English Grammar for University Students. Part 4

is said to Peru last year.

b) verbs denoting mental activity (to believe, to consider, to expect, to find, to know, to mean, to presume, to regard, to suppose, to think, to understand, etc.).

This were meant together.

is considered the best University in Russia according to world ranking systems.

is thought the conference.

c) verbs of sense perception (to feel, to hear, to see, to watch).

were seen to leave the city by train.

d) the verb to make.

was made his apologies.

3. With likely, unlikely, sure, certain. In this case only the non-perfect forms of the Infinitive are used, with future reference.

is likely in a traffic jam.

are sure present at the meeting.

The for-to-infinitive construction

In the For-to-Infinitive Construction the Infinitive is in predicate relation to a noun in the common case or a pronoun in the objective case preceded by the preposition for.

The for-to-Infinitive construction has the same functions as a single Infinitive, though with some restrictions.

1. Subject. The For-to-Infinitive Construction is often used in this function with the introductory it.

It is difficult for them to comprehend that.

For me to hear him was disturbing.

2. Predicative. In this function the construction is mostly used with the link verb to be.

The only solution is for him to leave the country.

This is for you to learn by heart.

3. Object. The For-to-Infinitive construction functions as object of both verbs and adjectives.

He waited for the door to open.

I asked for the papers to be sent on time.

She is anxious for her daughter to enter a good school.

4. Attribute.

It was time for her to move on.

The best thing for you to do is to have proper rest.

5. Adverbial modifier of purpose.

She paused for us to express our emotions.

He started running for the chasers to lag behind.

6. Adverbial modifier of result.

The text was too difficult for us to translate without a dictionary.

He had done enough for us to ask him to stop at once.

Exercises

Exercise1.Give the right form of the Infinitive

1. When we asked him he refused … (to answer). 2. Don’t worry, he hasn’t forgotten … (to take) the medicine. 3. She must …. (to sleep) badly last night, she looks tired. 4. She put on the hat and turned to me … (to evaluate). 5. He appeared …(to listen). 6. Everything seemed (to change) since his last visit. 7. He was not the man (to forgive) offence to anybody. 8. Jack is in his garage. He must … (repair) his car. 9. I am glad … (to travel) to England. I have so many wonderful impressions of that trip! 10. You could … (to warn) me beforehand so that that I wouldn’t have to wait for you. 11. Don’t interrupt him when he is working. He hates … (to interrupt). 12. No words can fully describe the beauty of the place. It must … (to see).

Exercise 2. Insert ‘to’ before the Infinitive where required

1. I would rather … stay at home today. 2. Why not … come down to my place? 3. She made me … repeat the words several times. 4. I won’t have anyone … come interfering. 5. They ought … have asked my advice. 6. They heard the girl … cry out with joy. 7. You look tired you’d better … go home. 7. I saw him … cross the street a few minutes ago. 8. They were seen … play tennis together. 9. Let me … try this dress on. 10. I was made … stand still. 11. They helped me … search for him many times. 12. You ought not … talk back like this.

Exercise 3. Translate using the Infinitive in different syntactic functions

Subject

1. Было очень приятно поговорить с вами. 2. Всегда трудно принимать такие решения. 3. Глупо быть таким ревнивым. 4. Это не возможно сделать за один день. 5. Было приятно застать его дома. 6. Не нужно рассказывать ей подробности. 7. Засиживаться допоздна – вредно для здоровья. 7. Невозможно написать эссе за 5 минут. 8. Пора приниматься за работу.

Predicative