Infinitive as Adverbial Modifier

The infinitive as an adverbial modifier expresses purpose, consequence, comparison, condition and exception.

The infinitive as adverbial modifier of purpose is al­ways used with the particle to.

§ I went out to buy the morning paper.

§ I did my best to stop her.

 

The infinitive of purpose may occasionally be preceded by the modifiers in order and so as which emphasise the idea of purpose.

§ We had a swim, so as to freshen up and cool off.

So as is common with a negative infinitive of purpose, however:

§ She hurried so as not to give him time for reflexion.

 

The infinitive may also be preceded by other modifiers:

§ He opened his mouth wide as if to speak.

§ She turned away as though to go out of the room.

 

The infinitive of purpose may be placed at the head of the sentence:

§ To relieve my feelings I wrote a letter to him.

 

Occasionally the infinitive of purpose is placed between the subject and the predicate:

§ Ann, to pass the time, left her kitchen to see if her baby was all right.

The infinitive as adverbial modifier of consequence (следствие) is used with the particle to. It is structurally dependent - we find it in a peculiar sentence pattern (he) had only to... or (he) had but to...

§ I had only to look at Mother to know the answer. (стоило только)

 

The infinitive as adverbial modifier of comparison is also structurally dependent. It is preceded by than and is generally used with to, though sometimes it may be found without it:

§ She seemed more anxious to listen to the troubles of others than to discuss her own.

§ I’ve got more important things to do than look at

The infinitive with to may serve as an adverbial modi­fier of condition. The predicate verb is, as a rule, used in the form of the Conditional Mood:

§ To hear him talk, you would think he was a celebrity.

 

The infinitive as adverbial modifier of exception is preceded by except or but and is used in negative or in­terrogative sentences after nothing could be done …, he could do nothing..., what could he do..., he could not help... and the like. The infinitive is used without to:

§ There is nothing to be done about it, except tell you the truth.

§ There was nothing to do but escape.

 

The use of particle to is an exception:

§ She had no choice but to obey.

The infinitive may modify an adjective – adv. modifier of consequence. The infinitive here has the particle to:

1) With adjectives modified by enough:

§ He was old enough to be her father.

Note: the infinitive can be an adverbial modifier of consequence of an adverb with enough:

§ I wish I knew him well enough to judge.

 

2) With adjectives in the sentence pattern containing conjunctions so... as:

§ He was so fortunate as to escape.

 

3) With adjectives preceded by too.

§ I was too shy to take part in the conversation.

 

The infinitive may have a subject of its own with which it forms absolute construction introduced by preposition with. The infinitive is used with the particle to:

§ It was a quiet house, with only his secretary to take care of his business.

 

As is seen from the above examples, there are two parallel ac­tions.

 

ing -form as Adverbial Modifier

The ing- form as an adverbial modifier is preceded by a conjunction or a preposition. The ing- form may be preceded by the conjunctions while, when, once, if, as though, as if, though, than, as well as and as … as; not so... as.

While shows that both actions are tak­ing place at a moment or period of time;

When serves to express recurrent actions with the predicate.

§ He continued to speak while walking down the path.

§ She picked up spectacles which she always used when reading.

 

The conjunctions as though and as if serve to show there is something in the manner or in the behaviour of the person.

§ Lena gave me a very long look as though seeing me for the first time.

§ She stopped speaking as if waiting for him to speak.

The ing - form may be preceded by prepositions after, before, besides, by, except for, for fear of, for the sake of, from, in, instead of, on, on the verge of, through, without and some others. The most frequently used of them is without.

§ The bus passed us without stopping.

§ You begin learning a language by listening to the new sounds.

 

This ing - form is generally placed after the predicate, though its front position is also possible.

§ By keeping quiet, she might save herself a lot of trouble.

 

The ing -form introduced by instead of is also common.

§ He bought pictures instead of buying me the things I wanted.

 

The ing -form introduced by after and on is usually placed before the predicate verb:

§ On arriving at the cottage she found it locked.

 

The subject of the ing- form in the adverbial functions described above is the same person or thing as denoted by the sub­ject of the sentence. But the ing-form may have a subject of its own with which it forms the so-called absolute construction.

§ His study was a nice room with books lining the walls.

 

There are two parallel actions - each action has its own subject.

 

Absolute constructions may be of two kinds: non-prepositional and prepositional introduced by the preposition with. Both constructions are synonymous. The usual meaning of the absolute con­struction is to describe the appearance, the behaviour or inner state of the person.

§ Finally she stood back and looked at him, her face radiant­ly smiling.

§ The man was leaning forward in his seat, with his head resting in his hands.