1.4.5.2. An adverbial modifier of result or consequence:

He's strong enough to lift it.

He is too weak to lift it.

The use of the infinitive of result mostly depends on the adverbs too, enough, so (as):

I'm too tired to stay up longer.

You should have been woman enough to control yourself.

I'm not so stupid as to put it in writing.

1.4.5.3. An adverbial modifier of subsequent events:

He returned after the war (only) to be told that his wife had left him.

She left home never to return.

The infinitive describes an event which is unexpected, sometimes unwelcome – especially when only is used before the infinitive. As a rule, the action of the infinitive instantly follows the action of the predicate verb and is its result:

She opened her eyes to see the house on fire.

I turned round to find a man pointing a knife at me.

1.4.5.4. An adverbial modifier of comparison:

Miss de Haviland gave me no time to consider her question. She was more inclined to assert than to question.

1.4.5.5. An adverbial modifier of condition:

You'd be well within your rights to take him to court.

I'll thank you to leave me alone.

1.4.5.6. An adverbial modifier of exception:

They do nothing but complain whenever we see them.

1.4.5.7. An adverbial modifier of time:

He was a tough old man. He really looked like living to be a hundred.

1.4.5.8. An adverbial modifier of cause or motivation:

What a fool I was not to have foreseen it!

You are crazy to have gone there alone!

5. Infinitive phrases

1.5.1. All question-words except why can come before the infinitive to form a phrase.

Can somebody show me how to change the film in this camera?

Infinitive phrases introduced by the conjunctive adverbs when, where, how, the conjunctive pronouns who, what, which or the conjunction whether are mostly used in the sentence as objects:

I don't know whether to apply for the job or not.

Infinitive phrases can also be subjects, predicatives or attributes:

It was clear which to choose.

1.5.2. The infinitive also forms parenthetical phrases. They are generally set phrases: to tell (you) the truth, to cut a long story short, to put it another way, to be honest, to begin with, to put it mildly, to put it crudely, to be more precise, to be sure, to say the least (of it), to say nothing of, not to say, so to say, to crown (it) all, to make the things still worse (to make matters worse).

Well, to begin with, he shouldn't even have been driving my car.

The phrase is inserted into the sentence without forming part of its grammatical structure.

Well, to cut a long story short, they thought it would be more economical to live at the villa.

To tell the truth, I am sick and tired of this nonsense.

6. Predicative constructions (complexes) with the infinitive

There are the following predicative constructions with the infinitive:

• the Accusative with the Infinitive

• the Nominative with the Infinitive

• the Infinitive For-Phrase

1.6.1. The Accusative with the Infinitive

Some verbs can be used with or without a noun or pronoun before the infinitive:

I want to speak to the manager. (=I shall speak)

I want you to speak to the manager. (=you will speak)

The difference is that the doer of both actions is the same in the first sentence, and the action of the infinitive has a doer of its own in the second sentence. The noun or pronoun and the infinitive are closely connected and form a complex.

The relation between the noun (or pronoun) and the infinitive is similar to that of subject and predicate. In this function the infinitive may be called a "secondary predicate" (action) and the noun a "secondary subject" (doer of the second action).

The two elements are closely connected, being one complex part of the sentence. They form a complex object. This construction consisting of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive is called the "Accusative with the Infinitive" (from the classical "Accusativus cum Infinitivo").

The "Accusative with the Infinitive" is used with verbs denoting:

1. perception – to hear, feel, see, watch, observe, notice:

I heard somebody slam the door in the middle of the night. It woke me up.

I saw Tom get into his car and drive away.

2) mental activity – to know, think, consider, believe, suppose, expect, imagine, find, feel, trust, understand, admit, deny, prove:

Until the disaster, everyone had believed the ship to be unsinkable.

I didn't expect the Robinsons to invite us to dinner.

3) feeling and emotion – to love, like, dislike, hate, bear (cannot bear):

He upset you very much, and I hate to see that.

4) wish and intention – to want, wish, like (=want), desire, choose (=want), intend, mean:

Have you got enough money or do you want me to lend you some?

5) order and permission – to order, command, recommend, advise, request, beg, ask, allow, permit, let, promise, forbid:

We allowed a little time to pass before we went in.

My father continued to address me, and I continued to stand still and let the cold wind slap my face.

6) compulsion – to cause, compel, make, force, get, have:

The car's broken and I can't make it go.

While I was filling up with petrol, I got the mechanic to check the pressure of the tyres.

Thus, the construction "the Accusative with the Infinitive" consists of a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive. The action of the infinitive has a doer of its own expressed by that noun (or pronoun). The syntactical function of the construction is that of a complex object.