Exceptional and Small ClausesIn this case the subject of the complement clause gets nominative Case from its own
finite inflection and so the replacement of the light verb with the passive morpheme
makes no difference.
In conclusion, we can see that there is a class of verbs which subcategorise for
exceptional non-finite IP complements. These clauses have subjects which are dependent
on the light verb of the governing verb for their Case. Therefore these subjects bear
accusative Case. Moreover these subjects are affected by the passivisation of the
governing verb which robs them of their Case assigner. Hence they will undergo a
movement to the subject position of the higher clause, just like the object of the
passive verb does.
Before closing this section, we will point out that there are some verbs which might
look like exceptional verbs, but which are probably not. The most notorious of these is
the verb want. This verb appears in structures that are remarkably similar to those
involving exceptional verbs:
(21) the mayor wants [the sheriff to support him]
Here we have a complement clause which is non-finite and has an overt subject. The
fact that this subject can be replaced by an accusative pronoun him shows that the
subject is in an accusative position, just like we get with an exceptional verb.
However, unlike exceptional verbs, this verb cannot passivise:
(22) *the deputy 1 was wanted [t 1 to ride the horse]
If this were an exceptional verb, there would be no problem in passivising it. In this
way, want behaves like a non-exceptional verb such as hope:
(23) *the outlaws 1 were hoped [t 1 to be caught]
Presumably the reason why the subject cannot move out of the non-finite clause is
because this is a CP, not an IP. Besides, passivising the verb would not affect the non-
finite clause’s subject as this does not get its Case from the light verb, but from the
complementiser. But if this is the reason why want does not passivise, then we must
conclude that it has a CP complement, not an IP, i.e. it is not an exceptional verb. If the
complement of want is a CP, then its subject must get its Case from a complementiser,
but there is no complementiser visible in (21). However, the complementiser can be
made visible by separating the clause from the verb by an intervening adjunct:
(24) the mayor wants very much [for the sheriff to support him]
As can be predicted, the same thing does not happen with exceptional verbs, whose
complements are not CPs in the first place:
(25) a the sheriff believes very much [for the bandits to have robbed the bank]
b the horse expects very much [for the deputy to feed it]
Thus we may conclude that want takes a CP complement with a complementiser that
may be null. Why the complementiser is null when the clause is adjacent to the verb
and why it becomes overt when it is not, is a complete mystery.