The design is said to be in English. Infinitive to express purpose in English. Federal Agency for Education

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

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).

The infinitive is an impersonal form of a verb, formed from a verbal noun. This concept, as is known, is also characteristic of the Russian language, where it is customary to call it the indefinite, or zero verb form, since it answers the questions “what to do?” or “what should I do?”, that is, he does not bow down. But if in Russian the use of the infinitive is quite standard and does not differ in any peculiarities, then the infinitive in English is perhaps one of the most important and sometimes difficult topics when it comes to grammar of a higher level of complexity. Therefore, you should become more familiar with the features of this impersonal form of the verb, describe how it is used, and give examples of typical cases.

Active forms of the English infinitive

Oddly enough, time in English can be represented not only by means of a regular verb, but also by such a verbal structure as the infinitive. For this purpose, there are special forms of the infinitive in English, each of which has its own specific framework.

Indefinite Infinitive

the same standard and familiar form, the so-called Simple Infinitive, or indefinite. The essence of education is extremely simple: the particle to is added to the verb, and questions will be asked in the same way as in Russian: “what to do?” or “what should I do?” For example:

· He wants to write another letter - He wants to write another letter
· Did you really try to open this can – Did you really try to open this can?

Continuous Infinitive

This more non-standard construction is used in the case when it is necessary to show duration and is used to display a process that occurred in the same period of time as another action. Its formula looks like this:

to + be + V(–ing)

· I happened to be listening to music at very moment he came - At the moment he came, I was just listening to music
· He seemed to be breathing hard - He seemed to be breathing very hard

Perfect infinitive

The perfect infinitive, or perfect, is another form uncharacteristic for the Russian language. Its main purpose is to display an already completed action that occurred before a certain moment. The table of irregular verbs will help you find the right verb form.

Note: Do not confuse the term Perfect Infinitive with Past. This universal name is suitable to reflect the preceding action, and cannot be compared with any of the Past Tenses.

The formula for the perfect infinitive is as follows:

to + have + V(3; –ed)

· I’m glad to have invited him yesterday - I’m glad I invited him yesterday
· He turned out to have left his home many years ago – It turned out that he left his home many years ago

Note: the first example shows the so-called Adjective Infinitive, when certain adjectives can have after them both an infinitive structure and a regular subordinating connection like “... that …”.

Perfect Continuous Infinitive

The last fourth active form is the Perfect Continuous Infinitive. As its name makes clear, it shows a long-term action, which, moreover, was performed before some mentioned moment in the past. This may sound quite massive, but in fact, the use of such a design is quite logical and justified.

Its diagram looks like this:

to + have + been + V(–ing)

· He happened to have been waiting for me for two hours when I came – It turned out that he was waiting for me 2 hours before I came
· They seemed to have been working all day night – It seemed like they had been working all day

Passive infinitive forms

In addition to the standard active forms of the infinitive, there is also a Passive Infinitive. These structures are named so for a reason. However, they have one more significant difference from the actual forms, if we do not take into account a different order of formation: the rule is that there are only two passive infinitive forms - Indefinite and Perfect; Passive Continuous and Passive Perfect Continuous do not exist, that is, continuous forms are not used and are, in principle, impossible.

Passive Indefinite Infinitive

This type is formed as follows:

to be + V(3; –ed)

· He wanted all the tasks to be done as soon as possible – He wanted all the tasks to be done as soon as possible
· It is pleasant to be loved – It’s nice to be loved

Passive Perfect Infinitive

The structure of this design is as follows:

to + have + been + V(3; –ed)

· The text seemed to have been translated earlier - It seemed that the text was translated earlier
· I found out the painting to have been stolen - I discovered that the painting was stolen

All these forms of Infinitive are used both in speech and in writing quite often, so you need to know their structure and rules of use.

Full and Bare Infinitive

In addition to forms, there is another very important point: the infinitive with the particle to is not always relevant, since sometimes this particle is not needed or simply cannot be used. So, the verb form that has to is called full Infinitive, and the one that does not have this particle is called bare Infinitive, that is, literally “naked”. For the second option, there are several main cases that affect the disappearance of to:

• The particle to is not possible after modal verbs (can, should, may, etc.). The exceptions are three verbs with a standard structure: to be to, have to, ought to.
• Auxiliary verbs (do, did, etc.) cannot be followed by to.
• Bare Infinitive is necessary after verbs of sensory perception: see, hear, watch, etc.
• After specific constructions: would rather/had better (“it would be better, it would be worth it”), cannot but (“I can’t help”), nothing but (“nothing but how”).
• In questions that begin with why: Why not come with us?
• Verbs after which the infinitive without the standard particle to is used: have or make, if the essence of the translation is to force”, as well as let in the meaning “to allow, allow”.
• After the verb know, if it means “to see, notice.”
• After the verb bid (“offer”).

Note: the bare infinitive rule is only relevant in Active Voice. In the passive voice, all the above cases have no weight, and the infinitive will be full.

Functions of the infinitive in a sentence

The functions of the infinitive in a sentence reflect what part of the sentence this non-finite form of the verb can act as. So, it is worth noting that the infinitive can play almost any role:

1. Subject:

To visit him is my greatest desire – To visit him is my greatest desire

2. Predicative:

His aim is to achieve the highest results – His goal is to achieve the highest results

3. Infinitive as part of a compound verbal predicate (full name – part of a compound verbal predicate):

a) part of a compound verbal modal predicate:

I cannot solve this problem by myself - I cannot solve this problem on my own

b) part of a compound verbal aspect predicate:

He began to complain about his neighbors - He began to complain about his neighbors

4. Addition (object):

She offered to help me in my future job – She offered to help me in my future job

5. Part of a complex object:

They asked me to come in time - They asked me to come on time

6. Infinitive in the attribute function:

I didn’t have any chance to correct all the mistakes - I didn’t have any chance to correct all the mistakes

7. Circumstance (adverbial modifier):

a) adverbial modifier of purpose:

Let’s set off right now in order/so that to catch the train – Let’s go right now to catch the train

b) adverbial modifier of result:

· She is too stupid to solve the problem - She is too stupid to solve this problem
· She is clever enough to help us – She is smart enough to help us

c) adverbial modifier of comparison/manner:

She looked back as if/as though to find somebody – She looked back as if she was looking for someone

d) adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances:

He had to move away, never to come back again - He was forced to leave and never returned to these places again

8. Introductory construction (parenthesis):

· To tell the truth, I’m not hungry – To be honest, I’m not hungry
· To cut a long story short, none of them congratulated me - In short, none of them congratulated me l

Infinitive constructions

This impersonal form of the verb is often included in special structures. Infinitive constructions in English are not difficult to form, but they have special principles of application that are important to consider.

Complex Object and Complex Subject

The first construction is called the Objective Infinitive construction, and more often it is called more simply - Complex Object, i.e. a complex addition. Its structure is as follows:

Verb + Object + Infinitive

· I ordered her to leave as soon as possible – I ordered her to leave as soon as possible
· She saw me open the door and come into the house - She saw me open the door and enter the house

The structure of the Subjective Infinitive construction is quite often called somewhat differently, namely Nominative with the Infinitive. One way or another, it has another, no less common and well-known name - Complex Subject. The difference with the previous construction is that while in Complex Object the emphasis is on the complement, here the main object is the subject. The formula for this design looks like this:

Subject + Passive Voice + Infinitive

· He is known to have left his business and move away a few years ago – It is known that he left his business and moved away a few years ago
· They were supposed to have been working all night before presenting their project – It was believed that they worked all night before presenting their project to us

For-to-Construction

The for-to-Infinitive construction is perhaps the simplest structure of the three. Such infinitive phrases are formed very simply, and their structure is hidden in the name itself:

Verb + for + Object + Infinitive

· Jennie was waiting for me to come back – Jenny was waiting for me to come back
· The best for him to do is forget about that fail - The best thing he can do is forget about his failure.

Thus, it can be noted that the infinitive, as an indefinite form of the verb, has quite a lot of features, each of which is very important. Knowledge of all these functions, structures and forms will allow you to successfully use this impersonal form of the verb and will not cause any problems when working with more complex texts and tasks.

(In sentences with a subjective infinitive phrase, the infinitive has a direct logical connection with the subject (subject). This is where its name comes from.
Taking into account that in English the noun is in the general case and not in the nominative case, it is better to call this phrase a “subjective infinitive phrase.”
The full name of this phrase in a theoretical grammar course is “subjective predicative infinitive phrase”).

Indefinitely personal sentences of the Russian language most often correspond to passive phrases in English, such as:

A complex sentence with a main clause expressed by an indefinite personal phrase like it is said, it is known, it seems, it appears, it is likely, has its own special equivalent - a simple sentence:

As can be seen from the examples, this construction, expressed by a noun in the general case or a pronoun in the nominative case with an infinitive, is translated into Russian as a complex sentence.

The predicate of an English sentence (are said), when translated into Russian, is transformed into the predicate of the main sentence, which is an indefinite personal say, the subject (they) becomes the subject of the Russian subordinate clause, and the infinitive (to work) becomes its predicate. The subordinate clause in the Russian translation is introduced by the conjunction that.

The subjective infinitive phrase is used:

1. With verbs denoting a request, command, cognitive processes (from assumption, through checking it with the help of physical perception - sensation, to cognition and approval):

to say (is, are said) to speak
to see (is, are seen) to see
to hear (is, are heard) to hear
to state (is, are stated) indicate, establish
to find (is, are found) find, discover
to claim (is, are claimed)
to show (is, are shown) show, prove
to think (is, are thought) believe, think
to know (is, are known)
to report (is, are reported)
to suppose (is, are supposed) to assume
to expect (is, are expected) expect, believe
to consider (is, are considered) count, consider
to believe (is, are believed) to believe
to hold (is, are held) believe, consider
to take (is, are taken) to believe
to assume (is, are assumed)

These verbs can appear in any tense in the passive voice and can also be used in combination with modal verbs.

2. In combination with individual intransitive verbs, which in their meaning are also associated with cognitive processes: to appear, to seem, to prove, to turn out, to happen, to happen. (See table below.)

These verbs can appear in any tense in the active voice.

In scientific literature, to appear and to chance, when using the subjective infinitive phrase, are often translated into predicative adverbs: apparently by accident.

3. With a predicate expressed in the personal form of the linking verb to be and an adjective: likely probable, not likely, unlikely incredible, unlikely (unlikely), certain, sure faithful, reliable, undoubted.

Note: Most often in scientific and technical literature the linking verb is to be + likely or unlikely. After these constructions, the Indefinite Infinitive is translated into Russian by the personal form of the verb in the future tense.

To express voice and aspectual meanings in the subjective infinitive phrase, various aspectual and voice forms of the infinitive () are used.

At the same time, the Infinitive Continuous expresses the action as a process occurring simultaneously with the action expressed by the predicate of the sentence.

The Infinitive Perfect expresses an action performed earlier than the action expressed by the predicate, and is translated into Russian by the form of the verb in the past tense.

Indefinite Infinitive Active:

Infinitive Continuous Active:

Infinitive Perfect Passive:

Infinitive Perfect Continuous:

If a subjective infinitive phrase, or a complex subject, is part of a negative sentence, then when translating into Russian, the negation should often be associated with the predicate verb of the subordinate clause, and not the main one (especially in technical texts).

Translation into Russian of English sentences containing a subjective infinitive phrase, should start with the predicate, conveying it to the Russians in an indefinitely personal manner; then the name, in the general case, together with the infinitive is translated by a subordinate clause, attached to the main one with a subordinating conjunction that.