Gerunds, Infinitives and Participles
 
Compounding and Coordination
 
Subordination
 
Subordinate Adverb Clauses
 
Subordinate Noun Clauses
 
Subordinate Adjective Clauses
 
Reduced Subordinate Clauses
 
Focus Structures
 
Logical Connectors

 

Sentence Complexity and Embedding

Gerunds, Infinitives and Participles

Activity 12.4: Defining Infinitives

Exercise A: Find and label the parts of these sentences.  What type of word is used for each syntactic role?

Su

V

SuComp

 

To err

is

human

 

Infinitive

LV

A

 

Su

V

DO

 

Sean

likes

To sleep

 

N

AV

Infinitive

 

Su

V

SuComp

 

The best response

is

To ignore him

 

(Det  A     N)

LV

(Infinitive DO)

 

Su

App

V

PP

The best suggestion

To have a carwash

came

From Shelly

(Det A     N)

(Infinitive DO)

AV

(P N)

 

Define Infinitives:
The base form of a verb, usually with but sometimes without the infinitive marker to. 

 

 

Exercise 2 – Underline the infinitives in the following sentences.  Tell how they are used.

  1. Homer likes football.
  2. Homer likes to watch football. Direct Object
  3. Homer doesn’t like to play football. Direct Object
  4. Football is fun.
  5. To watch football is fun. Subject
  6. To play football is dangerous. Subject
  7. It’s fun to watch football. Subject
  8. It’s dangerous to play football. Subject
  9. The kids went outside to play football. Purpose
  10. The main purpose is to impress the cheerleaders. Subject Complement

 

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