I want this man (to be) dead by noon.

1. I want this man to be dead by noon.
2. I want this man dead by noon.
(My bold.)
Source: Ting-Chi Tang, Linguistics and Language Teaching, p333.

What's the differences in meaning between the above sentences?

None.

Did Ting-Chi tang say there was a difference?

5jj said:

Did Ting-Chi tang say there was a difference?

Click to expand...

1. I want this man to be dead by noon.
2. I want this man dead by noon.
(My bold.)
Source: Ting-Chi Tang, Linguistics and Language Teaching, p333. (published in 1981)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In #1, this man will be killed.
In #2, this man will be killed right away.
What bothers me is that both sentences have the prepositional phrase "by noon".
In An Introductory Study of English Grammar, published in 2014, Prof. Tang changed #1 into #3.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. I want this man to be dead by the end of this month.
2. I want this man dead by noon.
(My bold.)
Source: Ting-Chi Tang, An Introductory Study of English Grammar, p39. (published in 2014)

sitifan said:

In #1, this man will be killed.
In #2, this man will be killed right away.

Click to expand...

That is not so.

sitifan said:

3. I want this man to be dead by the end of this month.
4. I want this man dead by noon.

Click to expand...

What point are you trying to make with these two sentences?

5jj said:

That is not so.

What point are you trying to make with these two sentences?

Click to expand...

Perhaps Tang felt that his original analysis was not logical because both #1 and #2 used the same adverb of time.

sitifan said:

Perhaps Tang felt that his original analysis was not logical because both #1 and #2 used the same adverb of time.

Click to expand...

What was his original analysis?

5jj said:

What was his original analysis?

Click to expand...

want someone to be dead > someone will be killed
want someone dead > someone will be killed right away

Saying you want something to happen doesn't mean it will happen. Also, that difference between the two sentences does not exist.

The only way it can mean "right away" is if it's made clear that it's currently around 11:55am and it has to be done by noon. Without knowing what time it is that the sentence is uttered, it carries no meaning of that sort at all.

I disagree with Tang's temporal analysis, but to me #2 does have the suggestion of a command or order, while #1 is more of an expression of a wish. However, that wish could easily be interpreted as a command, so there's still little difference.

Assuming of course, the speaker is someone who has the power to have people killed on whim (i.e. some kind of mob boss, gang leader, despot, etc.)