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How do you parse run across the street below?

I saw him (run across the street).

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    I would describe "him run across the street" as a non-finite clause, with the infinitive "run" as its head.
    – Colin Fine
    Apr 3, 2018 at 11:58
  • @ColinFine Well, I'm not used to parsing using terms such as head. Is it possible to use traditional tools. Thanks CF.
    – learner
    Apr 3, 2018 at 12:03
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    Traditionally, him is the direct object of saw, and run across the street is what was observed of him, an infinitival clause complement expressing the nature of his action. Compare I heard her sing. The pattern is {perceive} {someone}{do something} I watched them go. I felt it pinch.
    – TimR
    Apr 3, 2018 at 12:17
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    @learner: the term 'head' is simple and quite useful. Here is a definition. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_(linguistics)
    – JavaLatte
    Apr 3, 2018 at 12:45
  • It's a catenative construction where the subordinate infinitival clause "run across the street" is catenative complement of "saw". The intervening noun phrase "him" is the syntactic object of "saw" and the understood subject of the subordinate clause. Would you like a diagram of the sentence?
    – BillJ
    Apr 3, 2018 at 19:04

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