2a. Paul worked two jobs to support 2b. Paul worked two jobs
his growing family in order to support
his growing family
3a. My cousin went to college to please 3b. My cousin went to college
her parents in order to please
her parents
Like most adverbial, these can easily move to sentence opening position for thematic emphasis.
1. To buy bread
2. , she went to the sore
To support his growing family 3.
, Paul worked two jobs To please her parents
, my cousin went to college.
3. 3. 2 Infinitive as Adjectival
Adjectival infinitive clauses will almost always be restrictive. A number of very abstract nouns are routinely followed by infinitive clauses that limit their
meaning.
For example:
1. The chance
2. The opportunity
to succeed
3. The desire
to advance to return
4. His need
home to forget
his troubled past.
3. 4 Uses of Infinitive
There are two uses of infinitive, namely: infinitive in subject position, and infinitive in object position.
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3. 4. 1 The Infinitive in Subject Position 1. Infinitive in Initial Position
An infinitive can be used as the subject or as part of the subject of sentence. The infinitive as subject requires a singular verb.
For example:
1. To meet
2. new people s fun
To cheat 3.
during the test is wrong To live
4. in an apartment is expensive
To ride 5.
with a drunk driver is dangerous To learn
a second language takes a long time
2. Displacement of the Infinitive by the “ Empty It”
- The Infinitive is very often used with the “empty It” in the following pattern: adjective
It + be + or + infinitive
noun
For example:
1. It is cruel to tease
2. It is important
animal to have
3. It is dangerous
a good friend to walk
4. It is fair
alone at night to make
5. It is the goal of most students
all citizen pay the tax to get
high grades
- A common pattern with the “empty It” is the following:
adjective It + be + or for + object + infinitive
noun
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For example:
1. It is unusual for Mary to come
2. It is fun for Jim
late to meet
3. It is essential for him
new people to study
4. It was easier for her
abroad to write
5. It was a wise move for John
English than speak it to take
computer courses
3. 4. 2 The Infinitive in Object Position
The Infinitive is used in numerous patterns as object of the verb.
1. Verb + Infinitive
The verb form used after the following verbs are the infinitive. 1.
Afford : I can’t afford to buy it.
2. Agree
: They agree to help us. 3.
Appear : She appears to be tired.
4. Arrange
: I’ll arrange to meet you at the airport. 5.
Beg : Bill begged to lend some money.
6. Care
: I don’t care to see that show. 7.
Claim : Jane claims to know a famous movie star.
8. Consent
: She finally consented to marry him. 9.
Decide : I have decided to leave on Monday.
10. Demand
: We demand to know who is responsible. 11.
Deserve : John deserves to win the prize.
12. Fail
: She failed to return the book to the library on time. 13.
Forget : I forgot to mail the letter.
14. Hesitate
: Don’t hesitate to ask for my help.
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15. Hope
:Jack hopes to arrive next week. 16.
Learn : Billy learned to play the piano.
17. Manage
: She manage to finish her work early. 18.
Mean : He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
19. Offer
: They offered to help us. 20.
Plan : I am planning to have a party.
21. Prepare
: We prepared to welcome them. 22.
Pretend : She pretends not to understand.
23. Promise
: Sam promise not to be late. 24.
Refuse : Jack refuses to believe her story.
25. Regret
: I regret to tell you that you failed. 26.
Remember : I remember to lock the door. 27.
Seem : That cat seems to be friendly.
28. Struggle
: I struggle to stay awake. 29.
Swear : He swore to tell the truth.
30. Threaten
: John threatened to tell my parents. 31.
Volunteer : He volunteered to help us.
32. Wait
: I will wait to hear from you. 33.
Wish : She wishes to come with us.
2. Verbs Followed by a Pro Noun + an Infinitive The following verbs followed by a Pro Noun plus infinitive.
1. Advise
: She advised me to wait until tomorrow. 2.
Allow : He allowed me to use his car.
3. Beg
: They begged us to come.
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4. Cause
: His laziness cause his to fail. 5.
Challenge : She challenged me to race her to the corner.
6. Convince
: I couldn’t convince him to accept our help. 7.
Dare : He dare me to do better than he had done.
8. Encourage
: He encourage me to try again. 9.
Forbid : I forbid you to tell my secret.
10. Force
: They force him to do better. 11.
Hire : Kate hired a boy to mow the lawn.
12. Instruct
: He instructed them to be careful. 13.
Invite : George invited the Johnson to come to his party.
14. Order
: The judge ordered me to pay a fine. 15.
Permit : She permitted the children to stay up late.
16. Persuade
: I persuaded him to come for a visit. 17.
Remind : She remind me to lock the door.
18. Require
: Our teacher requires us to be on time. 19.
Teach : My brother taught me to swim.
20. Tell
: The doctor told him to take these pills. 21.
Urge : I urged her to apply for the job.
22. Warn
: I warned you not to drive too fast.
3. Verb + Object Optional + Infinitive These verbs Ask, expect, need, want, would like may be followed by two different
patterns, they are: verb + infinitive, or verb + pro noun + infinitive.
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Pattern 1: verb + infinitive
For example:
1. He asked to come
2. We expect
with us tonight to enter
3. I need
graduate school in the fall. to have
4. I want
your opinion. to tell
5. The lecturer would like
you something. to give
the lecture on the Napoleonic wars.
Pattern 2: verb + pro noun + infinitive
For example: 1.
I asked Bill to help 2.
I expect you us.
to be 3.
We needed Chris on time.
to help 4.
I want you us figure out the solution.
to be 5.
The professor would like his colleague patient.
to give the lecture on World War I.
3. 5 Common Adjectives Followed by Infinitive
