§ 196. The infinitive as adverbial modifier of purpose is al- ways used with the particle to.

The number of verbs followed by an infinitive of purpose is not restricted and their lexical character may be quite different. But they are all alike in one respect — they all express actions deliber- ately carried out with a definite aim in view. In other words, these actions are aimed at the realization of the action denoted by the infinitive. The action of the infinitive follows that of the predi- cate verb and is unaccomplished as yet. e.g. I dressed and went out to buy the morning paper.

I came in to see if I could help you pack, Alison.

I did my best to stop her.

He put his head out of the window to get some fresh air.

The infinitive of purpose may occasionally be preceded by the modifiers in order and so as which emphasize the idea of purpose.

e.g. I was silent for a moment in order to give greater force to

my next remark.

Next we slid into the river and had a swim, so as to freshen up and cool off.

So as is quite common with a negative infinitive of purpose, however.

e.g. We had gone into the middle of Hyde Park so as not to be

overheard. She hurried so as not to give him time for reflexion.

The infinitive may also be preceded by other modifiers. Unlike in order and so as, which only make the idea of purpose more prominent, the other modifiers serve to add their own specific shades of meaning.

e.g. He opened his mouth wide as if to speak.

Christine smiled mockingly and turned away, as though to

go out of the room. He gave me a little smile as much as to say, "You see, I

don't mean any harm." "He had never cared for that room, hardly going into it from

one year's end to another except to take cigars. They were waiting in there just to see him. He told his joke merely to gain time.

The infinitive of purpose generally follows the predicate verb (see the examples above). But if special stress is laid on the infini- tive of purpose, it may be placed at the head of the sentence. How- ever, it is not often found in this position,

e.g. To relieve my feelings I wrote a letter to Robert.

I forgive you. To prove it I'll drop in at your lab some time.

Occasionally the infinitive of purpose is placed between the subject and the predicate.

e.g. Ann, to pass the time, had left her kitchen to see whether Mr Faber was all right.

§ 197- The infinitive as adverbial modifier of consequence is used with the particle to. It is structurally dependent — we find it in a peculiar sentence pattern the first part of which is (he) had only to... or (he) had but to... .

e.g. I had only to look at Mother to know the answer.

He had only to open the door to find them anxiously waiting

for him. Here was romance and it seemed that you had but to stretch

out your hand to touch it.

In this sentence pattern the action of the infinitive is the con- sequence of the action expressed by the predicate verb — it is suf- ficient to perform the first action for the second action to follow. A similar pattern in Russian usually begins with стоило только... ,

The use of the infinitive of consequence is infrequent.