Questions tagged [infinitives]
The infinitive is the base verb form, conveying no information about person, number, mood or tense.
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To: complement or telling the purpose
This research contributes to filling a considerable gap in academic literature dissertating on the application of CSR(corporate social responsibility) policies to address negative publicity.
Does "to ...
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Negation after the to-infinitive
Do the following sentences mean the same?
He seems to have not eaten for ages.
He does not seem to have eaten for ages.
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Meaning of the sentence which begins with a verb in infinitive form
I cannot understand the following sentence because of its grammar.
To borrow a phrase from the old Star Treck series, the "prime directive" of the limbic brain is to ensure our survival as a ...
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Can the subject of an infinitive be omitted in passive voice?
The technicians were fired to reduce costs.
I have a doubt about whether this sentence is grammatically correct or not and whether I must add "for a noun" so as to make it clear what was to reduce ...
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to infinitive vs happen + to infinitive difference
Is there any difference between the following sentences, respectively?
“It so happens that today is my birthday.” -- Today is my birthday.
“I happen to have exactly what you need.” -- I have ...
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“I am safe” vs. “He is safe”
(A) I am safe.
(B) He is safe.
How do I distinguish the meanings above in sentences with the verb "to report"? For example:
"I reported him to be safe."
Who is safe?
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have had problem
Police claimed to have had sent the file.
As have-had is used to connect past with present then how this sentence make any sense??
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“For + him/her/them + was + to+infinitive” vs “ was + for him/her/them to + infinitive”
The following sentence is from a book. [1]
Her dying wish was for him to hike the Ap. trail.
Why didn't the author write it as:
Her dying wish for him was to hike the Ap. trail.
Is there any ...
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Infinitive as adverbial modifier of purpose
I read this sentence in the Barron's practice exercises book (you should choose the incorrect usage):
The understanding (a) electricity (b) depends (c) on a knowledge of atoms and the subatomic ...
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Used to vs would structural difference
I have a doubt on the following question.
1) I ______________ want to be a practising doctor but now I'm more interested in research.
Options:
A. was used to
B. used to
c. would
I was ...
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Can {this/that/it} refer to “infinitive or gerund” when it is the object of “do”?
For example:
I just thought it would be very hard for her to move the desk on her own, so I did {that/it} for her.
("that/it" is referring to "to move the desk")
To me, moving the ...
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Why “being stripped” was used in this example ? Why not “to be stripped”? [duplicate]
The warning from the European commission could lead to that country being stripped of its European rights.
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Can we use “to be stripped” instead of “being stripped” in this sentence?
The warning from the European commission could lead to that country being stripped of its European rights.
(As far as l know we must use infinitive after nouns )
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'Bare Infinitive' or 'to infinitive'?
I happened to come across a sentence in a school textbook as follows:
" All you need to do is keep that passion burning in you and never give up."
Why is the bare infinitive form "keep" used here?
...
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1answer
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Voice in infinitive phrases?
I am confused by the voices used in these two sentences:
While there's a conceptual proposal on the table for a new Appleton
Public Library in a mixed-use development, there are still plenty ...
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1answer
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It's kind of/for you to help me with this
Usually, we use the structure "for...to..." to indicate an infinitive with its own subject.
Anna will be happy for the children to help you. (The children will help you.)
My idea was for her ...
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Can “to-infinitive phrase” be used non-restrictively modifying its preceding noun?
for example,
My father, to die of lung cancer in 1992, was a good husband to my mother.
My father to die of lung caner in 1992 was a good husband to my mother.
(The situation is that I'm ...
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Pronoun object needed or not?
In this sentence:
She has too many students in the class to give them individual attention.
I wonder if the object 'them' is necessary to be inserted in the sentence as 'them' refers to 'many ...
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Can “was to do” denote “the result of the past situation”?
I've never come across "was to do" that is used to mean "the result of the past situation" as in
The football team was to win the trophy, defeating the opponent by
1-0 (meaning "the football ...
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A problem regarding infinitives
I was doing an exercise and I had to join two sentences using an infinitive.
The pair of sentences was--
I have no aptitude for business. I must speak it out frankly.
The answer was--
To speak ...
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1answer
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Identifying the infinitive
I was doing an exercise and I had to find the infinitive and also its type.
And fools who came to scoff remained to pray.
I think here there are 2 infinitives to scoff and to pray.
But the answer ...
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1answer
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I have never heard him to say it
I have never heard him to say it
Now, I realize that the "to" is not supposed to be there. But why? Grammatically "say" in this sentence is an infinitive. Or it is pretending to be one. I am using ...
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“… to apply for a visa” or “… and applied for a visa”?
Here are two sentences:
Once he got the passport, he went to the Chinese consulate in Toronto and applied for a visa.
Once he got the passport, he went to the Chinese consulate in Toronto to ...
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Can an infinitive phrase serve as an object complement noun?
Please help me understand. Can an infinitive phrase function as an object complement noun?
I.e. The teacher told her student to stop complaining.
What is the function of the words ‘her student to ...
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1answer
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“I want to use my energy TO READ or FOR READING?”
Which of these sentences is correct?
1) I want to use my energy to read.
2) I want to use my energy for reading.
Thank you very much! Gerunds and infinitives confuse me.
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to infinitive : result or purpose?
He met Luis Suarez's cross at the far post, only for Chelsea keeper
Petr Cech to show brilliant reflexes to deflect his header on to the
bar. Carroll turned away to lead Liverpool's insistent ...
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1answer
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To do it will be hard
I can say the sentence:
It will be hard to do it
But can I say it so?
To do it will be hard
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passive to active reconstruction
The clerks are trained to provide customers with exceptional service.
Active:Someone (unknown) trains the clerks to provide customers with exceptional service.
to provide customers with exceptional ...
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1answer
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noun phrase and infinitive
He is asked to investigate [what the police believe to be the root of the crime (to discover the truth.)]
The first infinitive to be the root of the crime,
the understood subject is what, right?
Can ...
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1answer
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infinitive clause and subject
1.He invented a business plan which companies can employ (to earn profits.)
I bracketed the part which I think is the purpose adjunct,
the understood subject of the infinitive is companies, right?
...
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1answer
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Passive Infinitive reconstruction
I remember that passive infinitive sentences can be changed into "It is PP that Subject+verb",
but does the formula apply to the following sentences?
I wonder if all passive infinitive sentences can ...
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1answer
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So + adj + as to + verb / so +adj + to + verb
Can I use those forms interchangeably? I think 1 and 1' don't mean the same thing but 2 and 2' mean the same thing.
1-She was so radiant as to be almost beautiful.
1'-She was so radiant to be ...
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actor of the infinitive clause
Identifying whether the infinitive clause is a purpose or a catenative complement helps me understand what the understood subject is. (I hope the interpretation below is correct)
He wrote the book ...
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the missing object of the verb
But the thing I didn't care a damn about, didn't even grasp to be happening, was the passing-away of the old life I'd know. (Coming up for air)
What is the object of the verb grasp ? Is it the thing ...
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“the only thing you did today was breathe” vs. “the only thing you did today was TO breathe”
Sometimes it's okay if the only thing you did today was breathe.
In this sentence, should I use a bare infinitive, 'breathe', or 'to breathe'? I think I should use a bare infinitive, otherwise ...
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1answer
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Can infinitive tell purpose
He led the team to win the competition without support from the instructors.
Infinitive clause tells purpose most of the time ,
but can infinitival clauses sometimes tell the result?
Like the ...
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2answers
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infinitive clause ambiguity
We need him to accomplish this task.
Is this an ambiguous sentence?
I think the possible interpretations are:
1: We can't accomplish this task without him/We need him in order to accomplish this ...
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1answer
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Same sentence structure, different modification
We learned an approach that is used to measure company growth.
We employed a strategy that is scarcely used to generate profit.
(The above sentences probably seem weird)
In the first sentence , ...
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infinitive telling the purpose
He used his disability in order to win our votes, which is an evil way to win the election.
This is a sentence which I submit for an English class assignment, but my teacher crossed out in order, ...
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infinitive : complement or purpose
It is important to gain data to verify or falsify your assumption about business model.
Does the infinitive act as a purpose, being same as in order to,
Or does it act as an object complement by ...
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1answer
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Infinitive: purpose or adjectival
These factors can be something about the person or something about the situation, which can combine [to determine] the consumer's motivation [to process] product-related information at a given point ...
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infinitive :To and In order to
1.The fourth case is more diffuse – the forging of various bilateral links with the fishing industry: some ENGOs have succeeded in working with fishers to bring in environmental measures that they can ...
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infinitive clause acting as adjective
He is the first kid to have been sent to Japan to study to become a doctor.
In this sentence, does the infinitive act serve as an adjective and modify the noun kid?
Can it also be understood as :(...
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How to understand this infinitive
Marketing is the process of transforming or changing an organization to have what people will buy.
I don’t know what the infinitive here means,
does it tell the purpose or it has other functions.
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infinitive clause :adjectival or complement
I know infinitive clause can be an adjective or a complement.
My following sentences concern what they act as.
No one in the team possesses the ability which is required to accomplish this task.
...
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Why ifinitive without to in the sentence? [duplicate]
Why in the next sentence infinitive 'avoid' is used without 'to'?
By solving the puzzle, I
get a gem in the form of a principle that helps me avoid the same sort of problem
in the future.
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Subjunctive Mood — Correct use in the following:
The street native may be a vendor, from whom the street participant purchase.
Is the second clause correct? I mean for the "street participant," just as the "street native," to be understood as a ...
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Nominal to-infinitive clause as complement of an adjective
Source: "A Cmmunicative Grammar of English" by Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik (p.328-329)
As you can see, the book says:
● Nominal to-fininitive clause as subject:
To say there is no ...
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Infinitive clause meaning
The brain must be provided with something that it has never before processed to force it out of predictable perceptions.
I am not so sure about this one, but my instinct tells me that " to force it ...
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Infinitive form and what it modifies
The leader created a term which the members of their group would use to describe people who had never contributed to the community.
The infinitive clause " to describe people ... to the community" ...
