Page 632 - Practical English Usage 3ed - Michael Swan, Oxford

2
I don't know why they elected him President.
Would you like to join the committee?- I would consider it an honour. A long and heavy object may come after the complement. Compare:
He painted the wall red. (NOT He I'fJinteti reti the weill.)
He painted red aU o f the kitchen walls as well as the window frames
and ceiling.
see, describe etc: structure with as
After some verbs, an object complement is introduced by as. This is common when we say how we see or describe somebody/something.
I see you as a basically kind person.
She described her attacker as a tall dark man with a beard. His mother regards him as a genius.
After tests, they identified the metal as gold. The structure is also possible with as being.
The police do not regard him as (being) dangerous.
verbs of thinking and feeling: structure with to be
Some verbs that refer to thoughts, feelings and opinions (e.g. believe, consider, feel, know, find, understand) can be followed by object + infinitive (usually to
be) in a formal style. In an informal style, that-clauses are more common. I considered him to be an excellent choice.
(Less formal: I considered that he was ...) We supposed them to be married.
(Less formal: We supposed that they were . ..) They believed her to be reliable.
(Less formal: They believed that she was reliable.) This structure is very unusual with think.
I thought that she was mistaken.
(More natural than I thought her to be mistaken.)
To be can be dropped after consider.
I considered him (to be) an excellent choice.
Passive forms of these structures may be less formal than active forms (see paragraph 6 below).
For more details of structures with feel, see 202; for know. see 3J3; for think. see 588. They found her (to be) ...
After find + object, to be suggests the result of a test or investigation. Compare:
- Everybody found her very pleasant
The doctors found her to be perfectly fit.
- I found the bicycle very comfortable to ride.
The testers found this bicycle to be the best value for money. structures with preparatory it
When the object of a verb is a clause, infinitive structure or -ing structure, and there is an object complement, it is common to use it as a preparatory object. Compare:
She made her views clear.
She made it clear that she disagreed. (NOT She "Mtie that she tlisfJgreetl elefJr .)
3
4
S
verb + object + complement 607
page 600