- 37 -
Infinitives

I want him to dance with her

One can also think of the word for as operating as a complementizer when it introduces infinitive phrases with subjects. The for-to construction is a very old one, but it is currently used only with a few verbs and even then is often deleted, as in the sample sentences below. With or without the preceding for, a pronoun subject of an infinitive phrase is in the objective case:

(1)(a) We need for him to take charge.
(b) We need him to take charge.
(2)(a) We asked for them to be our guides.
(b) We asked them to be our guides.

The most usual use of a for-to complement clause is as the direct object of a verb, as in sentences (1) and (2). If such a clause is the subject of the sentence, however, the complementizer for is mandatory:

(3) (a) For him to act that way just burns me up.
(b) *Him to act that way just burns me up.

For-to complements use the base form of the verb. Clauses with such verbs are called non-finite, a term which means that they shows neither past nor present tense. Whether or not accompanied by for as a complementizer, the to which precedes the base form of the verb is not really functioning as a preposition but as an infinitive marker and the to+verb combination is called an infinitive. When they have complements, and there is no for in front of them, they are called infinitive phrases. Sentences (4) and (5) show the use of infinitives and infinitive phrases as postmodifiers in noun phrases:

(4) His desire to kill was obvious.
(5) His desire to kill the rat was obvious.

Infinitive phrases are also particularly common as direct objects, whether with subjects, as in sentence (6), or without, as in sentence (7). Sentence (8) has infinitives as both the subject and the predicate:

(6) She wants to dance with George.
(7) I want him to dance with her.
(8) To give is to receive.

Infinitives can appear as complements of adjectives, as in sentence (9). The structure in sentence (10), however, might better be read as some kind of conditional adverbial modifying the verb; notice that it can be moved to the front, as in sentence (11).

(9) You are too honest to live.
(10) You must be honest to live outside the law.
(11) To live outside the law you must be honest

Infinite Problems. Placing an adverbial where it separates the infinitive marker to from the affected verb risks distracting the reader. Most handbooks therefore advise again such , split infinitives (e.g., "to emphatically state"). They should be are to be avoided unless using one makes it clearer what the adverb is modifying.

Exercise 1: The Many Uses of To

The preposition to serves as an infinitive marker in infinitive phrases, and it such cases we do not diagram it as part of a prepositional phrases but in the INFL position as a sign that the following verb is non-finite. As more clearly a preposition, it is used to identify indirect object NPs and as a literal or figurative indicator of direction. Identify its uses in the following sentences:
1.01 A coach would take him to Newcastle before night.
1.02 Click the button to see all the current discounts.
1.03 Crisp curling waves were rushing up to his feet.
1.04 Daniel gave him a look of keen attention before he began to speak.
1.05 Ellen offered herself to Keith Richards.
1.06 Foliage seemed to toss and ripple everywhere like a green spray.
1.07 Henry's purpose in life is to make you comfortable.
1.08 His answer was straight and to the point.
1.09 How does it feel to be without a home?
1.10 How nice to wake beside you in the morning!
1.11 I can take him to your house but I can't unlock it.
1.12 The mothers brought Christmas cookies to the party.
1.13 Nobody taught you how to live on the street.
1.14 Overstuffed chairs make this a comfortable places to relax and view the scenery.
1.15 She advised him to flee the scene.
1.16 Six white horses that you did promise were finally delivered to the penitentiary.
1.17 The town is going to the dogs.
1.18 To live outside the law you must be honest.
1.19 You've gone to the finest school all right.
1.20 Why not send a letter to Mary.

Non-Finite Clauses With Neither For or To. Some verbs take non-finite clauses (tenseless clauses) without any infinitive marker. The clause's subject remains in the objective case if it is a pronoun, and the tense does not vary. Here are some illustrations:

(12) (a) We see him go down the stairs.
(b) We saw him go down the stairs.
(13)We watch him leave.
(b) We watched him leave.

That-clauses can also be tenseless when expressing hypothetical or wished-for situations, though their subjects remain in the nominative case:

(14) The police had asked that he go.

This is interpreted as a sign of subjunctive mood, a topic we'll discuss later under "Formalities."

Just for the Record: More on Object Predicatives. We earlier encountered complex transitive verbs, whose object complements (or object predicatives) had the same relation to a direct object as a subject complement (or subject predicative) would to the subject of a linking verb. Object complements can be noun phrases, as in sentence (15), or adjectives, as in sentence (16)

(15) She considered George a dork.
(16) She considered him silly.

One way of thinking about such expressions is to think of them as infinitive clauses that have lost a be. These would be clausal nominals rather like that-clause with a normal tensed verb:

(17) (a) She considered George (to be) a dork.
(b) She considered that George was a dork.
(18) (a) She considered George (to be) silly.
(b) She considered that George was silly.

Deriving sentences like (15) and (16) from sentences like (17)(a) and (18)(a) would allow us to eliminate the complex transitive as a sentence type, along with other hard to remember terms, like object complement and object predicative. The time will come. In the meantime, this alternative will not be on our tests.

How Much of This Will be on the Test?
You should be able to recognize infinitive phrases and clauses with or without subjects and (with luck) other non-finite clauses and to describe their functions in a sentence. You should be able to identify a split infinitive and see whether there is any justification for it. This section has also reminded you of the existence of terms like complex transitive and object complement, which you may have had to look up in the Glossary.