Verbal Categories.

1. The Category of Voice: both the Gerund and the Infinitive have forms which show the direction of the action.

Eg: She doesn’t want to go to bed.

She doesn’t want to be worried.

She has no intention of doing this work.

I have no intention of being fooled.

The category of voice shows whether the action comes from the agent or directed to the agent. It is a grammatical form expressing whether the agent of the action is the subject or object of the sentence. We find a great number of cases where the active forms of the Gerund or Infinitive are used with clear passive meaning.

Eg: He is a graduate to be appointed to this vacancy.

There was no one to apply for help.

In the attributive and predicative functions we practically always use the indefinite infinitive.

Eg: We are to go through difficulties.

The house was to let.

The management was to blame for mutual non-payments.

The objective gerund is very often active in form though passive in meaning.

Eg: The job is worth taking.

The work in the office needs readjusting and redesigning.

The child needs feeding up.

2. The Category of Aspect: It characterizes the action as limited in time and taking place at a given moment.

Eg: The world seems to be intergrating.

3. The Category of Tense. The tense form of the Infinitive can be understood only from the point of view of the finite form of the verb. In fact the tense forms of the Infinitive are used relatively: the present Infinitive denotes simultaneousness in the present, past or future: the indefinite infinitive can denote the relative future when it is used after such verbs as: to want, to plan, to intend.

Eg: I meant to do it but I forgot (relative future to a past action).

The perfect infinitive denotes priority which may be priority to a past action, present or future.

Eg: I was glad to have spoken to her.

The prefect infinitive can be used without temporal meaning.

Eg: I was glad to have passed the interview (priority).

I was to have developed the activity at the assigned territory (no meaning of priority).

He was to have been the last to leave the site (indication that the action didn’t take place).

The tense forms of the Infinitive may be used absolutely. In this case the indefinite infinitive refers the action to the present or to the future, and the perfect infinitive refers to the past. The tense forms of the Infinitive are used absolutely when the Infinitive follows a modal verb in Subj.ΙΙ or in the meaning of supposition. The modal verbs have only one form of Subj.ΙΙ that means that this form has no temporal meaning. If we use the perfect infinitive it refers the action to the past.

Eg: I could have helped you, but I ignored it, sorry.

Modal verbs in the meaning of supposition have no temporal meaning. The difference between “may” and “might” is not temporal but in the degree of probability.

Eg: I may be available at any time.

I might be available at any time.

I could give you a lift.

I could have given you a lift (refers the action to the past).

Modal verbs have only one form of the Oblique Mood coinciding with the form of the past tense: the form has no temporal meaning because it is the only one. The indefinite infinitive used in combination with a modal verb in Subj.ΙΙ refers the action to the present or future. The perfect infinitive refers it to the past. Modal verbs in the meaning of supposition have no tense forms. “Must” has in general one form, and the forms “may” and “might” in the sentences differ not in the temporal meaning but in the degree of probability.

He may come.

Он может придти.

He might come.

Он всё-таки может придти.

In such sentences the difference is not temporal:

With the verbs “can” and “could”, “will” and “would” expressing supposition there is no difference in the form (either modal or temporal).

Eg: Can it be true? Неужели это правда?

Could it be true? Неужели это правда?

Eg: That will be the building you are looking for.

The difference in form carries no difference in meaning.

Modal verbs in the meaning of supposition have no temporal meaning of their own. It is the infinitive which refers the action to the present or past.

Eg: He is supposed to open the account.

He was supposed to close the account.

When the infinitive is used with a modal verb in the form of Subj.ΙΙ it acquires the temporal meaning.

Eg: I wish he might come.

I wish he could have come.

The form of the infinitive points to the present or past in these sentences.

The tenses of the Gerund are relative but there is a tendency in modern English not to use the perfect gerund especially in the objective function.

Eg: I remember seeing him there (not having seen).

Consequently, it’s possible to say that the Gerund is losing the category of tense.

The Syntactical Function of the Infinitive and the Gerund.

The Infinitive and the Gerund seem to have practically the same syntactical functions, very close to those of the noun and, therefore, they are half-nouns (The Infinitive has the category of tense, aspect, voice). Their syntactical functions are nearly the same, there’s only one function – the predicative where the Gerund and the Infinitive follow the same pattern and can be used one instead of the other. As to the syntactical functions of the Infinitive some grammarians consider that the Infinitive can’t be the subject or object in the sentence. Their points of view are:

1. Such cases as “to live is to struggle” are exceptions, very seldom found and not typical.

2. That in the pattern “it is impossible to do it”, the infinitive might be an opposition (приложение), attribute and so on.

3. In the sentence “I’m glad to see you” the infinitive is not an object, but part of the predicate; this statement is not entirely proved yet.

4. Such cases as “I am glad to see you” and “there is nothing to fear about”; “I’ve come to speak to you”, “the picture is too good to miss” should be called “extensions” (изъяснения).

But all these are just diversity of theories. The Gerund is much closer to the noun, it is used with prepositions and forms prepositional phrases with all the syntactical functions of a prepositional noun phrases. A noun with a preposition can be the predicative, the possessive object, the attribute, and the adverbial modifier. And so can be the Gerund that shows it is very close to the noun. Another proof of the identity of the Gerund and the Noun is that it can be modified by a possessive pronoun or a noun in the possessive case, but the relations between the possessive pronoun or a noun in the possessive case and the modified noun are attributes, while the relations between the possessive pronoun or a noun in the possessive case and the Gerund are predicatives.

Infinitive

1 .Meaning:

- action (to go)

- state (состояние) (to be angry)

2. Form

Non-Perfect	Active	Passive (переходные глаголы)
	to go to read to be going to be reading	---- to be read ---- to be being read
Perfect	to have gone to have read to have been going to have been reading	---- to have been read ---- to have been being read

3. Functions

1. подлежащее (Subject):

To smoke is dangerous.

It is dangerous to smoke.

2. часть сказуемого (составного глагольного) (Predicative)

My task is to study.

3. дополнения прямого (Object)

I like to study.

4. --------------------------

5. обстоятельство (Adverbial modifier)

I come here to study.

Gerund

1.Meaning:

- action (without talking)

- свойство существительных substantivity (thingness) (предметность, явление)

... Like reading...

...hate eavesdropping...

2. Form

Non-Perfect (несовершенный вид)	Active	Passive (переходные глаголы)
	going reading (прочтение, прочитав)	---- being read
Perfect (совершенный вид)	having gone having read (кот.уже прочитали, прочитав)	---- having been read

3.Свойства существительного:

• предлог (after reading)

• притяжательное мест. Sorry for his coming late;

• Сущ. в Possessive Case (director’s)

• Сущ. в Common Case (I don’t mind the director sending me on a trip)

3. Functions

1. подлежащее (Subject):

a) Smoking is dangerous.

b) It is (no use/worth) going there.

3. часть сказуемого (составного глагольного) (Predicative)

My task is studying.

4. дополнения прямого и предложного (Object)

I like studying.

I insist on your studying.

5. определение (Attribute)

an idea of going there

an experience in teaching

the reason fir coming

6. обстоятельство (Adverbial modifier)

After, before, on, upon, without, instead of, by, in spite of.

before going to bed

on crossing.

Participle

1.Meaning:

- action (is reading / sat reading)

- process (are playing)

- (св-ва прилагательного) quality degree of smth. (a smiling face, when crossing, not finding)

2. Form

Participle I

Non-Perfect		Active	Passive (переходные глаголы)
		going (идущий) reading (читающий)	being read
Perfect		having gone lining read	having been read

Participle II

Non-Perfect		Active	Passive (переходные глаголы)
			written spoken
Perfect

1. ---------------------------

2. часть сказуемого (образует сказуемое)

He is studying ( форма Present Continuous)

3. ------------------

4. определение (Attribute)

the boy crying

the crying boy

5. обстоятельство (Adverbial modifier)

1) crossing

2) when, while, not

When crossing the street

Not knowing that

Eg: I was impressed by her dancing (attribute to the noun “dancing”)

Compare: I was impressed by her dancing (gerund) the part so well.