Exercises

Ex.1. USE the Infinitive as predicative to complete the sentences below:

1. My first instinct was … 2. Her goal was … 3. What we all want now is… 4. The last thing I meant was … 5. Your job so far will be … 6. My first reaction was … 7. The sole purpose of the story was … 8. My reaction to this would be … 9. To ask him a straight question means … 10. The first thing he wanted to be done was … 11. His desire has always been … 12. To be a good student means … 13. The purpose of this meeting is … 14. My intentions were … 15. To act like that meant …

Ex.2. TRANSLATE into English. USE the infinitive as the predicative or the part of the predicative.

1. Мой печальный долг, к сожалению, - сообщить вам о тяжелой болезни кардинала. 2. В эту игру легко играть. 3. Останавливаться в отелях Брайтона всегда приятно. 4. Все, о чем я тебя прошу, это не вмешиваться в мои дела. 5. Твоя задача – проверить все документы и сообщить мне о результатах. 6. Самой огромной ошибкой в её жизни было влюбиться в этого негодяя Генри Артона. 7. Прийти сюда в такое время означало рисковать своей жизнью. 8. Такую книгу скучно читать. 9. Все, что тебе нужно сделать сейчас – написать под мою диктовку два десятка слов и подписаться. 10. Его намерением было разрешить, наконец, проблему, которая беспокоила его с тех пор, когда он встретил Сэлли Кэрол в Эшвилле. 11. Ей невозможно угодить. 12. Быть счастливой значило для нее быть любимой. 13. У него была привычка вставать в четыре утра и работать до полудня. 14. Единственное, что ему хотелось, - это найти место, где можно было бы остановиться на ночь. 15. Мой дядя – интересный собеседник.

Ex.3. POINT OUT the predicate in the sentences below, ANALYZE its components and translate the sentences.

1. He began to describe in detail the beauties of the picture. 2. We used to spend a lot of time in a Greek club. 3. You’d better go home and talk it over with your husband. 4. Our aim was to find Robinson’s house. 5. His speech ceased to convey meaning clear to us. 6. The only thing she could do was tell everybody the truth.7. One of my first actions on reaching England was to look up my old friend, Hercule Poirot. 8. In the garden back of the house she could hear her father at work. 9. My idea is for us to make a stop there for one or two days on our way back. 10. An innocent drink could lead to dinner; a dinner could start friendship, and a friendship could lead to confidence. 11. You must have dreamed of it so long. 12. Even if she was there I was unlikely to find her. 13. Soon the boy began to take an interest in what was going on around him.

Ex.4. REWRITE the sentences using infinitives with modal verbs to express different degrees of certainty about the present (must, might, may, could, can’t + simple infinitive) and about the past (must, might, may, could, can’t + perfect infinitive). To each sentence add a reason to support your deduction.

Example:

I’m sure Amy likes animals very much. à Amy must like animals very much. She’s always had them around her.

1. Perhaps she gets on better with her mother. 2. I’m sure they are not very close to each other. 3. I’m sure she didn’t work very hard at school. 4. He probably didn’t want her to marry Gerald. 5. He probably wanted her to marry someone famous. 6. Perhaps James has won an Oscar. 7. I’m sure James is a famous actor. 8. She probably doesn’t like children very much. 9. Perhaps she is an actress. 10. I’m sure she had a lot of friends when she was young.

Ex.5. PARAPHRASE the sentences using the Infinitive as part of the compound verbal modal predicate. TRANSLATE the resulting sentences into Russian.

A. Model:

It seemed that he knew the subject well à He seemed to know the subject well (Казалось, он знал предмет хорошо).

It appeared that there was a storm coming on à There appeared to be a storm coming on (Оказалось, что надвигался шторм).

1. It happened that they met that very day. 2. It happened that there was a doctor there at that time. 3. It proved that there were some broken cups in the case. 4. It appears that there are different opinions on this subject. 5. It appeared that the man had not heard. He went on as if in a daze. 6. It seems that the play has made a deep impression on him. 7. It appears that the house was built in the eighteenth century. 8. It appeared that he did not see at all why he should explain his disappearance. 9. It seems that there is a great difference between these two samples. 10. It is quite likely that a motorboat containing two boys has been noticed. 11. It happened that he was at home at that time. 12. It proved that he was a very experienced worker. 13. It happened that everybody had taken the matter seriously. 14. It is so wonderful to see old George. It seems that he needs a friend.

B. USE the verbs seem, happen, appear, turn out, chance, prove.

Model:

They are very happy à They seem/appear/happen to be very happy

(Кажется/оказывается, они очень счастливы (рады)).

1. He’s been knocked out. 2. My watch has stopped. 3. He was a genius at Maths. 4. They were looking for something. 5. She’s finding the job difficult. 6. Mary’s working hard at her phonetics. 7. He knows the answer. 8. It’s raining very hard outside. 9. His pockets contained nothing except a packet of Turkish cigarettes. 10. It’s very dark outside. 11. His father was rich. 12. She is very ill. 13. They have been reading too little during the term. 14. He is hardly listening any more. 15. John has been hurt. 16. He was always helpful. 17. He knew her thoughts. 18. She was his sister-in-law.

Ex.6. ANALYSE the structure of the predicate in the following sentences and SAY what aspect (phase) of the event is rendered by the phasal verb. TRANSLATE the sentences into Russian.

1. The old German Empire ceased to exist in 1918. 2. You used to smoke a pipe, didn’t you? 3. Sometimes they’d wave at us. 4. I began to think you were never coming. 5. He had come to see the problem in a new light. 6. One continues to learn things in life. 7. She would often hear him grumbling to himself. 8. At last they ceased to fire across the trenches. 9. The water is beginning to boil. 10. The students continued to write. 11. I used to go swimming on Saturdays, but now I don’t. 12. They finally came to consider me a friend. 13. Sometimes the boys would play a trick on their teacher. 14. The barometer began to fall. 15. I have come to like him quite a lot. 16. After two years in the college Mark got to enjoy its old traditions.

Ex.7. CHOOSE the appropriate aspective verb to fill in the blanks in these sentences. CONSULT the verb list below.

1. On seeing the approaching policeman Ralf ____ to run. 2. That is where I ____ to live when a child. 3. Now I’m ___ to understand what you meant. 4. After a short pause the orchestra ____ to play. 5. Some time went by and I ____ to realise that he had been mistaken. 6. The snow ____ to melt when the sun came out. 7. You are only a beginner now, but later you may ___ to enjoy school. 8. He didn’t ____ to like fish, but now he does. 9. We ____ to work in the same office. We ____ often have coffee together. 10. Once people retire they automatically ____ to be union members. 11. Life isn’t easy here as it ____ to be. 12. Only after our long argument he ___ to realize that he was mistaken. 13. Robert ___ to live with his parents after marriage. 14. A true democrat, he ___ to support the party in elections. 15. The house was in disrepair – the plaster was ___ to fall from the walls.

Verb List: begin, start, come, continue, cease, would, used to, get, grow.

Ex.8. LOOK at the following text and DECIDE which of the verbs in bold type a) can take would or used to

b) can take only used to

c) must stay in the Past Indefinite.

As a boy I liked going for long walks, especially on summer mornings. We lived in the country, and the hills behind our house were beautiful. I got up early, and without waking my parents, I crept out of the house. Once I walked for twenty miles, and my parents got very worried. We had a dog called Rex, and together we climbed the hills while the rest of the world was sleeping. I loved those days, so innocent, so carefree. I went back there last year; but it wasn’t the same.

Ex.9. ANSWER the questions, using either used to do or be/get used to doing. USE short answers where appropriate.

Example:

Do you play in the street with your friends? – No, but I used to (play).

Do you mind getting up at 6.00? – No, I’m used to it (I got used to it).

1. Where did you go on holiday when you were young? 2. Why do English people drink so much tea? 3. Does your mother read you a story before you go to bed? 4. It must be horrible to be a famous film star and photographers following you everywhere. 5. What hobbies did you have when you were a child? 6. I wonder how people adapt to retirement after working all their lives. 7. Is Britain still an empire? 8. How did you find driving in England when you first arrived? 9. Why are you so late for your interview? 10. Do you really like Chinese food? It’s so hot!

Ex.10. TRANSLATE the sentences into English focusing on the use of the Infinitive as the part of the predicate.

1. Бывало, мы ходили вместе в кино или прогуливались по аллеям старого парка. 2. Ошибкой Сильвии было согласиться на участие в концерте. 3. Ваша цель – убедить его принять наше предложение. 4. Нам следовало все ей сообщить заранее. 5. Казалось, мы уже пришли к согласию. 6. Моим решением стало пригласить на заседание всех заинтересованных лиц. 7. Джейн, начни, пожалуйста, читать этот фрагмент вслух. 8. Должно быть, он уже с ним ранее встречался. 9. Погода, скорее всего, не изменится к лучшему. 10. Не так-то легко вести с ней переговоры. 11. Случилось так, что я сказал ей о вашей проблеме. 12. Это задание выполняется легко. 13. Не скажете, который теперь час? 14. Вы могли бы напомнить мне об этом вчера. 15. Он, по-видимому, не собирается уезжать в Новую Зеландию навсегда. 16. Как оказалось, этот фильм был римейком предыдущей киноверсии повести Вальтера Скотта «Айвенго». 17. Мы бы лучше пошли в театр, чем сидеть дома просто так. 18. Прогуливаться в одиночку в такой поздний час в темном парке означало рисковать жизнью. 19. Мы раньше держали большую собаку, но теперь у нас никого нет.