Syntax II, Spring 2007		Assignment 3		Due Wednesday April 11

We have an analysis of constructions involving verbs like
	want, expect, prove, believe, ...
the details of which by now are familiar to you.

Consider now:

(1)  She wanted me to kiss the frog.
(2)  She persuaded me to kiss the frog.

These two sentences seem to have the same structure.  Yet there must be
some difference between wanting and persuading, because the two verbs cannot
always appear in the same context:

(3)  It wants the beer.
(4) *It persuades the beer.
((4) might be grammatical in some very odd context involving non-standard
assumptions about the cognitive abilities of beer.  Ignore those for now.)

(5) *I wanted Bill that the beer should be warm.
(6)  I persuaded Bill that the beer should be warm.

(7)  I wanted the whisky to warm Bill.
(8) *I persuaded the whisky to warm Bill.

(9)  I wanted there to be a fly in your beer.
10) *I persuaded there to be a fly in your beer.

11)  I want close tabs to be kept on her whereabouts.
12) *I will persuade close tabs to be kept on her whereabouts.

13)  I want it to be clear that I like your plan.
14) *I will persuade it to be clear that I like your plan.

We already have an analysis of sentences with the verb 'want'. 
Our task here will be to find an analysis of sentences with the
verb 'persuade' which can account for the differences.  First,
answer these questions:

    (a)  What sort of 'it' do we have in (13)?
    (b)  Is 'want' transitive or intransitive?	
    (c)  How many arguments does 'persuade' require?

Propose, present, and discuss an analysis that accounts for all these facts.
Your analysis should also account for the fact that (15) and (16)
are synonymous, while (17) and (18) are not:

   (15)  Bill wanted the doctor to examine Betty.
   (16)  Bill wanted Betty to be examined by the doctor.

   (17)  Bill persuaded the doctor to examine Betty.
   (18)  Bill persuaded Betty to be examined by the doctor.


NOTE: other verbs that work like 'persuade' are 'force', 'compel', 'tell', 'ask'.
Can you find any more?