112
votes
Accepted
What is the purpose of (-s) in "Don't hurts us"?
Gollum's speech is consistently shown as non-standard. He regularly adds an additional "-es" to already plural words (eg "pocketses"). This is a case of adding "-s" to a verb form that does not need ...
- 76.5k
33
votes
Accepted
Why does "I was happy to do my homework" work, but "I was tired to do my homework" doesn't?
Let's change the main verb to "see". All the following adjectives accept an infinite
I was happy to see her
I was sorry to see her
I was surprised to see her
I was disappointed to see her
5a . I ...
- 89.9k
31
votes
Accepted
What is going on grammatically in the opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude?
The verb be followed by a to-infinitive is used in historical narratives to convey that something took place later than the narrative moment. In your example,
Many years later, as he faced the firing ...
- 28.3k
27
votes
Accepted
May I start a sentence with a verb "develop" or do I need to use "to"?
It looks like you're making a bulleted list, so you have some leeway in how you choose to structure it - you're not limited to complete, fully grammatical sentences, you may also choose to structure ...
- 12.7k
16
votes
What is the purpose of (-s) in "Don't hurts us"?
It's ungrammatical, but Tolkien knew what he was doing. It's possible that Gollum is purposely trying to sound childlike and pathetic here. Tolkien might also have been trying to represent that ...
- 7,129
15
votes
Why does "I was happy to do my homework" work, but "I was tired to do my homework" doesn't?
If I had to guess, it would be that this form "{subject} {verb} {adjective} {infinitive phrase}" does not always work. The sentence you described, "I was happy to help you" will work but replace happy ...
- 1,271
15
votes
"Wish" in the Passive
“He is wished to be here” is marginally grammatical, but in practise very unlikely.
Although he may be cast in the “object” case with an infinitival complement (I wish him to ...
- 68.6k
14
votes
Accepted
How to use the infinitive in this sentence?
This is a situation where Neg-Raising is useful. You want the negative in the main clause:
This does not appear to work any longer in any web browser.
Double any's in the sentence is fixable by Neg-...
- 107k
13
votes
Why does "I was happy to do my homework" work, but "I was tired to do my homework" doesn't?
I’m afraid the answer is ultimately a very disappointing “because it is”.
There are various types of adjectives, and like verbs, different adjectives have different properties of valency. Some cannot ...
- 32.1k
13
votes
When do we need to use "to" here?
There are three to's in this sentence:
They seemed to understand each other
and to communicate without
having to exchange more than a few monosyllables.
And the question is about deleting the ...
- 107k
10
votes
What is going on grammatically in the opening line of One Hundred Years of Solitude?
Only individual words have tense, not multiword phrases like was to remember.
Thus the tense of was is the past tense. The construction be to INFINITIVE is a periphrastic expression in English with ...
- 133k
10
votes
Ambiguous Information on ''verb -to and verb -ing''
There are many factors affecting choice of construction in English. Here,
(1) I like to make jam.
and
(2) I like making jam.
are both grammatical, idiomatic, and boil down (be nice; it is ...
- 79.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Does 'as' take bare infinitive?
This construction has nothing to do with the equative marker as or the comparative marker than. They appear in equative and comparative constructions, where they have their own jobs. They don't ...
- 107k
9
votes
How to use the infinitive in this sentence?
In English we far prefer to negate the main verb in the matrix clause in sentences like this. Negating the infinitive is generally awkward unless extreme technical specificity is what is required. ...
- 44.2k
7
votes
Watch the sun go down
Because it's an exception. An infinitive loses its to when it follows certain verbs like let, hear, feel, watch and some others.
- 13.5k
7
votes
Why 'doing' after 'look forward to'?
The key to understanding this usage is the preposition “to” which comes after the expression “look forward:”
Look forward to something means to be pleased or excited that it is going to happen. ...
- 67k
7
votes
Accepted
The role of infinitive in this sentence
Edit Note
This answer was written before Original Question was edited. The sentence is not quite the same but this post should still provide the answer to the new question.
The answer
It is a ...
- 44.2k
7
votes
Accepted
When to use a gerund or an infinitive after "is"?
Unfortunately, the linked answer is very vague, and not correct. It does point out correctly that gerunds are more common as subjects than infinitives. But it certainly doesn't provide any rule that ...
- 107k
7
votes
Accepted
"No one is born hating..." vs. "No one is born to hate..."
There's nothing stopping it from being as you write, but the words were chosen by Nelson Mandela to evoke a certain meaning. Here, he evokes a state of being. A newborn acting as soon as it is born. ...
- 3,572
6
votes
Accepted
Not sure if this is correct or not: "the ability to be able to"
"The ability to be able" is still a bit redundant, right? How about these examples?
"Happiness is not the absence of problems, but rather" being able to deal with them.
Or,
"Happiness is not ...
- 6,767
6
votes
It is very difficult to solve. vs. It is too difficult to solve
The idiomatic adjectival construction
too Adjective to Verb Phrase
has the same meaning as the construction
so Adjective that Not Verb Phrase
I.e,
It is too difficult to solve
means something ...
- 107k
5
votes
"can't do anything except eating" vs. "can't do anything except eat"
It seems the answer (in part) is found in the modal verb can; modal verbs (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would) accept only bare infinitive verbs.
A. My dog ...
- 89.9k
5
votes
Accepted
the first trial <stemming/to stem> from... vs. the first person to climb
To summarize the question:
We can say the first trial stemming from as well as the first
trial to stem from. So why can't we say the first person
climbing Mount Everest as well as the first ...
- 32.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Can infinitive be moved in a "It is ... that" sentence?
The to-infinitival to go to Rome may not be separated from the verb that licenses it planned and foregrounded in the it-cleft construction. This is possible with objects - noun phrases, but not with ...
- 7,856
5
votes
Ambiguous Information on ''verb -to and verb -ing''
Which complement type to use is determined first and most importantly by which verb is being used, and only secondarily by possible pragmatic usages. Most verbs that take untensed complement clauses (...
- 107k
4
votes
Is "Why to... ..." grammatical?
Most answers focus on the fact that the cited text is a headline / noun phrase rather than a complete sentence, but I think the real issue here is Why don't we normally include the infinitive marker &...
- 6,361
4
votes
Why 'doing' after 'look forward to'?
"look forward to" takes a noun. "drink" is a verb. So we take gerund "drinking", which acts as a noun.
- 4,655
4
votes
How does the to infinitive work with adjectives like "wrong" and "wise"?
The infinitive is a verb, and as such it can do verbish things like take an object:
to pick that car
or to be modified by a temporal adverbial phrase
to go home that day
But the infinitive ...
- 44.4k
4
votes
How to use the infinitive in this sentence?
Your third one is correct:
This appears not to work any longer in any web browser.
You can also use a split infinitive, however some grammarians would advocate against it:
This appears to no ...
- 13.5k
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