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INFINITIVES
INFINITIVES
INFINITIVE COMPLEMENTS
(© Sentence Processes, Nadina Vișan)
2. non-finite mood structures (if we look at what kind of mood the verb inside the
construction has)
From this point of view, we distinguish between:
• finite moods (such as the Indicative, the Conditional, the Subjunctive) (in Romanian we
call these moods moduri personale)
• non-finite moods (such as the Infinitive, the Gerund, the Participle) (i.e. moduri
nepersonale)
By convention, English grammar analyses non-finite structures as clauses, that can hold a
syntactical function within the complex sentence (so, when one provides the syntactical
analysis of a complex sentence, they will distinguish between infinitival clauses, gerundial
clauses, participial clauses.)
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The main characteristic exhibited by non-finite structures, as opposed to the finite ones, is the
fact that they do not have temporal features. For instance, the phrase to go there or going
there does not express an event that is anchored in a certain time. The speaker cannot tell for
sure when these events of going there happened.
The only features these constructions still have are the aspectual features and that is why one
can notice that the Infinitive has four tenses:
• present : to leave
• perfect: to have left
• continuous or progressive : to be leaving
• perfect continuous or perfect progressive: to have been leaving
Here are a few examples with these forms:
(5) a. To have succumbed to such base passions was a shame indeed.
(Era rusinos ca s-a lasat prada unor pasiuni atit de josnice.)
b. They are known to be doing all sorts of vile things.
(Se stie ca se indeletnicesc cu tot felul de lucruri urite.)
c. He knew her to have been knitting a sweater for a year.
(Stia ca croseteaza o flanea de un an de zile)
Due to this lack of temporal features, the infinitive construction is often subjectless (because
normally the subject needs the Nominative case and the infinitive cannot assign it since there
are no temporal and personal features. If the verb form has no temporal and personal features,
that is no ending, it cannot be in agreement with the subject and cannot assign it the
Nominative case.)
2. according to whether an adverb appears between to and the infinitive, we can distinguish
between:
• unsplit infinitive
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(10) She likes to look at the painting often.
(Ii place sa se uite adesea la tablou.)
• Split infinitive (or the “Star Trek” infinitive)
(11) She likes to often look at the painting.
(12) Captain Picard wanted Starship Enterprise to boldly go and explore the universe.
For a long period English grammarians considered the Split Infinitive to be a not very elegant
construction, uncharacteristic for literary English. However, this structure is more and more
frequent in every-day language and is no longer considered so inelegant. However, it is still
typical of relaxed speech.
3. the third criterion of classification refers to the way in which the logical subject of the
infinitive is treated (I underlined the phrase logical subject, because, as I have already
mentioned, we cannot speak about a syntactical subject inside the infinitive, since its lack
of temporal features precludes the assignment of the Nominative case – see previous
subsection.)
From this point of view we can distinguish between:
• Infinitives where the logical subject is not lexically overt:
(13) Harry tried __ to leave.
We place a gap between the main clause verb and the infinitive to show that the agent of the
action expressed by the infinitive is not expressed. By convention we can name the missing
logical subject PRO, that is something that stands for an item missing:
(14) Harry tried PRO to leave.
Further on, we can co-index the subject Harry with the PRO form, so as to show that it is in
fact Harry that performs the action expressed by the infinitive:
(15) Harryi tried PROi to leave.
In other words, to use the appropriate technical term, we say that the subject Harry controls
the logical covert subject for which we have used the notation PRO: Harry is the controller of
PRO.
Since we have used the notation PRO for the logical unexpressed subject of the infinitive, we
call this class of infinitival clauses the PRO-TO constructions, or the control constructions.
• Infinitives where the logical subject is lexically expressed in the form of a prepositional
phrase introduced by the preposition FOR. That is why this class of infinitival
constructions is called the FOR – TO infinitives:
(16) It is important for him to come back home.
(E important ca el sa se intoarca acasa.)
In this situation, the logical subject, namely the agent of the event, gets its case from the
preposition for and can appear in the clause.
So far, we have mentioned the control construction and the for-TO construction. What is
it that they have in common?
a) the fact that they are not required by a certain class of verbs in the main clause
b) both of them can hold practically the same syntactical function:
Subject:
(17) a. PRO to err is human, PRO to forgive divine.
(E omeneste sa gresesti, si crestineste sa ierti.)
b. It is important for him not to err.
(E important ca el sa nu greseasca.)
Object:
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(18) a. He tried PRO to persuade her of his innocence.
(A incercat sa o convinga ca este nevinovat.)
b. I hoped for him to be there in time.
(Am sperat ca el sa vina la timp.)
Adjunct:
(19) a. He bought a new house PRO to please his nagging wife.
(A cumparat o casa noua ca sa o multumeasca pe cicalitoarea lui nevasta.)
b. He stepped aside for her to enter.
(S-a dat la o parte ca sa ii faca loc sa intre.)
• The Accusative + Infinitive construction , where the logical subject of the infinitive is in
the Accusative and required by the main clause verb wherefrom it gets its case:
(20) I believe him to be a good linguist.
(Cred ca este un lingvist competent.)
The interesting thing with this class of infinitives and in fact the reason why they are so called
is that the direct object of the main clause verb is in reality the logical subject of the infinitive.
In other words, the pronoun him gets the Accusative from the verb believe but it is the agent
of the verb phrase to be a good linguist.
We must distinguish between such examples as that under (20) and the following one:
(21) I persuaded him to be a better linguist.
(L-am convins sa fie un lingvist mai bun.)
What is the difference between two examples that look so similar? The distinction lies in the
fact that in (21), him is not the agent of the infinitive, but the patient of the verb persuade.
Semantically, him is related to the main clause verb, not to the infinitive. The second example
is not an accusative + infinitive structure, but a PRO-TO one:
(22) I persuaded himi PROi to be a better linguist.
Also consider the following examples:
(23) I want animals to be tortured.
(Vreau ca animalele sa fie chinuite)
(24) I hate animals to be tortured.
(Nu suport ca animalele sa fie chinuite.)
A good test by means of which you can decide which of these examples is an accusative +
infinitive construction and which is a PRO-TO one is that of inference: for instance, from
example (20) you cannot infer the sentence I believe him, whereas example (22) implies I
persuaded him. This fact indicates that in the first case him was rightfully part of the
infinitival construction, but in the second case it belonged with the main clause verb persuade.
Likewise, from (23) you hopefully cannot infer I want animals, nor can you infer from (24)
that you hate animals. This means that both (23) and (24) are accusative + infinitive
structures, since the direct object animals does not semantically belong with the main clause
verbs, but with the infinitive in the subordinate.
• Last but not least, there is the Nominative + Infinitive construction, so called because the
syntactical subject in the main clause is in fact the logical subject of the infinitive. Since
this item cannot get case from the infinitive it goes back to get the Nominative from the
main clause verb:
(25) He appears to be a good linguist.
(Pare sa fie un lingvist bun.)
(26) He seems to be a good linguist.
(Pare sa fie un lingvist bun.)
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In examples (25) and (26), the subject is not the agent of the main clause verb, hence you
cannot infer something like: he appears or he seems. But it is clear that he is a good
linguist.This means that the subject he is in fact related to the infinitive verb not to the
indicative one.
Compare these examples to:
(27) I managed to get a good job.
(Am reusit sa obtin o slujba buna.)
where the subject I is the agent of the main clause verb, and you can infer I managed
something. So, this example contains a PRO – TO infinitive:
(28) Ii managed PROi to get a good job.
What is it that these last two classes of infinitive structures have in common?
a) First, it is the fact that both of them borrow items from the main clause to round up their
meaning.
b) Second, both of these constructions appear only with certain main clause verbs, with
special semantic and syntactic properties. In that they differ from the first two classes
discussed above, which are said to be free, that is not required by certain verbs. The last two
structures are said to be lexically governed because they are required by special verbs (such as
want, seem, hate, appear, etc.).
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b. I hate that you should say a thing like this.
(Imi pare rau sa aud asa ceva.)
d) verbs of mental state and linguistic communication: remember, forget, ask, conclude,
claim, threaten, suggest,etc.
Most of these verbs allow alternative that constructions:
(33) a. I remembered that I had to go to the post office.
(Mi-am amintit ca trebuie sa ma duc la posta.)
b. Ii remembered PROi to go to the post office.
(Mi-am amintit sa ma duc la posta.)
2. Predicative Clauses
(39) a. The tendency was for the instructions to be more detailed.
(Exista tendinta ca instructiunile sa fie mai detailate.)
b. Ouri task is PROi to investigate the details of this case.
(Sarcina noastra este sa investigam detaliile legate de acest caz.)
3. Direct Objects
(39) a. I meant for him to be alone with her tonight.
(Am vrut ca el sa ramina singur cu ea in seara asta.)
b. Ii would love PROi to listen to this concert.
(Mi-ar placea foarte mult sa ascult acest concert.)
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4. Prepositional Objects
They appear after verbs or adjectives which normally select Prepositional complements. Like
in the case of that complements, the preposition is deleted, but the meaning remains; this is
why we call these objects prepositional objects:
(40) a. I decided for John to represent us.
(Am hotarit sa ne reprezinte John.)
b. Ii am curious PROi to see whether they will come on time.
(Sint curios sa vad daca vor sosi la timp.)
5. Attribute
This situation happens with:
a) relative infinitive constructions
(40) They bought her a book with which PROi to step on the path of knowledge.
(I-au cumparat o carte cu ajutorul careia sa paseasca pe drumul cunoasterii.)
6. Adverbial
Here we can notice several different cases:
a) when the infinitive functions as a restrictive modifier
- the infinitive is viewed as an adverbial, not as an object because adjectives such as pretty,
delicious, bastard do not normally require a prepositional object after them like in the case
of adjectives like aware of, curious about,etc.:
(42) a. She is pretty to look at.
(Este o fata care iti bucura ochii.)
b. The stew is delicious to eat.
(Tocana e foarte buna la gust.)
c. He is a bastard to work for.
(Este un sef care te pune la munca din zori pina in seara.)
d. You’re an idiot to go there.
(Esti un prost daca te duci acolo.)
e. This paint is like concrete to work with.
(Vopseaua asta este tare ca betonul.)
b) adverbial of purpose (the most common function met with adverbial infinitives)
(43) Ii slapped him PROi in order to calm him down.
(I-am tras o palma ca sa il calmez.)
c) adverbial of result
(44) The plate was too hot to touch.
(Farfuria era prea fierbinte ca sa poata fi atinsa.)
(45) Will you be so kind as to give me the plate?
(Esti asa dragut sa imi dai farfuria?)
d) exclamatory, final or introductory infinitive
In this case, the infinitive is an independent clause:
(46) To be perfectly frank, you’re a bad driver. (introductory)
(Sa-ti spun drept, conduci prost.)
(47) I’ve never met him, to tell you the truth. (final)
(Nu-l cunosc, drept sa spun.)
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(48) Oh, to be young again! (exclamative)
(Ehei, sa fii iarasi tinar!)
b) verbs of direct object control (where the direct object of the main clause verb must control
PRO) – here mostly verbs of causation are included: authorize, direct, enable, encourage,
induce, influence, oblige, need, inspire, press, urge, inform, etc.:
(51) a. He forced the prisoneri PROi to kneel down in front of him.
(L-a obligat pe prizonier sa ingenuncheze in fata lui.)
b. His curses inspired the boyi PROi to utter foul words himself.
(Injuraturile lui i-au dat ideea baiatului sa vorbeasca si el urit.)
In this category of verbs one can also mention a small class including: appoint, elect, choose,
nominate, name, vote, etc.:
(52) She elected her husbandi PROi to run the hospital.
(L-a ales pe sotul ei in conducerea spitalului.)
c) verbs of prepositional object control (where the prepositional object inside the main clause
must control PRO): rely on, count on, prevail on, depend on, look to, etc.
(53) You may rely on mei PROi to help you.
(Te poti baza pe ajutorul meu.)
d) verbs of indirect object control (where the indirect object in the main clause must control
PRO): tell, order, command, allow, permit, etc.:
(53) He told the maidi PROi to announce her.
(I-a spus servitoarei sa o anunte.)
(54) I leave it to youi PROi to take care of it.
(Las lucrurile in grija ta.)
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b) inchoative verbs (or change of state verbs): get, grow, come,etc.
(56) She grew to like him in the end.
(In cele din urma ajunse sa-l simpatizeze.)
c) constructions including the verb be: be to, be about to, be going to, etc.
(57) He is to come any day now.
(Trebuie sa soseasca zilele astea.)
With be going to there are two interpretations:
• The Nominative + Infinitive one:
(58) I am going to be late / faint.
(O sa intirzii/ lesin.)
• Control construction
(59) Ii am going PROi to meet her at 5.
(Ma intilnesc cu ea la 5).
The meaning of (58), that of intention is well supported by the syntactical analysis, that
presupposes the fact that PRO is controlled by the subject of the main clause. In (57), the
subject cannot control the action in any way (since we cannot speak about the intention of the
subject to be late or faint), hence there is no control situation whatsoever.
d) modal expressions such as have to or ought to:
(60) Hei has PROi to tell her the truth.
(Trebuie sa-i spuna adevarul.)
e) verbs of mental perception in the passive: be said, be thought, be rumoured, be claimed,
be considered, be alleged, be reported, etc.:
(61) He was rumoured to have murdered his wife.
(Se zvonea ca isi omorise sotia.)
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c) verbs of mental perception : assume, believe, consider, understand, figure, picture, find,
imagine, remember, recollect, judge, deem, presume, know, discover, prove,etc.:
(68) I believe him to be a genius.
(Cred ca este un geniu.)
d) verbs of permission and command: allow, permit, suffer, order, command, etc.:
(69) I allowed the trees in the yard to be cut down.
(Am permis sa fie taiati pomii din curte.)
These verbs have the special characteristic that can be combined with PRO-TO constructions
as well:
(70) I allowed the gardeneri PROi to cut down the trees.
(I-am permis gradinarului sa taie pomii.)
e) verbs of liking and disliking: like, love, prefer, want, wish, desire, expect, mean,
choose,etc.:
(71) I would like him to be there at 5.
(As vrea sa fie acolo la ora 5.)
Like in the case of the previous class of verbs, these ones allow PRO-TO constructions as
well:
(72) Ii would like PROi to go there.
(As vrea sa ma duc acolo.)
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INFINITIVE COMPLEMENTS
1. Look at the following sentences and comment upon a) the tense of the infinitive b) the
grammaticality of the sentence:
1. She needed a stick with which she to beat up the old man. 2. It was an awful thing to be
sitting there abandoned. 3. It is nice she to have a dog as a friend. 4. It was nice for her to
have a dog as a friend. 5. To be looking at her for hours seems his favourite pastime. 6. She
reminded him to pick up the flowers for Susan’s birthday. 7. He to be looking at her for hours
seems his favourite pastime. 8. Everybody knew him to have been working as a plumber for
more than twenty years. 9. It is vital for our factory to be reopened. 10. It is vital this factory
to be reopened.
M-au pus să-l duc pe Tom la şcoală. / Eram deseori lăsat să plec de acasă. / Au văzut-o că
pleacă. / I-a ajutat să ridice pachetul acela greu. / L-a observat cum mănâncă un pachet întreg
de ciocolată. / A fost obligat să îl trimită pe Tom pe front. / A pus-o pe Maria să îşi facă curat
în cameră. / A obligat-o pe Maria să îşi facă curat în dormitor. / L-au auzit cum a cântat două
cântece patriotice.
Vrea să fie într-adevăr recunoscută pe plan mondial. / A plecat în străinătate ca să învete mai
bine metodele moderne de educaţie. / A fi în mod stupid tentat să îţi vinzi locuinţa pe un preţ
de nimic este exact lucrul de care ne temem cu toţii. / Ceea ce s-a întâmplat i-a forţat să
devină pe dată conştienţi de problemele existente. / Nu vreau să te mai văd niciodată./ Pentru
a înţelege pe deplin ce scrie în carte, trebuie să te concentrezi un pic mai mult.
4. Distinguish between the following infinitive structures. Which are accusative + infinitive
ones and which are control constructions?
I would like people to visit me every day. / She wanted him to leave. / She promised him to
leave. / They tempted him to leave. / I would love them to come. / I allowed them to come. /
He persuaded her to come. / They convinced her to come back. / They would have hated her
to come back. / They really asked her to come back. / They did not wish her to come back.
5. Translate the following sentences, bearing in mind that there are different classes of
infinitival structures:
Se pare că a jefuit toate băncile din vecinătate. / Se ştie că a încercat să se sinucidă. / Se crede
că a sedus-o pe fata milionarului care stă lângă noi. / Asasinul necunoscut se pare că a mai
comis o crimă la etajul 6. / Era important ca el să asculte toată mărturia ei. / E de dorit să vină
şi să recunoască faptul că sunt vinovaţi. / Nu-i prea târziu să înveţe. / I-am învăţat să
vorbească corect şi să scrie fără greşeli./ Se presupune că o cunoaşte de un car de ani. / N-am
ştiut niciodată să mă port cum trebuie în faţa ei. / Vreau să-ţi spun ce cred despre tine. / Vreau
să pleci din casa mea. / E greu să îl suporţi. / S-a întâmplat să fie prin apropiere, aşa că am
invitat-o să bea o cafea.
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6. Translate the following sentences, trying to use the PRO-TO or FOR-TO infinitives with
the syntactic functions discussed:
Oh, când te gândeşti că pe vremuri ştia să cânte aşa de frumos la vioară! / Iarba era prea udă
ca să stai pe ea. / Este indicat ca persoanele fără paşaport să se prezinte la poliţie. / E destul de
bogată să-şi permită o blană şi o maşină nouă. / Ehei, să mai fii tânăr şi să te poţi bucura din
plin de viaţă… / Şi-a cumpărat bilet din timp, să nu piardă trenul. / E într-atât de lipsită de
inimă încât e capabilă să nu îi mai dea banii pentru apartament. / Nu-i chiar atât de bătrân
încât să nu o ia de la capăt. / Pe şleau, nu mai am nevoie de tine şi nici de serviciile tale. / Ca
să nu mai lungim vorba, nu mai vreau să te văd. / S-a întors din călătorie doar ca să dea de
nevastă-sa într-o poziţie compromiţătoare. / Am o vorbă să îţi spun. / E o persoană cu care
poţi comunica uşor. / Nu-i greu să locuieşti cu el. / Tu eşti de vină că a explodat fabrica.
7. Identify the predicates requesting infinitival constructions; which of them are expressed
by verbs of obligatory control?
I presume you do not want to figure in my life merely as a pest. / I do not intend to tell him
that myself. / I have no wish to uproot ourselves at our age and no inclination to return to a
part of the world which has for us only the unhappiest of associations. / … and when you have
done so there is little doubt but that they will advise you to your own country at once. / I hope
to call on you and your husband a day or two after the funeral./ And now he refuses to see me
and has written me a disgusting missive. (Iris Murdoch, An Accidental Man)
8. Identify the infinitive structures in the following texts; state their type and function:
a) Harold persuaded Alec to let him drive them home. The drinks hadn’t cheered him up;
they had depressed and fuddled him. Harold, who wasn’t used to men with moods,
thought that the best and kindest policy was to ignore Alec’s. If he himself was out of
spirits, he hated anyone to comment on it. It was a measure of self-protection dating from
his schooldays, when a long face was a sign of weakness and the whole pack would turn
on him if they saw him looking sad. A cheerful countenance was the first line of defence.
Most of Harold’s men friends felt the same, and if they had seen one of their number
looking quite suicidal, would never have dreamt of asking him the reason.
b) During the visit Harold’s own outlook had undergone a good many changes. It was natural
to him to feel critical of another environment than his own. He suspected hostility at once;
the herd instinct was very strong in him. In so far as he was a snob his snobbery only
operated within his own social group; he didn’t envy those above it, though he tended to
look down on those below it. Both seemed to him a little unreal, and as if they didn’t
know what life was about. And this was especially the case with Alec and his wife’s
outfit, for Alec belonged to no group or social stratum, he appeared to have the freedom
of several but to be indigenous to none. (L.P. Hartley – A Perfect Woman)
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