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 charaterisation 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, and the so-called for-to-infinitive construction*. Traditionally they are called the complex subject, the complex object, and the for-to-infinitive complex.
* It is possible, however, to distinguish one more infinitive construction generally called the subjective infinitive construction or the nominative infinitive construction. (See § 123 on the Subjective predicative construction).
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 and of the infinitive is the same: | The doer of the action of the finite verb and of the infinitive is not the same: |
| He longed to see the truth. - Он очень хотел узнать правду. All I want is to get out of here for good. - Единственное, чего я хочу, - это навсегда уехать отсюда. | He longed for me to see the truth.- Он очень хотел, чтобы я узнал правду. All I want is for Jack to get out of here for good. - Единственное, чего я хочу, - это чтобы Джек 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 (to see, to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to 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. I hear you have dropped the idea of leaving him. Не only had time to notice that the girl was unusually pretty. | Я видел (понимал), что он ничего не знает. Я слышала (узнала), что ты отказалась от мысли уйти от него. Он только успел заметить (осознать), что девушка была необычайно хорошенькой. |
2. After verbs of mental activity (to think, to believe, to consider, to expect, to understand, to suppose, to 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 (to like, to love, to hate, to 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 (to declare, to 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 (to have, to make, to get, to order, to tell, to 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?
§ 116. The gerund is a non-finite form of the verb with some noun features. It is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the stem of the verb.
The grammatical meaning of the gerund is that of a process. Thus to some extent it competes with nouns of verbal origin, e.g. translating -translation, describing - description, arriving - arrival, perceiving - perception, helping - help. Nouns, however, tend to convey the fact or the result of an action, which in certain circumstances may be something material, whereas gerunds convey the idea of action or process itself.
Show me your translation: it is neatly done, and there, are no mistakes in it.
You will enrich your vocabulary by translating from English into Russian and vice versa.
If the meaning of the gerund is nearly the same as that of the noun, the former emphasizes the process, and the latter - the fact:
Thank you for helping me.
Thank you for your help.
It is natural that the verbal character of the gerund is more prominent in transitive verbs, owing to their combinability and their passive forms.
Morphologically the verbal character of the gerund is manifested in the categories of voice and perfect (see table V) and syntactically in its combinability. Thus the gerund may combine: a) with a noun or pronoun as direct, indirect or prepositional object, depending on the verb it is formed from; b) with an adjective or a noun as a predicative; c) with an infinitive.
Gerunds can be modified by adverbs and prepositional phrases functioning as adverbial modifiers.
| Gerund | Finite verb |
| I remember your telling me the story five years ago. It’s no use arguing about trifles. John dreams of becoming a sailor. There is some chance of his being able to join us. We enjoyed walking slowly along the silent streets. | You told me the story five years ago. I never argue about trifles. John became a sailor. We hope he will be able to join us. We walked slowly along the silent streets. |
The nominal character of the gerund reveals itself syntactically, mainly in its syntactical function, partly in its combinability.
Like a noun, it can function as subject, object, or predicative.
Seeing you is always a pleasure. (subject)
I remember seeing you somewhere. (object)
I am thinking of seeing the film again. (prepositional object)
Peter’s hobby is seeing all new films. (predicative)
When it is an attribute or an adverbial modifier, a gerund, like a noun is preceded by a preposition.
There is a chance of catching the train.
Don’t forget to call me up before leaving London.
I reached my goal in spite of there being every reason against it.
The fact that the gerund can associate with a preposition is a sure sign of noun features.
Like a noun, but unlike the other non-finites, it can combine with a possessive pronoun and a noun in the genitive case denoting the doer of the action expressed by the gerund.
Excuse my interrupting you.
I insist on John’s staying with us.
It combines with the negative pronoun no in the idiomatic construction of the type: There is no getting out of it.