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408 ________________________________________________________ Prepositions

He is quite good at painting. There is no point in arguing.

It is in this case that the meaning of the preposition often becomes weakened.

The choice of the preposition may also depend on the noun that follows the preposition.

e.g. Who was the first to speak at the meeting? He went there on business. He is now on a concert tour in Europe. I'm planning to finish it in February. He woke up at 8 o'clock. We discussed it in detail. No one could help him under the circumstances.

In this case the preposition and the noun often become set phrases (e.g. in the evening, at dawn, by day, by taxi, etc.). The meaning of the preposition is also weakened here.

§ 4. Although prepositions serve to express various relations between the noun (or noun-equivalent) following it and other words in the sentence, they sometimes get separated from the noun (or noun-equivalent). This occurs in:

a) special questions,

e.g. What are you looking for? Who(m) did you speak with? What conclusion did you come to?

b) certain subordinate clauses,

e.g. What he is waiting for is not likely to happen. That is what he wanted to begin with. I know who(m) he is worried about. I'm expecting a letter my plans for the future depend on.

c) certain passive constructions,

e.g. He loved the dogs and they were taken good care of.

They found him so ill that a doctor was immediately sent for. His marriage was very much talked about.

d) certain functions of the infinitive or infinitive phrase,

Prepositions __________ _____________________________________________ 4°9

e.g. He hated to be made fun of.

When he retired he went to live in Dorset, in a charming place his wife had bought for him to retire to.

You have a lot to be thankful for. You've done nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing more to worry about.

Sometimes one and the same noun is associated with two or mose different prepositions. The noun itself need not be repeated after each preposition and is usually placed after the last one.

e.g. It is a book for and about children.

The pronoun much is used of and with uncountable nouns. He cared for and looked after his ageing mother.

It follows from the above examples that the prepositions in this case are retained by the preceding head-word.

§ 5. The prepositions of, by and to may become entirely devoid of lexical meaning and serve to express mere grammatical relations. This occurs in the following constructions:

e.g. Anne was the wife of a miner.

They were followed by their two daughters. They offered the job to Hawkins.

The prepositions are said to be grammaticalized in this case.

410________________________________________________________ Conjunctions

CONJUNCTIONS

§ 1. Conjunctions are structural words that serve to connect words or phrases as well as clauses or sentences (see the examples below).

Conjunctions may be single words (e.g. and, as, because, but, or, though, while, etc.), phrases consisting of more than one word (e.g. in order that, on condition (that), in case, as soon as, as long as, for fear (that), as if, as though, etc.) and also correlative conjunctions, i.e. conjunctions that are always used in pairs (e.g. as...as, both...and, either...or, not only...but also, etc.).

Note. Some m^-forms and participles are also used as conjunctions (e.g. supposing, seeing, given (= on condition, if), providing or provided).

§ 2. Conjunctions have a lexical meaning of their own.

e.g. He came to see me because he felt happy. He came to see me though he felt happy. He came to see me when he felt happy. He came to see me if he felt happy.

Note. The lexical meaning of the conjunction that is vague. It serves to introduce different kinds of clauses.

e.g. That I was not going to be popular with the other children soon became clear to my parents, (subject clause)

The probability is that he refused to cooperate, (predicative clause) He believed that his father was an innocent man. (object clause) I was sure that many would follow his example, (object clause) My father then sold everything that he might have the money for my education, (adverbial clause of purpose) He was so shabby that no decent landlady would take him in. (adverbial clause

of result)

He agreed with the assertion that his results fell short of the requirements.

(appositive clause).

Conjunctions _______________________________________________________ 411_

besides, both...and, but, either...or, hence, likewise, moreover, nevertheless, or, still, therefore, yet, etc.) and subordinating conjunctions (e.g. after, as, as...as, as long as, because, before, if, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, whether, etc.).

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences which are independent of each other.

e.g. His light-brown hair was fine and thick. She took a piece of cake and a cup of tea. *

She flung the door open and entered.

She felt jealous because there was someone who knew what was so closely connected with her father and what she herself had not known.

Meg ordered a fresh pot of tea and they settled down to discuss the new complication.

Just now I can't think of anything but of how you were made to suffer.

She looked scornful but she was secretly pleased.

She could no longer think clearly or speak with decision. She was furious at me, yet I didn't care.

It was hard to get the story clear from her cousin's answers, nevertheless she found out everything.

Subordinating conjunctions serve to join a subordinate clause to the principal clause. ,

e.g. When the play was over he asked her if she would let him see her home. He felt marvellously happy as though everything

he did were a marvel.

The two girls were silent till he left the room. He winked at me as he passed. The old man said to the boy: "If you don't like me you may

go home whenever you choose."

Subordinating conjunctions may occasionally introduce a word or a phrase within a simple sentence.

§ 3. According to their role in the sentence, conjunctions fall into two groups: coordinating conjunctions (e.g. accordingly, and,

e.g. When a child, he often had to run errands for his elders. His father was sharp with his children, while at home. He promised to sell the car if necessary.

412 ________________________________________________________ Conjunctions

There was a dry, pungent smell in the air, as though of dry vegetation, crisped by the sun. He looked

happy though somewhat tired.

Note. It should be pointed out that a number of conjunctions (a) have homonyms among prepositions (b) and adverbs (c).

e.g. a) He had not heard himself called that name since his mother died.

b)Everything has gone wrong since that night.

c)He had his last meal in the restaurant car and hasn't had anything to eat since.

a)He found himself in his mother's arms before he saw her.

b)I talked to him before the conference.

c)I've never seen him so angry before.

a)They spoke little until they reached the less busy road.

b)He stayed up until dawn, reading and writing.

a)After he had taken all the things out, she started the car.

b)After lunch they all went to their rooms.

Interjections ___________________

413

INTERJECTIONS

§1. Interjections are words expressing emotions, such as surprise, anger, pleasure, regret, indignation, encouragement, triumph, etc. They are used as exclamations.

§2. Some interjections are special words which are not associated with any other parts of speech, e.g. oh [ou], ah [a:], eh [ei], aha [a(:)'ha:], alas [s'la:s], fie [fai], humph [mm, hmf], hum [Ьлт], phew [fju:], pshaw [Jo:], pooh [pu:], tush [t\f], bravo [Ъгспуои], hurrah [hu'ra:], etc.

Some of these interjections serve to express quite definite feelings. Thus alas is a cry of sorrow or anxiety; bravo is a cry of approval, meaning 'well done, excellent'; hurrah is a cry of expressing joy, welcome; fie, pooh and pshaw express contempt; aha expresses triumph.

Other interjections, according to the tone of the voice, may express emotions of different character, e.g. ah may show sorrow, surprise, pity, pleasure, etc.; oh is an exclamation of surprise, fear, pain, etc.; phew may express relief, astonishment or contempt; eh — surprise or doubt; tush — contempt or impatience; humph — doubt, disbelief or dissatisfaction.

§3. There are a number of words which belong to different other parts of speech but which are also used as interjections, e.g. bother, come; damn; hear, hear; now; there, there; well; why, etc. We even find phrases used as interjections, e.g. dear me; dear, dear; goodness gracious; confound it; hang it; for shame; well, I never, etc.

Some of them, like interjections proper, serve to express quite definite feelings. For example, bother; oh, bother are exclamations of impatience; goodness gracious, goodness me are exclamations of surprise; damn, damn it all, damn you, confound you and hang it

414	_________________________Interjections

are used to express anger, annoyance; for shame serves as a reproof for not being ashamed of one's actions, behaviour; well, I never expresses surprise and indignation at the same time; hear, hear is used as a form of cheering, usually to express approval, but it may also be used ironically; there, there is used to soothe a person (e.g. There, there, you haven't really hurt yourself).

Other interjections of this kind may express quite different feelings, according to the tone of the voice or the context.

Thus dear, dear or dear me or oh, dear express sorrow, impatience or wonder; why may be an expression of surprise or protest, as in: Why, it's quite easyl

Come or come, come indicate either encouragement or blame, as in: Come, cornel Don't be so foolishl or Come, cornel You don't expect me to believe itl

Now and now, now can in different cases serve a different purpose: Now listen to mel means / beg you to listen to me; Oh, come nowl expresses surprise, reproof, disbelief. Now, now or now then are meant as a friendly protest or warning.

Well, depending on the sentence in which it is used, may express a variety of emotions. In Well, who would have thought it? it serves as an expression of surprise. In Well, here we are at lastl it expresses relief. Well serves to express expectation in Well then?, Well, what about itl; resignation in Well, it can't be helped, concession in Well, it may be true, etc.

Note. Imitation sounds such as mew, cock-a-doodle-doo, bang and the like cannot be treated as interjections since they do not serve to express any feeling.

§ 4. Interjections are independent elements which do not perform any of the syntactic functions in the sentence. They are usually sentence-words themselves and may be used parenthetically.

e.g. "Oh," he exclaimed, unable to suppress his emotion. "H'm," said Mr Fox thoughtfully.

The great poet said: "The tragedy of our age is that aesthetic values do not keep pace with social — and, alas, technical — developments."

"Did you notice the stink in the hall?" "Well, not particularly."

"Phew! Three times I was nearly sick."

Interjections____________________

415

"Marian is going to see her old nurse, Nannie Robeson, in the afternoon." "Confound Nannie Robeson! Marian's always going there."

Oh, pooh, look at these stockings!

Now, Marilyn, you don't know what you are doing. Well... let's walk up there then.

You're about to make a confession to me. Well, don't do it. I don't want to hear.

Some interjections may be connected with a word in the sentence by means of a preposition.

e.g. Hurrah for Jo jo and Ed! Alas for poor Tommy!

Note. Interjections should be distinguished from such one-word sentences as Help] Silencel Nonsensel The latter are notional words, not mere exclamations expressing emotions.

416	Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

NOTES ON THE SYNTACTIC STRUCTURE

OF THE SENTENCE

The Structure of the Simple Sentence

All words in a sentence perform definite syntactic functions. As a rule, every English sentence contains words or groups of words functioning as the subject and the predicate. Grammatically, these functions are independent and equally significant in the sentence. For that reason they are called the principal parts (members) of the sentence.

Words performing all other functions in the sentence depend either on the subject (and together they form the subject-phrase of the sentence) or on the predicate (together they form the predi- cate-phrase of the sentence).

A sentence which has both the subject and the predicate is known as a two-member sentence. Most English sentences are two-member ones.

Sentences which consist of only the subject or only the predicate are termed one-member sentences. There are not many onemember sentences in English. We find among them:

1)sentences with a verb in the Imperative mood (e.g. Keep clear of the road: Step aside, please.)

2)some exclamatory sentences (e.g. What a nice viewl How

coldl)

3)questions expressing suggestion (e.g. Why not give him a telephone calif What about having a cup of tea?)

4)sentences expressing confirmation or negation (e.g. Yes. No.)

5)some formulas of courtesy (e.g. Hellol Good-bye\ See you to night.)

Sentences built up of only the subject and the predicate are called unextended sentences (e.g. The rain has stopped. It is cold.)

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

417

Sentences in which, besides the principal parts, there are words performing other (secondary) functions are called extended sentences (e.g. Edward was most anxious to hear all the news about his family.).

For practical purposes of learning English, it is necessary and sufficient to distinguish the following syntactic functions within a simple sentence.

I. The Subject

The subject is a word or a group of words which names the person, object or phenomenon the sentence informs us about. It may be expressed by a noun, a pronoun, a substantivized adjective, a numeral, an infinitive and an ing-form.

e.g. The stranger came early in February. Hospitality was a passion with him. You're not a bad fellow. This is my son Henry. Someone was singing an Italian tune. Much depends on the letter. What has become of him? It has been raining since the morning. It's hard to forget one's past. The young often complain that the elders do not understand

them.

Two of the letters were from my uncle. The Dutch are famous for their tulips. The extraordinary always excites curiosity. To know all about English is one thing; to know English is

quite another. Watching TV has become his favourite pastime.

II. The Predicate

The predicate is a word or a group of words that informs us of what is happening to the person, object or phenomenon indicated as the subject in the sentence.

The predicate differs from all the other parts of the sentence in that it relates the information contained in the sentence to reality, i.e.

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418	_____________Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

it is the means of expressing predication and modality for the whole sentence. For that reason there is only one part of speech that can function as predicate — it is the verb in one of its finite forms.

A finite verb may be used in this function alone or combined with other parts of speech. Depending on the structure, predicates are divided into the following kinds:

1) simple verbal predicates — they consist of only a notional verb (in any tense, aspect, voice or mood form),

e.g. His words frightened me. I've given her every chance. The heavy luggage had been put in a dry place. I shouldn't think the idea so unreasonable.

To this kind also belong predicates expressed by phraseological units and set phrases which are treated as verb equivalents in this book.

e.g. They are having breakfast now. I took a walk as far as the river. She amuses herself at our expense. They have been taking care of your children long enough.

2) compound nominal predicates — they consist of a link-verb and a predicative (= a nominal part) commonly expressed by a noun or an adjective. Other parts of speech may also be some times found in the function of predicative (see below).

The link-verb expresses all the verbal characteristics of the predicate whereas the nominal part is the main bearer of meaning. The most commonly occurring link-verbs are to be, to become, to get, to grow, to look, to seem, to turn.

e.g. He was a mining engineer by profession. The leaves are turning yellow. Dave looked surprised.

3) compound verbal predicates — they consist of a finite form and a verbal or an adjective. The meaning of the first component is very pale. It mainly serves as a finite verb and usually express es the speaker's attitude or indicates the position/motion of the subject. The meaning of the verbal or the adjective is quite promi nent and determines the meaning of the whole unit.

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence _________________________ 419

As the first component of a compound verbal predicate we find: a) modal verbs (can, may, must, be to, have to, shall, should,

will, would, ought to, need, dare),

e.g. You oughtn't to go back on your word. You should have gone to the concert. He had to tell the story to his room-mate. She must have regretted doing it.

b) verbs of seeming (to seem, to appear),

etg. He seemed to have heard the news.

For a moment she appeared to be hesitating.

c) verbs of unexpected occurrence (to happen, to turn out, to chance, to prove),

e.g. They happened to meet at the bus-stop.

He turned out to have no" feelings for his nephew.

d) some verbs of position and motion (to stand, to sit, to lie, to be in/out/away, to come, to go),

e.g. He sat staring at the letter. The boys have gone fishing. Mother is out shopping. They stood motionless with their backs to the wall.

III. The Predicative

A predicative (= the nominal part of a compound nominal predicate) may be expressed by a noun, an adjective, a numeral, a pronoun, an infinitive, an ing-form and sometimes an adverb.

e.g. He was not an artist, but he liked to create artistic things. It was getting dark. Henry, as usual, looked reserved. The book is very amusing. We were six in the room. This suit-case is mine.

My first thought was to ask him for support. My job was getting it all done in time. Everybody is in.

27*

420	__________ Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

IV. The Second (Subsequent) Action Expressed by a Verbal

Verbals in this function indicate a second action accompanying the action of the predicate verb. If transformed, the two actions would form homogeneous predicates connected by the conjunction and.

A second action may be expressed by an infinitive, an ing-form and a participle.

e.g. He woke up to see his wife sitting by his bed. (= He woke up and saw...) He walked down the path humming a tune. (=

He walked...

and hummed...) Having locked the office he started for home. (= He locked...

and started...) Dressed, he stood staring at the fire. (= He was dressed and

stood...)

V. The Subjective Predicative

Words in this function occur after a limited number of verbs in the Passive Voice (see "Verbs", §§ 192, 221, 248; "Nouns", § 21; "Adjectives", § 7). They modify the subject of the sentence, forming with it a syntactic complex, often known as the complex subject.

A subjective predicative may be expressed by a noun, a noun introduced by as, an adjective, an infinitive, an ing-form and a participle.

e.g. He was appointed secretary of the committee. He was regarded as a promising young writer. The box was found empty. He was heard to mention it. The children were seen running down the lane. The note was found pinned to the door.

VI. The Objective Predicative

Words in this function occur after a limited number of verbs in the Active Voice (see "Verbs", §§ 193, 222, 249; "Nouns", § 21; "Adjectives" § 7). They modify the object of the sentence, forming with it a syntactic complex, often known as the complex object.

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence _________________________ 421

An objective predicative may be expressed by a noun, a noun introduced by as, an adjective, an infinitive, an ing-form and a participle.

e.g. They appointed him secretary of the committee. We regarded him as a promising young writer. I found the box empty. We thought the game dull. They heard him mention it. He saw the children running down the lane. * She had her hair cut very short.

VII. The Object

Objects are words which modify verbs and adjectives. They complete their meaning indicating the person, object or phenomenon which the action of the predicate verb affects.

Objects may be expressed by a noun, a pronoun, a substantivized adjective, an infinitive and an ing-form. There are three kinds of objects:

1) direct — a prepositionless object immediately following the predicate,

e.g. I miss the opera here. I heard him on the radio. We did not find anyone there. I found it difficult to cope with the task. Do you want to speak with me? It pained him to think of it. I'm extremely sorry to disturb you. It was foolish to speak like that. They found it difficult to walk in the deep snow. I usually avoid asking him questions. She was busy packing upstairs. It was pleasant lying on the warm sand. I thought the book worth reading.

2) indirect — a prepositionless object placed between the pred icate verb and the direct object and indicating the person who is the receiver of the action.

e.g. They offered Ed a new job. I lent him my car.

422 ________________________ Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

3) prepositional — an object introduced by a preposition.

e.g. He had been waiting for Nora a long time. That doesn't depend on me, you know. He was afraid of dogs. Do you believe in the supernatural? He is keen on collecting shells. He thought of going away for the week-end. He was used to having an early breakfast.

VIII. The Adverbial Modifier

Words in this function modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs, specifying the circumstances of a happening.

Adverbial modifiers may be expressed by an adverb, a noun with a preposition, an infinitive, an ing-form with a conjunction or a preposition, a participle with a conjunction, an adjective with a conjunction and an absolute construction.

According to their meaning, adverbial modifiers are subdivided into:

1) adverbial modifiers of place and direction,

e.g. He found himself in a lonely street.

The procession moved slowly towards the embankment. He'll be here tomorrow.

2) adverbial modifiers of time,

e.g. I'll give you a telephone call tonight. Bring him back on Sunday. He kept silent a long time before answering. When tired, he has his supper in his room.

3) adverbial modifiers of frequency,

e.g. He seldom spoke with such frankness. She has music lessons twice a week.

4) adverbial modifiers of degree,

e.g. He came back home pretty late last night. The night was very still. He knows his subject perfectly.

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence_________________________ 423

5) adverbial modifiers of manner,

e.g. She was crying bitterly. He came here by taxi.

He opened the door with difficulty. They walked very fast.

The bus passed us without stopping.

6) adverbial modifiers of attending circumstances, e.g. It is very romantic to take a walk by moonlight.

*I don't feel like going out in this weather.

She looked up at him, her face smiling happily.

He lived all by himself in an old house on the river, with all his family gone and forgotten.

I looked round the room, the sense of being watched acute again.

7) adverbial modifiers of description,

e.g. Fay's eyes continually moved in his Father's direction, as though seeking his approval. The shop was freshly

painted, with a large green awning to

protect the window. He stood there very quietly, his hand outstretched.

8) adverbial modifiers of purpose,

e.g. I did my best to prevent her from making a mistake. 9) adverbial modifiers of cause,

e.g. Our flight was delayed owing to the storm. 10) adverbial modifiers of comparison,

e.g. She sat still like a statue. He was as ugly as a monkey.

I've got a more difficult problem to solve than find a new house.

11) adverbial modifiers of consequence,

e.g. He had to read only the first ten pages to know what the book was about.

He was clever enough to understand it. I was too tired to go for a walk.

12) adverbial modifiers of concession,

424 _________________________ Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

e.g. When he returned his wife was still at the table, though preparing to go.

Whatever the reason, she should have come. Though tired, he agreed to show us the garden.

13) adverbial modifiers of condition,

e.g. He said he would do it if necessary.

But for the rain, I'd have gone off an hour ago. To look at her, you wouldn't believe she was a famous actress.

14) adverbial modifiers of exception, e.g. He had no choice but to obey the orders.

IX. The Attribute

Words in this function modify nouns (and sometimes pronouns) giving them some kind of characteristic.

Attributes may be expressed by an adjective, a pronoun, a noun in the genitive or common case, a noun with a preposition, an infinitive, an ing-form, a participle and, occasionally, an adverb.

Depending on the closeness of the syntactic ties between the attribute and its noun, we distinguish close and loose attributes. Close attributes form a tight sense unit with their nouns. Loose attributes are less tightly connected with their nouns. Adding more information to or explaining what is being said in the sentence, they are regarded as a more independent member of the sentence and, hence, often separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.

1) Close attributes,

e.g. A large cat jumped down the window seat. They gave each child a big apple. I'd like another cup of tea. I borrowed two pounds from Jane's brother. I saw by their faces that they had learned something new. It was an act of despair on her part. She admired his way of doing things.

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence __________________________425

He is not a man to rely on.

The clouds were lit by the setting sun.

She saw the lighted windows of the cottage.

It was a pleasure to listen to him.

It was no use talking to her.

The then headmaster introduced the rule. 2) Loose attributes,

e.g. Happy and carefree, the children ran down the hill. • You behave like a schoolboy afraid of his teacher.

Painted green, the house was almost invisible on the forestcovered hill.

Craig took the baby out of the pram and lifted it high in the air. The baby, trying to tug at his moustache, crowed gleefully.

X. The Apposition

Words in this function modify nouns, explaining and specifying their meaning by giving them another name. Appositions are usually expressed by nouns.

e.g. Ann, the daughter of the landlady, was always ready to baby-

sit for us.

I asked Miss Grey, a neighbour and an old friend of mine, to dinner.

The Glory, a British steamship, was to arrive on Monday morning.

XI. Independent Elements of the Sentence

Independent elements of the sentence are not directly connected with any part of the sentence — they express the speaker's attitude to or comment on what is being said in the sentence as a whole. In this function we usually find parenthetic expressions, viewpoint, attitudinal and formulaic adverbs.

e.g. To tell the truth, 1 didn't like her at first. It isn't quite correct, strictly speaking. She will probably tell you about it herself. It was a rainy day but fortunately it was not cold.

426 _________________________ Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence

Historically, the king's death was a minor event, but it became widely known owing to its tragic circumstances. Will you kindly keep me informed?

Syntactic Complexes

The subject-predicate relationship may be found in an English sentence not only between the grammatical subject and the finite predicate but also in some phrases consisting of at least two elements — a subject and a predicative. Such phrases, usually known as syntactic complexes, differ from the real subject and the predicate of the sentence in that they lack a finite verb and therefore what is expressed in them cannot be directly related to reality. It is done indirectly — by means of the phrase being syntactically connected with the predicate proper.

Syntactic complexes may be of the following kinds:

I. The Complex Object — a syntactic construction which is lexically dependent and found after a limited number of verbs in the Active Voice (see "Verbs", §§193, 222, 249; "Nouns", §21; "Adjectives", § 7). The complex object consists of a noun in the common case or an indefinite pronoun or a personal pronoun in the objective case serving as an object in the sentence, and a pred icative which may be expressed by a noun, an adjective, an ad verb, an infinitive with or without the particle to, an mg-form and a participle.

e.g. His humour made him a welcome guest. When they came they found the house empty. I don't want any light on.

Why don't you get somebody to explain it to you? I watched her move away from us.

I felt him looking at me now and again. I had never before seen the game played.

II. The Complex Subject — a syntactic construction which is lexically dependent and found with a limited number of verbs in the Passive Voice (see "Verbs", §§ 192, 221, 248; "Nouns", § 21; "Adjectives", § 7). The complex subject consists of a noun in the common case, an indefinite pronoun or a personal pronoun in the

Notes on The Syntactic Structure of The Sentence_________________________ 427

nominative case serving as the subject of the sentence, and a (subjective) predicative which may be expressed by a noun, an adjective, an adverb, an infinitive, an mg-form and a participle.

e.g. Bob Skinner was made the leader of the team. The door was painted green. Everybody was found in. They were expected to agree. The children were left playing on the floor. * The car was last seen parked at the hotel.

III. The Prepositional Infinitive Phrase — a syntactic construction which consists of a noun in the common case, an indefinite pronoun or & personal pronoun in the objective case, and a predicative expressed by an infinitive. The whole of the phrase is joined to the rest of the sentence by a preposition. Usually it is the preposition for, but sometimes the choice of the preposition is determined by the verb the phrase depends on. (See also "Verbs", § 166.)

e.g. He held out the papers for me to see. He was looking for someone to help him.

Her whole life had been spent listening to other people talk. They appealed to him to give up the idea.

I arranged with the woman downstairs to keep the place clean. You can rely on Father to forget nothing.

Prepositional infinitive phrases may perform different functions in the sentence.

e.g. For him to swear was such a rarity that David was not only shocked but thoroughly startled. (subject) All he wanted

was for me to get out of his sight. (predicative) We were waiting for the train to arrive. (prepositional object) The boy stood aside for us to go by. (adverbial modifier of

purpose) I was too young for them to tell me the truth.

(adverbial

modifier of consequence) It was an easy plan for Roger to fulfil, (attribute)

IV. The ing-Complex — a syntactic construction which consists of a possessive pronoun or a personal pronoun in the objective case