UNIT 21 NON-FINITE FORMS: THE INFINITIVE AND THE -ING FORM.

MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES: FORM, MAIN USES AND FUNCTIONS.

I will start by mentioning the justification of this topic. According to our current legislation based on FUNCTIONS
LOMLOE from 2020, the teaching of a foreign language must be based on the teaching through (1) The infinitive as subject, (To have breakfast in bed is really good)
plurilingualism, interculturality and communication, for that reason, it is essential to achieve the (2) The infinitive as direct object, The infinitive or the infinitive phrase may take the function of
proper communicative process through the teaching of grammar. This topic is essential for the direct object of a clause when it is placed after certain verbs, such as "agree, aim, appear, arrange,
development of the correct use of the English language. Once the justification is done, we are ready ask, attempt, bother, care (negative), choose, claim, condescend, consent, decide, etc. It is within
to start… this function as direct object that we find the structure 'verb +
1. NON-FINITE FORMS. how/what/when/where/which/why + full infinitive' . In it the most frequently used verbs are "ask,
In order to give a linguistic description of the infinitive and -ing forms, we must confine them to decide, discover, find out, forget, know, learn, remember, see, show, think, understand, want
particular levels of analysis so as to focus our attention on this particular aspect of language. to know and wonder" among others (I didn’t know what to do; I showed him how to do it)
Yet, the usual description of a language comprises four major components: phonology, grammar, (3) The infinitive as a verb complement where the bare infinitive goes after the auxiliary verbs
lexicon, and semantics, out of which we get five major levels: phonological, morphological and "be, can, dare, do, have, may, must, need, ought, shall, will, used" (He need leavethe city soon)
SYNTACTIC, LEXICAL, AND SEMANTIC. (4) The infinitive after verb + object, The infinitive may function as a direct object or as an infinitive
1.1. GRAMMAR CATEGORIES. with accusative, that is, within the structure verb+ object + infinitive (with or without 'to'), (He
The open classes are verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs, and are said to be unrestricted since they allowed his daughter to go out late); and in particular when the passive voice is used (He is
allow the addition of new members to their membership. when taking non-finite forms to sentence thought/invited/commanded togo). Note that the infinitive with accusative is particularly found when
level, we are namely dealing with open word classes, since we are dealing with lists of verbs in the bare the verb complement is the verb 'to be'(He is thought to be older).
infinitive and -ing participle in noun phrase structures (The driving was no good at all) and (5) The infinitive as a connective link. The infinitive may also function as a connective link after
adjectival structures ( That terrifying accident happened yesterday ) and in adverb phrases as the adverb 'only' to express a disappointing sequel (He hurried to the shop only to find it was closed).
modifiers. However, we may omit the adverb 'only' without the idea of misfortune (He returned home to find Sam
The closed classes are the rest: prepositions, conjunctions, articles (definite and indefinite), had bought what he needed) but this use is mainly confined to such verbs as 'find, hear, learn, see, be
numerals, pronouns, quantifiers and interjections, which belong to a restricted class since they do told' among others.
not allow the creation of new members. We find closed classes such as prepositions when dealing (6) The infinitive as an adverbial clause. The infinitive as an adverbial clause refers to certain
with prepositional phrases although non-finite forms are not the head of the phrase but part of it. infinitive phrases that can be placed at the beginning or sometimes at the end of a sentence. These
idiomatic expressions work as introductory sentences with are similar to introductory sentence
2. MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES adverbs, for instance, 'Tobe perfectly frank; to be honest; to be fair; to cut a long story short; to tell you
the truth; among others'
2.1. THE INFINITIVE
2.1.1. The infinitive with 'to' USES
First of all, the infinitive with 'to' or full infinitive is formed by the preposition (or sometimes called The infinitive may be used in different contexts depending on its syntactic sentence structure, but
proclitic particle) 'to' + the base form of the verb(He decided to leave tonight). Other frequent it is namely used in certain contexts where meaning has much to say where form and function
structures are 'so as/in order + to'. These structures are used to state the verb in assertive contexts cannot tell the difference, for instance, these two sentences: 'I like getting unexpected invitations' and
(to be/so as to be/in order to be) whereas in non-assertive contexts the structure is 'not' + 'I like to get unexpected invitations'. There is a subtle difference of meaning that probably a foreign
full infinitive (not to be/so as not to be/in order not to be), hence Hamlet's popular statement 'To be student of English at the beginner's level may not grasp at once, for instance, the former means 'I
or not to be'. The full infinitive is usually pronounced with the weak form /t enjoy unexpected invitations' whereas the latter means 'I want/wish unexpected invitations'.
+ schwa/ within the speech chain but if pronounced separately and slowly, as in short answers Therefore, let us examine the different uses that the full infinitive and the bare infinitive take in
(Do you ski? No, but I used to) we find the strong form /tu:/In addition, the full infinitive may everyday speech.
appear with or without a subject, where the latter is the most common one since no elements are 2.1.3. The infinitive with 'to'
introduced between 'to' and the 'bare infinitive' (The best thing is to tell him right now). However, The infinitive with 'to' is frequently found in everyday speech with nominal features rather than
despite that fact that it is not normally advisable to put any elements between 'to' and the verb, we verbal implying different meanings in different contexts. We must bear in mind though, due to its
often find the full infinitive with a subject in between within the structure: for + subject nominal features, it will be used in the contexts of noun, adjective, and in less degree, adverb phrases.
(usually object pronouns) + full infinitive (The best thing would be for her to tell him right now). So, the infinitive with 'to' is namely used:
Moreover, we find other constructions such as 'split infinitives' where emphatic elements (usually 1. as a noun: To stop smoking is almost impossible
degree adverbs) are placed after the 'to' in colloquial English ( It would take ages to really solve this 2. as a modifier: a book to read
mystery; she's asking you to simply tell the truth ). 3. to express: purpose or commands (He drove so fast to showoff. No one is to leave this building
2.1.2. The infinitive without 'to' 4. to join two clauses: He hurried to my house only to find that it was empty
Alike the infinitive with 'to', the infinitive without 'to' or also known as bare infinitive and plain 5. to replace relative clauses: He is always the first to come
infinitive is namely represented by the base form of the verb. Because of its simple structure, it is 6. after certain verbs 'be, become, seem' (He seems to be tired)
often connected syntactically with certain elements in order to form a complete unit, for instance,
with auxiliary verbs, both primary (be, have, do) and modals (can, could, may, etc), idiomatic 2.1.4. The infinitive without 'to'
expressions (had better, would rather) and certain constructions (make/let + pronoun + bare 1. in certain type of sentences: subject attributive sentences (What you've done is (to) spoil
infinitive). In addition, it is relevant to mention that the bare infinitive and these structures also form everything)
a unit in phonological terms, that is, regarding accent, stress and intonation within the speech chain 2. after certain verbs: can, could, may, might, will, shall, should, ought to, must'hear', 'see', 'watch',
(You'd better go; she must buy it), particularly when emphasis falls on the bare infinitive for the sake 'feel'
of clarity or detail (I said you must read it, not write it)
2.2. THE -ING FORM
2.2.1. 'Gerund' vs. 'Present participle' 2.3. THE INFINITIVE VS. THE -ING FORM
we must distinguish between the -ing form as 'gerund' and 'present participle' mainly because the As mentioned in the second chapter, the infinitive and the -ing form may be used in different contexts
verbal form '-ing' has two main different functions: depending on their syntactic sentence structure, but they are namely used indistinctively in certain
• as a verbal adjective or participle, (She is sleeping) (a smiling boy). contexts where form and function cannot tell the difference, and therefore we can only rely on
• the -ing form may be realized as a verbal noun, hence the definition 'gerund', which implies noun meaning. For instance, these two sentences:
and verbal features. • 'I like getting unexpected invitations' • 'I like to get unexpected invitations'.
2.2.2. The -ing: form Alike the infinitive, there is only one way to construct the -ing form, that is, There is a subtle difference of meaning that probably a foreign student of English at the beginner's
the base form of the verb + -ing. In order to add the suffix -ing to the base form, we must pay level may not grasp at once, for instance, the former means 'I enjoy unexpected invitations' whereas
attention to certain spelling rules, such as the omission of final -e when adding -ing ( come vs. the latter means 'I want/wish unexpected invitations'.
coming); the addition of a double final consonant (sit vs. sitting); and the addition of -ing to 1. remember and forget take the gerund when they refer to an action which occurred beforehand (Do
final -y (study vs. studying). Regarding word formation, the -ing form will show different features you remember taking this bus?/I'll never forget arriving in Rome) whereas they take an infinitive
depending on its adjectival, verbal or noun features. Thus, when considered as an adjective (present when they refer to an action which comes afterwards (Remember to take the car keys/I'm afraid you
participle), it has both adjectival and verbal features, and it is shown in active and passive forms. will forget to take the car keys).
2.2.3. The -ing: main uses: The main uses of the -ing form depend heavily on its adjectival, verbal 2. Verbs 'regret' and' dread' take the gerund when they refer to the past or likely future (Do you
or noun features and therefore, the -ing form can be used in different contexts as adjectives, verbs regret not having studied?/I'm dreading going to the dentist ).However, 'dread' takes the infinitive'to
and nouns do. Yet, the -ing form may be used: think' and 'regret' takes the infinitives 'to say', 'to tell' and 'to inform' to talk about the future. I
a) As an adjective: (a burning candle) dread to think what might have happened if you'd stopped insulting me/I regret to tell you that you
b) As adverb: (He likes drinking milk) (He likes eating slowly) are not pregnant.
c) As a noun: (Hertalkings are so boring). 3. Verbs 'like, love, hate and prefer' may take either a gerund or an infinitive when they mean 'enjoy'
2.2.4. The -ing: main functions: The main functions, as stated above, of the -ing form depend or 'take pleasure in' I simply love cooking/Do you prefer typing or writing by hand? But in negative
heavily on its adjectival, verbal or noun features as seen above, and therefore, the -ing form can sentences they usually take the gerund I don't like cooking
function in different contexts as adjectives, verbs and nouns do. Yet, the -ing form may function 4. When the verb 'try' takes the gerund (Try climbing that wall. Maybe you can see the old house
in the following cases: from up there), the meaning is 'experiment' meaning that you'll have no difficulty in climbing the wall
(1) as subject of a sentence (Dancing is funny) but the action may or may not be successful in enabling you to jump. However, when the infinitive is used,
(2) as the predicate of a sentence (i.e. Seeing is believing) the meaning is 'attempt', where you may be or not be successful in climbing the wall (Try to climb that
(3) as complement or direct object of certain verbs (His hobby is fishing; He loves dancing) wall).
(4) after prepositions when used as a verb complement (He was interested in painting) 5. When the verb 'mean' is used with the gerund (The job means moving to another area), the
(5) as relative clauses (The children playing in the garden did not hear her mum) verb means 'involve' but when it is used with the infinitive (We are meant to be together), it
(6) as an adverbial subordinate clause (Seeing that he was upset, they apologized for being late) means 'intend'.
(7) as idiomatic expressions. 'Bearing in mind the ideas’ 6. Verbs 'need and want' mean 'be in need of ́when used with the gerund (The hedge needs trimming)
a) As subject. As stated before, the gerund may function as the subject of a sentence (when used as whereas with the infinitive 'need' means 'have a need' (We'll need to take a bus tomorrow) while 'want'
a noun) when an action is being considered in a general sense (Reading German is means 'should/ought to' or 'wish' (You want to ask John. He's the expert).
easier than speaking it) whereas the to-infinitive is used when referring to a specific time (I 7. The verb 'go on' means 'continue an action' with the gerund (He went on describing his house)
would like to read German rather than speaking it). whereas it means 'introduce a new action' with the infinitive (After describing his mansion, he went on
b) As predicate. The gerund may also function as the predicate of a sentence, as in 'Seeing is to describe his castle).
believing'. This function is usually related to the verbs 'be, seem, become'. 8. The verb 'stop' means 'cease' with a gerund (He stopped smoking) whereas it means 'to interrupt
c) As a verb complement. The gerund may also function as a verb complement or direct object, one action in order to perform another' with the infinitive (He stopped to smoke).
as in 'I hate fishing'. This function is usually related to certain transitive verbs, such as 'admit,
anticipate, avoid, consider, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, excuse, fancy, keep, mean, mind, miss, CONCLUSION: It is important to highlight the idea that learning a L2 is learning the practical usage of
postpone, recollect, resist, save, suggest, and understand' among others. it, for that reason, this topic is very important as it gives the students the use of the grammatical
d) After prepositions. When a preposition is followed by a verb, the -ing form must be used, except aspects to have an effective communicative competence. In this case we have made a study about
for the preposition ‘to'. 'To’ can cause confusion as it can be either a part of an infinitive or infinitive and -ing form and how they can work syntactically and semantically different on their usage.
a preposition. Thus, after the auxiliary verbs ‘be, have, ought, used' and after 'be going', it is part
of the following verb and is only added to remind us that the preceding verb takes the infinitive. Also,
'to' is often placed after certain verbs which are usually followed by gerund, for instance 'hate, hope,
intend, love, mean, plan, etc' and some others, but then they have different meanings (I love dancing BIBLIOGRAPHY
vs. I love to dance).
e) As relative clauses. 'The man who is coming towards us is my uncle' may be realized by the
sentence 'The man coming towards us is my uncle'. • Kearns, K. Semantics. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 20005.
f) As adverbial clauses (absolute constructions) The -ing form may also function as an adverbial • Tortora, C. Understanding Sentence Structure. An Introduction to English Syntax. Wiley
clause in absolute construction. 'Being the best candidate, he won the elections' vs. 'As he was the best Blackwell. 2018.
candidate, he won the elections'. • [Link]
g) As idiomatic expressions. 'Generally speaking, I think it is a mistake', 'Considering the
circumstances, 'Bearing in mind the reports, ...', etc. • The Oxford English Dictionary