I look at the original sentence "Wembley worried that...." as a contraction for the transitive verbal phrase 
"Wembley worried about the possibility that...." where "worried about" is the actual verbal phrase. The phrase 
"about the possibility" is subsumed into the expletive "that." In this case it is the DO answering the question 
"What did Wembley worry about?"
Leslie


----- Original Message -----
From: "Castilleja, Janet" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, March 12, 2010 12:13 pm
Subject: Re: a query
To: [log in to unmask]

> When I look for a direct object, I usually use the 'subject does what'
> test.  When I try this with Natalie's sentence, it doesn't seem to 
> workvery well: Wemberly worried what?  I want to include 'about' after
> worried in the test.  Does the 'that' kind of replace 'about'? Is it
> possible that 'that' isn't exactly part of the clause somehow? And 
> whatabout a sentence like this: The cat worried the mouse, where 
> 'worry'means 'bother'?  (I guess I am remembering the British 
> children'sliterature I always used to read.)  Anyway, that seems to 
> be more
> clearly a direct object. 
> 
> 
> 
> Janet
> 
> 
> 
> From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dick Veit
> Sent: Friday, March 12, 2010 5:53 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: a query
> 
> 
> 
> Good question, Natalie. If instead of "worried," the verb were
> "understood," "feared," or "regretted," we would immediately agree 
> thatthe clause was a direct object, since it follows a transitive 
> verb. The
> reason for your question is that "worried" (like "hoped," "rejoiced,"
> etc.) is intransitive and presumably unable to take a direct object.
> That's the way the online dictionaries I consulted list them.
> 
> But I agree with your analysis that the clause is acting as a direct
> object, since there is no difference in the function of the clause
> regardless of whether the verb is "feared" (etc.) or "worried" (etc.).
> In other words, the dictionaries are not giving the full picture.
> "Worry" (etc.) can indeed be transitive--but perhaps only when the
> direct object is a that-clause.  
> 
> Dick 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Natalie Gerber
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> 
> 
> Is my analysis of the following clause pattern correct?
> 
> 
> 
> Wemberly worried that she might drip on her new dress.
> 
> 
> 
> "That she might drip on her new dress" is a that-clause serving as the
> direct object.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance for your help. I wanted to double-check my 
> analysis of
> this example before reviewing it with my class. If my using the 
> list to
> check examples is not an appropriate use (I've been sensitive to
> concerns over community and collegiality recently), please let me 
> know.
> 
> 
> All best,
> 
> Natalie
> 
> 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> Natalie Gerber, Ph.D.
> 
> Assistant Professor
> 
> Department of English
> 
> SUNY Fredonia
> 
> ph. (716) 673-3855
> 
> fax (716) 673-4661
> 
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> 
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