Constructions with infinitives in English. Infinitive in English (Infinitive): forms of the infinitive, infinitive constructions in English, full & bare infinitive. “Objective infinitive phrase” is used

In modern English there are three constructions, or phrases, with an infinitive:

object infinitive phrase (Complex Object)

subjective infinitive phrase (Complex Subject)

infinitive with preposition for(For + Noun (Pronoun) + Infinitive).

Object infinitive phrase

Object infinitive phrase - Complex Object - consists of an “introducing” verb, a pronoun in the objective case or a noun in the general case and an infinitive. In a sentence, this construction serves as a complex complement.

Do you expect him to come? Do you think he will come?

I know she to be a good student. I know she is a good student.

This phrase is used after verbs expressing:

desire and intention: to want, to wish, to desire, to intend, to mean;

mental perception: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect, to imagine;

order, permission, request: to order, to ask, to allow, to have, to make;

sensory (physical) perception: to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to notice (after these verbs the infinitive is used without the particle to);

feelings and emotions: to like, to love, to hate, to dislike.

This phrase is translated into Russian by an additional clause with conjunctions that, so that, how. The noun or pronoun becomes the subject, and the infinitive becomes the predicate of the Russian subordinate clause. You should pay attention to both the form of the preceding verb and the form of the infinitive itself. Simple Infinitive is conveyed by a verb in the present (sometimes in the past) tense, Perfect Infinitive is conveyed by a verb in the past tense. After the verbs to expect, to hope is most often conveyed by a verb in the future tense.

I saw him pass the paper to the secretary. - I saw how (that) he passed on document to the secretary.

We expect the government to provide assistance to the needy population.

We expect the government to provide assistance to the poor.

Infinitive to be in a complex object it is most often omitted during translation, since there is no linking verb in the Russian language. In this case, the Russian sentence will also be simple in composition:

We considered this decision to be the best one. We thought this was the best solution.

Exercise 1 . Analyze the sentences and t ranslate them into Russian .

We expect these phenomena to have been investigated.

Everybody considers her to be a great organizer.

We found that effect to have been unknown.

They thought the information to have been published recently.

Knowing him to be good at psychology, I asked him to explain this rule.

The scientist expected his assistants to obtain some new data.

If the Government expected the tenants to take the lying increase down, they were very much mistaken.

They heard him deny it.

This story was told to get him to go to the police station.

The major Powers expect the talks to take place at the end of the next month.

They announced it to be the law.

She meant him to do it.

I haven't heard anyone call me.

They saw the fire slowly conquered.

Everybody expected her to marry Pete.

This construction consists of a noun in the general case or a pronoun in the objective case and an infinitive.

Usually translated into Russian by an additional clause.

He wants the book to be returned tomorrow. He wants, to return the book Tomorrow.

Complex subject.
The Complex Subject (The Nominative - with - the - Infinitive Construction).

This construction consists of a noun or pronoun in the nominative case and an infinitive. Translated into Russian by subordinate clause.

She is expected to come any minute. She is expected to arrive any minute.
The water seems to be boiling. The water seems to be boiling.
The Delegation is reported to have left London. The delegation is reported to have left London.
He is likely to know her address. He probably knows her address.
He is sure to be asked about it. He will probably be asked about this.
She is said to be very beautiful. They say. that she is very beautiful.
The car was seen to disappear. We saw the car disappear.

This construction is used:

With verbs denoting sensory perception - to see, to hear, to notice etc. and with verbs denoting mental activity - to think, to consider, to expect etc. (in the passive voice); and also with verbs to say, to report, to ask, to order, to announce (in the passive voice).

With phrases to be likely(probably), to be unlikely(unlikely) to be certain / to be sure(certainly/surely).

With active verbs to seem / to appear(seem/apparently) to prove / to turn out(turn out to be) to happen(happen).

Infinitive construction with preposition for.
The For - to - Infinitive Construction.

In this construction, there is a preposition before the noun or pronoun for. When translating into Russian, either a subordinate clause or an infinitive is used.

It's easy for me to answer this question. It's easy for me to answer this question.
It will be very pleasant for us to spend a week in England. It will be very pleasant to spend a week in England.
There was nothing else for me to say. I had nothing more to say.
It is for you to decide. You decide.
Here are some books for you to read. Here are some books for your reading (reading).

/ Belyaeva M.A. "English grammar"

OBJECTIVE INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTION

“Objective predicative infinitive phrase” * - this is a combination of a noun in the general case (or a personal pronoun in the objective case) with an infinitive, acting as a single member of a sentence - a complex addition:

* For the purpose of reduction in the future, this phrase will be called “The Objective Infinitive Construction”.

• We know gravity to pull on every particle of a body. - We know that gravity acts on every particle of the body.

In this sentence, the addition to the predicate know is the phrase gravity to pull (that attraction acts), and not just the word gravity, since the question What do you know? (What do you know?) The answer will not be gravity, but gravity to pull, i.e., in other words, the entire combination of gravity to pull is inseparable and relates to the predicate as a single whole - a complex addition.

In the “Objective Infinitive”, a noun in the general case (or a personal pronoun in the objective case) denotes the person (or thing) doing or being subjected to the action indicated by the infinitive.

Therefore, “Objective infinitive phrase” is translated into Russian by an additional subordinate clause (introduced by the conjunctions that, in order, as), the subject of which corresponds to the noun in the general case (or pronoun in the objective case) of the phrase being translated, and the predicate corresponds to the infinitive of this phrase:

• We know electrons to travel from the cathode to the anode. - We know that electrons move from the cathode to the anode.
• Uncle Podger wanted us to help him. --Uncle Podger wanted us to help him

In the “Objective infinitive phrase” the infinitive can also be used in the passive form:

• We know a vector quantity to be represented by means of a straight line. -- We know that a vector quantity is represented by a straight line.
• She didn't want him to be laughed at. “She didn’t want them to laugh at him.”

“Objective infinitive phrase” is used:

1. After verbs to hear hear, to see see, to feel feel, to watch,to observe observe. After these verbs, the particle to is not used before the infinitive:

• Eric watched him go from -group to group. - Eric watched as he walked from group to group.
• Johnny saw the crowd break the line of policemen barring their way. - Johnny saw how the crowd broke through the line of policemen blocking its path.

Note. After the verbs to hear in the meaning to know and to see in the meaning to understand, “Objective infinitive phrase” is not used:
I hear that your son entered the University - I heard (learned) that your son entered the university.
I see that you understand the rule. - I see (I understand, I know) so that you understand the rule.

2. After verbs expressing will: to want want, to wish, to desire wish, etc., as well as after turnover I should like I would like to:

• I should like her to look through my report -- I would like her to look through my report.
• I have some notes I want you to read over-- I have some notes, I want you to look over them.

3. After verbs expressing opinion, judgment, assumption, etc.: to believe believe consider; to consider count; to think think, count; to suppose believe; to know know; to prove prove, prove; to understand understand; to expect expect; to assume assume, assume, etc.:

• Experiments proved heat and other forms of energy to be mutually convertible -- Experiments have shown that heat and other forms of energy are mutually reversible.
• We believe him to be a good engineer -- We believe that he is a good engineer.

4. After verbs expressing command, demand, coercion, request, permission: to order, to command order; to cause, to make force, coerce; to request ask; to allow, to permit allow, allow, etc. In this case, the infinitive has a passive form:

• Raising the piston allows water to be forced through the valve by the atmospheric pressure -- The upward movement of the piston allows atmospheric pressure to push water through the valve (lit.: allows water to pass through the valve under the pressure of atmospheric pressure).
• Not ordered the wounded to be carried away from the field of battle -- He ordered the wounded to be carried away from the battlefield.

Note. If verbs expressing permission or command are followed by a noun (or pronoun) denoting a person, followed by an infinitive in the active form, then the infinitive, as a rule, is not part of a complex object, but serves as a second object, directly subordinate to the verb. Consequently, in this case there is no complex complement, and there is no “Objective infinitive phrase”:

• Not ordered the prisoners to go -- He ordered the prisoners to leave. away.

“Objective infinitive phrase” is also used after verbs in impersonal form:

• I want to see the last leaf fall. “I want to see the last leaf fall.”
• The young man... stood in the doorway watching him work. — The young man stood in the doorway, watching him work.

The English language is very economical and strives to express ideas in the least possible way. This manifests itself not only in vocabulary, where one short word has many very different meanings, but also in grammar.

You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.

You were born to win, but to become a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win and hope to win.

In Russian, to explain the reason or purpose of performing any action, you need to use a subordinate clause with conjunctions; in English it is enough to use only infinitive or infinitive construction.

, but is built completely differently.

How to say why in English?

Let's look at an example of how the English can convey intentions or express purpose to answer a seemingly simple question:

Why are you going to the store? (eng. Why are you going to the shop?).

It is indisputable that of the proposed options, the British will choose the first construction with the infinitive of the goal, since it is easier to pronounce and explains his actions more clearly.

Now let’s look at constructions with infinitives in English in more detail.

Infinitive of purpose in English

The slide shows 8 reasons why people learn English. More than half of the reasons (desired goals) are presented in the form of the goal infinitive.

In English, to explain the reason or purpose for doing something, use infinitive with the particle to after the verbs come, go, visit, buy and many others.

In English this grammatical phenomenon is called Infinitive of purpose.

The goal infinitive conveys the intention to obtain a result., which is not necessarily positive. After all, the absence of a result is also a result!

Usage particles to in this infinitive construction it is obligatory! Do not forget that the goal infinitive, like any other infinitive, cannot have person and number.

Peculiarities of translating the English infinitive of purpose into Russian

Sentences with an infinitive of purpose are translated into Russian using a complex sentence and conjunctions " in order to do something".

This type of sentence in both Russian and English answers the question: For what? For what? for what purpose?, but is built completely differently.

Compare the ways of expressing goals in Russian and English:

How to translate sentences with the purpose infinitive into English

Very often, students, trying to express a goal, translate a Russian sentence into English using conjunction for. And this is no coincidence.

The fact is that when translating a word to into English, dictionaries are often issued for, that, than, so, in order to.

And if the latter can still be used to convey the goal, then using all the others instead particles to There is an error in sentences to express the goal:

Sometimes we can replace the target infinitive in English with a noun. In this case, feel free to use preposition for, For example:

Place of the purpose infinitive in a sentence

Infinitive of purpose(eng. Infinitive of purpose) can take place in the middle of a sentence and follow the main verb or take place at the beginning of a sentence.

If the target infinitive is at the beginning of a sentence, it should be separated by a comma:

Infinitive of purpose with conjunctions in order to/ so as to

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Coco Chanel

In the famous phrase “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” (Russian: To be irreplaceable you must always be different) Coco Chanel uses conjunction in order to with the infinitive to be .

Moreover, to increase the significance of the goal, she sets structure with the infinitive of the purpose in the first place, and thereby emphasizes why you should be diverse?

One cannot but agree that this original technique stands out from the boring structured order of sentences, and just with the help of an unusual presentation of the infinitive of the goal makes the phrase memorable.

So in sentences we can use conjunctions in order to (form.) or so as to in combination with an infinitive to explain the purpose:

When should we use in order to and so as to with the purpose infinitive?

Despite the fact that the union in order to considered more formal and rarely used in colloquial speech, it is perfectly Suitable for business style communication and correspondence.

Unlike him union so as to used in everyday conversations, as it is less formal:

Using the infinitive with conjunctions in order to/ so as to

The conjunctions in order to and so as to are usually used with state verbs, such as be, know, have and others.

The English phrase sounds more natural I watched him in order to know more about him compared to offer I watched him to know more about him(Russian: I watched him to learn more about him)

Typically we also use in order and so as with a negative infinitive to pass the meaning "not to":

Finally:

We hope that today's article is about infinitive of purpose was useful to you, and you can easily explain your intentions in English, following all the tips and rules of use.

In fact, there are many more ways to convey purpose in English than we have covered in this article. This is a construction with a complex object for somebody to and a passive construction I want something to be done, and many other conjunctions in combination with an infinitive, but we will talk about them next time.

Exercises on the infinitive of purpose

And now we invite you to test your knowledge of the infinitive of purpose in English by completing the “Infinitive of purpose” test.

Complete the sentences by using to or for.

I went to Chicago (for/to) a visit.
I went to Chicago (for/to) visit my aunt and uncle.
I take long walks (for/to) relax.
I take long walks (for/to) relaxation.
I’m going to school (for/to) a good education.
I’m going to school (for/to) get a good education.
I’m not going to school just (for/to) have fun.
I’m not going to school just (for/to) fun.
I turned on the radio (for/to) listen to the news.
I listened to the radio (for/to) news about the earthquake in Peru.
I sent a card to Carol (for/to) wish her a happy birthday.
Two police officers came to my apartment (for/to) ask me about my cousin.
Mr. Wong works in his garden (for/to) the pure pleasure of it.
I looked in the encyclopedia (for/to) information about Ecuador.
My three brothers, two sisters, and parents all came to town (for/to) attend my graduation.

In contact with

In modern English the following constructions with the infinitive are used:

1. Complex addition/The Objective- with- the- Infinitive Construction;

2. Complex subject / The Subjective Infinitive Construction;

3. For-to infinitive construction/The for-to Infinitive Construction.

Complex object/ the objective-with –the- infinitive construction (complex object)

The Objective-with-the -Infinitive Construction (Complex Object) - a complex object - is a construction in which the infinitive is in a predicative relationship (i.e., a relationship reminiscent of the relationship between subject and predicate) with a common noun or pronoun in the objective case. In an English sentence, this construction is a complex object. This construction is translated into Russian by an additional clause.

The Complex Object construction is used after the following verbs:

N.B.: If verbs tosee And tohear are used in the meaning of “know”, “understand”, and not in the meaning of verbs of sensory perception, then they are followed by an additional clause, and not a construction with an infinitive:

EXERCISES

Exercise 15.Translate the following sentences paying special attention to the use of Complex Object.

1. We knew him to be very talented. 2. I want you to attend classes regularly. 3. I saw him enter the classroom. 4. I heard him speak at the conference. 5. Let me think about it. 6. Do you want me to show you my homework? 7. I don’t like you to say such things.8. The doctor wants his assistants to help him. 9. Scientists consider this theory to be highly original. 10. The doctors acknowledge their prognosis for recovery to be over-optimistic. 11. Why don’t you make her pay more attention to her studies?

Exercise16. Replace the following sentences by simple sentence with the Infinitive construction.

1. He is a famous scientist. I know him. 2. I’ll stay at home and do my home assignment. My mother said so. 3. The surgeon ordered that. The instruments should be sterilized immediately. 4. Nobody expected that. The dog recovered so fast. 5. I heard them. They discussed new methods of treatment. 6. The patient saw the doctor. The doctor entered the ward. 7. He felt the pain. The pain increased. 8. The students watched the nurse. The nurse gave an injection.

Exercise 17. Practice the following according to the model:

Do you want to…

1.speak first? 2. attend the conference? 3. make a report? 4. to go to the farm? 5. work at the veterinary clinic? 6. answer the question? 7. examine the sick animal? 8. work as a volunteer at the animal shelter? 9. go to the library? 10. do this exercise? 11. diagnose the disease? 12. compare the results? 13. administer medicine? 14. explain the problem in detail?

Exercise 18. Pay attention to the translation of different forms of the Infinitive as part of the Complex Object:

Exercise 19. Translate the sentences from English into Russian:

1. I know this disease to be very infectious. 2. I know this disease to have been diagnosed in this region earlier. 3. I consider this problem to be very important. 4. I consider this problem to have been thoroughly investigated at the previous conference. 5. I consider this method of treatment to be very effective. 6. I consider this method of treatment to have been very effective over the last decade.

Exercise 20. Fill in the blanks with the suitable verbs. List of verbs is given below (you can use one verb twice):

permit, make, allow, want, consider

1. I…you to explain the following phenomena. 2. This observations…us to draw some conclusions on the pathogenesis of the disease. 3. His physician didn’t … him to work until January. 4. We… this method to be very interesting. 5. The doctor …us stay in the hospital for two more days. 6. These facts...us reconsider the results of our experiment.

Exercise 21. Translate from Russian into English, using the Complex Object.

1. I would like you to analyze the results. 2. The professor allowed you to perform the operation. 3. They believe that this equipment is reliable. 4. These results lead us to assume that the disease is curable. 5. Nobody expected this to happen. 6. Don't force me to do this work.

Exercise 22. Translate from Russian into English using the phrases:

to let smb do smth -allowto make smb do sth - force

1. Doctors do not allow him to go outside. 2. Have them write the test again. 3. Do not allow the animal to drink a lot. 4. Make him do exercises every day.5. Let me know when she arrives. 6. Let him go. 7. He made us do the work again. 8. Don't make me laugh. 9. I can't force him to quit smoking. 10. Make him take medicine.

Exercise 23. Translate from English into Russian. Find the Complex Object. Define the form of theInfinitive.

1. I expected my sister to be operated as soon as her temperature returned to normal. 2. The physician wanted my mother to follow a bed regimen for several days. 3. The physician thought the intensity of the shadow in the lung to decrease after the treatment. 4. The cardiologist considered the electrocardiogram waves to have changed after the heart attack.

Exercise 24. Use the Complex Object instead of the subordinate clause.

1. The surgeon believed that the patient would recover soon after the operation. 2. Everybody thought that the initial diagnosis would be confirmed by laboratory tests. 3. We didn’t expect that the patient would develop complications in his lungs. 4. Doctors consider that the loss of weight is one of the typical signs of pulmonary tuberculosis. 5. Veterinarians determined that the primary focus of infection had been eliminated. 6. We didn’t believe that this medicine would have any side effects. 7. Doctors expected that disturbances in blood circulation would be eliminated.

Exercise 25. Find the Complex Object. Define the forms of the Infinitive. Translate the sentences.

1. The physician considered the incidence of heart attacks to be associated with the nervous system. 3. The doctor wants me to have undergone the course of treatment by the end of the week. 4. We noticed the most characteristic symptoms of rheumatic endocarditis have been eliminated since the administration of those drugs.

Exercise 26. Translate from Russian into English using the Complex Object.

1. I have never seen him perform an operation. 2. I consider him the most famous scientist in this field. 3. We didn't expect the temperature to be so high. 4. The veterinarian allowed his assistants to examine the patient. 5. I have never heard him speak English 6. The surgeon said that the dog’s wound was minor.