The infinitive as part of a compound verbal predicate

§ 106. The infinitive is used in compound verbal predicates of three types.

I. In a compound verbal modal predicate after the modal verbs can, may, might, ought, must, shall, should, will, would, need, dare, to be, to have, and expressions with modal meaning had better, would rather.

I can tell you nothing at all about him.

She ought to have told me before.

II. In a compound verbal phasal predicate after verbs denoting various stages of the action, such as its beginning, continuation, or end. These verbs (to begin, to come, to start, to continue, to go on, to cease, etc.) followed by a “to”-infinitive form a compound verbal phasal predicate.

Now I begin to understand you.

Then she came to realize what it all meant.

They continued to whisper.

The verbs to begin, to continue and to start can also be followed by a gerund, although with a certain difference in meaning. Thus the verb to stop followed by a gerund means to put an end to an action, to interrupt, whereas followed by an infinitive means to pause in order to do something. So the infinitive after the verb to stop is used in the function of an adverbial modifier of purpose.

III. The compound verbal predicate of double orientation* has no analogy in Russian. The three subtypes of this predicate can be distinguished according to the expression of the first part:

* For details see Syntax § 53.

1. The first part is expressed by one of the following intransitive verbs in the active voice: to seem - казаться; to appear - оказаться, казаться; to prove, to turn out - оказаться; to happen, to chance - случаться. After the verbs to prove and to turn out the infinitive is mostly nominal, that is presented by to be + noun or adjective. After the verbs to seem, to appear, to happen all types and forms of the infinitive are possible.

Simple sentences with this type of predicate are synonymous with complex sentences of a certain pattern:

Sentences with compound verbal predicates of double orientation are translated into Russian in different ways depending on the meaning of the first verbal element:

2. The first part of the predicate is expressed by the passive voice forms of certain transitive verbs. They are:

a) verbs of saying: to announce, to declare, to report, to say, to state, etc.

b) verbs of mental activity: to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to known, to mean, to presume,

to regard, to suppose, to think, to understand, etc.

a) verbs of sense perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to watch.

d) the verb to make.

3. The first part is expressed by the phrases: to be likely, to be unlikely, to be sure, to be certain. In this case only the non-perfect forms of the infinitive are used, with future reference.

She is likely to be late.

He is sure to become your friend.

They are sure to be wanted as evidence.

In all these three subtypes the “to” - infinitive is always used.

Speak on the participle as part of a predicate and the gerund as part of a predicate.

§ 134. Non-perfect participle I can be part of a compound verbal predicate of double orientation. Within this type of predicate participle I follows verbs of sense perception, such as to see, to hear, to feel, to find, to catch, also some causative verbs, such as to keep, to leave in the passive voice.

Jane was heard playing the piano.

Paul was found working in the garden.

The boy was caught teasing the cat.

I was kept waiting an hour or so.

I was left standing on the stage.

In this type of predicate participle I active is generally used, though occasionally non-perfect participle I passive is to be found.

He flicks the switch and “Roll Out the Barrel” is heard being whistled.

The predicate of double orientation consists of two parts: the first is oriented on somebody implied, and the second refers semantically to the doer of the action expressed by the subject. Thus the first example means that somebody heard that Jane was playing the piano.* Therefore sentences with this type of predicate are translated into Russian by indefinite personal or impersonal sentences, complex or simple, depending on the verb in the passive voice.

* See p. II Syntax, § 53 The compound verbal predicate of double orientation; also § 123 Predicative complexes (the subjective predicative construction).

Слышали (слышно было), как Джейн играет на рояле.

Меня заставили ждать почти целый час.

Participle I as predicative

§ 135. In the position of predicative only non-perfect participle I active occurs, its adjectival character being predominant. Although keeping the form of the participle, it is treated as an adjective, or a deverbal adjective.

The participle in this position gives the qualitative characterization to the person or thing used as subject (or object, in the case of the objective predicative).

Participle I as predicative may be used with other linkverbs, in which case it may keep its verbal character, as in:

Isadora remained standing.

Participle II as predicative

§ 147. In this function participle II denotes a state, as in:

The Fada road is finished, the great idea is realized.

You seem surprized.

He looks perplexed and troubled.

He felt thoroughly disappointed.

The door remained locked.

Occasionally we come across a participle II with an active meaning used predicatively:

The sun is not risen.

Everybody is gone.

Evening is come.

The gerund as part of the predicate

The gerund is used in compound predicates of both types - verbal and nominal.

The gerund as part of the compound nominal predicate (predicative)

§ 122. As predicative the gerund expresses either characterization or identity. In the latter case the predicate reveals the meaning of the subject.

John’s hobby is collecting all sorts of bugs and butterflies.

The gerund as part of the compound verbal predicate

§ 123. In combination with phasal verbs the gerund forms a compound verbal phasal predicate. The finite phasal verb denotes a phase of the action expressed by the gerund. The most common phasal verbs followed by the gerund are: to begin*,* to burst out, to start*, to cease, to continue*, to give up, to go on, to finish, to keep on, to leave off, to stop.

* The verbs marked by an asterisk may also be followed by the infinitive.

Again you start arguing.

On hearing the joke everybody burst out laughing.

They kept on arguing.

Your health will improve as soon as you give up smoking.

This is the only function of the gerund that is not characteristic of the noun, for it is caused by the verbal character of the gerund.

A gerundial predicative construction cannot form part of a compound verbal predicate.

The infinitive as object

§ 107. The infinitive can have the function of object after verbs, adjectives, adjectivized participles and statives.

After verbs the infinitive may be either the only object of a verb or one of two objects.

1. Verbs that take only one object are: to agree, to arrange, to attempt, to care (to like), to choose, to claim, to consent, to decide, to deserve, to determine, to expect, to fail, to fear, to forget, to hesitate, to hope, to intend, to learn, to like, to long, to love, to manage, to mean, to neglect, to omit, to plan, to prefer, to pretend, to refuse, to regret, to remember, to swear, to tend, etc.

She agreed to come at ten.

He planned to spend the day in town.

You’ll soon learn to read, sonny.

Among these verbs two groups can be distinguished:

a) the verbs to claim, to fail, to forget, to hate, to like, to omit, to regret, to remember, to swear, with which the perfect infinitive denotes actions prior to those of the finite verbs. It can be accounted for by the fact that semantically these verbs denote an action or state following or resulting from that of the infinitive (you can regret only what was or has been done).

I regret to have said it to her.

I remembered to have met him once.

She claims to have seen him before.

b) The verbs to attempt, to expect, to hope, to intend, to mean, to plan, to try, when followed by the perfect infinitive imply that the action of the infinitive was not fulfilled.

I hoped to have found him at home.

He intended to have reached the coast long before.

In this case the finite verb can be used only in the past tense.

Besides the above-mentioned verbs there are also some rather common phrases used with the infinitive-object. They are the phrases can afford, can bear in the negative or interrogative and such phrases as to make sure, to make up one’s mind, to take care, to take the trouble.

Can you afford to buy it yourself?

I can’t bear to hear of it again.

At last he made up his mind to answer Sibyl’s letter.

2. Verbs that take two objects, the first of which is a noun or a pronoun and the second an infinitive. These are the verbs of inducement; they all have the general meaning to persuade, to cause to do something.

Tell him to hurry.

He asked her to keep an eye on the clock.

What would you recommend me to do?

With all these verbs, except to have, to let and to make, a “to”- infinitive is used. After the verbs to have, to let and to make it loses the particle “to”.

She’ll have you do it at once.

Don’t let it bother you.

Soon she made me see where I was wrong.

The object, which is a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case, denotes a person (or, very seldom, a non-person) who is to perform the required action expressed by the infinitive.

The verb to help can be used either with one or with two objects:

She helped to pack.

She helped me to make up my mind.

In either case a “to”- infinitive or a bare infinitive can be used.

And she actually helped find it.

I’ll help you do it.

With some verbs the function of object may be performed by a conjunctive infinitive phrase. These verbs are very few in number and fall into two groups:

a) Verbs that can take either an infinitive or a conjunctive infinitive phrase as their object. These are: to advise, to decide, to forget, to learn, to remember.

b) Verbs that can take only a conjunctive infinitive phrase as their object: to know, to show, to wonder.

She did not know what to say.

I know well enough where to stop.

Will you show me how to do it?

The infinitive can have the function of object after certain adjectives (adjectivized participles), mostly used as predicatives. Semantically and structurally these fall into two groups.

1. The most frequent adjectives of the first group are: anxious, apt, bound, careful, curious, determined, difficult, eager, easy, entitled, fit, free, hard, impatient, inclined, interested, keen, liable, powerless, prepared, quick, ready, reluctant, resolved, set, slow, worthy.

She’s determined to go on.

I am powerlessto do anything.

He’s fully prepared to meet them any time they choose.

I was so impatient to start.

When used with these adjectives, the infinitive denotes actions either simultaneous with, or posterior to, the states expressed by the predicates, and cannot therefore be used in perfect forms.

2. The most frequent adjectives (adjectivized participles) of the second group are: amused, annoyed, astonished, delighted, distressed, frightened, furious, glad, grateful, happy, horrified, pleased, proud, puzzled, relieved, scared, sorry, surprised, thankful, touched.

He was amused to hear it.

I’m delighted to see you again, darling.

She is proud to have grown such a son.

Mother was furiousto see them together again.

These adjectives and participles express certain psychological states which are the result of the action expressed by the infinitive object, so the latter therefore always denotes an action slightly preceding the state expressed by the predicate, and can have both non-perfect and perfect forms. The non-perfect forms are used to express immediate priority, that is, an action immediately preceding the state:

I’m glad to see you (I see you and that is why I am glad).

The perfect forms are used to show that there is a gap between the action and the resulting state.

I am glad to have seen you (I saw/have seen you and that is why I am glad).

3. After certain statives denoting psychological states, such as afraid, agog, ashamed:

He was ashamed to tell us this.

I’d be afraid to step inside a house that Rupert had designed all by himself.

In such cases the infinitive points out the source of the state expressed by the stative.

The gerund as object

§ 124. The gerund can be used as a direct or a prepositional object. As a direct object it follows a number of monotransitive verbs, some of which take only the gerund, while others may be followed either by the gerund or by the infinitive. The gerund is also used after the adjective worth.

The following verbs are followed only by the gerund:

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