I am not sure about the usage of infinitives in this sentence:
Finally, one of the accused confessed to have forged the director's signature on the report.
Could anyone explain correct usage?
You seem to have confused the to particle used in certain infinitive constructs with to used as a preposition.
In English, the phrasal verb confess to takes the -ing form of the verb as its complement, not a bare infinitive as you have used here.
- He confessed to forging the signature.
- He confessed to having forged the signature.
This acts as the head of its own verb phrase (VP), and is effectively a noun. When you use an -ing form as a noun, it is sometimes called a gerund. Notice how you can swap in a real noun:
- He confessed to the crime.
- So you would confess to yesterday’s robbery?
There is also a non-phrasal use of confess, as distinct from the phrasal verb confess to:
- He confessed his sin.
-
@ tchrist: So here in this question gerund appears in the picture rather than infinitives? Am i right? – Sudhir Dec 21 '12 at 14:46
-
+1 Notice that he confessed his sin is a slightly different construction. – Cerberus_Reinstate_Monica Dec 21 '12 at 15:00
-
Notice the difference now that we know the difference between forging the present participle and forging the gerund. Terminology makes everything clear, [Chinese-English ahead:] isn't it? – user21497 Dec 21 '12 at 15:07
-
@StoneyB: I just checked my Collins-COBUILD Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs but couldn't find confess to listed. Where is it listed as a phrasal verb? I checked the Internet as well, but came up blank. Confess to seems to be merely an idiom with a synonymous phrasal verb: own up. – user21497 Dec 21 '12 at 15:25
-
@BillFranke The OED has it as a phrasal verb: “6. intr. confess to (a thing): To plead guilty to (a charge), own to (a fault or weakness); to admit, acknowledge. With indirect pass.” – tchrist♦ Dec 21 '12 at 15:37
