johno692001 Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 How can I explain the difference between these two sentences: "I want you to know" "I want to know you" Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vreddy Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 1. you want to know what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irinka Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi! In the 1st sentence: I want [you to know]; the bracketed clause stands for the infinitive subordinate clause, the subject of which is YOU; whereas in the 2nd sentence: I want [to know you], the subject of the subordinate clause is the same as that of the matrix clause "I", and YOU is the Direct Object. Both the infintive clauses have the thematic role of proposition, I want WHAT? Take care! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irinka Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Something to add! The word order is always significant in English, that means if you make a slight, as you might think, change in the sentence structure, that can affect the meaning of the whole sentence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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