- •Введение
- •Contents
- •General notion
- •In informal English we can put an adverb between to and the infinitive (it is a so-called split infinitive).
- •Tense and aspect distinctions of the infinitive
- •3. The Perfect Infinitive denotes an action prior to that expressed bу the finite verb.
- •Voice disтinctions of тhe infiniтive
- •In sentences with the construction ‘there is’ the Infinitive of some verbs can be active or passive without any change in meaning:
- •You are silly not to trust them. Тhe use of тhe infiniтive wiтhout тhe parтicle ‘то’ (тhe bare infiniтive)
- •1. Subject. Non-perfect infinitives are more common in this function.
- •It is not necessary to tell her the details.
- •It takes me a couple of hours to cook this dish.
- •4. А part of a compound verbal predicate.
- •I like to see the children enjoying themselves.
- •I’m glad to meet you.
- •I’m glad to have met you.
- •I’m glad to be told the news.
- •I’m lucky to have met you there.
- •I find it difficult to talk to you.
- •I don’t know what to do.
- •I have no desire to see him again.
- •It’s a nice opportunity to see London.
- •7. Adverbial modifier.
- •If to do it properly the result will be better.
- •Predicative constructions with the infinitive
- •The objecтive- wiтh- the-infiniтive construcтion
- •I found her very interesting.
- •The subjective infinitive construction
- •I happened to meet her again some time later.
- •It is certain to rain tonight.
- •Questions for self-control
- •Exercises forms of the infinitive Ex. 1 What verbal and nominal properties have the Infinitive forms in the sentences below?
- •Ex. 2 Read the sentences below. Speak on the tense and aspect distinctions of the Infinitives used in the sentences.
- •Ex. 3 Read the sentences. What can you say about the use of the Infinitive forms in them? Translate the sentences into Russian.
- •Bare infinitive
- •I would prefer you to go on foot. – I’d rather you went on foot.
- •Syntactic functions of the infinitive
- •1. Subject
- •2. Predicative
- •3. Secondary predicative
- •4. Attribute
- •5. Part of a compound verbal modal predicate
- •6. Part of a compound verbal aspect predicate
- •It has started to rain.
- •7. Object
- •I am sorry to trouble you.
- •8. Adverbial modifier of purpose
- •9. Adverbial modifier of result or consequence
- •10. Adverbial modifier of comparison
- •I have only а few minutes to spare.
- •2) She plays the piano well. She cаn give concerts. –
- •Predicative constructions with the infinitive
- •I’m sure you have met these people before. –
- •I believe her to know all the details. –
- •It’s nice that you have come to see us. – It’s nice of you to come to see us.
- •Subject
- •Adverbial modifier of purpose
- •General revision
- •(10 Points)
- •(20 Points)
- •(15 Points)
- •(15 Points)
- •(30 Points)
- •(20 Points)
- •(10 Points)
- •Glossary
- •Selected bibliography
- •Books used for examples
- •Инфинитив
- •344082, Г. Ростов-на-Дону, ул. Большая Садовая, 33.
3. The Perfect Infinitive denotes an action prior to that expressed bу the finite verb.
He seems to have known her before.
He was sorry to have come so early.
Perfect infinitives are often used when we talk about things that didn’t happen:
I meant to have invited him but I forgot to do it.
We were to have met but she didn’t come to the party.
You should have told me about it earlier. Why didn’t you?
4. The Perfect Continuous Infinitive denotes an action which lasted а certain time before the action of the finite verb. It is not only а tense form, but also an aspect form, expressing both the priority and the manner of the action.
He seems to have been working in the lab since morning.
He must have been waiting for you long enough.
Voice disтinctions of тhe infiniтive
The Infinitive of the transitive verbs has special forms for the Active and the Passive voice.
They decided to send John to Washington. – Indefinite Active
He is glad to be sent on а business trip. – Indefinite Passive
They seem to have sent John to Washington. – Perfect Active
He is glad to have been sent on а business trip. – Perfect Passive
The active form of the Infinitive shows that the subject of the sentence, the person or thing characterized by the Infinitive, or the person or thing expressed in the Infinitive predicative construction is the doer of the action denoted by the Infinitive:
I hope to see you again soon.
He is the person to help you.
We saw him send this letter.
The passive form of the Infinitive shows that the subject of the sentence, the person or thing characterized by the Infinitive, or the person or thing expressed in the Infinitive predicative construction is affected by the action denoted by the Infinitive:
He was eager to be nominated as the best actor.
There is another question to be discussed.
I expect him to be awarded first prize.
Continuous passive forms are not normally used.
In sentences with the construction ‘there is’ the Infinitive of some verbs can be active or passive without any change in meaning:
There is nothing to fear.
There is nothing to be feared.
Note: There is difference in meaning in the following sentences: It’s so boring here. There is nothing to do. – Нечего делать. There is nothing to be done now. (It’s impossible to do anything now) – Ничего нельзя сделать. |
FORMS OF THE INFINITIVE
TENSE, ASPECT / VOICE |
Active |
Passive |
Non-perfect Indefinite (Simple) |
to do |
to be done |
Non-perfect Continuous |
to be doing |
- |
Perfect Simple |
to have done |
to hаvе bееn done |
Perfect Continuous |
to have been doing |
- |
The negative forms are made by putting the negative particle ‘not’ before the Infinitive: