Needs specimen

[James E. Clapp]

Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>
> this is even more of a technicality, but . . .

Your technicalities are much more interesting (as well as more sound)
than mine; thank you for the fascinating lesson.  I wish I were a
linguist so that I could be more sure I understand it all, but I did
learn a lot.

I take a bit of comfort in your theory that "historically the
verbal-complement V-ing construction is a reanalysis of the
direct-object construction with a V-ing object":  At least my reading of
the -ing form as a direct object wasn't completely off the wall.  But I
do see that "needs immediate cleaning" and "needs cleaning immediately"
are two different constructions; I hope it is still sound to analyze the
first as involving a gerund-object.  (There's an interesting difference
between "needs cleaning immediately" [adverb defines verbal complement
"cleaning"] and "needs cleaning badly" [adverb--perhaps infelicitously
placed--defines "needs"; function of "cleaning" ambiguous].)

Thanks again for taking the time to lay all this out.

James E. Clapp