From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue Aug 15 1995 - 06:46:21 EDT
At 10:21 PM 8/14/95, LISATIA@aol.com wrote:
>dear Ken,
> What do you say to be the cause of the trouble?" or "Whom do you say to be
>the cause of it?" in English are two sentences with double accusatives in the
>infinitive mode: "you say whom to be the cause of it." One is subject; one
>is object. Examples are rare in English, because we don't regularly use the
>infinitive for indirect discourse. By the way, whom do you expect to be the
>next president?
> best wishes, dick arthur Merrimack NH
Honestly (and I don't mean to be in the least bit sarcastic), don't you
feel a little bit silly when speaking these sentences aloud, even if not
when writing them on paper (or electronic media)? My immediate reaction to
hearing or seeing this construction is that the speaker/writer probably
learned the construction from Greek or Latin grammar. I really think it is
archaic English, and even if it is found occasionally in very formal
writing, it surely has something of a Victorian ring to it, IMHO. I know
there will be those who disagree with this, but that's what I really think.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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