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

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

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

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NGUYỄN HỒNG LỆ NGỌC

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUNDS ­ INFINITIVES IN HIGH SCHOOLS: 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

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES



NGUYỄN HỒNG LỆ NGỌC

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUNDS ­ INFINITIVES IN HIGH SCHOOLS: 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

TEACHING AND LEARNING GERUNDS ­ INFINITIVES IN HIGH SCHOOLS: 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

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

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, information, and 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

school teachers and students is whether there is a 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 resorted to class observations and two questionnaires, one for tenth-grade students and one for teachers of English The control group design was carried out with these students who were put in charge of the same English teacher One month after the students had studied the grammatical points

in question, they took the pre-test Then the experimental group was exposed to the new teaching techniques (while the control group was not): two class periods were conducted with a series of new teaching techniques, the focal point of which was the functions and meanings of gerund and infinitive 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

Retention and use of the thesis

Acknowledgements

Abstract

Table of contents

List of tables

List of figures

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Significance of the study 3

1.5 Limitations 3

1.6 Delimitations 3

1.7 Overview of thesis chapters 3

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The infinitive 4

2.1.1 Introduction 4

2.1.2 Forms of infinitive 6

2.1.2.1 Progressive infinitive (Continuous infinitive) 6

2.1.2.2 Perfect infinitive (Past infinitive) 7

2.1.2.3 Passive infinitive 8

2.1.2.4 The split infinitive 9

2.1.2.5 Omission of words after “to” 10

a Verbs that must be followed immediately by a to-infinitive 15

b Verbs that must be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive 16

c Verbs that may be followed by a (pro)noun and a to-infinitive 19

2.1.3.3 To-infinitive as complement 20

a To-infinitive as complement of an adjective 20

b To-infinitive as complement of a noun group 23

c The infinitive as complement of the verb “be” and other linking verbs 25

2.1.3.4 To-infinitive as adverbial 26

a Expressing purpose 27

b Expressing result / outcome 28

c Expressing comment 28

d Expressing reason 29

2.2 The gerund 29

2.2.1 Introduction 29

2.2.2 Forms of gerund 32

2.2.2.1 Perfect gerund 33

2.2.2.2 (Present) Passive gerund 33

2.2.2.3 Perfect-passive gerund 33

2.2.3 Grammatical roles of gerund 34

2.2.3.1 The gerund as subject of a verb 34

2.2.3.2 The gerund as object of a verb 35

a Verbs that must be followed immediately by a gerund 35

b Verbs that must be followed by an object and a gerund 36

2.3 Approaches to grammar 39

2.3.1 Learning by deduction 40

2.3.2 Learning by induction 40

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY 3.1 Subjects 46

3.1.1 Student respondents 46

3.1.2 Teacher respondents 48

3.2 Instruments 49

3.2.1 Questionnaires 49

3.2.1.1 Questionnaire for students 50

3.2.1.2 Questionnaire for teachers 51

3.2.2 Class observations 52

3.2.3 Lesson plans 53

3.2.3.1 Period 1: Bare infinitive and to-infinitive 54

3.2.3.2 Period 2: Gerund and to-infinitive 56

3.2.4 Test scores 57

Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1 Responses to survey questionnaires 59

4.1.1 The current teaching of gerund and infinitive 59

4.1.1.1 Teachers’ attitude toward the teaching of gerund and infinitive 60

4.1.1.2 Problems in teaching gerund and infinitive 65

4.1.1.3 Current methods of teaching gerund and infinitive 68

4.1.1.4 Teachers’ view on how to improve gerund and infinitive teaching 72

4.1.2.2 Problems in learning gerund and infinitive 82

4.1.2.3 Students’ gerund and infinitive learning strategies 86

4.1.2.4 Students’ view on how to improve gerund and infinitive learning 89

Summary 92

4.2 Class observations 93

4.2.1 Class observation 1 93

4.2.2 Class observation 2 94

4.2.3 Class observation 3 95

4.3 Analyses using scores 96

4.3.1 Before applying new techniques to the experimental group 96

4.3.2 After applying new techniques to the experimental group 97

Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusions 100

5.2 Recommendations 102

5.2.1 Raise the awareness of the importance of gerund and infinitive 102

5.2.2 Provide students with reliable reference materials 102

5.2.3 Make use of the inductive approach 103

5.2.4 Focus on meaning and use 103

5.2.5 Provide motivating and interesting classes 104

5.2.6 Ask students for feedback on the teaching 105

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 107

APPENDIXES Appendix 1 Reference lists of verbs followed by to-infinitive 113

Appendix 5 Pre-test 121

Appendix 6 Post-test 122

Appendix 7 Test scores 10BA7 – 10BA8 123

Appendix 8 Questionnaire for students 126

Appendix 9 Questionnaire for teachers 130

Table 3.2 Students’ ethnicity 47

Table 3.3 Students’ first exposure to English 48

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

Table 3.5 Teachers’ gender 48

Table 3.6 Teachers’ experience of teaching in high school 49

Table 3.7 Levels of English at the end of the ninth grade * Class Crosstabulation 58

Teachers’ point of view Table 4.1 Teachers’ attitude toward aspects of English 60

Table 4.2 Gerund – infinitive plays an important role in English 62

Table 4.3 Teaching gerund – infinitive is more difficult 63

Table 4.4 Just revise, do not present from the beginning 64

Table 4.5 Content with your current methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 64

Table 4.6 Problems in teaching gerund – infinitive 66

Table 4.7 Popular methods of teaching gerund – infinitive (statistics) 68

Table 4.8 Popular methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 69

Table 4.9 Asking students to understand the functions and meanings of gerund – infinitive & the meanings of the preceding verbs 71

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

Table 4.11 How to increase the efficiency of gerund – infinitive teaching 73

Table 4.12 Two important methods of teaching gerund – infinitive 73

Table 4.13 Providing students with complete reference lists of verbs 74

Table 4.16 Students’ attitude toward grammar learning 78

Table 4.17 Gerund – infinitive plays an important role in English 80

Table 4.18 Gerund – infinitive is more difficult than other grammatical points 80

Table 4.19 Understanding and using gerund – infinitive with confidence 81

Table 4.20 Students’ problems in learning gerund – infinitive 82

Table 4.21 Students’ most important problems in learning gerund – infinitive 83

Table 4.22 Why & where gerund – infinitive is used 84

Table 4.23 Learning by heart lists of verbs (with their meanings) 86

Table 4.24 Understanding the functions & meanings of gerund – infinitive and the meanings of the preceding verbs 87

Table 4.25 Other learning strategies 87

Table 4.26 “On what ground do you rely to decide on the form of verb?” 88

Table 4.27 Three essential factors helping students decide on the form of verb 89

Table 4.28 How to improve the learning of gerund – infinitive 90

Table 4.29 Three important ways to improve gerund – infinitive learning 91

Table 4.30 Teachers need to limit the number of verbs to learn and test 91

Statistical analyses using scores Table 4.31 One-sample statistics 96

Table 4.32 Comparing two means of the two classes: Paired Samples Test 1 97

Table 4.33 Paired Samples Statistics 97

Table 4.34 Comparing two means of the two classes: Paired Sample Test 2 98

Table 4.35 Ranks 98

Table 4.36 Test statistics 99

Figure 4.1 The allotted time for gerund – infinitive is enough 61

Figure 4.2 The schedule for gerund – infinitive is reasonable 62

Figure 4.3 Teaching gerund – infinitive is more difficult 63

Figure 4.4 Most students understand & use gerund – infinitive with confidence 65

Figure 4.5 There are too many verbs followed by gerund – infinitive 66

Figure 4.6 There are almost no common rules for using gerund – infinitive 67

Figure 4.7 Students’ stock of vocabulary is too limited 67

Figure 4.8 Asking students to learn by heart lists of verbs (with their meanings) 70

Figure 4.9 Classifying verbs according to their meanings 70

Figure 4.10 Asking students to learn by heart lists of verbs (without their meanings) 72

Figure 4.11 Limiting the number of verbs followed by gerund – infinitive 74

Students’ point of view Figure 4.12 The allotted time for gerund – infinitive is enough 79

Figure 4.13 The schedule for gerund – infinitive is reasonable 79

Figure 4.14 Wishing to master how to use gerund – infinitive 81

Figure 4.15 Too many verbs followed by gerund – infinitive to memorize 84

Figure 4.16 Too many verbs followed by either gerund or infinitive 85

Figure 4.17 How to deal with “unfamiliar” verbs 85

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Gerunds and infinitives undoubtedly make English a more effective and organized language A loosely composed sentence can be easily compressed and structured with the help of gerund and infinitive They can be employed, instead of a noun, and this choice, left to the speaker or writer, can indicate shades of meaning

Their important role 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, they 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 Furthermore, their usage does not fit into any of the pre-set, methodical approaches To add to these problems, some grammatical applications are apparently similar to their usage in the English language

It is 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

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 them, 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 their usage This leads to the necessity of an investigation into the problems in teaching and learning them at the school in the hope

of finding some ways of improvement

1.2 Objectives 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 the students from mastering their usage; (3) currently-used approaches; and (4) the teachers’ and students’ needs and expectations in regard

to a better teaching and learning

1.3 Research questions

The study was specifically designed to investigate the problems in teaching and learning gerund and infinitive, 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 to

be carried out effectively?

Three sub-questions are also addressed:

A How do the teachers teach gerund and infinitive?

B How do the tenth-grade students learn gerund and infinitive?

C What are the problems in the teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive?

1.4 Significance of the study

This study serves as a summary report on the current teaching and learning of gerund and infinitive at high school With its deliberate recommendations, it is likely that Nguyen Hien High School English teachers would be able to make the knowledge

of gerund and infinitive more easily acquired

1.5 Limitations

Due to time constraint, the study mainly focused 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; (2) the teacher and tenth-grade student attitude toward gerund and infinitive teaching and learning; (3) the current approaches that teachers have applied; and (4) the ways to improve the teaching and learning of gerunds and infinitives

1.6 Delimitations

Due to the nature of the study and the research methods of data collection, generalizations and recommendations will only be limited to Nguyen Hien High School The sample of tenth-grade students may also limit the generalizability of the results

1.7 Overview of thesis chapters

Chapter 1 is the introduction Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature and research relevant to this study Chapter 3 describes the research design and methodology Chapter 4 discusses and analyzes the research findings Finally, chapter

5 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

2.1 THE INFINITIVE

2.1.1 Introduction

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

infinitive, a non-finite form of the verb, is “the base form of a verb” 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

and 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 to-infinitive and bare infinitive (or simple form) (Richards, Platt, J and Platt, H ,1992; Seaton, 2007;

Downing and Locke, 1995) However, infinitive is fully defined by C.E.Eckersley and 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

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

of its subject (p 230)

According to them, the infinitive is “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 and 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 preferred 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

(Steer and 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 respectively 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

referred to the infinitive with to and the infinitive without to, despite the fact that the

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

2.1.2 Forms of infinitive

While C.E.Eckersley and 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: 460) gave a

summary of infinitive forms as follows:

Present Continuous (to) be eating (to) be being eaten

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

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)

The progressive infinitive is, as Gethin (1990: 101) put it, “used to form the

future progressive tense and other verb combinations that refer to something in progress, and therefore uncompleted, at a time-point” 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 pineapples on a beach in Acapulco and (to be) thoroughly (full)

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 form:

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 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.) (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 and 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) He 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.) (p 178)

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

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) (pp 100 – 101)

According to Steer and 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, they 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)

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 hardly 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 and 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.” Jesperson (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

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) (p 286)

And perhaps, as C.E.Eckersley and 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 and 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)

Both Gethin (1990) and Seaton (2007) claimed that when it is unnecessary to use the full infinitive because it is understood from the context, it is often shortened to

to For example:

It’s impossible to force people to do what their basic nature tells them not to (do) (Gethin, 1990: 101)

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

(Seaton, 2007: 286)

2.1.3 Grammatical roles of 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 and J.M.Eckersley, 1960; Downing and Locke,1995; Azar, 1989; Eastwood, 2005; Gethin, 1990; Steer and 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 and Locke, 1995: 34)

As Downing and 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 as subject can

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

For everyone to escape was practically impossible

(Downing and 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 and 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 and

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

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 and 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 realizing the subject is said to be extra posed, 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 and Locke, 1995) They 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) 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:

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

them not to (with emphasis on impossible) (p 101)

Collins (2005) claimed that the structure It + link verb + complement +

to-infinitive can be used to comment on what we are doing or experiencing, and if we

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 (2005) 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:

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

(pp 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 and Locke (1995) explained that such clauses are analyzed 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

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 and 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 letter 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 and

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.)

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 and 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 realizations in that many do not passivise Semantically, they are likewise untypical, since they represent situations rather than participants, and the verb which governs them is frequently not a process of doing (p 45)

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

As C.M.Eckersley and 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

construction” (pp 232 ­ 233)

Me him him her

to dig

to write

to behave

to be

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 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 and 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 and 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

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

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

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 and 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) He 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)

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 (Collins, 2005: 177)

a To-infinitive as complement of an adjective

We can use to-infinitives after certain adjectives According to Steer and 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 colors precisely

It felt strange to be watched by so many people

It’ll be safer to copy the data to disk

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

Steer and 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:

Colors are difficult to describe precisely

Is gas cheaper to cook with than electricity?

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

Steer and 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 and 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 and 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:

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, impatient, 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

and 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 infinitive For example:

to-Correct: Colors are difficult to describe precisely

Incorrect: Colors are difficult to describe them

Correct: Is gas cheaper to cook with than electricity?

Incorrect: Is gas cheaper to cook with it than electricity?

(Eastwood, 2005: 145) Correct: I prefer children as models – they’re delightful to paint

Incorrect: I prefer children as models – they’re delightful to paint them Correct: Elizabeth is fascinating to talk to

Incorrect: Elizabeth is fascinating to talk to her (Seaton, 2007: 282)

b To-infinitive as complement of a noun group

Certain nouns can be used with a to-infinitive:

I’ve no desire to be famous

There’s no need to apologize

Jim’s decision to retire surprised us all (Seaton, 2007: 283)

Eastwood (2005) claimed that “we can use a to-infinitive clause after certain

verbs and adjectives… We can also use a to-infinitive after nouns which are related to such verbs and adjectives” (p 146):

I need to answer these e-mails (“need” as a verb)

Is there really any need to answer every single e-mail? (“need” as a noun)

Laura is determined to succeed in her career

You have to admire Laura’s determination to succeed

Eastwood (2005) listed some nouns that can be used this way as follows:

Move Need Obligation Offer Permission Plan

Preparations Promise

Proposal Refusal Reluctance Request Tendency Threat Willingness Wish

(Eastwood, 2005: 146)

A number of other nouns, including ambition, chance, effort, idea, opportunity,

power, race, reason, right, scheme, time, and way, can also take a to-infinitive

(Eastwood, 2005: 147)

C.M.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley (1960) claimed that the to-infinitive clause

“may have an adjectival function and qualify a noun or an indefinite pronoun” (p

233) For example:

That is not the way to speak to your uncle (qualifying way)

The questions to be answered are on page 40 (qualifying questions)

Is there anyone to take care of these children? (qualifying anyone)

Collins (2005) also believed that in the pattern need / want / have / buy / choose

+ noun group + to-infinitive clause, which is used to talk about two actions performed

by the same person, the to-infinitive clause is understood as qualifying the noun group, rather than being closely connected with the verb For example:

I need a car to drive to work

She chose the correct one to put in her bag

Seaton (2007) gave a more detailed explanation: “a to-infinitive following a

noun can indicate how it is to be used” (p 284):

Here’s a pill to help you sleep

We’ve got a problem to discuss

I phoned for a taxi to take us to the airport

We employed a guide to lead us up the mountain

According to Collins (2005), all the verbs of opinion except account “can also

be used with a to-infinitive clause after their object indicating what someone thinks a person or thing is like or does” (p 181) For example:

We believed him to be innocent

Seaton (2007) added that “the subject of a linking verb + noun can be the object

of a following to-infinitive (or to-infinitive + preposition) in the complement” (p 283)

In these cases, we do not use an object after the to-infinitive For instance:

Correct: These children are a delight to teach

Incorrect: These children are a delight to teach them

Correct: Your cooking is always a pleasure to sample

Incorrect: Your cooking is always a pleasure to sample it

Correct: Cricket is such a bore to take part in

Incorrect: Cricket is such a bore to take part in it

c The infinitive as complement of the verb be and other linking verbs

According to Eastwood (2005), “we sometimes put an infinitive after be when

we are explaining what kind of action we mean” (p 150) For example:

The only thing I can do is (to) apologize

What the police did was (to) charge into the crowd

In this case, the infinitive, which can be with or without to, appears to function

as complement after the verb be In other cases, however, only the to-infinitive

complement is accepted by most grammarians and linguists Seaton (2007) claimed that a to-infinitive can function as the complement after a linking verb Steer and Carlisi (1998) made it clearer, saying that to-infinitive functions as complement after

the verbs be, seem, appear, and “often used with nouns that express incomplete, future,

impossible actions or events such as hope, dream, goal” (p 369) For instance:

To understand is to forgive

He appears to be younger than he is

The children seem to like the book

My hope is to retire when I’m fifty

My dream is to become a doctor

Nevertheless, Eastwood (2005) claimed that “a to-infinitive clause can be a

complement after be” only Similarly, C.M.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley (1960) just

gave examples in which the to-infinitive clause functions as the complement of the

verb be

My great ambition is to emigrate to Australia

The important thing is not to panic

The idea was to give everyone a nice surprise

To live like this is to enjoy life

What I like is to swim in the sea and then to lie on the warm sand

As Seaton (2007) held, “you use the verb be with a to-infinitive to express an

order rather firmly, or to refer to plans already made” (p 285) For example:

You are to apologize to your mother for your rudeness

The Minister is to return to Singapore later this evening

The celebrations were to have been held last week, but there was a delay

2.1.3.4 To-infinitive as adverbial

A to-infinitive clause can function as an adverbial It can express ideas such as purpose or outcome It can also express a comment or a reason to modify the main clause