Infinitive

Captain Purser (senior crew member)

First Officer (co-pilot) cabin attendants (CA’s)

Flight engineer (flight attendants, stewardess,

['stjuːədəs], steward ['stjuːəd])

airhostess

 

Практикум

По грамматике английского языка

Для студентов факультета ПмиК

Часть 2

 

 

Тверь 1998

 

Составитель:

cтарший преподаватель Павлова Елена Сергеевна

 

Практикум содержит правила и упражнения по теме "Неличные формы глагола" и предназначен для студентов второго этапа обучения. Преподаватель может дать дополнительные пояснения и упражнения по своему выбору при работе в группах.

Infinitive

 

An Infinitive is a non-finite form of the verb denoting an action, but only naming it (no tense or person is shown).

 

	Active voice	Passive voice
Indefinite	to ask	to be asked
Continuous	to be asking	–
Perfect	to have asked	to have been asked
Perfect Continuous	to have been asking	–

 

As a verb form the Infinitive

1) has voice forms – Active or Passive (see the table above),

2) expresses time relative to the time of the action expressed by the predicate (see the table above),

3) may have an object, e.g. to write a letter to a friend – написать письмо другу

4) may be defined by an adverb, e.g. to run quickly – бежать быстро.

 

The Infinitive also has some features of a NOUN, ADJECTIVE and ADVERB that makes it possible for it to be used in the corresponding functions in a sentence.

Compare different forms and functions of the Infinitive:

1. Subject.

To know everything is impossible.	–	Знать все невозможно.
It was necessary to get the new data.	–	Было необходимо получить новые данные.
How to tell them about it was a problem.	–	Как сказать им об этом – вот в чем была проблема.

 

2. Part of a Predicate.

 

He can swim very well.	–	Он очень хорошо плавает (умеет плавать).
They continued to walk along the path.	–	Они продoлжали идти по тропинке.
Our aim is to be allowed to begin this work.	–	Наша цель в том, чтобы нам разрешили начать работу.

 

3. Object.

 

I want to be taught English.	–	Я хочу, чтобы меня обучали английскому языку.
Tell them how to find that place.	–	Скажи им, как найти это место.
We are glad to have seen you.	–	Мы рады, что повидали вас.

 

4. Attribute.

 

The Russian delegation was the first to arrive.	–	Русская делегация была первой из прибывших.
There is nothing to cry about here.	–	Здесь не о чем плакать.
Here is some water to drink and the medicine to be taken.	–	Вот вода для питья и лекарство, которое надо принять.

 

5. Adverbial Modifier of purpose and consequence.

 

They came round (in order) to see their old friend.		Они пришли (для того), чтобы повидаться со своим старым другом.
The children are too young to understand this serious problem.		Дети слишком малы, чтобы понять эту серьезную проблему.

 

Thus, you can see that the possible ways of translating the Infinitive into Russian are an infinitive, a verb in the finite form – the predicate in the subordinate clause, or a noun. Try to choose the best variant of translation in the exercises below.

 

Ex.1. Define the function of the Infinitive in the following sentences.

1. To read a good English book is a pleasure.

2. He was the last to tell me the news.

3. Here is the list of books to read in summer.

4. In order to get to the museum you must take the underground.

5. She asked me to wait for them in the lounge.

6. There was nothing to do and no place to go to.

7. I have no wish to discuss my problems with him.

8. The boxes are too heavy even to lift them.

9. I think it will be too cold to go swimming tomorrow.

10. We were sorry to have missed so many lessons.

11. They had no house in which to live.

12. Ann means to invite you to her birthday party.

13. He closed the window not to catch cold.

14. If I got them right, they want to take the baby along.

15. There is no need to get up so early in the morning.

16. It will be important to give an answer as soon as possible.

17. I didn't expect to find him in his room.

18. To give advice is easier than to follow it.

19. The question is how to let them know about it.

20. They usually have a lot of work to do about the house.

21. It was foolish of me to start the conversation again.

 

Ex.2. Compare different forms of the Infinitive as attribute.

1. They are building the road to connect these two towns.

2. The secretary had a lot of papers to be looked through.

3. He is a man to rely on.

4. The new method to be used is most efficient.

5. There are no more facts to discuss.

6. The conference to be opened in August is on the problems of environment.

7. These are the measures to be urgently taken.

8. They had a lot of work to do.

9. Electronics is an important branch to be developed in this region.

10. This is another letter to inform you about all the preliminaries.

11. There is nobody else to be invited to our party.

12. We have no time to lose, they are chasing us.

13. The problems to be discussed are vital for our work.

14. The new law to be voted for will be working for the benefit of the society.

15. The paper carries no news to pay special attention to.

16. I don't think you have got anything to complain of.

17. That was a lucky chance not to be missed.

18. The first point to be considered is whether his offer should be accepted.

19. We'll take part in the work of the conference to be held in May.

20. It was a very cosy little house to live in.

 

Ex.3. Replace the attributive clause by an Infinitive.

1. My brother bought an illustrated magazine which he could look through.

2. I have some work I should cope with.

3. He had some interesting stories he could tell us.

4. This is an article you can refer to.

5. The only thing which should be done is to find a book for home-reading.

6. There are some flowers in the garden that you should look after.

7. Have you got anybody whom you ought to take care of?

8. Is there any news we should pay attention to?

9. They have a good dictionary that they should use in their work.

10. I have bought a new record which we can listen to tonight.

11. Here are some articles which you should translate from English.

 

Ex.4. Translate the sentences below paying special attention to the forms of the Infinitive.

1. They like to be presented with flowers.

2. I'm awfully sorry to have troubled you.

3. To prove to him why it was necessary to change the plan will be difficult.

4. This article is easy to translate.

5. He only pretends to be sleeping. He can hear our talk.

6. I meant to have got tickets for the performance beforehand, but all of them were sold out.

7. They are happy to have been working with you all these years.

8. The students wanted to be taught English.

9. Fred hoped to have returned home by 5 o'clock, but he didn't manage to do so.

10. It was very tiring to have been listening to the lecture for three hours.

11. He was delighted to have been offered a good job.

12. His work leaves much to be desired.

13. The next step to take is to work out a plan.

14. Jackson was the first to suggest the idea.

15. The work should have been done long ago.

16. We intended to have completed writing the abstract before the seminar.

 

Ex.5. Translate the following sentences containing the Infinitive as adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances.

1. We reached the railway station to learn that the train had left.

2. He opened his wallet to find that there was no money in it.

3. We looked up into the sky to see that the stars were shining brightly.

4. My sister came home to learn that her friend had called and wanted to speak to her.

5. Ann left their old house never to return there again.

6. They came home to see that the guests had not arrived yet.

7. Mary answered the doorbell to see that her husband had returned.

8. The teacher entered the classroom to see that many students were absent.

9. She looked into the mirror to realize how thin and pale her cheeks had grown.

10. They sat on the porch to watch the stars in the sky.

11. He went home that night to hear that his little son had been taken ill.

12. I came home one evening to discover him sitting on the stairs.

13. She reached the office in the morning to find her manager waiting for her.

 

The construction "for + noun (pronoun) + infinitive" is used when the action is not done by the subject or object of the sentence. The construction functions as the subject, predicative, attribute or adverbial modifier. It is translated into Russian as a subordinate clause as a rule.

e.g.	It is necessary for you to know it (subject).	–	Вам необходимо знать это. (Необходимо, чтобы вы это знали.)
	For the work to be a success all the preparations must be completed (adverbial modifier).	–	Чтобы работа была успешной, нужно завершить всю подготовку.
	The first thing for us to do is to think over the schedule (attribute).	–	Первое, что нам надо сделать, это обдумать расписание.

 

Ex.6. Translate the following sentences trying to find the best variant in Russian.

1. It is impossible for him to translate the article without using a dictionary.

2. It is high time for the students to finish their work.

3. For the room to look nice they decorated it with flowers and candles.

4. The results are good enough for the research to be successful.

5. There are no difficulties for the students to get good marks.

6. It is advisable for you to read the author's biography.

7. They waited for the member of the committee to begin the discussion.

8. It is no problem for me to understand the principles of the device's operation.

9. The film is too serious for the child to understand.

10. My greatest desire is for him to leave my place this very minute.

11. What it all means remains for the expert to say.

12. It is the best thing for elderly people to have long walks.

13. For the boy not to waste time you must find something interesting for him to do.

14. It is unusual for her to be so late.

15. That was not for us to decide.

16. We thought it strange for our friends not to call us.

17. The water was too cold for the children to bathe.