Download A. To-infinitives

Part One:
THE TYPES OF
INFINITIVES
What are Infinitives?
The infinitive is the form of
the verb not changed for
persons, number or tense.
A. To-infinitives
It is usually, but not always,
used with the particle 'to’ in
front it.
A. They can function as subjects of
sentences.
e.g. To play the piano well requires a good
sense of music.
To go on a trip is very relaxing.
B. In modern usage, it is more
common to begin the sentence
with “it”.
e.g. It requires a good sense of music to
play the piano well.
It is very relaxing to go on a trip.
It is very important for students to
study hard.
C. To-infinitives can directly follow
some verbs, such as ASK, BEG,
EXPECT, BEGIN, DECIDE,
MANAGE, LIKE, WANT, TRY,
WISH, PURPOSE, HOPE.
e.g. I intend to study Biology at university.
She hopes to win the lottery.
He decided to join the English Club at
school.
D. To-infinitives can be used after
an object.
e.g. Peter asked me to take his sister
home.
Mother advised Tom to think
carefully before he made his decision.
The teacher did not allow students to
shout in class.
E. To-infinitives can be used with
question words like HOW ,
WHERE , WHAT and WHEN.
e.g. I asked him how to get to the railway
station.
We are discussing where to go for our
holidays.
Please tell me when to take the cake out
of the oven.
B. Bare Infinitive
The infinitive is sometimes
used without the particle
'to'. This is called the
'bare' infinitive. The 'bare'
infinitive is used:
A. After WILL (WOULD), SHALL
(SHOULD), CAN (COULD),
MAY (MIGHT), DO (DOES, DID)
and MUST.
e.g. She does not care for tennis.
He could not get the ticket for the
concert.
B. After verbs of perception
(SEE, WATCH, NOTICE,
OBSERVE, HEAR, LISTEN, FEEL
and SMELL)
e.g. I watched the children play with their
new electronic game.
He heard somebody shout for help.
C. After the verbs MAKE and
LET.
e.g. Let him come in now.
The robbers made the manager open
the safe.
D. After HAD BETTER, WOULD
RATHER, CANNOT BUT, CAN
DO , NOTHING BUT.
e.g. You had better go and see the doctor
at once.
They would rather try and fail than
give up.
E. After HELP
e.g. Shall I help you carry your luggage?
F. After BID
e.g. The managers bade him go in.
G. After NEED and DARE when
they are used as special verbs.
e.g. You need not worry about her.
He dared not tell anybody his secret.
H. In the construction HAVE
SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING.
e.g. The manager said, ' I'll have my
secretary type the letter at once. '
I. After EXCEPT
e.g. There is nothing I can do except wait
for their reply.
Part Two:
THE FORMS OF
INFINITIVES
Five forms of infinitive
Infinitive
active
passive
simple prefect continuous simple
perfect
1a.Simple form ( Active )
The simple form of infinitive is
used when
1.The action denoted by the
infinitive and the action denoted
by the main verb take place at
the same time or almost at the
same time.
e.g. We are sorry to hear of your father’s
death.
2.The action expressed by the
infinitive takes place after the
action expressed by the main
verb.
e.g. I intend to have a medical check-up
some time next week.
1b.Perfect form ( Active )
If the action expressed by the
infinitive takes place before the
action expressed by the main
verb, the prefect of the
infinitive should be used.
e.g. I am sorry to have kept you waiting.
1c.Continuous form
When the action-donated by the
infinitive is going on at the time
the action of the main verb , we
use the continuous form.
e.g. They are likely to be waiting for us at
the station now.
2. Passive form
We use the passive form of the
infinitive when the logical subject
of the action expressed by the
infinitive is not the doer of the
action.
Simple form
e.g.1 The books are not allowed to be
taken out of the reference library.
Compare: You are not allowed to take the
books out of the reference library.
Prefect form
e.g.2 The book is said to have been
translated into Chinese.
Compare: He is said to have translated the
book into Chinese.
The negative is formed by adding
the word NOT before the
infinitive.
e.g. Mother told us not to tell lies.
Part Three:
THE USAGE OF
INFINITIVES
The infinitives can be used:







as nouns
as adverbs
as adjectives
after adjectives to form a number
of useful patterns
in absolute construction
to make a sentence simpler and
shorter
to avoid repetition
A. as noun
1. as subject
e.g. To stay up late is bad for the health.
2. as object
e.g. He promised to give us a hand.
3. as complement
e.g. This flat is to let.
4. with HOW,WHEN,WHERE,WHY,
WHAT,WHICH,etc.,as:
a. subject
e.g. How to remedy the deterioting
situation will be discussed at the
next meeting.
b. object
e.g. Can you advise us where to go?
c. complement
e.g. The question is when to start the
repair work.
B. as adjective
e.g. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow.
C. The infinitive is used after
adjectives to form a
number of useful patterns:
1) with adjectives expressing
emotion or desire
(sorry,glad,afraid,willing,etc.)
e.g. We shall be happy to accept your
offer.
2) with past participles
(pleased,delighted,disappointed,etc.)
e.g. She is delighted to hear that you have
recovered.
3) with adjectives of personal
qualities
(kind,bad,good,naughty,etc.)
e.g. You are very kind to ask after my
parents.
4) with impersonal adjectives
(necessary,dangerous,easy,hard,etc.)
e.g. It is impossible for us to finish the
work before dusk.
5) with some other adjectives like
READY,FIT,SURE,CERTAIN,
ABLE,UNABLE,etc.
e.g. The water from this well is not fit to
drink.
D. as adverbs:
1) to express purpose
e.g. She is working hard in order to
pass the examination.
2) to express result
e.g. He is too young to go to school.
3) to express reason
e.g. He shuddered to think of his possible
failure.
4) to indicate a subsequent fact
e.g. He awoke to find the house on fire.
E. in absolute construction
e.g. To tell you the truth, I don’t think the
plan will work.
To be fair, he is not the only person
that is to blame.
F. It is often to make a sentence
simpler and shorter
e.g. 1. I have something that I must tell you.
I have something to tell you.
e.g. 2. I wonder where I can find him.
I wonder where to find him.
G. To avoid repetition
e.g. X: Would you like to have tea with us?
Y: Oh, I’d love to.
Part 1: Wong Yuk Hung (27)
Part 2: Yui Ka Yee (30)
Part 3: Lin Lai Miu (14)