§ 167. With regard to their meaning and function, the infini- tive and the ing-form, like the finite forms, can be classed into two groups:

1) They can serve as notional verbs.

e.g. It amused him to tease the girl.

He went downstairs, holding on the banister.

2) They may also serve as structural words. Some of them, mainly the verb to be, may be used as link-verbs.

e.g. He is said to be a good chap.

Tom said something about it being pretty late.

The verb to have may be used as a modal verb.

e.g. Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you that.

He looked at his wrist-watch and talked about having to make a few calls before the visitor arrived.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also be used as auxiliary verbs to build up analytical forms, e.g. to be taking, to have tak- en, to have been taking, etc., having taken, being taken, etc.

Both verbals are widely used as second (or third) components of analytical finite forms.

e-g. She will be there. She is working. She has been reading.

§ 168. The syntactic functions of the verbals and those of the finite forms do not coincide and therein lies the main difference between them.

The finite forms, as has been said, have one function in the sentence — that of the predicate. The verbals may perform a vari- ety of functions. The most striking feature of the infinitive and the ing-form is that they have functions typical of different parts of speech. Sometimes they have noun functions (e.g. the function of the subject or the object).

e.g. To know all about English is one thing; to know English is

quite another.

Everything you've planned to do is sensible. Reading with us is the thing that we cannot do without. If this is what you intend asking me, stop wasting your time.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also have adjective func- tions (e.g. the function of an attribute).

e.g. He was not a man to do rash things.

Singing people, arm in arm, filled the street.

The two verbals can also perform adverbial functions (e.g. the function of an adverbial modifier of purpose, consequence, time, manner).

e.g. I came here to discuss matters with you.

I had only to hear her voice to know what she felt.

After hesitating a moment or two, Jim knocked on the door.

You begin learning a language by listening to the new sounds.

The infinitive and the ing-form may also have purely verbal functions. This occurs in two different cases:

a) In certain sentence patterns they may serve as the predicate of the sentence.

e.g. Why not go with me?

What about having a look at my new house?

b) As is well known, in the absolute majority of English sen- tences the predicate is expressed by a finite verb. But the infini- tive and the ing-form may serve to express a second action, accom- panying the action expressed by the predicate verb.

e.g. I woke to find Maud cooking a meal (=and found).

He took a seat next to mine, watching my face with close at- tention (=and watched).

The infinitive and the ing-form may also serve as parenthesis, i.e. have the function performed by attitudinal adverbs.

e.g. To tell the truth, I'm beginning to find her a bore. Frankly speaking, I'm at a loss.

§ 169. In some of their functions the infinitive and the ing- form are lexically dependent. That means that their use is required by definite verbs, nouns and adjectives. For example, the verb to want requires an infinitive as object (e.g. He wanted to see them at once.) while to avoid requires an ing-form in this function (e.g. For some time she avoided even mentioning their names.). The same is true of the adjectives ready and busy that require an infin- itive and an ing-form respectively. (Cf. He was ready to do any- thing for her. She was busy packing her things.)

Besides, the infinitive and the ing-form are in some functions also structurally dependent, i.e. they occur in quite definite sen- tence patterns. For example, the infinitive or the ing-form are found after a number of definite verbs, nouns and adjectives only in sentences with it as a formal subject.

e.g. It was a relief to be in the car again.

"It's no use going on like that," he said in an angry tone.

§ 170. Although the syntactic functions of the infinitive and the ing-form differ from those of the finite forms, the two verbals can be modified by the same secondary parts of the sentence as the predicate verb.

e-g. He told me about it himself.

He wanted to tell me about it himself.

He insisted on telling me about it himself.

He saw her there alone yesterday.

He wanted to see her there alone yesterday.

He told me about seeing her there alone yesterday.

If a verb requires a prepositional object, the preposition is re- tained by the verbal when the object happens to be separated from it.

e.g. We've got a lot to talk about.

I'm not accustomed to being spoken to in that way.

Yet there is a difference between the two verbals and the finite forms. With finite forms, the secondary parts of the sentence usu- ally follow the predicate, but they may also have front position.

e.g. That year winter set in early.

To relieve my feeling, I wrote a letter to Robert.

With the infinitive and the ing-form, the secondary parts are always found in post-position. The verbals may be preceded only by certain adverbs. Yet even instances of this are infrequent, e.g. Critically to examine newcomers was one of the amusements

at the boarding house.

My father was the coach of our swimming team, though his poor health prevented him from ever going into the water. With finite forms, the negatives not and never normally ei- ther follow them or are placed within analytical forms of various kinds of compound predicates.

e.g. He was not there. He has not done it. He should not do it. He did not seem tired.

With verbals, the negatives not and never always precede them, even if they are analytical forms. e.g. I had learned a long time ago not to show what I felt.

He went on drinking his coffee, not saying anything more. She knew that he had gone never to return. I have kept him out of your life: keep him now out of mine by never mentioning him again.