WAYS OF RENDERING THE LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL MEANINGS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE ENGLISH INFINITIVE

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A.

The Russian equivalents are: конечно, обязательно, вероятно, вряд ли.

E.g. This journalist is unlikely to have misinterpreted the statement.

Вряд ли этот журналист неправильно истолковал заявление.

This statement is sure to attract attention.

Конечно, это заявление привлечет внимание.

B.

It is easy to do something. This structure is similar to:

Something is easy to do.

With a preposition: It is easy to work withhim.

He is easy to work with.

C.

To be the first (second, third, last) to do something.

E.g. He was the first to say it. – Он первый это сказал.

D.

There is something (nothing) to do (preposition).

E.g. There is nothing to discuss. – Обсуждать нечего.

There is something to think about. – Здесь есть, о чем подумать.

E.

A person (a thing) to do something.

E.g. He was not a man to get frightened. – Не такой это был человек, чтобы испугаться.

It is the only thing to do. – Это единственное, что можно сделать.

Note that the structure ‘noun + infinitive’ can express the idea of obligation. Active and passive forms are both possible. However, a passive infinitive may have a reference to a future action.

E.g. I’ve got letters to write.

The carpets to be cleaned are in the garage.

There is an exception:

There is nothing to do here. – Здесь нечем заняться.

There is nothing to be done. – Ничего не поделаешь.

Gerund or Infinitive

1. There are verbs that can be followed only by an infinitive, and a group of verbs that can be followed only by a gerund.

Verb + infinitive

Agree, aim, appear, arrange, ask, attempt, bother, care, choose, claim, consent, decide, determine (be determined), fail, guarantee, happen, hesitate, hope, learn, long, manage, neglect, offer, plan, prepare (be prepared), pretend, promise, prove, refuse, seem, tend, threaten, trouble, volunteer.

The following word combinations are also followed by an infinitive: be about, do one’s best, make an effort, make up one’s mind, set out, take the trouble, etc.

Verb + gerund

Admit, appreciate, avoid, consider, delay, deny, detest, dislike, dread, enjoy, escape, excuse, forgive, imagine, involve, keep, loathe, mind, miss, postpone, practise, prevent, propose, resent, resist, risk, suggest.

The gerund is also used after the expressions: can’t stand, can’t help, it’s no use/good, it’s worth.

2. The following verbs can take a gerund or an infinitive without any change in meaning: begin, start, continue, cease, can’t bear, intend, prefer.

The verbs ‘advise, allow, permit, forbid’ take an infinitive in the structure ‘verb + object + infinitive’, and a gerund when the object is not mentioned.

E.g. I wouldn’t advise taking the car. There is nowhere to park.

I wouldn’t advise you to take the car. …

3. Some verbs take a gerund or an infinitive with a change in meaning.

Remember and forget

‘Remember (not forget) + gerund’ refers back to the past.

E.g. I still remember buying my first bicycle. – …помню, как покупал …

I’ll never forget going to the mountains. – …никогда не забуду, как ходил

‘Remember (not forget) + infinitive’ refers to forward in time.

E.g. Don’t forget (Remember) to send Mary a postcard. – Не забудь ...

Go on

‘Go on + gerund’ means ‘continue’.

E.g. She went on talking about her illness until we went to sleep. – …продолжала говорить …

‘Go on + infinitive’ refers to a change in activity.

E.g. He told us about the internal situation in the country and then went on to speak about some international problems. – … а далее он говорил о некоторых международных проблемах.

Try

‘Try + gerund’ is used to talk about making an attempt to achieve some aim.

E.g. I tried sending her flowers, writing letters, giving her presents, but she wouldn’t speak to me. (My aim was to make her speak to me, while ‘sending, writing, giving’ were the ways to achieve it.)

‘Try + infinitive’ is used to talk about making an effort to do something difficult.

E.g. I tried to change the wheel, but my hands were too cold.

Mean

‘Mean + infinitive’ is used in the sense of ‘intend’.

E.g. I mean to say that it’s too problematic. – Я хочу сказать, что …

‘Mean + gerund’ implies ‘involving/having a result’.

E.g. If you want to pass an exam it will mean studying hard. – … это будет означать, что нужно …

Stop

‘Stop + gerund’ refers to an end in some activity.

E.g. I couldn’t solve the problem and stopped thinking about it. – … перестал думать о ней.

‘Stop + infinitive’ refers to a purpose.

E.g. I was tired and stopped to rest. – … остановился, чтобы отдохнуть.

Regret

‘Regret + infinitive’ is used mostly in announcements of bad news.

E.g. We regret to say that we are unable to help you.

‘Regret + gerund’ refers back to the past, meaning that one is sorry to have done something.

E.g. I regret leaving school at 14. It was a bad mistake.

Used …

Remember the difference in the following structures.

We used to go there on holiday. – Мы обычно (часто, бывало) ездили туда отдыхать.

We are/got used to going there on holiday. – Мы привыкли ездить туда отдыхать.

Unit 7