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It performs this function after adjectives and adverbs modified by the adverbs too, enough and their synonyms.

She is too young to understand these things. She is old enough to have grandchildren.

It can also be introduced by the conjunction as.

The water was so cold as to make swimming quite impossible. How could he have been such an idiot as to trust them in the first place?

Will you be so kind as to let me in?

The infinitive can also describe a result or something surprising, especially with only and verbs such as find, discover, realise, etc.

He looked around only to discover that he was alone.

с) Of comparison or manner (Indefinite infinitives)

The infinitive is introduced by the conjunctions as if, as though.

He shook his head as if to say “don’t trust her”.

d) Of condition (Indefinite infinitives are used).

The infinitive can be introduced by the conjunction if.

To hear him talk, you will take him for a boss. If to do it properly the result will be better.

8. Parenthesis.

The following infinitive phrases are used in this function: to cut а long story short, to say the least (of it), to tell (you) the truth, to speak the truth, to say nothing of, to crown it all, to begin with, so to speak, to put it bluntly, to put it mildly, to put it in another way, and others.

Well, to begin with, he shouldn’t even have been driving my car. To put it bluntly, Robert’s just not good enough for the job.

PREDICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE INFINITIVE

Together with a noun or a pronoun infinitives can form predicative constructions. There are three types of Infinitive predicative constructions:

1.The-Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction

2.The Subjective Infinitive Construction

3.The For-to-Infinitive Construction

THE OBJECТIVEWIТH- THE-INFINIТIVE CONSTRUCТION

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. In a sentence it is used as a complex object.

1. It is used after verbs denoting sense perception, such as hear, see, watch, observe, notice, feel, etc. The Infinitive is used when the subject of the action expressed by these verbs sees or hears the action expressed by the Infinitive from beginning to end.

Pat saw her drive off about an hour later. Ralf watched his friend walk away.

After verbs of sense perception only the Indefinite Infinitive Active is used.

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2. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after the verbs denoting mental activity, such as know, think, consider, believe, suppose, expect, find, feel, etc.

He expected his girlfriend to drive him home. Mr. Graham found his partner to be very efficient.

The infinitive of the link verb ‘to be’ is easily dropped after the verbs think, consider, find if it is followed by an adjective and sometimes (especially after the verb consider) by a noun:

I found her very interesting. We considered him а good teacher.

But: They considered him to be working at the project.

After the verbs know and think a subordinate clause is more common while the Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used in a formal style:

We knew him to be an honest person. – We knew that he was an honest person. They thought the expedition to be over. – They thought that the expedition was over.

The Perfect Infinitive is seldom used after the verbs of mental activity.

3. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after verbs of declaring, such as announce, pronounce, declare. The infinitive of the verb ‘be’ can be dropped.

He pronounced the victim to be dead. I now pronounce you man and wife.

The government declared this territory (to be) а national park.

4. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after verbs denoting wish and intention, such as want, wish, desire, mean, need, intend, etc.

I don’t want her to hear about this. I didn’t mean her to read this paper.

I need him to look into the matter.

5. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after verbs denoting feeling and emotion, such as like, dislike, love, hate, etc.

I’d hate you to go.

I’d like you to tell me the truth.

We like our students to take part in college social activities.

6. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after verbs denoting order and permission, such as allow, suffer (old use) in the meaning ‘позволять, допускать’ and order in the meaning ‘распорядиться’.

А two-hour break allowed the papers to be printed. Mr. Dombey suffered Florence to play with Paul.

He ordered the books to be delivered at once.

In modern English а subordinate clause is preferable after the verb ‘order’:

He ordered that the report should be ready by morning.

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Note: The verb have in this meaning (допускать, позволять) is used in negative sentences and is followed by а gerundial complex:

I won’t have you walking there alone.

7. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after verbs denoting compulsion: make, cause, get, have.

O’Henry’s stories make everybody laugh. The disease caused his temperature to go up. They had Mother decorate the house.

8. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after the verb let:

She let her horse carry her home. Don’t let him go without breakfast.

9. The Objective-with-the-Infinitive construction is used after the verb rely on (upon).

We can rely on him to keep the secret.

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 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.

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THE FOR-TO-INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTION

The for-to-Infinitive construction 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.

GERUND

GENERAL NOTION

The Gerund is а non-finite form or a verbal. It doesn’t express person, number or mood and cannot be used as a predicate. Like a finite form it has tense and voice distinctions, but its tense distinctions differ from those of a finite verb. There is no Gerund in the Russian language.

FORMS OF THE GERUND

Negative forms are made by putting the negative particle ‘not’ before the gerund:

She is unhappy about not being invited to your parties.

NOTE:

1. After the verbs remember, forget, excuse, forgive, regret, thank, the phrase be sory, and after the prepositions on, upon, after, without the Indefinite Gerund is used to denote а prior action in most cases.

I remember him doing the same for me as а child.

He thanked us for helping him. She felt better after talking to them.

On seeing the child she smiled.

The Indefinite Gerund is used to denote а prior actions when the context makes the meaning of priority clear.

Didn’t they tell you about his leaving his wife?

2. After the verbs want, need, deserve, require and the adjective worth the active form of the Gerund is used though it is passive in meaning.

This room needs cleaning. This sight is worth seeing.

SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS OF THE GERUND

In а sentence the Gerund is often used as a part of a gerundial phrase or a gerundial construction. They can perform the following syntactic functions:

1. Subject

Reading books will do you а lot of good.

Your trying to help pleased him a lot.

It can be introduced by it or there:

It’s no use trying to persuade him. There is no smoking here.

There is no use arguing now.

2. Predicative

This was sharing а dream, and yet it wasn’t as silly as dreaming. His only duty was keeping the yard clean.

3. A part of а compound verbal predicate

а) as а part of а compound verbal modal predicate with the verbs or expressions having modal meaning:

She felt like telling everybody the truth about the accident.

b) as а part of а compound verbal aspect predicate with the verbs denoting the beginning, duration or cessation of the action begin, start, continue, go on, keep, keep on, stop, finish, give up and others:

She had stopped shivering too, in the last few minutes.

4. Object

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а) Gerunds and / or gerundial constructions can be used as а direct object after the following verbs:

Avoid, enjoy, excuse, forget, forgive, hate, (cannot) help, imagine, like, mind (in interrogative and negative sentences), need, postpone, prefer, prevent, prohibit, recommend, regret, remember, (cannot) stand, suggest, want, and the adjectives busy and worth.

I couldn’t avoid speaking to him. Imagine standing there, mouth open.

They don’t mind paying for driving lessons. The skirt needs pressing.

The book is worth reading.

b) Gerunds can be used as а prepositional object after the following verbs:

accuse (sb) of, burst out, excuse (sb) for, forbid sb from, forgive smb for, get round to, give up, keep from, prevent smb from, stop (sb) from, succeed in, suspect (sb) of, talk into / out of, thank (sb) for;

Don’t give up trying.

Some of the verbs take a direct object besides the object expressed by a gerund:

Don’t blame him for being late. They suspected him of hiding the facts.

She suspects David of having read her diary. I thanked him again for lending me а car.

Both gerunds and/or gerundial constructions can be used after the following verbs and phrases:

Verbs: apologize for, approve of, count on, blame (sb) for, complain about / of, insist on, look forward to, object to, put off, think of;

Phrases like be aware of, be afraid of, be ashamed of, be capable of, be clever at, be excited about / at, be fond of, be good at, be grateful for, be happy about, be interested in, be proud of, be sorry for / about, be sure of, be surprised at, be tired of, be used to, get used to, etc.

She was aware of being manipulated. You should apologize for (his) coming late.

5. Attribute

In this syntactic function gerunds are used in post-position to the noun they modify and are preceded with the prepositions of, for, in, to, about, at and others:

She had no intention of allowing the knowledge to mar her joy. There’s no harm in asking her about it.

I didn’t have а good excuse for being late. This is your clue to solving the problem.

He couldn’t hide his surprise at meeting his sister in that company.

The choice of the preposition can depend on the noun: surprise at, reason for, excuse for, danger in/on, etc.

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6. Adverbial modifier а) of time

In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the prepositions after, before, on (upon), in, at, since (the perfect forms of the gerund are not, as a rule, used in this syntactic function as the prepositions show the time correlation of the action denoted by the gerund and that denoted by the finite form of the verb):

After waiting all that dark November morning in the overcrowded surgery, Milly had in the end seen the exhausted young doctor.

On entering the dark alley she stopped puzzled.

At seeing the roses Judy felt absolutely happy. She has been sad since receiving this letter.

b) of manner

In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the prepositions by, in:

By creeping into the furthermost corner, Milly found а little protection from the spray. She spent the whole day in cleaning and scrubbing.

с) of attendant circumstances

In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the preposition without, besides, in addition to, instead of:

And without waiting for an answer she darted off into the damp, windowless cavern. Besides trying to become a writer she also worked with a small law firm.

You’d better think it over instead of arguing.

d) of purpose

The gerund is used to speak about the purpose in general. In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the preposition for:

Half-glasses hung around her neck, for reading the menu.

е) of condition

In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the preposition without or the phrase in case of:

I can’t defend this case without telling the truth.

In case of changing your plans, please, inform us immediately.

f) of cause

In this syntactic function gerunds are preceded by the prepositions for, for fear of, owing to, because of, through:

For fear of making the same mistake again she avoided their company.

He was desperate because of the weather, of losing his way, of night coming so fast. But I came to it at last through pursuing the rule I have just mentioned.

(A. Christie)

g) of concession

In this syntactic function gerunds denote some obstacles in spite of which the action of the finite form is carried out and are preceded by the preposition in spite of, despite:

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In spite of being exhausted and hungry she went on walking along the crowded street.

Despite sending his applications regularly, he couldn’t get a job.

7. Parentheses

In this syntactic function the gerund is preceded by the conjunction as and the preposition for (as for):

As for giving you an answer, I’ll take my time.

PARTICIPLE

GENERAL NOTION

The Participle is а non-finite form or a verbal. It doesn’t express person, number or mood and cannot be used as a predicate. There are two participles in the English language

– Participle I and Participle II. Like a finite form Participle I has tense and voice distinctions, but its tense distinctions differ from those of a finite verb. Participle II has neither tense nor voice distinctions, though Participles II of transitive verbs can have passive meaning.

FORMS OF PARTICIPLES

PARTICIPLE I

The negative forms are made by putting the negative particle ‘not’ before the participle.

PARTICIPLE II

Participle II has only one form as it has no tense or voice distinctions.

SYNTACTIC FUNCTIONS OF РARТICIPLES

Participles are used in different syntactic functions. It can be used as attribute, predicative, adverbial modifier and parentheses. If it takes an object or is modified by an adverb, the whole participle phrase performs the syntactic function.

1. Attribute.

As an attribute Participle I denotes а feature belonging to the object at the present time or simultaneous to the action denoted by the finite verb form or some permanent feature. That’s why Participle I Indefinite is used in this syntactic function.

Do you know the law explaining this phenomenon?

Participle I Indefinite Passive is seldom used as an attribute.

The equipment being used now is out-of-date.

Participle II or a subordinate clause will be preferable:

The unopened letter was from my father. The equipment used now is out-of-date.

The equipment that is used now is out-of-date.

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Participle I Perfect is not used in this syntactic function. An attributive subordinate clause is used to denote а feature which belonged to the object prior to the action of the finite verb.

2. Predicative

As a rule, it denotes a state of the subject and only Participle I Indefinite Active or Participle II is used.

She was so happy, so enjoying herself.

It didn't sound promising, but she thanked the clerk all the same.

He tried to enter, but the door was locked and nobody answered his knock.

3. Adverbial modifier:

Participles and participle phrases can be used in this function. When used as an adverbial modifier Participle II is, as a rule, preceded by a conjunction.

а) of time

To express the simultaneity or succession of the actions denoted by Participle I and the finite verb, Participle I Indefinite is used; the conjunctions when and while are often used to empathize the simultaneity.

Walking through the forest they noticed some broken trees.

While walking through the forest they noticed some broken trees.

Participle I of the verb ‘be’ is not used in this syntactic function and is replaced by the phrases of the type: When а child, When in London, or by the subordinate clause of time.

When in Rome, do as Romans do.

When a student, he studied law.

Participle II it is used with the conjunction when or while, until and others:

When pronounced the words sounded harsh and hurting.

Don’t say anything until asked.

b) of cause

Both Participle I and Participle II can be used in this syntactic function.

Being aware of the danger he took some steps.

Wishing to see her as soon as possible he hurried outside.

Left alone on an uninhabited island the pirate had nobody to count on.

с) of manner and attendant circumstances

As а rule, Participle I Indefinite is used in this syntactic function. It usually indicates the manner of the action if the predicate is expressed by the verbs and phrases like spend, have a good time, enjoy oneself, etc.

She dressed by the light of the stars, taking the first things that came to hand. He sat there smiling to show that he was pleased... (S. Maugham)

In the syntactic function of the adverbial modifier of manner, Participle II is used with the conjunction as:

Take the medicine as prescribed.

In the syntactic function of the adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances no conjunction is used, but the participle or the participle phrase is usually separated by a comma:

They reluctantly entered the building, observed by the excited onlookers.

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d) of comparison

The conjunctions as if or as though are used to introduce Participles in this syntactic function.

He pronounced the words slowly, as if carefully selecting them. As if persuaded, she was suddenly silent.

e) of concession

The conjunction though is used to introduce the participle in this syntactic function.

Though meaning no harm he ruined the peaceful atmosphere with his words. Though carefully avoided, this subject came out in their conversation again and again.

f) of result

Participle I shows the result of the action denoted by the predicate; the result is unintended. In this case, as a rule, the participle phrase is separated by a comma.

I stayed at the office rather late, missing my bus home. g) of condition

Participles are not often used in this function. In such sentences there is usually some kind of alternative expressed or implied:

Speaking politely, you’ll achieve more than if you shout at them. Turning right, you’ll get to the waterfront, turning left, you’ll find yourself in

front of the cathedral.

Participle II is usually used with the conjunction if; in some cases the conjunction may be omitted:

If discovered, this information will upset their plans.

Considered from this point of view, her behaviour won’t seem so strange.

4. Parentheses. participle phrase is used, for example: Generally speaking, Frankly speaking, Judging by..., Considering..., Taking into consideration...:

Frankly speaking, it is not exac

In this syntactic function а tly what I wanted.

PREDICATIVE СОNSТRUСIONS WITH ТHE PARТICIPLE

Together with a noun or a pronoun Participles can form the following predicative constructions:

1.The Objective Participle Construction.

2.The Subjective Participle Construction.

3.The Nominative Absolute Participle Construction.

4.The Prepositional Absolute Participle Construction.

THE OBJECTIVE PARTICIPLE CONSTRUCTION

It is а construction in which the Participle is in predicate relation to а noun or a pronoun (indefinite, defining, negative) in the common case or а personal pronoun in the objective сasе. Reflexive pronouns may be used too.

We watched the boy crossing the street. I felt myself shivering.

In the sentence this construction has the function of а complex object and is used after certain groups of verbs.

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