Verbs with a sentential subject: A lexical examination of a sub-set of psych verbs

SummaryA sub-set of the psych verbs whose subject is a sentential clause and whose object is a human noun, the experiencer, has been studied in its lexical extension. The transformations that can be applied to the paradigm sentence are studied in detail, and their acceptability (or not) plus various syntactic properties are noted for each verb in a table. Two surprising results emerge from this study. (1) All the verbs can be classified with confidence into three semantic groups: the first two contain verbs referring respectively to a mental or a physical change in the experiencer, and the third contains verbs making an observation or judgment about the experiencer. (2) A group of reflexive psych verbs has been observed that has hitherto escaped notice.