- •Verbals
- •The main characteristics of the verbals
- •1. Forms of verbals
- •2. Meaning of verbals
- •3. Nominal and verbal characteristics of infinitive
- •4. Nominal and verbal characteristics of gerund
- •5. Adjectival/adverbial and verbal characteristics of participle I
- •6. Infinitive without the particle “to”
- •7. Functions of infinitive
- •8. Infinitive as attribute
- •9. Objective infinitive construction
- •10. Subbjective infinitive construction
- •12. Functions of gerund
- •13. Gerundial and half-gerundial constructions
- •14. Funcions of gerundial constructions
- •15. Right-hand combinability of some verbs
- •16. Right-hand combinability of some adjectives
- •17. Right-hand combinability of some nouns
- •18. Infinitive or gerund
- •19. Difference between infinitive and gerund
- •20. Gerund and verbal noun compared
- •21. Functions of participle I
- •22. Functions of participle II
- •23. Objective participial constructions (complex object)
- •24. Subjective participial constructions (complex subject)
- •25. Participle I and gerund compared
- •26. Absolute constructions
- •27. Active and passive infinitive with similar meaning
- •Practice
- •In negative sentences with “not” the conjunctions in order, so as must be used. The infinitive alone is not usually correct.
- •References
- •Contents
7. Functions of infinitive
|
FUNCTION |
CONJUNCTIONS |
EXAMPLES | |
|
SUBJECT |
|
To translate this text is easy. It is easy to translate this text. | |
|
PREDICATIVE |
|
My dream is to translate this text. | |
|
PART OF PREDICATIVE |
|
This text is easy to translate. | |
|
PART OF COMPOUND VERBAL MODAL PREDICATE |
|
I can’t translate this text. You should have translated this text. | |
|
PART OF COMPOUND VERBAL ASPECT PREDICATE |
|
He began (continued) ceased to translate this text. | |
|
OBJECT |
|
I plan to translate this text. Are you glad to have translated this text? | |
|
ATTRIBUTE |
|
He was the last to translate this text. | |
|
PARENTHESIS |
|
To tell the truth, I am not ready with this text. | |
|
ADVERBIAL MODIFIER OF |
PURPOSE |
(in order), (so as), as if, etc. |
She took a dictionary to translate this text. |
|
RESULT |
Too, enough, such … as, so … as |
She was too busy to translate this text. He was clever enough to translate this text. I am not such a fool as to translate this text. | |
|
COMPARISON OR MANNER |
than |
You ought to know better than to translate texts like that. | |
|
ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES |
|
He came to find that the text had already been translated. (=He came and found…) | |
|
CONDITION |
|
He is a great translator. You wouldn’t believe it, to look at him. | |
|
MOTIVATION OR REASON |
|
She was silly to translate this text. (=She translated this text and it was silly of her.) | |
|
EXCEPTION |
except, but, save |
What could he do but translate this text. | |
|
TIME |
|
This translator lived to be ninety. (=till he was ninety.) | |
|
PART OF THE COMPLEX OBJECT |
|
I don’t want you to translate this text. | |
|
PART OF THE COMPLEX SUBJECT |
|
He is not expected to translate this text. | |
8. Infinitive as attribute
|
USAGE |
EXAMPLES | ||||||||||||
|
1. After nouns |
The next thing to do is to see a movie. | ||||||||||||
|
2. After indefinite and negative pronouns and adverbs:
|
She has nothing to do. There was nowhere to go. We have nobody to talk with. | ||||||||||||
|
3. After substantivized quantitative adjectives: much, little, more, less, enough |
I have no more to add. Her knowledge leaves much to be desired. | ||||||||||||
|
4. Substativized ordinal numerals, the words next, last |
He was the first to speak. | ||||||||||||
|
5. After the noun-substitute one |
He was the one to ask. |