Questions tagged [infinitive-constructions]
61 questions
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Is the "Actor" a Proper Element of an Infinitive Phrase?
[THIRD EDIT]:
A well-written question from two years ago hits on essentially the same point as my question, but from a different direction. Unfortunately, the one or two responses to that question and the comments, here, lead to the conclusion that…
Matthew Rips
- 366
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1 answer
(The goal of) his visit is to spend time
A Washington Times news article starts as follows:
The White House said residents of the Oregon town where a gunman killed nine people at a community college have “nothing to fear” from President Obama’s scheduled trip to their community on…
JK2
- 6,553
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Question on prepositional constructions
Consider the below sentences.
We do not have much time in which to do it.
There is the item with which to do the task.
I think these constructions are called infinitival relative clauses, a combination of infinitival clauses and relative clauses.…
Eric
- 706
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"To not undertake" or "not to undertake"
In Buckingham Palace's statement on Prince Andrew they say this:
[He] will continue not to undertake any public duties...
This strikes me as a very awkward phrase. Would it have been better had they said:
[He] will continue to not undertake any…
Fraser Orr
- 16,783
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Answers about please, please
I'm pretty sure that an infinitive can be split with "please" in stated requests, maybe for emphasis. For example, "I'm asking you to please study harder"; "I implore you to please shut up". A Japanese English teacher acquaintance was disbelieving…
