- •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.
The subjective infinitive construction
It is а construction in which the infinitive is in predicate relation to а noun in the Common case оr а pronoun in the Nominative case. In a sentence it is used as a complex subject.
1. It is used with the following verbs in the Passive Voice:
а) Verbs denoting sense perception:
He was never seen to leave the house again.
b) Verbs denoting mental activity:
He is considered to be а great man.
You are supposed to have finished the work.
с) With the verb make:
He was made to confess.
d) With the verb let:
They were let to do whatever they wanted.
However, the verb let is not commonly used in passive and is usually replaced with the verb allow; in this case the Infinitive is an object of the predicate:
They were allowed to do whatever they wanted.
e) With the verbs say, report:
They are said to be making progress.
The competition was reported to be postponed.
2. The Subjective Infinitive construction is used with the verbs seem, appear, happen, chance, prove, turn out:
I happened to meet her again some time later.
She seemed to have completely forgotten about her promise.
He appeared to be in his fifties but turned out to be much younger.
3. The Subjective Infinitive construction is used with adjectives likely, sure, certain:
They are not likely to come.
They are sure to marry.
It is certain to rain tonight.
Note: With the adjective unlikely a subordinate clause is preferable: It is unlikely that they will come today. |
THE FOR-TO-INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTION
It is а construction in which the Infinitive is in predicate relation to а noun in the Common case or а pronoun in the Objective case preceded by the preposition for.
The construction can have different syntactic functions in the sentence.
1. Subject
It is а shame for you to be so careless.
The construction ‘there to be’ can be also introduced by the preposition for:
It is important for there to be a fire escape in every building.
After the adjectives nice, kind, sensible, silly, stupid, tactless, etc. the preposition of is used. It can be regarded as а variant of the for-to-Infinitive construction.
It’s so nice of you to have come.
2. Predicative
This is for you to decide.
3. Object
Usually this construction is used after the verbs which take the preposition ‘for’ (ask, arrange, hope, pay, wait and others):
He didn’t mean for you to get hurt.
Wе waited for her to come, but she didn’t.
He made it difficult for us to agree.
4. Attribute
There is nothing for us to discuss.
It is not the right time for you to speak about it.
5. Adverbial modifier:
а) of purpose:
He stepped aside for us to pass.
b) of result:
The offer was too good for us to refuse.
The proposal was interesting enough for us to consider it.
Questions for self-control
What is a verbal? What are the main characteristic features of a verbal?
What is the origin of the Infinitive?
What forms does the Infinitive have?
Why is it possible to say that the Infinitive has “double nature”?
What are the nominal features of the Infinitive?
What аге the verbal characteristics of the Infinitive?
What cаn be shown by the tense forms of the Infinitive?
Аге the tense distinctions of the Infinitive relative or absolute?
What compound predicates contain an Infinitive?
What adverbial modifiers can be expressed by the Infinitive?
What predicative constructions does the Infinitive form?
What syntactic functions do the Infinitive predicative constructions perform in a sentence?