in spoken Latin and is the form used consistently in Jerome's Vulgate, which reflects a colloquial style. It is also the equivalent of the Greek indirect statement introduced by . This is the origin of the construction in the modern Romance languages such as French: Julia dit qu'elle est une bonne élève. In English In English, the ACI construction occurs with verbs of wishing, saying and perceiving, as well as in causative clauses. Depending on the valency of the main verb in the sentence, English may use the infinitive with or without the infinitive marker to. I would like the President to be successful. I saw her go. I wouldn't want them to think I'm unfair. I imagine that to be true. I believe there to be no alternative. She considers herself to have a fine reputation. She made me eat the vegetables. The teacher let the children go home early. Please don't have me get down on my knees. In the framework of transformational grammar, the English construction is known as exceptional case-marking. In Spanish In Spanish, the ACI is used in causatives as well (Me obligó a mirarlo "He forced me to look at him") and in perception verbs (Los vi caminar por aquí "I saw them walk around here"), but it is not permitted in other cases. For example, in English one may say I told him to do it, but in Spanish one must say Le dije que lo hiciera "I said to him that he do it" (using the subjunctive mood), not *Le dije hacerlo or any other construction with the infinitive. References Sources Klein, Maarten (2010) 'The accusative infinitive in Latin, English and Dutch.' In: Zwart, Jan-Wouter and Mark de Vries (eds.), Structure Preserved: Studies in syntax for Jan Koster. Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 164. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 231-237 Latin grammar