- •1.3.1 Infinitive as subject (Additional Information)
- •1.3.2 The infinitive as object (Additional Information)
- •(Verbals)
- •Verbal Predicate
- •The infinitive
- •The infinitive can be:
- •1.1 Forms of the infinitive
- •1.2. The bare infinitive and the to-infinitive the use of the bare infinitive
- •1.2.1 “Let”, “make”, “would rather/ sooner” and “had better”
- •1.3. The functions of the infinitive
- •1.4.1 The for-to-infinitive construction
- •In translating this construction into Russian a subordinate clause or an infinitive is used.
- •Sentence patterns with the for-phrase
- •Practice
- •1.4.2 The Objective with the Infinitive Construction (Complex object)
- •1.4.3 The subjective infinitive construction (complex subject) (the Nominative-with-the-lnfinitive Construction)
- •Participle
- •Participle as predicative:participle I as predicative
- •Participle II as predicative
- •Participle as attribute participle I as attribute
- •Participle II as attribute
- •Participle as object Participle I may function as part of a predicative construction entering into a predicative relationship with some nominal element and forming a syntactical unit with it.
- •Participle as adverbial modifier participle I as adverbial modifier
- •Participle II as adverbial modifier
- •Gerund The Gerund
- •The Grammatical Categories of the Gerund
- •The Forms of the Gerund The Category of Correlation (perfect – non-perfect)
- •The Category of Voice (active – passive)
- •Syntactical Functions of the Gerund
- •The Gerund as Subject
- •The Gerund as Object
- •The Gerund as Attribute
- •The Gerund as Adverbial Modifier
1.1 Forms of the infinitive
There are several forms of the Infinitive in English: Indefinite, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous which are used to show both the simultaneousness or the priority of the action of the Infinitive to the main verb and the form's aspect. Some of them have Passive forms:
|
Active |
Passive |
Indefinite |
to speak |
to be spoken |
Continuous |
to be speaking |
|
Perfect |
to have spoken |
To have been spoken |
Perfect Continuous |
to have been speaking |
|
Table A
The verb tenses corresponding to the forms of the infinitive are as follows:
Verb tenses |
Infinitive |
|
Present Simple Future Simple |
He works He will work |
-to work |
Present Continuous Future Continuous |
He is working He will be working |
-to be working |
Past Simple Present Perfect Past Perfect Future Perfect |
He worked He has worked He had worked He will have worked |
-to have worked |
Past Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Past Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous |
He was working He has been working He had been working He will have been working |
-to have been working |
Table B
The Indefinite Infinitive expresses an action simultaneous with that of the finite verb, so it may refer to the present, past or future:
I'm glad to meet you.
I was glad to see her.
I'll be glad to come
It's glorious to love and to be loved.
There is no time to lose. = There is no time to be lost.
The Continuous Infinitive expresses an action simultaneous with that of the finite verb, but this is an action in progress:
They happened to be standing near a small restaurant.
The Perfect Infinitive expresses
1) an action prior to that of the finite verb:
I'm glad to have seen you.
2) a prior action that was not carried out:
I meant to have gone there. (But I didn't go there).
The Perfect Continuous Infinitive expresses the action which lasted a certain time before the action of the finite verb
She seemed to have been eating nothing for ten days.
Forms of the Infinitive (Addtitional Information)
Note 1 : Within the system of morphological categories of the infinitive we find the category of correlation formed by the opposition of “non-perfect – perfect”, the category of aspect constituted by the opposition of “common aspect – continuous aspect”., and the category of voice (with transitive verbs) constituted by the opposition “active voice- passive voice”
Note2: Though normally the indefinite infinitive expresses an action simultaneous with that of the finite verb sometimes it may acquire the meaning either of succession ( последовательность) or even priority.
It expresses succession, that is, indicated that the action follows the action denoted by the finite verb, in the following cases:
When it is an adverbial modifier of purpose:
She bit her lip to keep back a smile.
When it is part of a compound verbal predicate:
You must do it at once.
3. When it is an object of a verb of inducement.
He ordered the man to come at three.
In all these cases it is not clear whether the action expressed by the infinitive will be performed at all.
The non-perfect infinitive denotes succession in the function of an adverbial modifier of subsequent events.
I woke up to hear the rain lashing the window panes. ( I woke up and then heard)
The non-perfect infinitive expresses priority as an object or subject of the verbs denoting an emotional colouring. (to astonish, to relieve, to shock, to surprise etc.)
I was shocked to see him there again (First I saw him, then I was shocked)
Note 3. Concerning the category of correlation in the infinitive this category is consistently expressed only in the active voice. : to speak- to be speaking, to have spoken- to have been speaking.
Continuous forms aspect forms of the infinitive are very seldom used, and can not perform all the functions in which the common aspect forms are used. They can function only as
subject ( To be staying with them was a real pleasure)
object ( I was glad to be waking)
attribute ( It’s time to be leaving)
part of a compound verbal predicate ( Now we must be getting back)
Note 4: Unlike finite verb forms, in the infinitive the category of voice is found only in the common aspect forms. The active infinitive points out that the action is directed from the subject, the passive infinitive indicates that the action is directed to the subject:
He expected to find them very soon.
They expected to be found by night fall.