What is a raising-to-object clause?

[Renard74]

I want to know what a raising-to-object clause is. Could anyone explain it to me?

[Masme]

Good question. Allow me to explain this a bit schematically:

I consider him to be an excellent doctor.
Main clause → him is or appears to be the object of the main clause I consider him

but

Him to be an excellent doctor
Embedded clause → him is the subject of to be an excellent doctor → infinitival clause

• Therefore it is assigned accusative case by Exceptional Case Marking (ECM).
• Characteristic of verbs like consider, believe, expect, know…which allows such structures.
• Raising-to-object: the object in an embedded clause ‘moves up’ into the main clause.

So, Him is or appears to be the object of the main clause, but in reality it is the subject of the infinitival clause and so the object in the embedded infinitival clause moves up into the main clause. It is assigned accusative case by exceptional case marking (ECM).

I hope I given you a satisfactory answer.

[Renard74]

Thank you, Masme. Does this also exist in Dutch and French? Moerover, could you explain this in Dutch and French?

[Masme]

Hi Renard74

In het Nederlands is ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) inderdaad zeldzaam, en het komt voornamelijk voor in specifieke constructies zonder “te” in de infinitief. Een voorbeeld is:

“Ik hoor hem zingen.”

In deze zin wordt “hem” grammaticaal gezien als het lijdend voorwerp van de hoofdzin (“Ik hoor”), maar inhoudelijk is het ook het onderwerp van de infinitiefzin (“hem zingen”). Het woord “hem” krijgt de accusatieve naamval, wat kenmerkend is voor ECM-constructies.

Echter, bij “te”-infinitieven (zoals in “te gaan” of “te zingen”) is ECM bijna nooit mogelijk. Hierdoor blijft dit fenomeen in het Nederlands beperkt tot bepaalde gevallen. Als je meer wilt weten over vergelijkbare constructies of andere taalkundige bijzonderheden, laat het me weten!

In English:

In Dutch, ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) is indeed rare, and it mainly occurs in specific constructions without “te” in the infinitive. An example is:

“Ik hoor hem zingen.” (“I hear him sing.”)

In this sentence, “hem” (him) is grammatically considered the object of the main clause (“Ik hoor,” or “I hear”). However, in terms of meaning, it is also the subject of the infinitival clause (“hem zingen,” or “him sing”). The word “hem” is assigned the accusative case, which is characteristic of ECM constructions.

However, with “te”-infinitives (such as “te gaan,” or “to go,” and “te zingen,” or “to sing”), ECM is almost never possible. As a result, this phenomenon in Dutch is limited to specific cases.

En français, ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) est moins fréquent et généralement évité. À la place, le français utilise souvent des propositions subordonnées finies pour exprimer des significations similaires. Par exemple, au lieu de dire « Je le considère être un excellent médecin », on dit « Je considère qu’il est un excellent médecin ». Cette structure remplace la nécessité de l’ECM en utilisant une proposition subordonnée avec un pronom sujet (« il ») au cas nominatif.

Un autre exemple serait : « Je crois qu’elle peut réussir. » Au lieu d’utiliser une structure ECM telle que « Je la crois réussir », le français privilégie une proposition avec « qu’elle » comme sujet dans la proposition subordonnée.

In English:

In French, ECM (Exceptional Case Marking) is less frequent and generally avoided. Instead, French often uses finite clauses to express similar meanings. For example, instead of saying “Je le considère être un excellent médecin” (“I consider him to be an excellent doctor”), French says “Je considère qu’il est un excellent médecin” (“I consider that he is an excellent doctor”). This structure eliminates the need for ECM by using a subordinate clause with a subject pronoun (“il”) in the nominative case.

Another example is: “Je crois qu’elle peut réussir” (“I believe that she can succeed”). Instead of using an ECM structure like “Je la crois réussir” (“I believe her to succeed”), French prefers a subordinate clause with “qu’elle” (“that she”) as the subject in the subordinate clause.

I hope this is a satisfactory answer.