LEC SYNTAX SEMINAR SHEET 7

NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB: THE INFINITIVE (4):

PRO-TO, FOR-TO, Nom. + Inf., Acc. + Inf. Constructions

1. Paraphrase the following THAT clauses by a suitable TO or FOR-TO construction:

Model: It would be lucky if he succeeded as he desired. It would be lucky for him to succeed as
he desired.
1. It is absolutely necessary that you should get the information in time. 2. It is vital that he
should reach her in time. 3. You may claim certain allowances for wear and tear of a car, which it
has been necessary that you provide at your own expense. 4. People are our most important
resource and it is essential for the achievements of those aims that we should pay the most careful
attention to the selection of staff and to their training and development. 5. It is right that we
should get the bill and you may have to press them as they are sometimes slow in getting it out. 6.
It is unthinkable that our soldiers should fire upon their own people in support of an arbitrary
power. 7. After all, even in those days it was no uncommon thing that an earl’s daughter should
marry a commoner. 8. It is imperative that the police should arrive at the scene of the crime as
soon as possible. 9. It is customary that a man should greet first when he meets a woman. 10. It is
heroic that one should lay down one’s life for his country. 11. It is important to him that he
should have been here tonight. 12. It would be embarrassing if he found her in that condition. 13.
It was a great pleasure to me that I saw you here. 14. It is impossible that there should be a war
between your country and mine. 15. It must have been a great comfort to them that they were able
to pray for the dead. 16. It is upsetting that one should express such views in public.
2. Translate the following sentences. Use infinitive subject constructions.
1. A stârni pofte e foarte uşor. Mai greu e să le şi împlineşti. 2. Sosise în Bucureşti plin de
încredere că toate vor merge strună. A încasa banii pentru grâul vândut şi livrat, a aranja cu
Dumescu afacerile băneşti erau treburi ce se puteau lichida în două ore. 3. E păcat să vindem,
dumneata eşti tânăr şi nu ştii ce greu e să pui la loc lucrurile de care te desparţi. 4. Se înfăţişa o
situaţie excepţională, cu primejdii excepţionale şi iminente. A le păstra pentru dânsul şi a le
ascunde ar fi fost cu neputinţă. 5. Eu îmi fac datoria să te avertizez, draga mea, că nu e prudent să
plece acum la ţară. 6. A merge pe urmele lui Şincai şi a încerca să-i pui în lumină destinul
înseamnă a cuprinde o epocă istorică şi o epocă de cultură. 7. Era greu a se închipui că un om ca
el ar fi putut fi clintit din loc. 8. Îmi face bine să mă gândesc la cele mai reconfortante afirmaţii
ale acelui serial. 9. A scrie romanul complex al unei societăţi integrale, divizate prin structură şi
interese fără a fi pe nesimţite cuprins de vreun spirit partizan este o virtute remarcabilă. 10 Ideea
de a transmite altora gândurile sale îl stăpâni un timp. 11. E important să găsim o instituţie de stat
care să vrea să participe la licitaţie. 12. A trăi nu e absolut necesar, a construi e necesar.
3. Replace the italicized object clauses by suitable infinitive clauses. Use the perfect
infinitive to express anteriority with respect to the time of the main clause.
1. In fact she expected that she had failed the test. 2. The killer threatened that he would strike
again. 3. John claims that he used to have a car. 4. Because of the disease he forgot that he had
paid the bill. 5. Mary claims that she is still learning French. 6. He hopes that he will win the
lottery one day. 7. They will always remember that they visited London. 8. He professed that he
had spent two years at Oxford. 9. She claims that she has been in love with him for many years.
10. Robert expects that they will welcome him on his return back home.
 4. Answer the following questions using the prompts in brackets; then turn the
answers into the passive voice.
1. What did mother allow Muriel? (go out this evening) 2. What did father forbid you? (speak to
him in such a manner) 3. What did the manager order Brian? (report to the office at nine o’clock)
4. What did the Prosecutor’s Office cable them? (search the house immediately) 5. What did they
wire the captain of the crew? (land at the nearest airport) 6. What did the boss radio the soldiers?
(surround the area at once) 7. What did they authorize you to do? (issue entrance visas for all
visitors arriving today) 8. What did the captain of the aircraft recommend the passengers to do?
(fasten their seat belts and refrain from smoking) 9. What did they permit us? (leave the airport
by bus) 10. What did the commander grant the lieutenant? (send the soldiers to the barracks)
5. Translate into English. Use the infinitive to translate object clauses. (photocopy)
6. Tough-movement: the object of the infinitive clause becomes the subject of the main
clause.
E.g. It is easy to talk to the boss. (indirect object) The boss is easy to talk to.
It is impossible to buy presents for John. John is impossible to buy presents for.
1. It is easy to fall in love with him. 2. It is surprisingly difficult to follow this injunction. 3. It is
not easy to answer this question. 4. It is tough to work with such a boss. 5. It is impossible to deal
with a lot of these people. 6. It is nice to talk to her. 7. It will be difficult to get a rapid answer out
of people who haven’t really thought about it. 8. It is barely possible to live with John. 9. It’s still
very ticklish to get this problem right. 10. It’s quite simple to operate these machines. 11. It is
very easy to translate this text into English. 12. It’s often interesting to listen to old people. 13.
It’s a bitch to sweep these floors. 14. It’s a cinch to pass this exam. 15. It’s a pain in the ass to
work on this computer. 16. It’s a breeze to live with him. 17. It was a godsend to hear your words.
18. It was a pleasure to see this performance.
7. The Accusative + Infinitive / the Nominative + Infinitive. Paraphrase the finite THAT-
clause by an Acc+inf. Construction. Passivize the Acc+inf. Construction into a Nom+inf.
Construction, where possible.
1. Lincoln held that the Union was indestructible. 2. I don’t consider that he is a very fine
example of anything. 3. He avowed that his brother was a supporter of the new group. 4. They felt
that his admission was an expression of fear. 5. They suspected that some of them were
foreigners. 6. I declare that he is the father of Charles. 7. Even father recognized that the
translation was accurate. 8. Every line of his writing shows that the poet was in love with life. 9.
You know that the mink coat had been stolen. 10. Some believed that he had connections with the
FBI. 11. The public judged that his work was individualistic and expressive. 12. They thought
that he was too rebellious for a political leader. 13. Even his enemies acknowledged that he had a
brilliant mind. 14. They showed that much of the traditional dogma was irrelevant. 15. They
reported that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated. 16. I knew that this message
was outdated. 17. We grant that this theory is correct. 18. They found that the Democrats were
notably more approving than the Republicans. 19. The doctor found that four of them were
suffering from schizophrenia. 20. They discovered that the girl had heard of Mussolini and his
policy.
8. Translate into English:
1. – Daţi-mi drumul acasă, sunt nevinovat. - O să ţi se dea drumul, murmură el absent şi
întunecat, dacă se va dovedi că n-ai nici o legătură cu această organizaţie. 2. Dianei nu-i place să
meargă cu vaporul, dar noi am convins-o să-şi cumpere bilet ca să meargă cu noi. 3. Se ştie că
Petre este cel mai bun matematician din clasă. 4. Am observat-o pe Virginia cerându-i sfaturi. 5.
Nu credeam să aibă ea nevoie de ajutor. 6. Mama nu le-a dat voie copiilor să iasă la joacă înainte
de a-şi termina lecţiile. 7. S-a ordonat ca toţi soldaţii să efectueze un marş de 20 km. 8. – Ai venit
de mult? – De un sfert de oră. Am vrut să găsesc o masă liberă, ca să putem vorbi nestingheriţi.
Despre ce este vorba, fiindcă, îmi închipui, n-avem prea mult timp... – Mă laşi şi pe mine să beau
o halbă? Am alergat toată ziua şi mi-e sete. Au ceva de mâncare? – Carne de berbec. – Merge.