Teaching and learning gerund and infinitive in high school some suggestions for improvement m a thesis 60 14 10

So far, Nguyen Hien High School students have had no choice but learn by heart the verbs and phrases that must be followed by gerund and / or infinitive, which is time-consuming and of l

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES



NGUYỄN HỒNG LỆ NGỌC

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUND AND INFINITIVE IN HIGH SCHOOL: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL)

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2009

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES



NGUYỄN HỒNG LỆ NGỌC

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUND AND INFINITIVE IN HIGH SCHOOL: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL)

SUPERVISOR: DR NGUYỄN TIẾN HÙNG

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2009

i

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUND AND INFINITIVE IN HIGH SCHOOL: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

in terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s Program

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree of diploma in any other institutions

Ho Chi Minh City, 2009

Nguyễn Hồng Lệ Ngọc

ii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Nguyễn Hồng Lệ Ngọc, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of the study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan or reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City, 2009

Nguyễn Hồng Lệ Ngọc

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr Nguyễn Tiến Hùng, my mentor, for his invaluable guidance, support, and patience during the evolution of my thesis He gave freely of his knowledge and expert advice that helped complete this thesis It is

his supervision that has driven me to fulfill the demanding task of writing this thesis

I am much obliged to Mr Dương Ngọc Hảo for his time, enthusiasm and especially his sound knowledge and experience in statistics, without which it would have taken me

much more time and effort to deal with the data analysis Many thanks also go to Ms

Đặng Thị Vân Anh and Mr Võ Duy Minh for their great help with valuable relevant materials

I would like to thank my colleagues and my students at Nguyễn Hiền High School for their enthusiastic cooperation Much of the data in my thesis was based on their

responses, their information, and their experience, all of which were freely and keenly provided

Above all, I would like to express my profound thanks to my parents, my husband and

my son, who have lent me unswerving wholehearted support throughout the time I was

taking my post graduate program Otherwise, I could hardly survive the process of

writing this thesis

Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that I myself am responsible for inevitable errors

and deficiencies that may remain in this thesis

iv

ABSTRACT

One of the vexing questions that has long concerned most Vietnamese high school teachers and students is whether there is an easy simple way to explain when the gerund and the infinitive are used So far, Nguyen Hien High School students have had

no choice but learn by heart the verbs and phrases that must be followed by gerund and / or infinitive, which is time-consuming and of little effectiveness As part of an effort

to better the current situation, this study assessed the impact of a series of new teaching techniques, the focal point of which was the functions and meanings of gerund and infinitive, on the students The control group design was carried out with tenth-grade students who were put in charge of the same English teacher One month after the students had studied the grammatical point in question, they took the pre-test Then the experimental group was exposed to the new teaching techniques while the control group was not The post-test was administered to the two groups two months later The statistical analysis of the test scores taken from the pre-test and post-test showed that there was a significant increase in the mean mark of the experimental group This recommends that a teaching method focusing on meanings and functions help students understand and use gerund and infinitive with ease and confidence

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality

Retention and use of the thesis

Acknowledgements

Abstract

Table of contents

List of tables

List of figures

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Rationale of the study .2

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Significance of the study .3

1.5 Assumptions .4

1.6 Limitations 4

1.7 Delimitations .4

1.8 Methodology 5

1.9 Potential Ethical Issues .5

1.10 Expected outcomes .5

1.11 Overview of thesis chapters .6

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .7

2.1 The infinitive .7

2.1.1 Introduction .7

2.1.2 Forms of infinitive .9

2.1.2.1 Progressive infinitive (Continuous infinitive) .9

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2.1.2.2 Perfect infinitive (Past infinitive) 10

2.1.2.3 Passive infinitive .12

2.1.2.4 The split infinitive .13

2.1.2.5 Omission of words after “to” .14

2.1.3 Grammatical roles of the infinitive .14

2.1.3.1 The infinitive as subject of a verb .15

2.1.3.2 The infinitive as object of a verb .17

a Verbs that must be followed immediately by a to-infinitive .18

b Verbs that must be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive .20

c Verbs that may be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive .22

2.1.3.3 To-infinitive as complement .23

a To-infinitive as complement of an adjective .24

b To-infinitive as complement of a noun group .27

c The infinitive as complement of the verb “be” and other linking verbs .29

2.1.3.4 To-infinitive as adverbial 30

a Expressing purpose 30

b Expressing result / outcome 32

c Expressing comment .32

d Expressing reason 32

2.2 The gerund .33

2.2.1 Introduction .33

2.2.2 Forms of gerund .36

2.2.2.1 Perfect gerund .36

2.2.2.2 (Present) Passive gerund 37

2.2.2.3 Perfect-passive gerund 37

2.2.3 Grammatical roles of the gerund .38

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2.2.3.1 The gerund as subject of a verb .38

2.2.3.2 The gerund as object of a verb 39

a Verbs that must be followed immediately by a gerund 39

b Verbs that must be followed by an object and a gerund .39

2.2.3.3 The gerund as object of a preposition .40

2.2.3.4 The gerund as complement after a linking verb .42

2.2.3.5 The gerund can be used adjectivally .42

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY .44

3.1 Research setting .44

3.2 Research design .44

3.2.1 Subjects .45

3.2.1.1 Student respondents 45

3.2.1.2 Teacher respondents .49

3.2.2 Instruments .49

3.2.2.1 Questionnaires 50

a Questionnaire for students .50

b Questionnaire for teachers .52

3.2.2.2 Class observations .53

a Class observation 1 53

b Class observation 2 .54

c Class observation 3 55

3.2.2.3 Test scores 56

Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 58

4.1 Responses to survey questionnaires 58

4.1.1 The current teaching of gerund and infinitive .58

4.1.1.1 Teachers’ attitude toward the teaching of gerund and infinitive 59

4.1.1.2 Problems in teaching gerund and infinitive .64

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4.1.1.3 Current methods of teaching gerund and infinitive .67

4.1.1.4 Teachers’view on how to improve gerund and infinitive teaching 71

Summary .74

4.1.2 The current learning of gerund and infinitive .75

4.1.2.1 Students’ attitude toward the learning of gerund and infinitive .76

4.1.2.2 Problems in learning gerund and infinitive .80

4.1.2.3 Students’ gerund and infinitive learning strategies 84

4.1.2.4 Students’ view on how to improve gerund and infinitive learning .90

Summary .93

4.2 Analyses using scores .94

4.2.1 Crash course of statistics .94

4.2.1.1 “True” mean and confidence interval 94

4.2.1.2 Shape of the distribution, normality .95

4.2.1.3 T-test for independent samples .96

4.2.1.4 Wilcoxon signed-rank test .97

4.2.2 Data analysis 99

4.2.2.1 Before applying new techniques to the control group .100

4.2.2.2 After applying new techniques to the control group .100

Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .103

5.1 Conclusions .103

5.2 Recommendations 105

5.2.1 Theoretical recommendations .105

5.2.1.1 Make use of the inductive approach 105

5.2.1.2 Focus on meaning and use .106

5.2.1.3 Apply the PPP framework .106

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5.2.1.4 Test grammar in meaningful and communicative ways .108

5.2.1.5 Make the best use of pair work and group work .108

5.2.1.6 Provide motivating and interesting classes 109

5.2.1.7 Ask students for feedback on the teaching .110

5.2.2 Demonstration: Teaching gerund and infinitive .110

5.2.2.1 Period 1: Bare infinitive and To-infinitive .111

5.2.2.2 Period 2: Gerund and To-infinitive .113

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY .115

APPENDIXES .120

Appendix 1 Reference lists of verbs followed by to-infinitive .120

Appendix 2 Reference lists of verbs and expressions followed by gerund .122

Appendix 3 Reference lists of verbs followed by either gerund or infinitive .126

Appendix 4 Reference lists of verbs followed by bare infinitive .127

Appendix 5 Pre-test .128

Appendix 6 Post-test 129

Appendix 7 Test scores 10BA7 – 10BA8 .130

Appendix 8 Questionnaire for students .133

Appendix 9 Questionnaire for teachers .137

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Students’ gender 46

Table 3.2 Students’ ethnicity 47

Table 3.3 Students’ first exposure to English 47

Table 3.4 Students’ level of English at the end of the ninth grade 48

Table 3.5 Three most important reasons why students study English 48

Table 3.6 Teachers’ gender 49

Table 3.7 Teachers’ experience of teaching in high school 49

Table 3.8 Levels of English at the end of the ninth grade * Class Crosstabulation 57

Teachers’ point of view

Table 4.1 Teachers’ attitude toward aspects of English 59

Table 4.2 Gerund – infinitive plays an important role in English 61

Table 4.3 Teaching gerund – infinitive is more difficult 62

Table 4.4 Just revise, do not present from the beginning 63

Table 4.5 Content with your current methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 63 Table 4.6 Problems in teaching gerund – infinitive 65

Table 4.7 Popular methods of teaching gerund – infinitive (statistics) 67

Table 4.8 Popular methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 68

Table 4.9 Asking students to understand the functions and meanings of

gerund – infinitive & the meanings of the preceding verbs 70

Table 4.10 Asking students to learn by heart lists of verbs

(without their meanings) 70

Table 4.11 How to increase the efficiency of gerund – infinitive teaching 72

Table 4.12 Two important methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 72

Table 4.13 Providing students with complete reference lists of verbs 73

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Students’ point of view

Table 4.14 Students’ attitude toward aspects of English .75

Table 4.15 Students’ attitude toward grammar learning .76

Table 4.16 Gerund – infinitive plays an important role in English .78

Table 4.17 Gerund – infinitive is more difficult than other grammatical points 78

Table 4.18 Understanding and using gerund – infinitive with confidence .79

Table 4.19 Students’ problems in learning gerund – infinitive .80

Table 4.20 Students’ most important problems in learning gerund – infinitive 81

Table 4.21 Why & where gerund – infinitive is used .82

Table 4.22 Learning by heart lists of verbs (with their meanings) .84

Table 4.23 Understanding the functions & meanings of gerund – infinitive and the meanings of the preceding verbs .85

Table 4.24 Other learning strategies .85

Table 4.25 “On what ground do you rely to decide on the form of verb?” 88

Table 4.26 Three essential factors helping students decide on the form of verb 88

Table 4.27 How to improve the learning of gerund – infinitive .91

Table 4.28 Three important ways to improve gerund – infinitive learning .92

Table 4.29 Teachers need to limit the number of verbs to learn and test .92

Statistical analyses using scores Table 4.30 One-sample statistics 99

Table 4.31 Comparing two means of the two classes: Paired Samples Test 1 100

Table 4.32 Paired Samples Statistics 01

Table 4.33 Comparing two means of the two classes: Paired Sample Test 2 .101

Table 4.34 Ranks .102

Table 4.35 Test statistics 102

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LIST OF FIGURES

Teachers’ point of view

Figure 4.1 The allotted time for gerund – infinitive is enough 60

Figure 4.2 The schedule for gerund – infinitive is reasonable .61

Figure 4.3 Teaching gerund – infinitive is more difficult .62

Figure 4.4 Most students understand & use gerund – infinitive with confidence 64

Figure 4.5 There are too many verbs followed by gerund – infinitive .65

Figure 4.6 There are almost no common rules for using gerund – infinitive 66

Figure 4.7 Students’ stock of vocabulary is too limited .66

Figure 4.8 Asking students to learn by heart lists of verbs (with their meanings) .69

Figure 4.9 Classifying verbs according to their meanings .69

Figure 4.10 Asking students to learn by heart lists of verbs (without their meanings) .71

Figure 4.11 Limiting the number of verbs followed by gerund – infinitive .73

Students’ point of view Figure 4.12 The allotted time for gerund – infinitive is enough 77

Figure 4.13 The schedule for gerund – infinitive is reasonable .77

Figure 4.14 Wishing to master how to use gerund – infinitive .79

Figure 4.15 Too many verbs followed by gerund – infinitive to memorize .82

Figure 4.16 Too many verbs followed by either gerund or infinitive 83

Figure 4.17 How to deal with “unfamiliar” verbs 83

Figure 4.18 Understanding the functions & meanings of gerund – infinitive 86

Figure 4.19 Understanding the functions of gerund – infinitive alone .86

Figure 4.20 Learning by heart lists of verbs (without their meanings) .87

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Figure 4.21 Based on feelings 89 Figure 4.22 Based on peers 89 Figure 4.23 Just leave a blank .90

Statistical analyses using scores

Figure 4.24 Histogram of Test 108 .95 Figure 4.25 Normal Q-Q Plot of Test 108 96

1

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Gerund and infinitive have undoubtedly made English a more effective and organized language A loosely composed sentence can be easily compressed and structured with the help of gerund and / or infinitive Instead of a noun, a gerund or an infinitive can be employed and this choice, left to the speaker or writer, can indicate shades of meaning

The important role of gerund and infinitive in the English language is absolutely undeniable However, teaching and learning gerund and infinitive is one of the toughest challenges that ESL / EFL teachers and learners face Actually, gerund and infinitive do not exist in most languages In addition, despite the difference in forms, gerund and infinitive do not exhibit clear, pronounced demarcations in their usages They overlap and both can be used as subjects, subject complements or direct objects

of verbs Further, their usage does not fit into any of the pre-set, methodical approaches To add to these problems, some grammatical applications apparently seem similar to the usage of gerund and infinitive in the English language It’s no wonder non-native English learners find gerund and infinitive exceedingly troublesome to master

In Vietnamese high school curriculum, gerund and infinitive receive considerable attention This is reflected in the syllabi for the tenth and eleventh grades,

as well as the contents of Graduation Examinations Indeed this grammatical point occurs repeatedly in the textbooks designed for the three grades Additionally, a sound knowledge of gerund and infinitive is one of the requirements to qualify candidates for University Entrance Examinations

2

Meanwhile, using gerund and infinitive has been one of the major anxieties of Nguyen Hien High School students throughout the three years at high school Most students find it hard to decide when and / or where to use a gerund or an infinitive, and very often the final decision is made arbitrarily This, therefore, has placed a burden on Nguyen Hien High School teachers of English, who have had plentiful experience in teaching

The question arises as to why the teaching of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School, which is reviewed time and again throughout the three years, is unable to equip students with mastery of the usage of gerund and infinitive This leads

to the necessity of an investigation into the problems in the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School in the hope of finding some ways of improvement

1.2 Rationale of the study

The objectives of this study are to investigate: (1) Nguyen Hien High School teacher and student attitudes toward the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive; (2) various factors that hinder Nguyen Hien High School students from mastering the usages of gerund and infinitive; (3) currently-used approaches to the teaching of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School; and (4) Nguyen Hien High School teachers’ and students’ needs and expectations in regard to a better teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive

For the purpose of the study, data will be collected through (1) class observations in tenth-grade classes at Nguyen Hien High School; (2) two questionnaires administered to teachers of English and tenth-grade students at Nguyen Hien High School; and (3) two sets of test scores obtained from the pre-test and post-test that are taken by the control group and the experimental group during the study

3

1.3 Research questions

The study was specifically designed to investigate the problems in teaching and learning gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School, from which suggestions are brought up so as to improve the situation in the future

One question guides this study:

What are the best ways for the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School to be carried out effectively?

Three sub-questions are also addressed to specify the research question:

A How do English teachers at Nguyen Hien High School teach gerund and infinitive?

B How do tenth-grade students at Nguyen Hien High School learn gerund and infinitive?

C What are the problems in the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School?

1.4 Significance of the study

As mentioned above, gerund and infinitive is not only one of the focuses during the three years of Vietnamese high school education, but this grammatical aspect is a required knowledge for students to be qualified for plenty of decisive examinations as well In Vietnam, however, little research has been done on the factors affecting the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at high school so as to find out effective ways to improve the situation This study, therefore, serves as a summary report on the current teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at high school with deliberate recommendations for the future The hope is that Vietnamese teachers of English in general, and Nguyen Hien High School English teachers in specific, would be able to make the knowledge of gerund and infinitive easily accessible to their students

4

1.5 Assumptions

The study bases on the following assumptions:

1 The sample population of Nguyen Hien High School tenth-grade students and English teachers is representative of the majority of Nguyen Hien High School students and high school teachers of English in Ho Chi Minh city

2 The methods and procedures of data collection and analysis are reliable and appropriate to obtain the information to answer the research question and sub-questions

3 The student and teacher respondents are honest in their responses, and have no difficulty understanding the items of the research question and sub-questions

1.6 Limitations

Due to time constraint, the study mainly focuses on four problems concerning the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School: (1) the various factors affecting the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive; (2) the teacher and tenth-grade student attitude toward gerund and infinitive teaching and learning; (3) the current approaches that teachers have applied to the teaching of gerund and infinitive; and (4) the ways to improve the teaching and learning of gerunds and infinitives at Nguyen Hien High School All is done through class observations, two questionnaires and two sets of test scores obtained from the pre-test and post-test

5

1.8 Methodology

This is an exploratory and descriptive study consisting mainly of qualitative methods Data are collected through a review of reference books and academic articles, class observations, two questionnaires, and two sets of test scores In addition, quantitative techniques are employed in this study so as to achieve a full analysis of the descriptive data related to: (1) teacher and student attitude toward gerund and infinitive teaching and learning; and (2) teachers’ and students’ ways of teaching and learning gerund and infinitive The study is conducted at Nguyen Hien High School during the first semester of the school year 2008-2009 (from September, 2008 to January, 2009) The findings of the study are presented in descriptive and narrative form, as Miles and Huberman (1984) suggest

1.9 Potential ethical issues

Some sensitive information of the informants may be revealed through questionnaires and class observations The informants’ rights are, therefore, to be protected by verbal and written presentation of the objectives of the study In addition, all data collection devices and activities are to be informed and the data reports are to

be made available to them

1.10 Expected outcomes

The study is hoped to offer a better understanding of the problems concerning the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at Nguyen Hien High School and suggest some ways of improvement

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1.11 Overview of thesis chapters

Chapter I is the introduction Chapter II presents a review of the literature and research relevant to this study Chapter III describes the research design and methodology Chapter IV discusses and analyzes the research findings Finally, chapter

V offers a summary and conclusions of the study with some recommendations for the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive in the future

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews theoretical research relevant to the use of (1) the infinitive and (2) the gerund in the English language

2.1 THE INFINITIVE

2.1.1 Introduction

According to the Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics, an

infinitive, a non-finite form of the verb, is “the base form of a verb” (e.g go, come)

and “in English the infinitive usually occurs with the infinitive marker to (e.g I want to

go) but can occur without to as with auxiliary verbs (e.g Do come! You may go)”

(Richards, J.C., Platt, J & Platt, H., 1992: 178) And it is from this point of view that

the infinitive with to and the infinitive without to is preferentially acknowledged as infinitive and bare infinitive (or simple form) (Richards, Platt, J & Platt, H ,1992;

to-Seaton, 2007; Downing & Locke, 1995) However, infinitive is fully defined by C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960) as follows:

This is the “dictionary form” of the verb, i.e the form under which a verb appears in the dictionary It expresses the notion of the verb in its general sense,

not as it applies to any particular subject It is called infinitive because its form

7

is not limited (Latin finis = limit), as a finite verb is, by the number and person

of its subject

(p 230)

The infinitive is, as C.E.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley (1960) put it, “usually, but

not always, preceded by to” (p 230) And though they defined an infinitive as “the

form under which a verb appears in the dictionary”, they resorted to the terms

infinitive and plain infinitive (or bare infinitive) to refer to the infinitive with to and the infinitive without to respectively Similarly, Azar (1989) and Steer & Carlisi (1998) also claimed that an infinitive consists of to + the simple form of a verb (e.g to talk, to play, to understand) However, while Azar prefered the term simple form when referring to the infinitive without to, Steer and Carlisi appeared to be confused when resorting to a variety of terms to refer to this infinitive without to in the structures with

make, have, let, get and help :

Make + (pro)noun + infinitive (omit to): My teacher makes me write an

essay every week

Have + (pro)noun + simple form of verb: Kathy has her kids clean their rooms on Saturdays

Let + (pro)noun + infinitive form of verb: The IRS won’t let me withdraw money from my retirement account without a penalty

Get + (pro)noun + to + infinitive: We should get my grandmother to go out

dancing with us

Get + infinitive: I got to ride on my grandfather’s tractor when I was small Help + (pro)noun + infinitive form of verb: Staying busy helps my father forget about his age

Help + (pro)noun + to + infinitive form of verb: Writing helps me to express

myself

8

(Steer & Carlisi, 1998: 372-373)

On the contrary, Gethin (1990) seemed to be consistent with two terms full infinitive and plain infinitive in reference to the infinitive with to and the infinitive without to Being more careful, Collins (2005) gave the definition of infinitive as

follows:

The active to-infinitive consists of to and the base form of the verb This is sometimes called the present infinitive or simply the infinitive… The active infinitive without to consists of the base form of the verb It is sometimes called the bare infinitive

(p 460) Nevertheless, both Collins (2005) and Eastwood (2005) were in favor of and

consistent with the two terms to-infinitive and infinitive without “to” whenever they refered to the infinitive with to and the infinitive without to, despite the fact that the

later seems to be wordy and it is, therefore, rarely used by many authors

2.1.2 Forms of infinitive

While C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960) claimed that there are only four

forms of infinitive, which are (to) write, (to) have written, (to) be written, and (to)have been written, Seaton (2007), as well as most grammarians, maintained that the to- infinitive can have continuous, perfect and passive forms Collins (2005) gave a

summary of infinitive forms as follows:

Active Passive (to) eat (to) be eaten Present Continuous (to) be eating (to) be being eaten

Perfect (to) have eaten (to) have been eaten

Perfect Continuous (to) have been eating (to) have been being eaten

(p 460)

9

This kind of classification, which divides infinitives into two main forms –

active and passive – helps give an overall view on the forms of infinitive

2.1.2.1 Progressive infinitive (Continuous infinitive)

As Gethin (1990) put it, “The progressive infinitive is used to form the future

progressive tense and other verb combinations that refer to something in progress, and

therefore uncompleted, at a time-point” (p.101) In other words, “we use a continuous

infinitive for something happening over a period” (Eastwood, 2005:134) Gethin

provided various forms of progressive infinitive as follows:

What do you think you’ll be doing this time next week? (plain)

I hope to be eating (full) pineapples on a beach in Acapulco and (to be)

thoroughly enjoying (shortened) myself

(p 100)

Steer & Carlisi (1998), though not mentioning the progressive infinitive form,

did give an example of progressive infinitive with an emphasis on the present time

reference:

Centenarians feel lucky to be living long lives (present)

(p 376)

2.1.2.2 Perfect infinitive (Past infinitive)

Again, it is Gethin (1990) that provided a full variety of perfect infinitive forms:

She clearly expected you to have booked it already (full)

You should have booked it already (plain)

You seem to have been making a lot of mistakes lately (progressive)

(p 101)

According to Eastwood (2005), “we use a perfect infinitive for something that

happened (or possibly happened) earlier” For example:

The man was relieved to have survived the accident

(= The man’s survival happened before his feeling of relief.)

10

(p 134) This, however, fails to give a clear explanation for the distinction between past and future time reference in the examples provided by Steer & Carlisi (1998):

Centenarians feel lucky to have lived long lives (past)

I hope to have finished by Friday (future)

(p 376)

To make it plain and understandable, it is important to take Gethin’s and Azar’s

point of view into consideration The perfect infinitive, as Gethin (1990) put it,

“relates to time before that of the introductory verb” (p 101) Gethin did offer

examples with clear explanations to show this relationship:

She clearly expected you to book it

(= She clearly thought that you would book it.)

She clearly expected you to have booked it

(= She clearly thought that you had booked it.)

Similarly, Azar (1989) maintained that “the event expressed by a past infinitive

… happened before the time of the main verb” (p 178) For example:

The rain seems to have stopped

(= The rain seems now to have stopped a few minutes ago.)

And “if the main verb is past, the action of the past infinitive … happened before a time

in the past”

The rain seemed to have stopped

(= The rain seemed at six P.M to have stopped before six P.M.)

Eastwood (2005) added that “in some contexts we can use a simple to-infinitive

as well as a perfect or continuous form” (p 134) For example:

We expect to complete / to have completed the work by the summer

We hope to make / to be making a start soon

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And “with some expressions such as would like, would hate, and would be nice/awful,

we can also use the perfect in either or both clauses when talking about the past”

I’d like to have seen the show last week

I’d have liked to see the show last week

I’d have liked to have seen the show last week

2.1.2.3 Passive infinitive

Similarly, Gethin (1990) identified a full variety of passive infinitive forms as

follows:

Must the flight be booked now? (plain infinitive)

Does the flight have to be booked now? (full infinitive)

Yes, she wants it (to be) booked straight away (shortened infinitive)

She clearly expected it to have been booked already (perfect full infinitive)

“The Government’s counter-inflation strategy may be being blown off

course.” (progressive infinitive) (The Guardian, 29th September 1981)

(p 100 – 101)

According to Steer & Carlisi (1998), “the passive forms emphasize the action or

event expressed in the second verb” and “an adverb can be placed between be and the

past participle” (p 376) For example:

Centenarians need to be closely studied

In addition, Steer & Carlisi (1998) held the view that it is possible, especially in writing, to use infinitives in the past tense and / or in the passive voice with an emphasis on the completion of the action in the infinitive:

Most centenarians feel fortunate to have been blessed with prosperity and

good health (past – passive infinitive)

(p 376)

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Nevertheless, both Gethin (1990) and Collins (2005) were of the viewpoint that

the passive continuous / progressive infinitive - (to) be being + past participle – and passive perfect continuous / progressive infinitive – (to) have been being + past participle – are very rarely used A passive progressive infinitive is, as Gethin (1990)

put it, “phonetically awkward and rarely used” (p 102) For instance, with the

following sentence:

“The Government’s counter-inflation strategy may be being blown off course.”

a possible rewording would be:

“The Government’s counter-inflation strategy is perhaps being blown off

course.”

2.1.2.4 The split infinitive

Few grammarians have made mention of the split infinitive - one special type of infinitive According to Seaton (2007), “When an adverb is inserted between to and the

infinitive, the result is a split infinitive” (p 286) Some grammarians have condemned

the use of the split infinitive; some have considered it bad style Nevertheless, “the split infinitive dates back to the thirteenth century and can be found in the work of

many famous authors” (C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley, 1960: 235) In addition,

though not desirable in itself, “a split infinitive”, as Fowler (1926) put it, “is preferable

to either of two things, to real ambiguity or to patent artificiality” He quoted with

approval:

“Our object is to further cement trade relations.”

“This will tend to firmly establish good relations between Capital and Labour.”

Jespersen (1933), following Fowler, added further examples of which he approved:

He likes to half close his eyes

He was too ill to really carry out his duty

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No matter what people may say, the placing of an adverb before the to-infinitive

is very formal Seaton (2007) suggested ways of avoiding a split infinitive as follows:

I never had a chance to thoroughly learn that topic (split infinitive)

 I never had a chance to learn that topic thoroughly (placing the adverb after the to-infinitive)

 I never had a chance thoroughly to learn that topic (placing the adverb before the to-infinitive)

And perhaps, as C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960) said, the best guidance

is “Don’t use a split infinitive unless you have a good reason for doing so” (p 235) 2.1.2.5 Omission of words after to

There are occasions when the particle to is used without the infinitive verb

“This construction”, as C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960) put it, “occurs when the

to refers to a verb that has previously been used and that, if expressed, would be an

infinitive with to” (p 232) For example:

I shall go if I want to (go)

He won’t work harder than he needs to (work)

He would like to come but he’s afraid he won’t be able to (come)

Gethin (1990) also claimed that “when it is unnecessary to use the full infinitive

because it is understood from the context, it is often shortened to to” (p 101):

It’s impossible to force people to do what their basic nature tells them not

to (do)

Seaton (2007) added that “the infinitive can be omitted after to, if the verb (and

what follows) can be understood from the previous context” (p 286) For example:

“Will Harry get the lead in the play?” - “He’s quite likely to.”

I wanted to train as an actor, but I never had a chance to

We don’t want to move house, but we have to

“Do you think Jim’ll win the scholarship?” - “He’s certain to.”

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2.1.3 Grammatical roles of the infinitive

Like a verbal noun, an infinitive can play various grammatical roles in a sentence – the subject of a verb, the object of a verb, the complement of a verb, the complement of an adjective (Seaton, 2007; C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley, 1960; Downing & Locke,1995; Azar, 1989; Eastwood, 2005; Gethin, 1990; Steer & Carlisi, 1998)

2.1.3.1 The infinitive as subject of a verb

Sometimes an infinitive can be used as subject of a sentence For example:

To take such a risk was rather foolish (to-infinitive clause)

Where to leave the dog is the problem (WH- + to-infinitive clause)

Run for President is what he may do (bare infinitive clause)

(Downing & Locke, 1995: 34)

As Downing & Locke (1995) said, “bare infinitive clauses (without to) occur as

subject only in equative (WH-cleft) sentences” Therefore, it is the to-infinitive clauses

that is the focus of the remain of this part

Gethin (1990) claimed that “the full infinitive can also stand as grammatical

subject at the beginning of a clause or sentence” (p 101) and cited a famous quotation

- “To err is human, to forgive, divine” In addition, a to-infinitive clause at subject can

have its own subject, which must be introduced by for:

For everyone to escape was practically impossible

(Downing & Locke, 1995: 35) However, the infinitive subject is very formal, and in modern English, the

infinitive as subject is nearly always introduced by it (Gethin, 1990; Steer & Carlisi,

1998) As Eastwood (2005) said, “we can sometimes use a to-infinitive clause as a

subject, but this is less frequent than the pattern with it” (p 135) Similarly, Steer &

Carlisi (1998) claimed that “using it as the subject of the sentence is much more

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common than using an infinitive” (p 349) The word it, as explained by Eastwood and

Azar (1989), refers to and has the same meaning as the infinitive clause at or near the end of the sentence So, examples such as

To turn down the invitation seems rude

Not to take a holiday now and then is a great mistake

(Eastwood, 2005: 135)

For everyone to escape was practically impossible

(Downing & Locke,1995: 35) have as an alternative structure the following:

It seems rude to turn down the invitation

It is a great mistake not to take a holiday now and then

It was practically impossible for everyone to escape

in which the to-infinitive clause realising the subject is said to be extraposed, that is, placed after the complement or object The initial subject position is filled, obligatorily,

by the pronoun it (usually called anticipatory “it”), acting as a kind of substitute for the “postponed” subject Downing & Locke (1995) claimed that “it is commonly used

in both speech and writing, especially when the subject is longer than the complement and is better placed at the end of the sentence, in accordance with the informational

and stylistic principle of “end-weight” (p 35) In other words, this structure with it, as

Collins (2005) put it, “allows you to avoid having a long subject, and to put what you

are talking about in a more prominent position at the end of the sentence” (p 411)

Gethin (1990) added that for special emphasis, the full infinitive may be introduced by

what For example:

It’s impossible to force people to do what their basic nature tells them not to (do)

= What’s impossible is to force people to do what their basic nature tells

to-want to mention the person who performs the action or has the experience, we use a

prepositional phrase beginning with for For example:

It’s nice to see you with your books for a change

It will be a stimulating experience to see Mrs Oliver

It becomes hard for a child to develop a sense of identity

(p 413)

In addition, this structure can also be used to recommend a course of action or to say that something is necessary

It’s important to know your own limitations

It’s necessary to examine this claim before we proceed any further

(p 413) Unlike other authors, Collins showed that similar structures can be used with verbs, other than linking verbs, to convey different meanings:

(1) To say what effect an experience has on someone:

It always pleased him to think of his father

It shocked me to see how much weight he’d lost

It interests him to hear what you’ve been buying

(2) To indicate what is used in a particular action or activity, or is needed for it (for example the amount of time or the type of person that is needed):

It takes an hour to get to Idlewild

It takes an exceptional parent to cope with a child like that

(3) To talk about the amount of something, usually money, that is used in an activity:

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It costs about 150 pounds a week to keep someone in prison

(p 413 – 414)

2.1.3.2 The infinitive as object of a verb

All grammarians and linguists are in agreement about the fact that to-infinitive clauses, one type of non-finite clauses, can act as objects of certain verbs Downing & Locke (1995) explained that such clauses are analysed as embedded at direct object on the strength of the following criteria:

(1) The non-finite clause can be replaced by a noun group or simply by it

(2) The non-finite clause can be made the focus of a WH-cleft (equative) sentence

For example:

Many Londoners prefer to travel by train

= Many Londoners prefer the train (a noun group)

= Many Londoners prefer it (it)

= What many Londoners prefer is to travel by train (WH-cleft sentence)

(p 44) The verbs that can take an infinitive clause as direct object are classified into three types – (1) Verbs that must be followed by a to-infinitive, (2) Verbs followed by

a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive, and (3) Verbs that may be followed by a (pro)noun and

a to-infinitive

a Verbs that must be followed immediately by a to-infinitive (Appendix 1)

Certain verbs must be followed immediately by a to-infinitive Moreover, we can use more than one to-infinitive together

I decided to take a bus

People will refuse to pay the new tax

I’m planning to visit India next year

We hope to be moving into our new flat soon

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We expect to have completed the work by the summer

You need to prepare to answer some awkward questions

And as Seaton (2007) said, “we can make a to-infinitive negative by putting not

or never before it” (p 281):

Promise never to tell anyone

She seemed not to realize her danger

(p 281)

According to Steer & Carlisi (1998), “the verb + infinitive construction often

refers to hypothetical, future, unknown, incomplete, or impossible events although this

is not always the case” (p 350) For example:

She arranged to care for her mother (She will care for her in the future.)

I expect to receive a lettter today (I don’t know whether I will actually receive it.)

Carol intends to change her job (Whether in fact she will change is unknown.)

She pretended to be my sister (In reality, this is impossible.)

Eastwood (2005) found that, in this construction, “the subject of the to-infinitive

is understood to be the same as the subject of the sentence” (p 142) Downing &

Locke (1995) called it the implicit subject This is to say that “She”, “I”, “Carol”, and

“She” are the subjects of “to care”, “to receive”, “to change”, and “to be” respectively

Eastwood (2005) also noted a special group of verbs, including appear, come,

happen, prove, seem, tend, and turn out When followed by to-infinitives, these verbs

say “something about the truth of the statement” For instance:

The plane seemed to be losing height (The plane was apparently losing height.)

We happened to meet in the street (We met by chance in the street.)

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The couple came to accept the death of their son (The couple finally accepted the death of their son.)

Rich people tend to live longer (Rich people usually live longer.)

Eastwood (2005), Azar (1989) and Collins (2005) provided lists of verbs that must be immediately followed by a to-infinitive Despite minor differences, these lists show the same verbs that are commonly used with a to-infinitive

And last but not least, attention should be paid to what mentioned by Downing

& Locke (1995) as follows:

Although we have considered such clauses as direct object, for the reasons explained above, they are even more marginal than finite clause realisations in that many do not passivise Semantically, thay are likewise untypical, since they represent situations rather than participants, and the verb which governs them is frequently not a process of doing

(Downing & Locke, 1995: 45)

b Verbs that must be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive (Appendix 1)

As C.M.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960) said, “there is a construction in

which the infinitive together with a noun or pronoun (in the objective case) makes a

close group that forms the object of a verb This is called the accusative infinitive

(C.E.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley, 1960 : 232)

As Collins (2005) put it, the verb + object + infinitive construction is used “if

you want to talk about two closely linked actions which are performed by different

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people” (p 189) In this construction, the object of the verb then functions as the

subject of the to infinitive – that is, the doer of the action in the to-infinitive (Collins,

2005; Eastwood, 2005; Seaton, 2007) Downing & Locke (1995: 44) named it explicit subject This is to say that in the following sentences:

Simon wants you to ring him on his mobile

We asked the teacher not to give us any homework

I expected Tim to meet me at the airport

the objects “you”, “the teacher”, and “Tim” also function as the subjects of the verbs

“to ring”, “not to give”, and “to meet” respectively

Steer & Carlisi (1998) also found that the verb in the construction usually indicates a speech act For instance:

The teacher advised us to study verbs

The doctor convinced me to eat less

The policeman forced them to pay a fine

The court ordered the man not to speak

Eastwood (2005) classified these verbs into various types as follows:

Type 1: Verbs meaning “order”, “request”, etc.: advise, ask, beg, challenge,

command, encourage, instruct, invite, leave, order, persuade, remind, request, tell, trust, urge, warn

Type 2: Verbs meaning “cause”, “help”, etc.: allow, assist, authorize, cause,

compel, drive, enable, entitle, forbid, force, get, help, inspire, intend, lead, mean, oblige, pay, permit, provoke, require, teach, tempt, train

Type 3: Verbs meaning “say”, “think”, “show”, etc.: announce, assume, believe,

consider, declare, discover, estimate, expect, feel, find, imagine, judge, know, presume, prove, reveal, show, suppose, suspect, take (= assume), understand

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Type 4: Verbs meaning “want”, “dislike”, “need”, etc.: can’t bear, (would) hate,

(would) like, (would) love, need, (would) prefer, want, wish

(Eastwood, 2005:143 - 144) Collins (2005), Azar (1989), and Gethin (1990) provided lists of verbs which are used with an object and a to-infinitive Some of these verbs are, as Collins put it,

“used for reporting orders, requests and advice” (p 191) According to Azar, 16 verbs

that are commonly followed by a (pro)noun and an infinitive are:

Require s.o to Order s.o to Force s.o to

Ask s.o to Expect s.o to Would like s.o to Want s.o to Need s.o to (Azar, 1989: 157) Additionally, Collins (2005) mentioned a group of verbs which are followed by

the preposition for and its object, rather than by a direct object, and the object of for is

the performer of the to-infinitive Seaton (2007) also claimed that “with verbs that are

used with the preposition for, the object of for can take the form noun (or pronoun) +

to-infinitive” (p 281) For example:

I was longing for the lesson to end

He arranged for Waddell to have the services of another solicitor

They called for action to be taken against the unions

I waited for him to speak

To sum up, “the preposition for does a special job with to-infinitives … the

structure object + to-infinitive can follow for after certain verbs that customarily use

for, when the subject of the to-infinitive is different from the subject of the sentence”

(Seaton, 2007: 284)

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c Verbs that may be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive (Appendix 1)

As for the verb + (pro/noun) + infinitive construction, Steer & Carlisi (1998)

claimed that “there is a difference in meaning if the pronoun is omitted” (p 351) For

example:

We begged to see a movie (Result: We see a movie.)

We begged them to see a movie (Result: They see a movie.)

Eastwood (2005) and Azar (1989) also brought up such a point However, they explained it in a slightly different way:

I expected Tim to meet me (= I expected that Tim would meet me.)

I expected to meet Tim (= I expected that I would meet Tim.)

(Eastwood, 2005: 142)

I expect to pass the test (= I think I will pass the test.)

I expect Mary to pass the test (= I think Mary will pass the test.)

(Azar, 1989: 157) According to Azar (1989), there are five common verbs that may or may not be

followed by a (pro)noun object: ask, expect, would like, want, and need The verbs beg and wish are added to the list by Gethin (1990) Gethin and Hornby (1992) claimed that

alternative active / passive constructions with these verbs are often possible For example:

I asked James to buy some bread (with Object)

We asked to see the director (without Object) (i.e request permission to do something)

I beg (of) you not to take any risks (active)

The boy begged to be allowed to come with us (passive) (= The boy begged that he might be allowed to come with us.)

Do you wish me to serve dinner now? (with Object) (i.e demand or want)

She wishes to leave (without Object)

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I’m expecting a friend to meet me at the airport (active)

I’m expecting to be met at the airport by a friend (passive)

2.1.3.3 To-infinitive as complement

As Collins (2005) said, “there are several ways in which a to-infinitive clause

can be used after a complement to comment on someone or something in relation to an

action” (p 177) The complement can be an adjective or a noun group consisting of a /

an followed by an adjective and a noun Collins also claimed that we can use a

to-infinitive clause after an adjective or a noun group to say that someone shows a particular quality when they do something; that someone or something would do a particular task better than anyone or anything else; or that someone is willing or unwilling to do something Similarly, we can use a to-infinitive clause after a complement to express our feeling about an event, to show our opinion of an action, or

to show our opinion of something by indicating what the experience of doing something to it is like

a To-infinitive as complement of an adjective

We can use to-infinitives after certain adjectives According to Steer & Carlisi

(1998), “an infinitive can be used as the complement of an adjective, which means that

the infinitive adds to or completes the idea expressed in the adjective” (p 353) There

are a variety of ways in which to-infinitive can function as the complement of an adjective

Pattern 1: It + linking verb + adjective + to-infinitive clause:

Eastwood (2005) said that there are many different adjectives that we can use in

this pattern, including convenient, correct, dangerous, difficult, easy, exciting,

expensive, foolish, good, great, hard, important, impossible, interesting, necessary, nice, possible, right, safe, silly, simple, strange, and wrong For example:

It is difficult to describe colours precisely

It felt strange to be watched by so many people

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It’ll be safer to copy the data to disk

It is boring (for me) to listen to his stories

Steer & Carlisi (1998) added that “a common error is made by using an animate

subject with an adjective that ends in _ing in this construction” since “when these

adjectives are used, the subject of the sentence must be it” (p 354) Therefore, such

examples as “I am interesting to find out more about Jim.” are incorrect

Pattern 2: Something + be + adjective + to-infinitive clause

According to Eastwood (2005), the adjectives that we can use in this pattern are

fewer than those in pattern (1) and they include cheap, dangerous, difficult, easy,

expensive, hard, impossible, and safe For instance:

Colours are difficult to describe precisely

Is gas cheaper to cook with than electricity?

Pattern 3: Someone + linking verb + adjective + to-infinitive clause

Steer & Carlisi (1998) and Eastwood (2005) emphasized that in this pattern, the subject of the main clause is living (animate) - often a person

She would be content to sit in front of the T.V

My father was sad to see me leave

The boss seems reluctant to make a decision

According to Steer & Carlisi (1998), the adjectives that can be used in this

pattern express feelings Azar (1989) shared this point of view, saying that “many of

these adjectives describe a person’s feelings or attitudes” (p 175) and provided a list

of some common adjectives that can be used in this pattern Azar also added that “in

general, these adjectives describe a person (or persons), not a thing” Eastwood (2005)

and C.M.Eckersley & J.M.Eckersley (1960), however, proved that though the subject

of the main clause is often a person, it is not always the case For example:

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The goods are ready to be collected

These shoes are not fit to wear

According to Eastwood (2005), the adjectives that can be used in this pattern

include able, afraid, anxious, ashamed, content, delighted, desperate, determined,

eager, foolish, fortunate, free, glad, happy, horrified, impaient, interested, keen, lucky, pleased, prepared, proud, quick, ready, reluctant, slow, sorry, surprised, unable, unwilling, willing, and wise This list, however, is not a full one as it may be added

with certain, easy, fit, hard, right, sure, useless, worthy, wrong, etc (C.E.Eckersley &

J.M.Eckersley, 1960 : 234)

Pattern 4: Subject + be + adjective + to-infinitive clause

Eastwood (2005) said that “in this pattern the adjective expresses a degree of

probability or makes a comment on the truth of what is said” (p 146) Such adjectives

are bound, certain, due, liable, likely, sure, and unlikely For example:

The peace talks are likely to last several weeks

Adrian is liable to lose his temper if you say the wrong thing

The party is sure to be a great success

Eastwood (2005) also added that with certain, likely, and unlikely, we can use

the pattern with the subject it and a finite clause So, the above sentence can have as an

alternative the following one:

It is likely that the peace talks will last several weeks

In addition, a noun or pronoun that is the subject of a linking verb + adjective can become the object of a following to-infinitive in the complement (Seaton, 2007; Eastwood, 2005) Therefore, in this construction we do not use an object in the to-infinitive For example:

Correct: Colours are difficult to describe precisely

Incorrect: Colours are difficult to describe them

Correct: Is gas cheaper to cook with than electricity?