Raising, control and "object + infinitive"

Gist. Verbs with an infinitive "lend" it a subject in different ways. Raising verbs (seem, appear, tend, happen, be likely) have no agent of their own: He seems to know = "it seems that he knows". Subject-control verbs (want, try, hope, decide, promise): I want to go — the one who wants is the one who goes. Object-control verbs (ask, tell, persuade, convince, urge, order, allow, cause): I asked him to stay — him is the one who stays. Verbs of thinking and wanting with "object + infinitive" (believe, consider, expect, want, find, like): I believe him to be honest — him is grammatically the object of the main verb but semantically the subject of the infinitive.

Conditions and exceptions. In EWT, with verbs of speech and urging that allow two objects (ask, tell, allow, convince, urge, persuade, cause), the person is iobj, while with verbs of perception, causation and thinking (let, make, have, get, keep, find, want, help, see, consider) it is obj. Raising verbs have no passive and no direct object (see Verbs without a passive and without an object, Copula-like verbs: become, seem, remain…). With there: There seems to be a problem — the formal subject raises, the notional one stays with be.

Examples. Sue asked George to respond — xcomp(asked, respond). — I consider him honest — obj(him), xcomp(honest). — The cat seems to be in pain — xcomp(seems, pain).

In UD. All three types are xcomp; the difference lies in the presence and type of object (obj/iobj) of the main verb. Enhanced annotation shows who the subject of the infinitive is.

Sources. UD docs/_en/dep/xcomp.md, docs/_u-dep/xcomp.md; UD docs/_en/specific-syntax.md, Functional control; PropBank 3.1 seem.xml (seem.01: only ARG1, ARG2), want.xml, persuade.xml (persuade.01: ARG1 «impelled agent», ARG2 «impelled action»); Poutsma, GLME, Part II, ch. XIX, §19 (infinitive after verbs with a personal object); Jespersen, MEG V, ch. XVIII «Subject + Infinitive as Object of Main Verb» (text-1, p. 304); Brown 1851, Rule XIX, Obs. 4 (the object before the infinitive — «subject or agent of that infinitive»).

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