NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB (VERBALS)

(Н.А. Кобрина, Е.А. Корнеева Грамматика англ.яз.)

§ 95. There are four non-finite forms of the verb in English: the infinitive (to take), the gerund (taking),
participle I (taking), participle II (taken). These forms possess some verbal and some non-verbal features.
The main verbal feature of the infinitive and participles I and II is that it can be used as part of analytical
verbal forms (is standing, is built, have come, will do, etc.)
Lexically non-finites do not differ from finite forms. Grammatically the difference between the two types
of forms lies in the fact that non-finites may denote a secondary action or a process related to that expressed
by the finite verb.
Non-finites possess the verb categories of voice, perfect, and aspect. They lack the categories of person,
number, mood, and tense.
None of the forms have morphological features of non-verbal parts of speech, neither nominal, adjectival
or adverbial. In the sphere of syntax, however, non-finites possess both verbal and non-verbal features.
Their non-verbal character reveals itself in their syntactical functions. Thus, the infinitive and the gerund
perform the main syntactical functions of the noun, which are those of subject, object and predicative.
Participle I functions as attribute, predicative and adverbial modifier; participle II as attribute and
predicative. They cannot form a predicate by themselves, although unlike non-verbal parts of speech they
can function as part of a compound verbal predicate.
Syntactically the verbal character of non-finites is manifested mainly in their combinability. Similarly to
finite forms they may combine with nouns functioning as direct, indirect, or prepositional objects, with
adverbs and prepositional phrases used as adverbial modifiers, and with subordinate clauses.
Non-finites may also work as link verbs, combining with nouns, adjectives or statives as predicatives, as
in: to be/being a doctor (young, afraid). They may also act as modal verb semantic equivalents when
combined with an infinitive: to have/having to wait, to be able/being able to stay. So the structure of a non-
finite verb group resembles the structure of any verb phrase.
All non-finite verb forms may participate in the so-called predicative constructions, that is, two-
component syntactical units where a noun or a pronoun and a non-finite verb form are in predicative
relations similar to those of the subiect and the predicate: I heard Jane singing; We waited for the train to
pass; I saw him run, etc.

THE INFINITIVE

§ 96. The infinitive is a non-finite form of the verb which names a process in a most general way. As such,
it is naturally treated as the initial form of the verb, which represents the verb in dictionaries (much in the
same way as the common case singular represents the noun).
In all its forms and functions the infinitive has a special marker, the particle to. The particle to is generally
used with the infinitive stem and is so closely connected with it that does not commonly allow any words
to be put between itself and the stem. Occasionally, however, an adverb or particle may be inserted between
them: She doesn’t want to even see me once more.

The infinitive thus used is called the split infinitive, and is acceptable only to give special emphasis to the
verb.
Although the particle to is very closely connected with the infinitive, sometimes the bare infinitive stem
is used. The cases where the infinitive loses its marker are very few in number.

The use of the Infinitive without the Particle to (Bare Infinitive)

Words and phrases Bare The rest of the sentence

followed by a bare infinitive
infinitive
Auxiliary verbs:
I don’t like jogging.
They will see you to-morrow.
Modal verbs: (except ought to, have to, be to)
You can’t play football in the street.
I must go there to-morrow.
You needn’t worry.
Modal expression: (had better, would rather, would sooner)
She ‘d sooner die than come back.
You had better come at once.
 Verbs of sense perception: (see, watch, observe, notice, hear, listen to, feel, etc.)
I felt somebody touch me.
He heard the door close.
Verbs of inducement: (let, make, have, bid)
Let me help you.
What makes you think so.
Phrases with ‘but’: (cannot but, do anything but, do nothing but, couldn’t but)
Did you do anything but ask questions?
Why-not sentences:
Why not begin at once?

Like other non-finite forms of the verb the infinitive has a double nature: it combines verbal features with
those of the noun.
The verbal features of the infinitive are of two kinds: morphological and syntactical.
1) M o r p h o l o g i c a l : the infinitive has the verb categories of voice, perfect and aspect:
The evening is the time to praise the day. (active)
To be praised for what one has not done was bad enough. (passive)
She did not intend to keep me long, she said. (non-perfect)
I am so distressed to have kept you waiting, (perfect)
She promised to bring the picture down in the course of ten minutes. (common)
At that time I happened to be bringing him some of the books borrowed from him two days before,
(continuous)
2) S y n t a c t i c a l : the infinitive possesses the verb combinability:
a) it takes an object in the same way as the corresponding finite verbs do;
b) it takes a predicative if it happens to be a link verb;
c) it is modified by adverbials in the same way as finite verbs:

Infinitive Finite verb

a) To tell him about it the same night was out of the She told me about it only yesterday.
question.
She did not mean to depend on her father. You see, I depend on his word only.
b) She wanted to be a teacher. He was a teacher of French.
I don’t want to look pale tonight. She looked pale and haggard.
c) To draw his attention I had to speak very loudly. He spoke loudly, turning his head from side
to side.

The nominal features of the infinitive are revealed only in its function: To understand is to forgive.
(subject, predicative) That’s what I wanted to know. (object) I saw the chance to escape into the garden.
(attribute) I merely came back to water the roses, (adverbial modifier of purpose)

The Grammatical Categories of the Infinitive

§ 97. As has already been stated the infinitive has three grammatical categories, those of perfect, voice,
and aspect. The system of grammatical categories of the infinitive is shown in the table below.
Table IV
Perfect Voice Active Passive
Aspect
Common to go —
to take to be taken
Non-Perfect
to be going —
Continuous to be taking (to be being taken)
to have gone —
Common to have taken to have been taken
Perfect
Continuous to have been going —
to have been taking —

It is seen from the table, that the passive voice is found only with transitive verbs and there are no perfect
continuous forms in the passive voice. As for the non-perfect continuous passive, forms similar to the one
in brackets, do sometimes occur, although they are exceptionally rare.
The category of PERFECT

§ 98. The category of perfect finds its expression, as with other verb forms, in the opposition of non-perfect
and perfect forms.
The non-perfect infinitive denotes an action simultaneous with that of the finite verb (I am glad to take part
in it, I am glad to be invited there),
The perfect infinitive always denotes an action prior to that of the finite verb - the predicate of the sentences.
The meaning of priority is invariable with the perfect and perfect continuous infinitive.

I am glad
I was glad to have seen you again
I shall be glad

The non-perfect infinitive is vaguer and more flexible in meaning and its meaning may easily be modified
by the context. Thus, it may denote an action preceding or following the action denoted by the finite verb.
It expresses succession, that is indicates that the action follows the action denoted by the finite verb, as in
the following cases:
1) When used as an adverbial modifier of purpose: She bit her lip to keep back a smile. I came here to help
you, not to quarrel with you.
2) When used as part of a compound verbal predicate: You must do it at once. You know, she is beginning
to learn eagerly.в
3) When used as an object of a verb of inducement: He ordered the man to come at three. She always asks
me to help her when she is busy. He will make you obey.

The category of ASPECT

§ 99. The category of aspect finds its expression in contrasting forms of the common aspect and the
continuous aspect. The difference between the category of aspect in finite verb forms and in the infinitive
is that in the infinitive it is consistently expressed only in the active voice: to speak - to be speaking, to
have spoken - to have been speaking.
The passive voice has practically no aspect oppositions. (See Table IV). The semantics of the category of
aspect in the infinitive is the same as in the finite verb: the continuous aspect forms denote an action in
progress at some moment of time in the present, past, or future; the meaning of the common aspect forms
is flexible and is easily modified by the context.
The two aspects differ in their frequency and functioning; the continuous aspect forms are very seldom
used and cannot perform all the functions in which the common aspect forms are used. They can function
only as: 1) subject (To be staying with them was a real pleasure.); 2) object (I was glad to be waking.); 3)
part of a compound verbal predicate (Now they must be getting back; The leaves begin to be growing
yellowish.)
The continuous aspect forms do not occur in the function of adverbial - modifiers and attributes.

The category of VOICE

§ 100. The infinitive of transitive verbs has the category of voice, similar to all other verb forms: to say –
to be said, to have said – to have been said.
The active infinitive points out that the action is directed from the subject (either expressed or implied),
the passive infinitive indicates that the action is directed to the subject:

Active Passive

He expected to find them very soon. They expected to be found by night fall.

She was born to love . She was born to be loved..

I know I ought to have told you everything long ago. She ought to have been told of what
had actually happened.

However, there are cases where the active form of the non-perfect infinitive denotes an action directed
towards the subject, that is although active in form it is passive in meaning:
He is to blame. The house is to let.

The question is difficult to answer. There was only one thing to do.

The active infinitive thus used is called retroactive.

The retroactive infinitive is rather productive although in nearly all cases it can be replaced by the
corresponding passive form: He is to blame —> He is to be blamed. There was only one thing to do —>
There was only one thing to be done.

Syntactical functions of the infinitive

§ 101. The infinitive performs almost all syntactical functions characteristic of the noun, although in each
of them it has certain peculiarities of its own. In all syntactical functions the infinitive may be used:
1) alone, that is, without any words depending on it: She would like to dance.
2) as the headword of an infinitive phrase, that is, with one or more words depending on it: She would like
to dance with him tonight.
3) as part of an infinitive predicative construction, that is, as a logical predicate to some nominal element
denoting the logical subject of the infinitive: She would like him to dance with her. She waited for him to
dance first.

As to the functioning of single infinitives and infinitive phrases, they are identical in this respect and
therefore will be used without distinction in illustrations. However it should be noted that in fact the
infinitive phrase is much more common than the single infinitive.

The infinitive as SUBJECT

§ 102. The infinitive functioning as subject may either precede the predicate or follow it. In the latter case
it is introduced by the so-called introductory it, which is placed at the beginning of the sentence: To be
good is to be in harmony with oneself. It’s so silly to be fussy and jealous.

The second of these structural patterns is more common than the first, and the subject in this pattern is more
accentuated (compare for example: It’s impossible to do it and To do it is impossible). The other difference
is that in the second case the sentence can be both declarative and interrogative, while in the first one the
sentence can only be declarative:

Declarative sentences: It’s nice to see you again. It was not a good idea to bring her here. To find him
still at home was a relief. To see her again did not give him the usual pleasure.
Interrogative sentences: Is it bad to love one so dearly? Wasn’t it a waste of time to sit there?

The infinitive subject in both structural patterns is a “to” - infinitive. If there are two or more homogeneous
infinitive subjects in a sentence, all of them keep the particle to: To be alone, to be free from the daily
interests and cruelty would be happiness to Asako. It was awfully difficult to do or even to say nothing at
all.

The function of the subject can be performed by the infinitive of any voice, aspect and perfect form,
although the common aspect non-perfect active forms are naturally far more frequent:
To expect too much is a dangerous thing.
To be walking through the fields all alone seemed an almost impossible pleasure.
To have seen her was even a more painful experience.
To be recognized, to be greeted by some local personage afforded her a joy which was very great.
To have been interrogated in such a way was a real shock to him.
§ 103. The predicate of the subject expressed by an infinitive always takes the form of the 3rd person
singular. As to its type, it is usually a compound nominal predicate with the link verb to be, although other
link verbs may also occur, as well as a verbal predicate:
To acquire knowledge and to acquire it unceasingly is the first duty of the artist. To understand is to forgive.
To talk to him bored me. To see the struggle frightened him terribly. To write a really good book requires
more time than I have.
 The infinitive as PART OF THE PREDICATE

The infinitive is used in predicates of several types, both nominal and verbal.

The infinitive as PREDICATIVE

§ 104. In the function of a predicative the “to”-infinitive is used in compound nominal predicates after the
link verb to be: His dearest wish was to have a son.

With homogeneous predicatives the use of the particle ‘to’ varies. If the infinitives are not linked by
conjunctions, the particle is generally used with all of them: My intention was to see her as soon as possible,
to talk to her, to calm her.
If they are linked by the conjunctions and or or the particle to is generally used with the first infinitive
only: Your duty will be to teach him French and play with him. His plan was to ring her up at once, or
even call on her.

The use of the infinitive as a predicative has some peculiarities:

1) In sentences with an infinitive subject the predicative infinitive denotes an action that follows, or results
from, the action of the subject infinitive: To see her was to admire her. To come there at this hour was to
risk one’s life.
Sentences in which both the infinitives are used without any modifiers are usually of aphoristic meaning:
To hear is to obey. To see is to believe. To define is to limit.
The predicative function is generally performed by the common non-perfect active forms of the infinitive.
Still passive forms sometimes occur: To be born in poverty was to be doomed to humiliation.

2) The set of nouns that can function as the subject of a compound nominal predicate with an infinitive
predicative is very limited. It includes about 50 nouns describing situations:

action consequence function instruction order risk

advice custom habit intention plan role
aim desire happiness job principle rule
ambition difficulty hope method problem task
attempt duty idea need purpose thing
business experience ideal object reason wish, etc.

A predicative infinitive phrase may be introduced by the conjunctive, adverbs and pronouns how, when,
where, what, whom, the choice depending on the lexical meaning of the noun: Now the question was what
to tell him. The problem was how to begin.

3) The function of the subject may be also performed by the pronoun all or the substantivized superlatives
the most and the least with an attributive clause attached to them: All he wanted was to be left alone. The
least I can expect is to have this day all to myself.
In such cases the predicative infinitive can lose its marker to: All I can do is get you out of here.

4) Occasionally the function of the subject can be performed by a gerund or a what-clause: Living with
hemophilia was to live off balance all the time. “What we want to do,“ said Brady, “is to fight a world.”

The infinitive as SIMPLE NOMINAL PREDICATE

§ 105. The infinitive as simple nominal predicate may be used in exclamatory sentences expressing the
speaker’s rejection of the idea that the person to whom the action of the infinitive is ascribed is likely to
perform this action, or belong to such sort of people, as in: You - of all men - to say such a thing! Me - to
be your lover!
As a rule the infinitive in exclamatory sentences is used with the particle to, although it occasionally occurs
without it: Me - marry him! Never!
The infinitive may be also used as predicate in interrogative infinitive why-sentences, both affirmative and
negative, where it expresses a suggestion: Why let him sleep so long? Why not go away?
In such sentences the infinitive is always used without the particle to.
 The infinitive as PART OF A COMPOUND VERBAL PREDICATE

§ 106. The infinitive is used in compound verbal predicates of three types.

I. In a compound verbal modal predicate after the modal verbs can, may, might, ought, must, shall,
should, will, would, need, dare, to be, to have, and expressions with modal meaning had better, would
rather: I can tell you nothing at all about him. She ought to have told me before.
II. In a compound verbal phasal predicate after verbs denoting various stages of the action, such as its
beginning, continuation, or end. These verbs (to begin, to come, to start, to continue, to go on, to cease,
etc.) followed by a “to”-infinitive form a compound verbal phasal predicate: Now I begin to understand
you. Then she came to realize what it all meant. They continued to whisper.
The verbs to begin, to continue and to start can also be followed by a gerund, although with a certain
difference in meaning. Thus the verb to stop followed by a gerund means to put an end to an action, to
interrupt, whereas followed by an infinitive means to pause in order to do something. So the infinitive after
the verb to stop is used in the function of an adverbial modifier of purpose: He stopped to see what it was.
– Он остановился, чтобы посмотреть, что это такое. He stopped seeing her. – Он перестал с ней
встречаться.

III. The compound verbal predicate of double orientation has no analogy in Russian. The three subtypes
of this predicate can be distinguished according to the expression of the first part:
1. The first part is expressed by one of the following intransitive verbs in the active voice: to seem -
казаться; to appear - оказаться, казаться; to prove, to turn out - оказаться; to happen, to chance -
случаться. After the verbs to prove and to turn out the infinitive is mostly nominal, that is presented by to
be + noun or adjective. After the verbs to seem, to appear, to happen all types and forms of the infinitive
are possible.
Simple sentences with this type of predicate are synonymous with complex sentences of a certain pattern:
He seems to be smiling. = It seems that he is smiling. She appeared to have said all. = It appeared that she
had said all.
Sentences with compound verbal predicates of double orientation are translated into Russian in different
ways depending on the meaning of the first verbal element:

The strange little man seemed to read my thoughts. Странный человечек, казалось, читал мои
мысли.
The man seemed to have come from far off. Казалось, этот человек приехал откуда-то
издалека.
Nothing appeared to be happening there. Казалось, что здесь ничего не происходит.
Не appeared to have been running all the way. Казалось, что он пробежал всю дорогу бегом.
Не proved to be a healthy child. Он оказался здоровым ребенком.
The night turned out to be cold. Ночь оказалась холодной.
Don’t you happen to know her? Ты ее случайно не знаешь?

2. The first part of the predicate is expressed by the passive voice forms of certain transitive verbs. They
are: a) verbs of saying: to announce, to declare, to report, to say, to state, etc.: She was announced to be
the winner. – Было объявлено, что победила она. Не is said to have returned at last. – Говорят, что он
наконец вернулся.
b) verbs of mental activity: to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to known, to mean, to presume,
to regard, to suppose, to think, to understand, etc.: He’s supposed to be leaving tonight. – Предполагают
(предполагается), что он уезжает сегодня вечером. She is believed to be a clever girl. – Ее считают
умной девушкой. (Считается, что она умная девушка.) Her father was thought to have died long ago. –
Считалось (считали, думали, полагали), что ее отец давным-давно умер.
c) verbs of sense perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch: Soon he was heard to open the front door. –
Вскоре услышали, как он открыл парадную дверь. She was often seen to walk all alone. – Часто
видели, как она гуляет совсем одна.
d) the verb to make: He was made to keep silent. – Его заставили молчать.

3. The first part is expressed by the phrases: to be likely, to be unlikely, to be sure, to be certain. In this
case only the non-perfect forms of the infinitive are used, with future reference: She is likely to be late. He
is sure to become your friend. They are sure to be wanted as evidence.

In all these three subtypes the “to” - infinitive is always used.

 The infinitive as OBJECT

§ 107. The infinitive can have the function of object after verbs, adjectives, adjectivized participles and
statives. After verbs the infinitive may be either the only object of a verb or one of two objects.

1. Verbs that take only one object are: to agree, to arrange, to attempt, to care (to like), to choose, to claim,
to consent, to decide, to deserve, to determine, to expect, to fail, to fear, to forget, to hesitate, to hope, to
intend, to learn, to like, to long, to love, to manage, to mean, to neglect, to omit, to plan, to prefer, to
pretend, to refuse, to regret, to remember, to swear, to tend, etc.: She agreed to come at ten. He planned to
spend the day in town. You’ll soon learn to read, sonny.

Among these verbs two groups can be distinguished:

a) the verbs to claim, to fail, to forget, to hate, to like, to omit, to regret, to remember, to swear, with which
the perfect infinitive denotes actions prior to those of the finite verbs. It can be accounted for by the fact
that semantically these verbs denote an action or state following or resulting from that of the infinitive (you
can regret only what was or has been done): I regret to have said it to her. I remembered to have met him
once. She claims to have seen him before.

b) The verbs to attempt, to expect, to hope, to intend, to mean, to plan, to try, when followed by the perfect
infinitive imply that the action of the infinitive was not fulfilled: I hoped to have found him at home. He
intended to have reached the coast long before.

In this case the finite verb can be used only in the past tense.

Note: As most of these verbs (item 1a) and b)) denote an attitude to the action expressed by the
infinitive, the verb + infinitive may be treated syntactically as one whole. Thus the succession of two
verbs (... like to help ..., ... expect to arrive ..., ... plan to do ...) allow of two modes of analysis, as a verb
+ its object or as a compound verbal predicate with the first element expressing attitude.

Besides the above-mentioned verbs there are also some rather common phrases used with the infinitive-
object. They are the phrases can afford, can bear in the negative or interrogative and such phrases as to
make sure, to make up one’s mind, to take care, to take the trouble: Can you afford to buy it yourself? I
can’t bear to hear of it again. At last he made up his mind to answer Sibyl’s letter.

2. Verbs that take two objects, the first of which is a noun or a pronoun and the second an infinitive. These
are the verbs of inducement; they all have the general meaning to persuade, to cause to do something.
advise cause encourage impel invite order
allow command forbid implore leave
ask compel force induce let
beg direct have instruct make

Tell him to hurry. He asked her to keep an eye on the clock. What would you recommend me to do?

With all these verbs, except to have, to let and to make, a “to”- infinitive is used. After the verbs to have,
to let and to make it loses the particle “to”: She’ll have you do it at once. Don’t let it bother you. Soon she
made me see where I was wrong.
The object, which is a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case, denotes a person (or,
very seldom, a non-person) who is to perform the required action expressed by the infinitive.
The verb to help can be used either with one or with two objects: She helped to pack. She helped me to
make up my mind. In either case a “to”- infinitive or a bare infinitive can be used: And she actually helped
find it. I’ll help you do it.
With some verbs the function of object may be performed by a conjunctive infinitive phrase. These verbs
are very few in number and fall into two groups:
a) Verbs that can take either an infinitive or a conjunctive infinitive phrase as their object. These are: to
advise, to decide, to forget, to learn, to remember.

They advised me to go on. He advised me at last how to settle the matter.

He decided to begin at once. He could not decide whether to come at all.
I forgot to tell you about the last incident. I forgot how to do it.

b) Verbs that can take only a conjunctive infinitive phrase as their object: to know, to show, to wonder:
She did not know what to say. I know well enough where to stop. Will you show me how to do it?

The infinitive can have the function of object after certain adjectives (adjectivized participles), mostly used
as predicatives. Semantically and structurally these fall into two groups:
1. The most frequent adjectives of the first group are: anxious, apt, bound, careful, curious, determined,
difficult, eager, easy, entitled, fit, free, hard, impatient, inclined, interested, keen, liable, powerless,
prepared, quick, ready, reluctant, resolved, set, slow, worthy: She’s determined to go on. I am powerless
to do anything. He’s fully prepared to meet them any time they choose. I was so impatient to start.
When used with these adjectives, the infinitive denotes actions either simultaneous with, or posterior to,
the states expressed by the predicates, and cannot therefore be used in perfect forms.

2. The most frequent adjectives (adjectivized participles) of the second group are: amused, annoyed,
astonished, delighted, distressed, frightened, furious, glad, grateful, happy, horrified, pleased, proud,
puzzled, relieved, scared, sorry, surprised, thankful, touched: He was amused to hear it. I’m delighted to
see you again, darling. She is proud to have grown such a son. Mother was furious to see them together
again.
These adjectives and participles express certain psychological states which are the result of the action
expressed by the infinitive object, so the latter therefore always denotes an action slightly preceding the
state expressed by the predicate, and can have both non-perfect and perfect forms. The non-perfect forms
are used to express immediate priority, that is, an action immediately preceding the state: I’m glad to see
you (I see you and that is why I am glad).
The perfect forms are used to show that there is a gap between the action and the resulting state: I am glad
to have seen you (I saw/have seen you and that is why I am glad).

3. After certain statives denoting psychological states, such as afraid, agog, ashamed: He was ashamed to
tell us this. I’d be afraid to step inside a house that Rupert had designed all by himself.
In such cases the infinitive points out the source of the state expressed by the stative.

The infinitive as ATTRIBUTE

§ 108. The English infinitive functioning as an attribute is far more frequent than the Russian infinitive.
This is because in Russian the infinitive attribute can combine with abstract nouns only, while in English
it is used with a much wider range of words. In this function the infinitive always denotes a not yet fulfilled
action, which is regarded as desirable, possible, advisable, necessary, etc. The modal meaning of the
infinitive attribute is generally rendered in Russian by modal verbs or expressions, as is shown by the
translations below.
The infinitive attribute can modify:
1. nouns, both abstract and concrete: Because of his quarrel with his family he was in no position to get
the news. (... не мог получить известий) The best thing to do would be to go back. (самое лучшее, что
можно было сделать ...) Не is just the man to do it. (он как раз тот человек, который может/должен
это сделать) I suppose there was nothing to he done, but depart. (ничего нельзя было сделать,
оставалось только удалиться)
2 . indefinite, negative and universal pronouns in -body, -thing, -one (one): Have you anything to offer
me? (Вы можете мне что-нибудь предложить?) Не was someone to admire. (... тот, кем можно
восхищаться) Не had everything to make his life a happy one. (...что могло сделать его счастливым)
Occasionally the infinitive can have the function of an attribute to personal negative and reflexive pronouns
or pronominal adverbs: I’ve only you to look to. Oh, but you have only yourself to praise. Now I had
nobody to see, nowhere to go.
3 . substantivized ordinal numerals (especially first), substantivized adjectives (next and last): Jack
was the first to come. She was the last to reach the hall.
4 . substantivized quantitative adjectives much, little, (no) more, (no) less, little more, enough: A man
in your position has so much to lose. I’ve no more to add.
5 . the noun-substitute one: I am not the one to run about and discuss my affairs with other people. (...
кто может ...)
§ 109. The most common form of the infinitive functioning as an attribute is the non-perfect common
aspect active voice form and non-perfect common aspect passive form.
When performing the function of an attribute a “to”- infinitive is always used. If there are two or more
homogeneous attributes the second (and the following) retain ‘to’ if joined asyndetically, but drop it if
joined by conjunctions: There was, however, my little Jean to look after, to take care of. Did he give you
any small parcel to bring back and deliver to anyone in England?
§ 110. The infinitive as an attribute may be introduced by conjunctive pronouns or adverbs: He had sought
in vain for inspiration how to awaken love. I had now an idea what to do.
The conjunctive infinitive phrase may be preceded by a preposition: They had no knowledge of how to live
on. He’s got no information about when to start.

The infinitive as ADVERBIAL MODIFIER

§ 111. The infinitive can be used as an adverbial modifier of: purpose, subsequent events, consequence,
attendant circumstances, comparison, condition, exception, time, cause, or motivation. In all these
functions but that of the adverbial modifier of exception, a “to”- infinitive is used.

1. The adverbial modifier of PURPOSE. In this function the action denoted by the infinitive is always a
hypothetical one following the action denoted by the predicate. As such it can be expressed only by non-
perfect common aspect forms of the infinitive (both active and passive): I think I will go to England to
improve my English. We stood in the rain and were taken out one at a time to be questioned and shot.
In this function a “to”- infinitive is used, but if there are two or more homogeneous adverbials of purpose
joined by and, usually, though not necessarily, only the first of them has the particle to. Compare the
following sentences: Mary, looking pale and worried, left him to go down to the kitchen and start breakfast.
Then I went upstairs to say how-do-you-do to Emily, and into the kitchen to shake hands with Mary-Ann,
and out into the garden to see the gardener.
The position of the infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of purpose varies. It usually stands after the
predicate, though the position at the beginning of the sentence is also possible: To occupy her mind,
however, she took the job given her.
In both positions the infinitive may be preceded by the conjunction in order, so as or by limiting particle
(just, only): I keep a diary in order to enter the wonderful secrets of my life. In order to see her better he
had to turn his head. I’m here just to see you off. He came down only to say good-night to you.

2. The adverbial modifier of SUBSEQUENT EVENTS. In this function the infinitive denotes an action
that follows the one denoted by the predicate. The position of this adverbial in the sentence is fixed - it
always follows the predicate. The only forms of the infinitive occurring in this function are those of the
non-perfect common aspect, usually active: He arrived at three o’clock to hear that Fleur had gone out
with the car at ten. (He arrived and heard ...) I came down one morning to find Papa excited to the point of
apoplexy. (I came down and found ...) He hurried to the house only to find it empty. (He hurried and found
...)
In this function the infinitive may be preceded by the particles only, merely, simply, which change the
meaning of the whole sentence: the action denoted by the infinitive preceded by these particles makes the
action denoted by the predicate pointless or irrelevant: She returned to London in a few days, only to learn
that Bess had gone to the continent. (She returned ..., and learnt...)

3. As an adverbial modifier of CONSEQUENCE the infinitive depends on: a) adjectives and adverbs
modified by too; b) adjectives, adverbs and nouns modified by enough; c) adjectives modified by so, and
nouns modified by such. In the last two cases the infinitive is introduced by as:
a) Не was too tired to argue. (= He was so fired, that is why he couldn’t arque) The story was too
interesting to be passed over lightly. He had gone too far to draw back.
b) He’s old enough to learn this. (= He is old enough, so he can learn this) I thought I liked Letty well
enough to marry her. (=I liked Letty, so I wanted to marry her) He was fool enough to enjoy the game.
He had seen enough blasted, burned out tanks to have no illusions.
c) She was so kind as to accept my proposal. (= She was so kind, therefore she accepted my proposal)
Do you think I am such a fool as to let it out of my hands?
In all these cases the infinitive denotes an action, which would become or became possible (enough, so,
such) or impossible (too) due to the degree of quality or quantity expressed in the words it refers to.
The position of the infinitive is fixed, it always follows the words it modifies. The form of the infinitive is
non-perfect, common aspect, usually active.
4. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES shows what other
actions take place at the same time as the action of the predicate: He left the house never to come back. I
am sorry to have raised your expectations only to disappoint you.
The infinitive thus used always follows the predicate verb it modifies. As to its form, it is a non-perfect,
common aspect, active voice form.
5. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of COMPARISON refers to predicate groups including
adjectives or adverbs in the comparative degree. The infinitive itself is introduced by than: To give is more
blessed than to receive. Soon she realized, that it was much more pleasant to give than to be given. He
knew better than to rely on her.
Although the infinitive of comparison is generally used with ‘to’, it may also occur without it: I was more
inclined to see her safely married than go on watching over her.
6. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of CONDITION denotes an action which pre-conditions
the action expressed by the predicate: To look at Montmorency you would imagine that he was an angel
sent upon earth ... (If you looked ..., you would imagine ...) To touch it one would believe that it was the
best of furs. (If one touched it, one would believe ...) I’ll thank you to take your hands off me. (I’ll thank
you, if you take ...)
The position of this infinitive as can be seen from the examples above varies; it may either precede or
follow the predicate verb it modifies. The only possible form of the infinitive is the non-perfect, common
aspect, active voice form.

7. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of EXCEPTION denotes the action which is the only
possible one in the situation. The infinitive is generally used without ‘to’ and is introduced by the
prepositions but and except. It is found in negative and interrogative sentences: I had nothing to do but
wait. What could I do but submit? There is nothing to do except turn back.

8. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of time denotes an action which marks out the moment of
time up to which or at which the action of the predicate is performed. Very often it has a secondary meaning
of condition: His father lived to be ninety. (lived till he was ...) I may not live to reach the airstrip this
afternoon. (may not live till I reach ...) Go away! I shudder to see you here. (I shudder when I see ..., if I
see ...)
The position of the infinitive is fixed, it always follows the predicate it modifies. Its form is non-perfect,
common aspect, active.

9. The infinitive used as an adverbial modifier of CAUSE or MOTIVATION refers to a compound

nominal predicate with the predicative expressed by an adjective, a noun, or a prepositional phrase denoting
someone's qualities (intellectual qualities, morals, etc.). The infinitive denotes an action which serves as a
cause or a motivation on which this or that characterization is based: What an idiot I was not to have
thought of it before! (I had not thought of it before, therefore I can justly be called an idiot.) She was silly
to come here. (She came here, and it was silly of her.) They’re out of their mind to have sent you here!
(They have sent you here, so one can think them out of their minds.)
The infinitive in this function follows the predicate. All the forms of the infinitive are possible.

The infinitive as PARENTHESIS

§ 112. The infinitive used as parenthesis is usually part of a collocation, as in: to begin with, to be (quite)
frank, to be sure, to make matters worse, to put it mildly, to say the least, to tell the truth, needless to say,
strange to say, so to speak, to make a long story short, to crown all, to be more precise, to say nothing of
..., etc: To begin with, you have been lying to me all the time. To be quite frank, I don’t like him at all.
He was, strange to say, just an ordinary little chap.

PREDICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS WITH THE INFINITIVE

§ 113. The infinitive is used in predicative constructions of three types: the objective with the infinitive
construction, the subjective (or nominative) infinitive construction and the so-called for-to-infinitive
construction. Traditionally they are called the complex subject, the complex object, and the for-to-
infinitive complex.
In all these constructions the infinitive denotes an action ascribed to the person or non-person, though
grammatically this relationship is not expressed in form: the doer of the action may be represented by a
noun in the common case, a pronoun in the objective case (I saw him cross the street, it is for him to
decide this) and the verbal element which is not in a finite form. Still, due to their semantics and because
of the attached position the nominal and the verbal elements are understood as forming a complex with
subject-predicate relationship.

The for-to-infinitive construction

§ 114. In the for-to-infinitive construction the infinitive (usually an infinitive phrase) is in predicate relation
to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case introduced by the preposition for. The
construction is used where the doer of the action (or the bearer of the state), expressed by the infinitive, is
different from that of the finite verb (the predicate):

The doer of the action of the finite verb The doer of the action of the finite verb and of the
and of the infinitive is the same: infinitive is not the same:
He longed to see the truth. - He longed for me to see the truth.-
Он очень хотел узнать правду. Он очень хотел, чтобы я узнал правду.
All I want is to get out of here for good. - All I want is for Jack to get out of here for good. -
Единственное, чего я хочу, - это навсегда Единственное, чего я хочу, - это чтобы Джек
уехать отсюда. навсегда уехал отсюда.

The for-to-infinitive construction has the same functions as a single infinitive, though with some
restrictions.
1. Subject. The for-to-infinitive construction in the function of the subject usually occurs in sentences with
the introductory it, though it is occasionally placed at the head of the sentence: It was difficult for him to
do anything else. For me to hear him was disturbing.
2. Predicative. In this function the construction is mostly used with the link verb to be: The best thing is
for you to do it now.
3. Object. The construction functions as object of both verbs and adjectives: a) She watched for the door
to open. I don’t think I should care for it to be known. b) His family were anxious for him to do something.
I’m so glad for you to have come at last.
4. Attribute: There was no need for him to be economical.
5. Adverbial modifier of purpose and consequence: She paused for him to continue. The wall was too
high for anything to be visible. He had said enough for me to get alarmed.
In all its uses this construction is generally rendered in Russian by a subordinate clause.

The objective with the infinitive construction

§ 115. In the objective with the infinitive construction the infinitive (usually an infinitive phrase) is in
predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case (hence the name of the
construction). The whole construction forms a complex object of some verbs. It is rendered in Russian by
an object clause.
The objective with the infinitive construction is used in the following cases:
1. After verbs of sense perception (see, hear, feel, watch, observe, notice and some others). In this case
the only possible form of the infinitive is the non-perfect common aspect active voice form, used without
the particle ‘to’: No one has ever heard her cry. I paused a moment and watched the tram-car stop.
The verb to listen to, though not a verb of sense perception, is used in the same way, with a bare infinitive:
He was listening attentively to the chairman speak.
If the verb to see or to notice is used with the meaning to realize, or the verb to hear with the meaning to
learn, the objective with the infinitive construction cannot be used. Here only subordinate object clause is
possible: I saw that he did not know anything. – Я видел (понимал), что он ничего не знает. I hear you
have dropped the idea of leaving him. – Я слышала (узнала), что ты отказалась от мысли уйти от него.
Не only had time to notice that the girl was unusually pretty. – Он только успел заметить (осознать),
что девушка была необычайно хорошенькой.
2. After verbs of mental activity (think, believe, consider, expect, understand, suppose, find and some others).
Here the infinitive is used in any form, though the non-perfect forms are the most frequent (always with
the particle ‘to’): I know him to be an honest man. She believed him to have left for San Francisco. I believed
her to be knitting in the next room. I should expect my devoted friend to be devoted to me.
3. After verbs of emotion (like, love, hate, dislike and some others). Here non-perfect, common aspect
forms of the “to”- infinitive are the most usual: I always liked him to sing. She hated her son to be
separated from her. I’d love you to come with me too. I hated him to have been sent away.
4. After verbs of wish and intention (to want, to wish, to desire, to intend, to mean and some others).
After these verbs only non-perfect common aspect forms of the infinitive with the particle to are used: He
only wished you to be near him. I don’t want him to be punished.
5. After verbs of declaring (declare, pronounce): I declare you to be out of your mind. He reported the
boat to have been seen not far away.
6. After verbs of inducement (have, make, get, order, tell, ask, etc.) of which the first two take a bare
infinitive. In the construction some of them acquire a different meaning: make - заставить, get - добиться,
have - заставить (сказать, чтобы ...): I can’t get him to do it properly. She made me obey her.
7. The objective with the infinitive construction also occurs after certain verbs requiring a prepositional
object, for example to count (up)on, to rely (up) on, to look for, to listen to, to wait for: I rely on you to
come in time. Can’t I count upon you to help me?

The subjective construction with an infinitive

The construction consists of a noun (or a noun-pronoun) in the common case or a personal pronoun in the
nominative case and an infinitive. The peculiarity of the construction is that the first element is separated
from the second one by a finite verb-form which together with the infinitive forms a compound verbal
predicate of double orientation, whereas the nominal part of the construction forms the subject of the
sentence. Thus the construction does not function as one part of the sentence but falls into two parts each
functioning separately.
Semantically of these two parts of the predicate only the second one refers to the subject, as only this part
denotes either the action or the state of the person or non-person expressed by the subject. Thus in the
sentence: He is said to know five languages it is the relation. He knows five languages that is important.
In between the subject and the infinitive there is a part of the predicate expressed by a finite verb which
grammatically indicates subject-predicate relations. However, Semantically this finite verb cannot serve as
the predicate of the subject, as it denotes some comment, or estimate, or judgement, or conclusion, or
attitude to the action or state expressed by the infinitive. The comment or attitude comes from somebody
not mentioned in the sentence, therefore such sentences can be transformed into complex ones with the
indefinite-personal subject in the principal clause: He is reported to have left. —> They report (or
somebody reports) that he has left. The car was heard to turn round the corner. —> They heard (somebody
heard) that the car turned round the comer.

The subjective infinitive construction is used with a limited number of finite verbs either in the passive or
in the active voice:
I. V e r b s u s e d i n t h e p a s s i v e v o i c e f a l l i n t o f o u r g r o u p s :
1) verbs of sense perception (hear, see, observe, watch, etc.). When used in the passive voice they are
followed by a to-infinitive. They express the idea of evidence. The same idea is also rendered by some
other verbs in the passive voice (such as find, discover): He was seen to enter the building. (Somebody
was a witness of this fact) They were heard to quarrel. (Somebody heard them and therefore was a witness
of their quarrel) The boy was found to be sleeping at home. (Somebody found the boy and he was sleeping)
2) verbs of mental perception (think, know, mean, believe, expect, consider, assume, presume, suppose)
With this construction these verbs denote different shades of expectation, opinion, judgement: Pat was
supposed to come with me tonight. The Parliament is expected to introduce some changes into the laws.
Programmed instruction is considered to have many advantages.
3) verbs of saying and reporting (say, report, declare, predict, etc). These verbs also express some
judgement or opinion: Blackberries are said to have a lot of vitamins. A new star was reported to have
appeared in the East.
4) Causative verbs (cause, make, order, allow, etc.) The verb to make when used in the passive voice is
followed by a to-infinitive: Jule was made to repeat her words. The doctor was ordered to change his
shift. No dam was allowed to be built in this part of the country.

II. T h e f o l l o w i n g v e r b s a r e u s e d i n t h e a c t i v e v o i c e :
1. Verbs expressing subjective or personal attitude to facts and their evaluation (seem, appear, happen,
chance, turn out, etc.): The structure seemed to have been properly designed. Your friend turned out to
be stronger than we expected. Everybody appeared to be enjoying themselves. He chanced to be in the
park when I was there. I was to tell you the news if I happened to run into you.
2. Modal phrases expressing different shades of probability or certainty (to be (un)likely, to be sure,
to be certain, to be bound); also adjectives or nouns with the link-verb to be expressing estimate of
different kind (pleasant, hard, easy, difficult, terrible, apt, etc.). As probability mostly implies a future
action the non-perfect infinitive is generally used after to be likely. With modal phrases expressing certainty
both non-perfect and perfect infinitives are possible. The modal phrases to be apt, to be bound generally
refer to habitual actions or states and are accordingly followed by the non-perfect infinitive: We are certain
to come to an agreement. You are not likely to believe my story. A strawberry, unless fresh-picked, is
bound to exude juice. These objects are sure to be wanted as evidence. He is always liable to do idiotic
things. A girl is apt to be a little nervous on her wedding day. Crisis is apt to strike suddenly like influenza.