ACCUSATIVE WITH INFINITIVE
is a contracted construction that corresponds to the Romanian structure
VERB1 + "CA" + NOUN/PRONOUN + VERB (IN
THE ROMANIAN "CONJUNCTIV") +
OBJECT OR ADVERBIAL MODIFIER
e.g. Vreau ca tata / el sa vina la Piatra Neamt
Toti ai casei asteapta ca tu sa īnveti mai multe cuvinte englezesti.
N.B. - It is compulsory that the subject of verb1 should be distinct from the subject of verb2
In extenso, a sentence like
"I want that father should come to Piatra Neamt
because 'that',
as a conjunction, is usually omitted (that is, it is not used), it makes that
the word "father" should come close
to the verb "want", that is it ("father") becomes the object of the verb
"want", and so it is no longer a
nominative but an accusative. In this case, it can no longer be the subject of
the verb "come" and so this verb can
no longer get a 'tense form', that is
this verb must be in a basic form (in Romanian: 'forma de baza, neflexionara' . That is why it turns into its infinitive, that is "should come" becomes "to come".
This construction is known as ACCUSATIVE WITH INFINITIVE and consists in a direct object (which is, at the same time, the subject of the infinitive that follows) and the infinitive together with which they are the Object Complement (in Romanian "nume predicativ obiectiv ) of the predicate of the sentence. It is usually used after:
- verbs expressing wish: to desire, to dislike, to expect, to like, to prefer, to want, to wish;
- verbs expressing permission: to allow, to let, to permit;
- verbs expressing command: to command, to order, to recommend;
- verbs expressing perception: to feel, to hear, to notice, to observe, to perceive, to see, to smell, to taste, to watch;
- verbs expressing mental activity; to assume, to believe, to consider, to declare, to find, to expect, to guess, to imagine, to intend, to judge, to know, to mean, to suppose, to suspect, to think, to understand;
- verbs expressing declaration: to acknowledge, to declare, to deny, to pronounce, to state;
- other verbs such as: to bear, to help, to belong to, to care for, to count on, to depend on, , to help, to look for, to look to (to pay attention to), to make, to prove, to rely on, to report, to send for, to wait for etc.
Examples:
- I didn't expect her to come so late. He likes me to help him finish his job.
- Tom let you read his book when you were on the trip with him, didn't he?
- Bill ordered his son to go and bring the cow.
- I heard her play the piano.
- I considered him to be a just man, but he proved the opposite.
- The lawyer declared Atticus to be not guilty.
- a. He made her cry for pain.
b. My brother helped me (to) build a new house.
N. B. - 1. After the notional verbs to let, to make and the verbs of perception the short infinitive is used (see examples 2, 4, and 7.a). The "to infinitive" is used after these verbs only when they are in the passive voice.
e.g. You were let to read his book when you were on the trip with him.
She was heard to play the piano.
She was made to cry for pain.
After the verb "to help", either long, or short infinitive can be used (see example 7.b)
ACCUSATIVE WITH PARTICIPLE
is very much like 'accusative with infinitive' with the difference that it (accusative with participle) shows the action expressed by the present participle (the - ING form) as being in its progress, and not that the action is that one expressed by the infinitive and not another one. That is
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ACCUSATIVE WITH INFINITIVE |
ACCUSATIVE WITH PARTICIPLE |
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I saw him cross the street. The infinitive shows which the action is. |
Am vazut ca a traversat strada. (ceea ce am vazut este ca "el a traversat strada" nu ca "statea de vorba cu .", sau ca ".etc.") |
I saw him crossing the street. the present participle shows the action in its progress |
L-am vazut traversānd strada. (pe cānd traversa strada īn timp ce traversa strada, cānd el era īn traversarea strazii, nu ca el traversa strada si nu facea altceva) |
So, it is easy to understand the action as being an infinitive in English when we like to call it, to say which it is (in Romanian it is introduced by "ca"), while the present participle is used when the action is considered from the point of view of its development / progression (what in Romanian is expressed by "gerunziu
e.g.
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ACCUSATIVE WITH INFINITIVE |
ACCUSATIVE WITH PARTICIPLE |
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ROMANIAN |
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Am auzit ca vorbea mamei tale despre noua sa rochie. |
I heard her speak to your mother about her new dress. |
Am auzit-o vorbind mamei tale despre noua sa rochie. |
I heard her speaking to your mother about her new dress. |
Accusative with participle is used after:
1. - verbs expressing perception: to feel, to hear, to listen, to look at, to see, to behold, to notice, to observe, to perceive, to watch, to smell etc.
- other verbs such as: to catch, to find, to get, to have, to imagine, to keep, to leave, to set, to start etc.
Examples:
- I felt him trembling. (that he was trembling)
- He looked at her dancing. (how she was dancing)
- Can you smell something burning? (that something is burning)
- I imagine her packing for this holidays.
- She kept me waiting for an hour.
- Father left me writing to my brother.
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