| Construction
| Function
| Sentence Pattern
| Verbal Form
| Verbs and Expressions Introducing the Construction
|
| Objective-with-the-Infinitive Construction
| Complex Object
| 1. I felt the blood rush into my cheeks.
| Indefinite infinitive active
| Verbs of sense perception: to hear, to feel, to watch, to observe, to notice, to find, etc.
|
| 2. I believe him to be honest with us.
3. The doctor found his heart to have stopped two hours before.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
| Verbs of mental activity: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect, to imagine, to find, to feel, to trust, etc.
|
| 4. I didn’t mean him to do that so soon.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
| Verbs denoting wish or intention: to want, to wish, to desire, to mean, to intend, to choose, etc.
|
| 5. He reported the meeting to be over.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| Verbs of declaring: to report, to pronounce, to declare, etc.
|
| 6. I hate him to say so.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| Verbs denoting feeling or emotion: to like, to dislike, to love, to hate, cannot bear, etc.
|
| 7. I won’t have you speak like that.
8. Ms. Effin could hardly suffer Jane to appear in her house.
9. The sound of somebody’s steps made him raise his head.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| Verbs denoting permission, inducement or compulsion: to ask, to tell, to order, to allow, to suffer, to have, to let, to make, to cause, to get, etc.
|
| Prepositional Complex Object
| I rely on you to come in time.
| Indefinite infinitive active
| After rely on/upon
|
| Subjective-with-the-Infinitive Construction
| Subject +
Compound Verbal Modal Predicate
| 1. The girl was often heard singing that tune.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| The verbs denoting sense perception: to hear, to see, to observe, to notice, etc. in the passive voice.
|
|
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| The verbs denoting mental perception: to know, to think, to consider, to believe, to suppose, to expect in the passive voice.
|
|
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| The verb to make in the passive voice.
|
|
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| The verbs to say, to report in the passive voice.
|
|
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| The following pairs of verbs: to seem and to appear, to happen and to chance, to prove and to turn out.
|
|
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| The expressions: to be likely, to be sure, to be certain.
|
| The For-to-Infinitive Construction
| Complex Subject
| 1. For him to ask this would be a mistake.
2. It is a shame for you to waste so much money.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
Continuous Infinitive
Perfect infinitive active/passive
Perfect continuous infinitive
| ----------------------------------------
|
| Complex Predicative
| 1. That was for him to find out.
2. To leave her is for me to die.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| ----------------------------------------
|
| Complex Object
| 1. We all waited for her to speak.
2. Sui was impatient for Mrs. Jackobs to leave.
3. I don’t think it very strange for him to behave this way.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| ----------------------------------------
|
| Complex Attribute
| 1. The best thing for you to do here is to apologise.
2. There was really nothing for him to do here.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| ----------------------------------------
|
| Complex Adverbial Modifier of Purpose
| 1. He stepped aside for me to pass.
| Indefinite infinitive active
| ----------------------------------------
|
| Complex Adverbial Modifier of Result
| 1. The temptation was too great for me to resist.
2. She spoke loud enough for Ronan to hear.
| Indefinite infinitive active/passive
| ----------------------------------------
|
