8.1.1 Clauses without CP

Given that clauses are normally CPs, a clause which only has an IP status is an exception. Hence, such clauses are known as exceptional clauses and the verbs which take exceptional clauses as their complements, i.e. verbs like believe, are known as exceptional verbs. Finally the process of assigning Case to the subject of an exceptional clause is sometimes called Exceptional Case Marking, or ECM for short.