’s hostility. “Thank sb to VERB” is used only after the future auxiliary “will” (or its contracted form, “’ll”) and almost always its subject is first person and its object is second person.
would like. This is the politely weak substitute for “want.” It applies to the current (present) moment. Unlike “want sb/would like sb to VERB,” “like sb to VERB” doesn’t apply specifically to the current moment, and is therefore less demanding.
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