WANTING and POSTPONING

These two Secondary-B types both introduce one role (the subject of the Secondary verb) in addition to the roles of the verb in the complement clause: this is the Principal role for WANTING, and the Timer role for POSTPONING.

A WANTING verb describes the Principal’s attitude towards the event or state described by the complement clause. This can be expressed through a THAT complement clause (usually including a Modal), or through a Modal (FOR) TO clause. Compare:

(68a) I’m hoping (that) John won’t fight the bully

(68b) I’m hoping for John to beat up the bully

The Modal (FOR) TO construction, in (68b), is appropriate when the Principal would like to see the subject of the complement clause get involved in the activity described by that clause. The THAT construction, in (68a), is more neutral, and might be preferred when the Principal just wished for a certain result.

A WANTING verb frequently deals with the Principal’s attitude towards something that they are involved in. The complement subject can be omitted (together with for) from a Modal (FOR) TO clause when it is coreferential with main clause subject. A THAT clause, of course, can never omit the subject. Thus:

(69a) I’m hoping that I will be allowed to visit him in jail

(69b) I’m hoping to be allowed to visit him in jail

The Modal (FOR) TO alternative is frequently preferred in such circumstances, simply because it does allow subject omission. Indeed, if a verb like hope or wish has coreferential subjects and the subject controls the activity referred to by the complement clause—which it does not in (69a/b)—then only a Modal (FOR) TO complement may be allowed—(70a), but not (70b):

(70a) I hope to visit him in jail

(70b) *I hope that I will visit him in jail

Note that although a coreferential complement clause subject is generally omitted after a WANTING verb, it can be included, usually in a situation of special emphasis, e.g. I didn’t want John to be chosen, I wanted MYSELF (or ME) to be chosen.

Some WANTING verbs allow for to be retained; the complement clause subject then does not become surface object of the Secondary verb. We mentioned that for tends to be omitted when the Principal is communicating their attitude directly to the complement clause subject, and to be retained when the attitude is expressed more indirectly. Compare also:

(71a) I hadn’t intended for you to find out about the party until your actual birthday

(71b) I had intended you to overhear what we were saying

Sentences (72a–c) contrast three constructions with wish: (72a), a Modal (FOR) TO with the for retained, relates to the Principal’s (lack of need for any) desire that John should make an effort to behave better; (72b), with the for omitted after wish, is used to describe the Principal telling John this, quite directly; (72c), with a THAT clause, expresses a general wish concerning John’s behavior.

(72a) I couldn’t have wished for John to behave any better

(72b) I told John that I wished him to improve his manners

(72c) I wish that John would improve his manners

The meanings of some verbs from the WANTING type are such that they can only be used in an indirect manner, as in (68b). These verbs—hope, long, pine, wait, plan, aim, prepare, crave, deserve, dread—always include for before the subject of a Modal (FOR) TO clause. Demand behaves in a similar way—we can say I demand that you (should ) resign, but only I demand for you to resign; for a direct, pragmatic communication to the complement clause subject a verb like order is preferred, e.g. I order you to resign, rather than *I demand you to resign.

A second set of verbs from this type can either include or omit for; it includes wish, desire, intend, mean, pretend. A final set has meanings which imply a direct communication of the attitude, and these verbs—want, need, require, expect—omit for from a Modal (FOR) TO complement when it immediately follows the main verb. They can, however, retain the for when an adverb intervenes, e.g. I want very much for Mary to win (but only I want Mary to win, not—in most dialects—*I want for Mary to win). And when the complement clause is syntactically ‘dislocated’ from its main verb, the for may optionally be included, e.g. I need Mary to help me, not (for) John to help me.

We can now discuss the meanings of some of the individual verbs in the type, as they relate to the choice of complementiser. Want is directly pragmatic, relating to the Principal’s attitude towards the complement clause subject getting involved in some activity regarded as achievable, e.g. I want Mary to sing. Because of this, want is restricted to a Modal (FOR) TO construction; it is one of the few WANTING verbs not to take a THAT clause. Wish may have a wistful sense, relating to something that is not possible, and then takes a THAT complement (usually with past tense, previous aspect or a modal such as would or could), e.g. I wish (that) Mary could sing (but I know that she can’t, after the throat operation). Interestingly, when wish is used with a Modal (FOR) TO clause it takes on a quite different sense, becoming more peremptory and authoritarian than want, e.g. The Queen wishes you to sing. This may be because Modal (FOR) TO is the ‘marked’ complement choice for wish, and thus has a ‘marked’ meaning. Long (for) and crave (for) describe emotional attitudes of great intensity, and in view of this they are almost restricted to Modal (FOR) TO complements.

Need also has a strongly pragmatic meaning, being typically used to say what should be done, to a person who could be expected to do it; like want, it cannot take a THAT complement but is restricted to Modal (FOR) TO, e.g. I need you to wash up for me (since I’ve got a rash on my hands). Require tends to be used for an impersonal or institutional obligation on the subject of the complement clause to become involved in an activity, and is often used in the passive with a Modal (FOR) TO complement, e.g. You are required to sign here. It may also refer to some general instruction, through a THAT clause, e.g. The duchess requires that her sheets be changed each day.

Aim (for) differs semantically from intend in implying a single-mindedness of purpose—this is why it is typically used in a Modal (FOR) TO construction with coreferential subjects (and thus omission of complement clause subject), e.g. I aim to win, as against I intended Mary to win. Prepare relates to the complement clause subject becoming involved in an activity and is—like want and need—restricted to a Modal (FOR) TO construction, e.g. I am preparing for John to bring his new bride home to meet me.

All WANTING verbs take a Modal (FOR) TO complement. All save want, need and prepare take a THAT complement. An ING complement clause (whose subject must be coreferential with main clause subject, and then omitted) is possible with those verbs which relate to the Principal’s thought that they will do a certain thing in the future—intend, plan, and also prepare for, aim at. Compare:

(73a) He is planning to build a rockery

(73b) He is planning building a rockery

Sentence (73a), with a Modal (FOR) TO complement, just states that he has the idea of ‘getting involved’ in putting in a rockery; (73b), with an ING complement, suggests that he is thinking of the details of the activity— where it will go, how to build the stones up, and so on.

Verbs in the POSTPONING type generally refer to some activity with temporal extent, and thus naturally take ING complements, e.g. I delayed writing the letter, The Prime Minister put off meeting the union leaders. Alternatively, an ACTIVITY or SPEECH ACT noun may fill the O slot, e.g. He put off the meeting. Verbs from this type do not take a THAT complement, simply because they refer to a projected event, not to the fact of an event, e.g. we do not say *He delayed that he would write the letter.