UNIT 21 NON-FINITE FORMS: THE INFINITIVE AND THE –ING FORM. MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES: FORM, MAIN USES AND FUNCTIONS. OUTLINE 1.
INTRODUCTION. 1.1. Aims of the unit. 1.2. Notes on bibliography.
2.
A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE INFINITIVE AND THE -ING FORM. 2.1. Linguistic levels involved. 2.2. Phrase, sentence and clause structure. 2.2.1. The phrase structure. 2.2.2. Sentence vs. clause structure. 2.3. The clause structure: finite vs. non-finite forms. 2.4. Grammar categories involved: open vs. closed classes.
3.
MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES: FORM, MAIN USES AND FUNCTIONS. 3.1. THE INFINITIVE. 3.1.1. The infinitive: main forms. 3.1.1.1. The infinitive with ‘to’. 3.1.1.2. The infinitive without ‘to’. 3.1.2. The infinitive: main uses. 3.1.2.1. The infinitive with ‘to’ 3.1.2.2. The infinitive without ‘to’. 3.1.3. The infinitive: main functions. 3.1.3.1. The infinitive with ‘to’. 3.1.3.2. The infinitive without ‘to’. 3.2. THE –ING FORM. 3.2.1. ‘Gerund’ vs. ‘Present participle’. 3.2.2. The –ing: form. 3.2.3. The –ing: main uses. 3.2.3.1. As an adjective. 3.2.3.2. As a verb. 3.2.3.3. As a noun. 3.2.4. The –ing: main functions. 3.2.4.1. As subject. 3.2.4.2. As predicate. 3.2.4.3. 3.2.4.4. 3.2.4.5. 3.2.4.6. 3.2.4.7.
As verb complement. After prepositions. As relative clauses. As adverbial clauses. As idiomatic expressions.
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4. 5.
3.3. THE INFINITIVE VS. THE –ING FORM. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS. CONCLUSION.
6.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
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1. INTRODUCTION. 1.1. Aims of the unit. Unit 21 is primarily aimed to examine in English two of the three non-finite forms: the infinitive and the –ing form in terms of their main structural features regarding form, function and uses in order to provide a relevant and detailed account of this issue despite the fact it is not stated in the original title. Then, the study will be divided into seven chapters. Thus, Chapter 2 provides a theoretical framework for the infinitive and the –ing form by answering questions such as, first, (1) which linguistic levels are involved so as to know where these notions are to be found within linguistic studies; second, (2) what is a phrase, sentence and clause structure in terms of linguistic units or constituents of small or larger syntactic structures; (3) third, within the clause structure, which are finite vs. non-finite forms ; and finally (4) which grammar categories are involved in their description at a categorial level in clause structure: finite vs. non-finite forms. Once this key terminology is defined, the reader is prepared for the descriptive account in subsequent chapters. Once we have set up the linguistic framework, in Chapter 3 we shall offer a general introduction to these two non-finite forms with respect to their main structural features. The two forms will be analysed in terms of form, main uses and functions, namely following morphological, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic guidelines. Thus first of all, we shall examine the infinitive main forms (the full infinitive and the bare infinitive) through their uses and functions. Similarly, we do the same with the –ing form, but by introducing the issue with the distinction between ‘gerund’ and ‘present participle’ in order to examine their main uses and functions. Once both of them are stated, we move on to analyse the main differences between the infinitive and the –ing form. Chapter 4 provides an educational framework for the teaching of the infinitive and the –ing form within our current school curriculum, and Chapter 5 draws on a summary of all the points involved in this study. Finally, in Chapter 6 bibliography will be listed in alphabetical order.
1.2. Notes on bibliography. In order to offer an insightful analysis and survey on the form, function and use of the infinitive and the –ing non-finite forms in English, we shall deal with the most relevant works in the field, both old and current, and in particular, influential grammar books which have assisted for years students of English as a foreign language in their study of grammar. For instance, a theoretical framework for this type of verbs is namely drawn from the field of sentence analysis, that is, from the work of Thomson & Martinet in A Practical English Grammar (1986) and Flor Aarts and Jan Aarts (University of Nijmegen, Holland) in English Syntactic Structures (1988), whose material has been tested in the classroom and developed over a number of years; also, another essential work is that of Rodney Huddleston, English Grammar, An Outline (1988). 3/26
Other classic references which offer an account of the most important and central grammatical constructions and categories in English regarding non-finite forms, are Quirk & Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English (1973); Sánchez Benedito, Gramática Inglesa (1975); Greenbaum & Quirk, A Student’s Grammar of the English Language (1990). More current approaches to notional grammar are David Bolton and Noel Goodey, Grammar Practice in Context (1997); John Eastwood, Oxford Practice in Grammar (1999); Sidney Greenbaum, The Oxford Reference Grammar (2000); Gerald Nelson, English: An Essential Grammar (2001); Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (2002); and. Angela Downing and Philip Locke, A University Course in English Grammar (2002).
2.
A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE INFINITIVE AND THE –ING FORM.
Before examining in detail the infinitive and the –ing form in English in terms of form, main functions and uses, it is relevant to establish first a theoretical framework for these two non-finite forms in order to fully understand the following chapters since they must be described in grammatical terms. In fact, this theoretical chapter aims at answering questions such as, first, (1) which linguistic levels are involved so as to know where these notions are to be found within linguistic studies; second, (2) what functions they have in phrase, sentence and clause structure in terms of linguistic units or constituents of small or larger syntactic structures; (3) and third, which grammar categories are involved in their description at a categorial level in claus e structure: finite vs. non-finite forms. Once this key terminology is defined, the reader is prepared for the descriptive account in subsequent chapters.
2.1. Linguistic levels involved. In order to offer a linguistic description of the infinitive and –ing forms, we must confine them to particular levels of analysis so as to focus our attention on this particular aspect of language. Yet, although there is no consensus of opinion on the number of levels to be distinguished, the usual description of a language comprises four major components: phonology, grammar, lexicon, and semantics, out of which we get five major levels: phonological, morphological and syntactic, lexical, and semantic (Huddleston, 1988). These five levels will offer us a linguistic approach to the infinitive and the –ing form in terms of form and function. However, we must not forget the linguistic fields of pragmatics and sociolinguistics in order to make us understand the main uses of this type of structures in everyday 4/26
speech. For instance, the former by studying the use of signs and the relationship between signs and their users and the second, by studying the interaction of language and social organization in real communicative situations. As we shall see later, both of them are so closely related to the field of semantics when we have to set up some rules about the placing of ‘infinitive or –ing’ after certain verbs. Thus, first, the phonology describes the sound level, that is, how to pronounce the ‘to’ of the infinitive and the –ing forms (i.e. the weak form of ‘to’ in ‘You have to go’ or strong in ‘To go on holidays is fantastic’/the suffix –ing in ‘skiing’) and so on. Secondly, the morphological level (i.e. infinitive formation) and the syntactic level (i.e. where to place these two forms in a sentence). Third, the lexicon, or lexical level, deals with lists of vocabulary items which, for our purposes, are lists of verbs (i.e. infinitives and present participles). Moreover, lexis deals with the notion of verb phrase semantics regarding the choice between different types of verbal aspects (i.e. finite vs. nonfinite forms, progressive vs. nonprogressive aspect, etc), and other means such as other formal realizations of these notions (i.e. a noun phrase, a verbless clause, a finite clause, etc). Finally, another dimension between the study of linguistic form and the study of meaning is semantics, or the semantic level, to which all four of the major components are related in this study. We must not forget that a linguistic description which ignores meaning is obviously incomplete, and in particular, when dealing with these two non-finite forms. In fact, it is the field of semantics which establishes the differences between the use of infinitive and the use of the -ing present participle after certain verbs where syntactic and morphological levels do not tell the difference (i.e. Do you remember seeing this man before?= action which occurred beforehand vs. Remember to switch off the lights before you leave = action which comes afterwards ).
2.2. Phrase, sentence and clause structure. The distinction between phrase, sentence and clause structure at a functional level is relevant for our study since both the infinitive and the –ing forms will be related to them as constituents, that is, as elements or grammatical categories into which a sentence can be segmented and which actually play a role in large syntactic structures (phrases, sentences and clauses). Then, they will function first, in terms of single units of syntactic description within the structure of the phrase (noun phrase, adjective phrase, verb phrase, etc) and second, in terms of larger units as part of the structure of the sentence (subject and predicate) or embedded in the sentence structure, that is, clauses (subordinate). Following Aarts (1988), these larger structures are, apart form the morpheme and the word, “two major units of grammatical description”. But let us examine their main differences.
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2.2.1.
The phrase structure.
The phrase structure is defined as a constituent which can be identified on the basis of the word class membership of at least one of its constituent words which is called the ‘head’ of the phrase (i.e. a noun phrase is a phrase which has a noun as its most important constituent and similarly with an adjective or adverbial phrase). Note that the other elements show a relation of dependency or subordination to the head (in noun phrases we find: determiners which are divided into pre-centralpost determiners and modifiers: pre or post modifiers). However, the factors which determine which of the words of a phrase constitutes its principal part are not the same for all five phrase types. Thus, in three types, the noun, adjective and adverb phrase, the dominant element is that which can replace the whole phrase wit hout affecting the structure of the sentence (i.e. We like medieval stories = we like stories). However, a fourth type of phrase, the verb phrase, differs from the former in that the essential element, mainly taken from semantic considerations, cannot replace the whole phrase without causing serious harm to syntactic structure (i.e. John has phoned Cristine vs. John phoned Cristine). On the other hand, the fifth type of phrase, the prepositional phrase, differs from the rest in that the element that gives its name to the phrase cannot be called its head since it cannot replace the whole phrase. In addition, only one of its constituents is a preposition and therefore, its relation is not one of subordination but one of government. Yet, regarding the partic ipation of infinitive and –ing forms in phrase structures, we namely find them in (1) noun phrases as premodifiers although they are fully adjectival in character (i.e. a sweeping statement; a passing car; moving shadows; barking dogs) as well as postmodifiers (i.e. We have something to do ); and (2) in adjective phrases when the adjective is followed by an infinitive clause (i.e. a man easy to persuade; a theory too difficult to explain). Note that they appear sometimes obligatorily in certain structures, such as ‘too difficult to...’, ‘eager enough to...’, and so on. Moreover, in (3) adverb phrases (i.e. He behaved so strangely as to frighten everybody); and (4) prepositional phrases (i.e. He is very good at playing cards). Moreover, three types of non-finite clauses can occur in postmodification: infinitive clauses in noun phrases (i.e. He is the woman to talk to; Our hope to reach the semi-finals was unfounded ), adjective phrases (i.e. I am glad to be here) , -ing participle clauses (i.e. The gold was discovered by two men digging a shaft; He received a letter asking him to return to Germany) and –ed participle clauses (i.e. Soldiers found guilty of looting will be prosecuted; the techniques used by the research team are sound). As the examples show, some infinitive clauses are reduced relative or appositive clauses (i.e. We have no indication where to look; This is the hotel at which to stay tonight). –Ing participle and –ed participle clauses are reduced relative clauses as well.
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2.2.2.
Sentence vs. clause structure.
In order to clarify the difference between sentence and clause syntactic differences, we must review the hierarchy of units of linguistic description when dealing with this duality. For instance, we observe that morphemes function as constituents of words, words function as constitutents of phrases and phrases as constituents of sentences. But then, what is the difference between sentence and clause structure? Aren’t they the same? The sentence is actually identifiable on the basis of the relations holding among its immediate constituents (subject, predicate, direct/indirect object, complement, adverbial, and so on). Yet, “the sentence is placed at the other extreme of the rank scale and regarded as the largest unit of grammatical description since it does not function in the structure of a unit higher than itself” (Aarts, 1988:79). Moreover, “to treat the sentence as the highest unit implies that we do not take into account larger stretches of language such as paragraphs and texts because this is the domain of text grammar or discourse analysis”. Once we have assumed that the sentence is the largest unit of grammatical description and that it does not function in the structure of a unit higher than itself, we are ready to understand the duality sentence vs. clause by means of two further possibilities. First, when a sentence functions in the structure of another sentence of the same rank (i.e. I believe that he is quite loyal; what she says is false); and secondly, when a sentence functions in the structure of a phrase, that is in the structure of a unit lower than itself (i.e. as postmodifier: the man that came yesterday was a politician; she is afraid of what may happen here). Hence, when sentences are embedded in the structure of other sentences or in the structure of phrases we call them ‘clauses’, which usually corresponds to the notions of subordination (or embedding) and coordination. Note that clauses can have other clauses embedded in them, as in ‘That she is rich is obvious’ or ‘The problem is that they have no money left’. Up to this point, we must establish the difference between simple and complex sentences since the former are sentences in which none of the functions are realized by a clause, that is, a simple sentence is always an independent sentence which does not contain an embedded (or subordinate) sentence as realization of one of its functions (i.e. John is a bachelor vs. that John is a bachelor). On the other hand, sentences involving subordination are called complex and those involving coordination are called compound (i.e. The conclusion we came to was brilliant vs. Your conclusion is brilliant but mine is excellent). Within this context, clauses can be classified in two ways. From a structural point of view we can distinguish three types: first, finite clauses; second, non-finite clauses; and finally, verbless clauses. Once we have set up the notions of phrase, sentence and clause within a linguistic framework, we can continue with our analysis on sentence and clause structures by specifying (1) the functions that their constituents have in sentence structure by reviewing the difference between finite vs. non-
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finite forms (since it is the latter we shall deal with throughout our study), and secondly, (2) the categories to which their constituents belong (examined in the subsequent section). 2.3. The clause structure: finite vs. non-finite forms. In order to examine the clause structure at sentence level, that is, finite vs. nonfinite clauses, we must examine their main differences in terms of morphology and main syntactic functions. On the one hand, their main structural features follow morphological and syntactic guidelines. For instance, first of all, (1) in morphological terms, finite clauses contain a finite verb phrase whic h is formed by an only word capable of showing tense, mood, aspect and voice (i.e. He always tells me frightening stories about ghosts=tense: simple present; mood: third person singular indicative; aspect: simple; voice:active). If this verb is not first in a sequence of more verbs, this would be nonfinite (i.e. He is always laughing). Therefore, non-finite clauses contain a non-finite verb phrase realized by an infinitive, with or without ‘to’ (speak or to speak), an –ing participle (speaking) or an –ed participle (spoken/called ). Yet, any clause in which one of these verb forms is the first or only word (disregarding the infinitive marker ‘to’) is a non-finite form. Alike finite verb clauses, nonfinite forms do not normally occur as the verb phrase of an independent clause. For instance, ‘To dance like that deserves an award’, ‘I found him dancing like crazy’ or ‘Having been insulted before, he was more sensitive than ever’. (2) In general, regarding their main syntactic functions, which is the core of our study, their main differences are, first, that finite verb forms can occur as the verb phrase of independent clauses because they always contain a subject and predicate, except in the case of commands and ellipsis whereas non-finite forms cannot, since they may be constructed without a subject, and usually are. Note that the base form, which has no inflection, is sometimes finite (i.e. You go to school everyday) when it takes first position in predication, and sometimes nonfinite (i.e. You have gone to school twice today) when it takes second position. Thus, the four classes of non-finite verb phrase serve to distinguish four classes of non-finite clauses, for instance, (1) the bare infinitive (i.e. He may arrive tonight); (2) the to-infinitive (i.e. We want him to arrive soon); (3) the –ing participle (i.e. living ) as a nonfinite verb in (a) the progressive aspect following ‘be’ (i.e. He is living in California) and (b) in –ing participle clauses (i.e. Calling early, I found her in her office); and (4) the –ed participle (i.e. lived/driven) as a nonfinite verb in (a) the present perfect aspect following ‘have’ (i.e. He has lived in Madrid for ten years), (b) the passive voice following ‘be’ (i.e. Her sister is called Angie ) and (c) –ed participle clauses (i.e. Called early, he took a hot bath ).
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2.4. Grammar categories involved: open vs. closed classes. So far, in order to confine the non-finite forms to particular grammatical categories, we must review first the difference between open and closed classes. Traditionally, the open classes are verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs, and are said to be unrestricted since they allow the addition of new members to their membership, whereas the closed classes are the rest: prepositions, conjunctions, articles (definite and indefinite), numerals, pronouns, quantifiers and interjections, which belong to a restricted class since they do not allow the creation of new members. Then, as we can see, when taking non-finite forms to sentence level, we are namely dealing with open word classes, since we are dealing with lists of verbs in the bare infinitive and –ing participle in noun phrase structures (i.e. The driving was no good at all) and adjectival structures (i.e. That terrifying accident happened yesterday ) and in adverb phrases as modifiers. Moreover, we also find closed classes such as prepositions when dealing with prepositional phrases although non-finite forms are not the head of the phrase but part of it.
3. MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES: FORM, MAIN USES AND FUNCTIONS. With respect to the main structural features of the two non-finite forms under study, that is, the infinitive and the –ing form, both of them will be analysed in terms of form, main uses and functions, namely following morphological, phonological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic guidelines. Thus we shall examine their form regarding morphology (verbal structures) and phonology (pronunciation) whereas function will be approached in terms of syntax (verb phrase structure) and semantics (noun and verbal meanings/differences and therefore, use) in order to get an overall view of these two forms. Note that the notions of meaning and use (or semantics and pragmatics) will go hand in hand since it is the everyday usage that gives us the clue to distinguish them.
3.1. THE INFINITIVE. 3.1.1. The infinitive: main forms . As stated above, the infinitive may take two main forms: the infinitive with ‘to’ (more commonly known as the full infinitive) as in ‘He has decided to go now’ and the infinitive without ‘to’ (or bare infinitive) as in ‘He may leave tonight’. Moreover, different types of infinitives will be examined in next sections when its main uses and functions are addressed.
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3.1.1.1. The infinitive with ‘to’. First of all, the infinitive with ‘to’ or full infinitive is formed by the preposition (or sometimes called proclitic particle) ‘to’ + the base form of the verb (i.e. He decided to leave tonight). Other frequent structures are ‘so as/in order + to’. These structures are used to state the verb in assertive contexts (to be/so as to be/in order to be) whereas in non-assertive contexts the structure is ‘not’ + full infinitive (not to be/so as not to be/in order not to be), hence Hamlet’s popular statement ‘To be or not to be’. The full infinitive is usually pronounced with the weak form /t + schwa/ within the speech chain but if pronounced separately and slowly, as in short answers (i.e. Do you ski? No, but I used to) we find the strong form /tu:/. The infinitive form, as well as other grammatical elements like nouns may be classified into ‘simple infinitive’ and ‘complex infinitive’ (Sánchez Benedito, 1975). It is within the various types of full infinitive forms with ‘to’ that we find the presence of finite forms features like aspect (present or progressive) and voice (active or passive). Thus, the ‘simple infinitive’ includes ‘present infinitive’ (to write), ‘present continuous infinitive’ (to be writing), ‘present infinitive passive’ (to be written) and ‘present continuous passive’ (to be being written). On the other hand, the ‘complex infinitive’ includes all the perfect forms, for instance, ‘the perfect infinitive’ (to have written), ‘the perfect continuous infinitive’ (to have been writing), ‘the perfect infinitive passive’ (to have been written) and ‘the perfect continuous passive’ (to have been being written). In addition, the full infinitive may appear with or without a subject, where the latter is the most common one since no elements are introduced between ‘to’ and the ‘bare infinitive’ (i.e. The best thing is to tell him right now). However, despite that fact that it is not normally advisable to put any elements between ‘to’ and the verb, we often find the full infinitive with a subject in between within the structure: for + subject (usually object pronouns) + full infinitive (i.e. The best thing would be for her to tell him right now). Moreover, we find other constructions such as ‘split infinitives’ where emphatic elements (usually degree adverbs) are placed after the ‘to’ in colloquial English (i.e. It would take ages to really solve this mystery; she’s asking you to simply tell the truth ).
3.1.1.2. The infinitive without ‘to’. Alike the infinitive with ‘to’, the infinitive without ‘to’ or also known as bare infinitive (Jespersen, 1933,1970;Thomson & Martinet, 1986) and plain infinitive (Zandvoort, 1973) is namely represented by the base form of the verb. Because of its simple structure, it is often connected syntactically with certain elements in order to form a complete unit, for instance, with auxiliary verbs, both primary (be, have, do) and modals (can, could, may, etc), idiomatic expressions (had better, would rather) and certain constructions (make/let + pronoun + bare infinitive). In addition, it is relevant to mention that the bare infinitive and these structures also form a unit in phonological terms, that is, regarding accent, stress and intonation within the speech chain (i.e.
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You’d better go; she must buy it), particularly when emphasis falls on the bare infinitive for the sake of clarity or detail (i.e. I said you must read it, not write it). 3.1.2. The infinitive: main uses. As mentioned in the second chapter, the infinitive main be used in different contexts depending on its syntactic sentence structure, but it is namely us ed in certain contexts where meaning has much to say where form and function cannot tell the difference, for instance, these two sentences: ‘I like getting unexpected invitations’ and ‘I like to get unexpected invitations’. There is a subtle difference of meaning that probably a foreign student of English at the beginner’s level may not grasp at once, for instance, the former means ‘I enjoy unexpected invitations’ whereas the latter means ‘I want/wish unexpected invitations’. Therefore, let us examine the different uses that the full infinitive and the bare infinitive take in everyday speech.
3.1.2.1. The infinitive with ‘to’. The infinitive with ‘to’ is frequently found in everyday speech with nominal features rather than verbal implying different meanings in different contexts. We must bear in mind though, due to its nominal features, it will be used in the contexts of noun, adjective, and in less degree, adverb phrases. So, the infinitive with ‘to’ is namely used (Thomson & Martinet, 1986): (1) as a noun: • at the beginning of a sentence functioning as a subject (i.e. To stop smoking is almost impossible) or in exclamatory sentences (i.e. Wow! To be on holidays again!); •
as the object or part of the object of a verb in predicative position (i.e. He wants to drink a cola); • as the complement of a verb in predicative position, usually after‘be, become, seem’ (i.e. His main goal is to pass the exam); • after interrogative pronouns functioning as a subordinate noun phrase (i.e. how/where/when, etc + to know) as in ‘I know where to find her’; (2) as a modifier: • after certain nouns or indefinite pronouns (i.e. a book to read, shoes to mend; something to eat); • after certain adjectives (i.e. easy to understand, glad to see you, willing to finish). In case the verb is formed with a particle, this is placed at the end of the phrase (i.e. It was nice to look at); (3) to express: • purpose or result as predicator complement in adverbial clauses (i.e. He drove so fast to show off; to speak franklly, I don’t like him); • to express commands or instructions (i.e. No one is to leave this building);
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•
to express purpose (i.e. I’ve come to stay). In this case, it may be substituted by other frequent constructions such as ‘so as/in order + (not) to’. Note that when the infinitive does not express purpose, it is necessary the use of other elements such as ‘only’ (i.e. I came at six, only to find you gone); (4) to join two clauses (i.e. He hurried to my house only to find that it was empty); (5) to replace relative clauses (i.e. He is always the first to come); (6) after certain verbs: • as stated before, after‘be, become, seem’ (i.e. He seems to be tired • after some semi-auxiliaries (i.e. ‘be able to’, ‘be about to’, ‘be due to’, ‘be bound to’, ‘be going to’, ‘be likely to’, ‘be supposed to’ and ‘have to’); • some catenative verbs (i.e. start/finish + working/to work); • some modal idioms (i.e. ‘have got to’, and ‘be to’); •
and finally, after a set of verbs which express volition, cognition, perception, and so on. They must be followed by the full infinitive and not the gerund (i.e. afford, aim, allow, arrange, decide, expect, hope, manage, swear, tend, promise, volunteer, and so on). (7) within certain constructions such as: • too/enough + adjective/adverb + full infinitive (i.e. It is too dark to see/He is mature enough to understand the situation); • ‘verb + accusative noun/pronoun’ + full infinitive’ (i.e. I want him to come back), which are subordinated to another part of the sentence, usually a preceding verb; (8) and finally, as part of idiomatic expressions (i.e. To tell you the truth; He is said to be a criminal; to be honest, I do not agree with you);
3.1.2.2. The infinitive without ‘to’. Although the full infinitive is the most common form, the bare infinitive is also found in certain constructions in everyday speech entailing different meanings but this time with more verbal features than noun ones. Therefore, the bare infinitive is namely used (Thomson & Martinet, 1986): (1) in certain type of sentences: • subject attributive sentences where the subject is a whole sentence (i.e. What you’ve done is (to) spoil everything); • some interrogative sentences which express surprise or doubt (i.e. Help them? Never in my life; Barbar marry you? Don’t be silly!); • in interrogative sentences which begin with ‘why’ or ‘why not’ (i.e. Why wait for them?; Why not go now?); • in answers to questions (i.e. What shall we do if you don’t come on time? – Begin without me). Note that in any other case we shall use the to-infinitive as expressing purpose (i.e. Why did you come so early? – To watch the match).
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(2) after certain verbs: • after auxiliary modal verbs (i.e. can, could, may, might, will, shall, should, ought to1 , must) and semi-auxiliaries (i.e. have to); • with verbs of perception such as ‘hear’, ‘see’, ‘watch’, ‘feel’ and so on (i.e. I saw him enter) when the action is done and completed (in opposition to ‘I saw him walking’ where the action was taking place). However, note that in the passive voice these verbs are used with ‘to-infinitive’ constructions (i.e. He was seen to enter); • the modal idioms (had better/would rather); and modal auxiliary marginal verbs (i.e. can/need/dare/could/might/may/etc). However, note that in the passive, they take the toinfinitive (i.e. He was dared to fight); • with some other verbs and expressions that take the bare infinitive, for instance, verb + noun/pronoun + bare infinitive (i.e. make/let); •
and with the verb ‘help’ (i.e. I helped him cut the grass) although sometimes it takes the toinfinitive (i.e. He helped me to do my homework);
3.1.3. The infinitive: main functions. As mentioned in the second chapter, the infinitive main functions are closely related to the functions of clauses since non-finite forms may only be embedded in the syntactic structure of the sentence by means of clauses. We must bear in mind that the functions of subject and predicate are two obligatory parts of the sentence, where both the to-infinitive and the bare infinitive may work (i.e. To smoke [subject] can kill [predicate]). Then, both the infinitive with ‘to’ or without ‘to’ will depend heavily on the type of clause they represent syntactically and also, to the main uses they express from a semantic point of view. Clauses, then, are classified in terms of the functions they can play in the structure of the sentence where we can namely distinguish the following types: subject clauses, direct object clauses, indirect object clauses , benefactive object clauses, subject attribute clauses, object attribute clauses, predicator complement clauses and adverbial clauses (Aarts, 1988). With respect to the functions that infinitive forms may carry out, Aarts (1988) states that “with the exception of the indirect object and the benefactive object (a type of indirect object), sentence functions can be realized by both finite and non-finite clauses” in which the infinitive forms are included. So let us examine the main functions that both the full infinitive and the bare infinitive can take: (1) the infinitive as subject, (2) the infinitive as direct object, (3) the infinitive as a verb complement, (4) the infinitive after verb + object, (5) the infinitive with subject, (6) the split infinitive, (7) the infinitive as a connective link and (8) the infinitive as an adverbial clause.
1
It must be borne in mind that the forms ‘have to’ and ‘ought to’ are full forms where the ‘to’ particle is part of the verb and it is not considered as a part of the full infinitive.
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3.1.3.1. The infinitive as subject. The infinitive or the infinitive phrase may take the function of subject of a clause when (1) it is placed at the beginning of a sentence with the verbs ‘appear, be, seem’ (i.e. To have breakfast in bed is nice); (2) or when it is at the end of the sentence as an attributive subject (i.e. To know her is to love her). We must bear in mind that the infinitive forms have nominal character so they may function as nouns (To behave like this would be madness). Note that the –ing participle may be also used as the subject of a sentence when the action is being considered in a general sense (i.e. Saving money seems impossible). (3) We use the ‘it’ construction because it is more usual to place the pronoun ‘it’ first. Then the infinitive is moved to the end of the sentence (i.e. It was easy to do it). Usually infinitive constructions of this type consist of ‘it + be + adjective + infinitive’ (i.e. It would be a crime not to buy it). (4) It is preceded by verbs of cognition, such as ‘believe, consider, discover, expect, find, think and wonder (if)’ (i.e. He thought it would be a crime not to tell him). Moreover, note its use with interrogatives (i.e. Would it be safe to camp here?). (5) Within this construction the verbs ‘cost’ and ‘take’ are also used (i.e. It takes half an hour to get to the castle). (6) Finally, the perfect infinitive can also be used as the subject of a sentence (i.e. To have told me a lie is unforgettable) and similarly we may use ‘it’ first (i.e. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all). 3.1.3.2. The infinitive as direct object. The infinitive or the infinitive phrase may take the function of direct object of a clause when (1) it is placed after certain verbs, such as “agree, aim, appear, arrange, ask, attempt, bother, care (negative), choose, claim, condescend, consent, decide, decline, demand, determine, fail, forget, happen, hesitate, hope, learn, long, manage, neglect, offer, plan, prepare, proceed, refuse, remember, resolve, swear, threaten, try, and vow” among others (Thomson & Martinet, 1986); for instance, ‘He determined/decided/learnt + to leave the city). (2) Other verbs or expressions can also be used with a ‘that-clause’ (i.e. I promise to tell you = I promise that I will tell you) and some of them require an introductory ‘it’ (i.e. It occurred/happened/appeared/seemed/turn out to me that he was concealing something). (3) However, sometimes a verb + full infinitive does not have the same meaning as the same verb used with a that-clause, for instance, the verbs ‘learn, forget and remember’ (i.e. He learnt to swim vs. He learnt (was told) that it would be difficult to swim). This construction is also possible in the continuous infinitive with the verbs “agree, arrange, decide, determine, hope, manage, plan and the
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auxiliary verbs” (i.e. He decided to be following them). The perfect infinitive is also possible (i.e. He would have liked to see it). (4) It is within this function as direct object that we find the structure ‘verb + how/what/when/where/which/why + full infinitive’. In it the most frequently used verbs are “ask, decide, discover, find out, forget, know, learn, remember, see, show, think, understand, want to know and wonder” among others (i.e. I don’t know what to do; I showed her how to do it). Also, ‘whether + full infinitive’ is also used (i.e. I wonder whether to write or phone).
3.1.3.3. The infinitive as a verb complement. The infinitive may also function as a verb complement and, in particular, after certain verbs or expressions. For instance: (1) the bare infinitive after the auxiliary verbs “be, can, dare, do, have, may, must, need, ought, shall, will, used” (i.e. He need leave the city now); (2) the full infinitive after verbs expressing ‘likes and dislikes’ (i.e. care, hate, like, love and prefer) although they can be also function with the gerund form; (3) after verbs of knowing and thinking, such as ‘assume, believe, consider, feel, know, suppose, understand, think, estimate and presume) as in ‘I consider him to be the best candidate’; (4) after certain phrases that can also be followed by an infinitive, such as “be about, be able + afford, do one’s best, do what one can, make an effort, make up one’s mind, set out, and turn out” among others (i.e. We can’t afford to live in the centre; she is just about to leave).
3.1.3.4. The infinitive after verb + object. The infinitive may function as a direct object or as an infinitive with accusative, thas is, within the structure verb + object + infinitive (with or without ‘to’), whose translation corresponds to ‘que + subjunctive’ in Spanish (i.e. I would like him to sing in public). We shall sum up the main cases referring to the infinitive with ‘to’ and also to the bare infinitive. (1) We find the full infinitive (and also the bare infinitive) after: (a) verbs of knowing and thinking (mentioned above): ‘advise, allow, command, consider, enable, encourage, implere, invite, judge, know, let, make, oblige, order, persuade, remind, show, tell how, train, urge, warn and watch’ among others (i.e. He allowed his son to go out late); and in particular whe n the passive voice is used (i.e. He is thought/invited/commanded to go). Note that the infinitive with accusative is particularly found when the verb complement is the verb ‘to be’(i.e. He is thought to be older); (b) after verbs expressing volition, such as ‘want, request, force, cause (i.e. I wanted him to tell me the truth); (c) after verbs of command or request in indirect speech (i.e. order, tell, request, ask) as in ‘I told/ordered/asked him to stay’; 15/ 26
(d) ) after verbs of perception, we may find the full or the bare infinitive (and sometimes the gerund). For instance, with the verbs ‘feel, hear, see and watch’ we usually find the bare infinitive in active forms (i.e. I heard him lock the door) and the full infinitive in the passive form (i.e. He was seen to enter the office). Note that these verbs are frequently used with present participles (i.e. He was seen entering the office) when they describe a progressive action; (2) after certain structures, such as: (a) with the verbs ‘let’ and ‘make’ + object. In the active they take the bare infinitive (i.e. He made him cry) whereas in the passive they take the full infinitive (i.e. He was made to cry); (b) would rather/sooner, rather/sooner than (i.e. I’d rather wait until tomorrow); (c) had better (i.e. You had better finish at once), (d) help (i.e. He help you (to) carry those heavy bags).
3.1.3.5. The infinitive with subject. As stated before, the full infinitive may appear with or without a subject, where the latter is the most common one since no elements are introduced between ‘to’ and the ‘bare infinitive’ (i.e. The best thing is to tell him right now). However, we often find the full infinitive with a subject in between within the structure: for + subject (usually object pronouns) + full infinitive (i.e. The best thing would be for her to tell him right now).
3.1.3.6. The split infinitive. Moreover, we find other constructions such as ‘split infinitives’ where emphatic elements (usually degree adverbs) are placed after the ‘to’ in colloquial English (i.e. It would take ages to really solve this mystery; she’s asking you to simply tell the truth ). This type of infinitive stands for conventional sentences such as ‘to cover the floor completely’ vs. ‘to completely cover the floor’.
3.1.3.7. The infinitive as a connective link. The infinitive may also function as a connective link after the adverb ‘only’ to express a disappointing sequel (i.e. He hurried to the shop only to find it was closed). However, we may omit the adverb ‘only’ without the idea of misfortune (i.e. He returned home to find Sally had bought what he needed) but this use is mainly confined to such verbs as ‘find, hear, learn, see, be told’ among others.
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3.1.3.8. The infinitive as an adverbial clause. The infinitive as an adverbial clause refers to certain infinitive phrases that can be placed at the beginning or sometimes at the end of a sentence. These idiomatic expressions work as introductory sentences with are similar to introductory sentence adverbs, for instance, ‘To be perfectly frank; to be honest; to be fair; to cut a long story short; to tell you the truth; among others’.
3.2. THE –ING FORM. In this section we shall examine the –ing form, together with their main uses and functions. But before we shall address an important distinction which will be present in our study of the –ing form regarding its structure, uses and functions, that is, the distinction between the definitions of ‘gerund’ and ‘present participle ’.
3.2.1. ‘Gerund’ vs. ‘Present participle’. Following Sánchez Benedito (1975), we must distinguish between the –ing form as ‘gerund’ and ‘present participle’ mainly because the verbal form ‘-ing’ has two main different functions: (1) as a verbal adjective or participle, hence the definition ‘present partic iple’, which implies adjectival and verbal features. This form corresponds in Spanish to a gerund (She is working) or an adjective (a smiling boy). Secondly, (2) the – ing form may be realized as a verbal noun, hence the definition ‘gerund’, which implies noun and verbal features. Note that in Spanish the gerund refers to an infinitive (I like playing tennis) or to a noun (The reading of the play will take place tonight). We shall not include here the nouns which end in – ing already, such as ‘ceiling, stocking, and so on’ which have nothing to do with the –ing participle. Therefore, depending on their adjective or noun features, we will be dealing with ‘present participles’ or ‘gerunds’. Yet, we shall translate them into Spanish: (1) as a gerund (i.e. they are reading); (2) as adjectives which indicate actions (i.e. the crying girl=the girl that is crying); (3) as an infinitive (i.e. before going to bed); (4) as a noun (i.e. Fishing is my favourite sport); (5) as a whole sentence (i.e. I didn’t like him saying that); and (6) to form compound nou ns (i.e. a washingmachine). Therefore, we are ready now to analyse separately the main forms, uses and functions of the –ing forms as present participle and gerund.
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3.2.2. The –ing: form. Alike the infinitive, there is only one way to construct the –ing form, that is, the base form of the verb + -ing. In order to add the suffix –ing to the base form, we must pay attention to certain spelling rules, such as the omission of final –e when adding -ing (i.e. come vs. coming); the addition of a double final consonant (i.e. sit vs. sitting); and the addition of –ing to final –y (i.e. study vs. studying). Regarding word formation, the –ing form will show different features depending on its adjectival, verbal or noun features. Thus, when considered as an adjective (present particicple), it has both adjectival and verbal features, and it is shown in active and passive forms. Thus, in the active, we find present (doing) and perfect forms (having done); in the passive, we find again present (being done) and perfect forms, usually to refer to past tenses (having been done). However, it will be when used as a noun that we shall find more changes in the way it is formed since it will undergo the same word-formation rules as for nouns (plural, genit ive, addition of articles, etc) as we shall see in the next section under the heading of the –ing main uses.
3.2.3. The –ing: main uses. The main uses of the –ing form depend heavily on its adjectival, verbal or noun features and therefore, the –ing form can be used in different contexts as adjectives, verbs and nouns do. Yet, the –ing form may be used: 3.2.3.1. As an adjective. As an adjective (present particicple), which has both adjectival and verbal features, it is used in attributive and predicative position. Thus, first, in attributive position (a burning candle) it functions as an adjective, so we find no addition of plural markers or articles to define it. Note that the present participle in adjectival function must be accented together with the noun it is defining (a ‘burning ‘candle) as it is done in the formation of compound nouns; secondly, in predicative position (The girl is playing with her friends) it functions as part of a verb in order to show the progressive aspect. Note that this –ing form is equivalent to the Spanish gerund (i.e. jugando).
3.2.3.2. As a verb. When the –ing form has verbal features (present participle), the –ing form enjoys the status of a verb and may take, first, a direct object (i.e. He likes drinking wine) and second, it may be modified by an adverb (i.e. He likes eating slowly). Moreover, it may even take its own subject when the subject of the –ing form and the subject of the sentence are the same (i.e. The last bus having gone, 18/ 26
we had to wait for a taxi). In addition, it may function as an adverbial subordinate sentence (i.e. Being the only man at the party, he had a great success with women) or predicator complement after prepositions (i.e. After visiting me, he went home).
3.2.3.3. As a noun. And finally, since the –ing form or gerund may function as a verb or a noun, we find on the one hand, noun formation features such as plural formation, addition of articles, genitive construction and so on. Thus, it may add a plural (i.e. His talkin gs are so boring); an article (i.e. Your travelling was successful); a genitive (i.e. I can’t stand my mother’s complainings); the addition of prepositions (i.e. The sinking of the ‘Titanic’); noun compound (i.e. washing-up liquid) or coordination with other nouns (i.e. Diet or jogging is what she has to do); and finally, the functions a noun can take: subject (i.e. Smoking is bad for your health); object (i.e. She loves horse-riding); predicator complement (i.e. This is working hard), or prepositional complement (i.e. He usually gives me a surprise by preparing dinner with candles).
3.2.4. The –ing: main functions. The main functions, as stated above, of the –ing form depend heavily on its adjectival, verbal or noun features as seen above, and therefore, the –ing form can function in different contexts as adjectives, verbs and nouns do. Yet, the –ing form may function in the following cases: (1) as subject of a sentence (i.e. Dancing is really funny); (2) as the predicate of a sentence (i.e. Seeing is believing); (3) as complement or direct object of certain verbs (i.e. His hobby is fishing; He loves dancing); (4) after prepositions when used as a verb complement (i.e. He was interested in painting); (5) as relative clauses (i.e. The children playing in the garden did not hear her mum); ( 6) as an adverbial subordinate clause (i.e. Seeing that he was upset, they apologized for being late); (7) as idiomatic expressions.
3.2.4.1. As subject. As stated before, the gerund may function as the subject of a sentence (when used as a noun) when an action is being considered in a general sense (i.e. Reading German is easier than speaking it) whereas the to-infinitive is used when referring to a specific time (i.e. I would like to read German rather than speaking it). Note the difference between the two sentences where the former means ‘always’ or ‘in general’ and the latter means ‘now’ or ‘at a specific time’. The gerund, then, can be the subject of a clause placed after certain verbs of knowing and thinking (cognition) such as ‘believe, consider, discover, expect, find, think, and so on (i.e. He thought that parking in the city was so difficult). In addition, the gerund is used in short prohibitions, such as 19/ 26
‘No smoking’, ‘No parking’, ‘No swimming’, and so on, although these cannot be followed by an object since prohibitions involve an object which is often expressed by the imperative form (i.e. Do not smoke cigarettes here).
3.2.4.2. As predicate. The gerund may also function as the predicate of a sentence, as in ‘Seeing is believing’. This function is usually related to the verbs ‘be, seem, become’.
3.2.4.3. As a verb complement. The gerund may also function as a verb complement or direct object, as in ‘I hate fishing’. This function is usually related to certain transitive verbs, such as ‘admit, anticipate, avoid, consider, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, excuse, fancy, keep, mean, mind, miss, postpone, recollect, resist, save, suggest, and understand’ among others. It is also related to certain verbs making reference to ‘likes, dislikes’, such as ‘care, like, love, hate, detest and wish’ (i.e. They like/detest dancing); ‘preference’ (i.e. I prefer running to jogging); ‘volition’ when we are not thinking of a particular action but are considering the subject’s tastes generally (i.e. She would like riding if she could ride better); and ‘continuity’ shown by verbs such as ‘start, go on, continue, keep on, finish, end’ (i.e. He kept on talking all night long). There is a specific construction with this type of verbs, which can take the previous construction or that of verb + a possessive adjective or pronoun + gerund. ‘If a verb or verb + preposition is followed directly by the gerund, the gerund refers then to the subject of the verb (i.e. Tom insisted on working=Tom worked). But if we put a possessive adjective or pronoun before the gerund, the gerund refers to the person denoted by the possessive adjective or pronoun’ (i.e. He insisted on my/me working=I had to work) (Thomson & Martinet, 1986).
3.2.4.4. After prepositions. When a preposition is followed by a verb, the –ing form must be used, except for the preposition ‘to’. ‘To’ can cause confusion as it can be either a part of an infinitive or a preposition. Thus, after the auxiliary verbs ‘be, have, ought, used’ and after ‘be going’, it is part of the following verb and is only added to remind us that the preceding verb takes the infinitive. Also, ‘to’ is often placed after certain verbs which are usually followed by gerund, for instance ‘hate, hope, intend, love, mean, plan, etc’ and some others, but then they have different meanings (i.e. I love dancing vs. I love to dance).
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However, ‘to’ may not always indicate a to-infinitive. For instance, it is used in certain expressions, such as ‘look forward to, take to, be accostumed to, get used to, be used to, in addition to, devoted to + gerund’ (i.e. I am looking forward to seeing you). Following Thomson & Martinet (1986), ‘a good way of finding out whether a ‘to’ is a preposition or a part of an infinitive is to see if it is possible to put a noun/pronoun after it. For instance, ‘I am used to listening to the radio/it every morning = preposition). In addition, there is a number of verb + preposition or adverb combinations, more commonly known as phrasal verbs which take the gerund. The most common are ‘be for/against, care for, give up, go on, keep on, leave off, look forward to, put off, see about, take to, and so on’ (i.e. He kept on saying the same thing; he took to ringing us at midnight).
3.2.4.5. As relative clauses. Given the adjectival character of the –ing form, it may also function as a relative sentence by substituting the relative pronouns which, who, that. For instance, ‘The man who is coming towards us is my uncle’ may be realized by the sentence ‘The man coming towards us is my uncle’.
3.2.4.7. As adverbial clauses. The –ing form may also function as an adverbial clause in absolute construction. Note that this construction is considered to be informal or little literary and therefore, in colloquial English it is usual to introduce the subordinate clause by a conjunction, for instance, ‘Being the best candidate, he won the elections’ vs. ‘As he was the best candidate, he won the elections’.
3.2.4.8. As idiomatic expressions. In colloquial English we usually find the –ing form functioning in everyday usage in constructions such as ‘it is no good/use, there’s no point in, what’s the point of, feel like, cannot stand, cannot help, it’s worth, to be fond of, what/how about...? + gerund among many others. In addition, we find some idiomatic expressions, such as ‘Generally speaking, I think it is a mistake’, ‘Considering the circumstances, ...’, ‘Bearing in mind the reports, ...’, etc.
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3.3. THE INFINITIVE VS. THE –ING FORM. As mentioned in the second chapter, the infinitive and the –ing form may be used in different contexts depending on their syntactic sentence structure, but they are namely used indistinctively in certain contexts where form and function cannot tell the difference, and therefore we can only rely on meaning. For instance, these two sentences: ‘I like getting unexpected invitations’ and ‘I like to get unexpected invitations’. There is a subtle difference of meaning that probably a foreign student of English at the beginner’s level may not grasp at once, for instance, the former means ‘I enjoy unexpected invitations’ whereas the latter means ‘I want/wish unexpected invitations’. We shall distinguish two types of verbs when both forms are used indistinctively, first, those which do not have any changes in meaning; and second, those which undergo semantic changes. Therefore, let us examine the different uses that the full infinitive and the bare infinitive take in everyday speech. First of all, there is a group of verbs which do not change in meaning when they are followed by a full infinitive or a gerund. This group of verbs includes verbs of ‘start, continuity and end’ (i.e. start, begin, continue, keep on, go on, finish, end’ (i.e. I started to play/playing chess). However, one of these verbs, ‘stop’ will undergo relevant changes which will be examined next. In addition, verbs indicating ‘likes and dislikes’ may also take the full infinitive or gerund with slight differences of meaning. Secondly, we find a reduced group of ve rbs which undergo relevant changes in meaning. For instance, ‘remember and forget; regret and dread; like, love, hate and prefer; try; mean; need and want; go on; and stop’. Thus, (1) remember and forget take the gerund when they refer to an action which occurred beforehand (i.e. Do you remember taking this bus?/I’ll never forget arriving in Rome) whereas they take an infinitive when they refer to an action which comes afterwards (i.e. Remember to take the car keys/I’m afraid you will forget to take the car keys). (2) Verbs ‘regret’ and ‘dread’ take the gerund when they refer to the past or likely future (i.e. Do you regret not having studied?/I’m dreading going to the dentist). However, ‘dread’ takes the infinitive ‘to think’ and ‘regret’ takes the infinit ives ‘to say’, ‘to tell’ and ‘to inform’ to talk about the future (i.e. I dread to think what might have happened if you’d stopped insulting me/I regret to tell you that you are not pregnant). (3) Verbs ‘like, love, hate and prefer’ may take either a gerund or an infinitive when they mean ‘enjoy’ or ‘take pleasure in’ (i.e. I simply love cooking/Do you prefer typing or writing by hand?) but in negative sentences they usually take the gerund (i.e. I don’t like cooking). Yet, when they mean ‘want’ or ‘wish’, they take the infinitive (i.e. Would you like to have a tea?) and when ‘prefer’ is used in a comparison, the gerund is always used (i.e. He prefers skating to snowboarding).
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(4) When the verb ‘try’ takes the gerund (i.e. Try climbing that wall. Maybe you can see the old house from up there), the meaning is ‘experiment’ meaning that you’ll have no difficulty in climbing the wall but the action may or may not be successful in enabling you to jump. However, when the infinitive is used, the meaning is ‘attempt’, where you may be or not be successful in climbing the wall (i.e. Try to climb that wall). (5) When the verb ‘mean’ is used with the gerund (i.e. The job means moving to another area), the verb means ‘involve’ but when it is used with the infinitive (i.e. We are meant to be together), it means ‘intend’. (6) Verbs ‘need and want’ mean ‘be in need of’ when used with the gerund (i.e. The hedge needs trimming) whereas with the infinitive ‘need’ means ‘have a need’ (i.e. We’ll need to take a bus tomorrow) while ‘want’ means ‘should/ought to’ or ‘wish’ (i.e. You want to ask John. He’s the expert). (7) The verb ‘go on’ means ‘continue an action’ with the gerund (i.e. He went on describing his house) whereas it means ‘introduce a new action’ with the infinitive (i.e. After describing his mansion, he went on to describe his castle). (8) And finally, the verb ‘stop’ means ‘cease’ with a gerund (i.e. He stopped smoking) whereas it means ‘to interrupt one action in order to perform another’ with the infinitive (i.e He stopped to smoke).
4. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS. The relevant difference between the two non-finite forms dealt with in this study are so important to the learning of a foreign language since differences between the vocabulary related to non-finite forms of the learner's native language (L1) and that of the foreign language (L2) may lead to several problems, such as the incorrect use of each of them, especially because of the syntactic, morphological, pragmatic and semantic processes implied in these categories. This study has looked at the structure of the infinite and the – ing form in terms of form, main uses and functions, that is, regarding morphological and phonological forms, and syntactic, semantic and pragmatic functions, all those related by the relevance of usage in everyday speech. This study is mainly intended for teachers to help Spanish-speaking students establish a relative similarity between the two languages that would find it useful for communicating in the European framework we are living in nowadays. According to Thomson & Martinet (1986), a European student may find especially troublesome the use of the infinitive and the –ing form , and particularly when there are subtle difference between 23/ 26
their uses. Then, when communicating in English he has to know first the specific constructions in which both forms are embedded (i.e. I am looking forward to + gerund) and, second, which nonfinite form to use when certain situations are given depending on the context (i.e. He stopped crying/to cry: ‘cease’ or ‘interrupt’?) and on top of that, learn long lists of verbs related to each type of non-finite form (i.e. He likes/avoid/prefer playing chess). This choice becomes problematic for our Spanish students when they deal with the two non-finite forms and their semantic offer. For instance, the most common mistakes for Spanish students, both at ESO and Bachillerato level, is to write incorrectly the infinitive of purpose (i.e. He came home yesterday to have dinner); to learn that prepositions are followed by the –ing form (i.e. He insisted on having dinner) or sometimes by omitting certain elements (i.e. She is used to singing in contests). Often, they make serious grammatical mistakes. It has been suggested that a methodology grounded in part in the application of explicit linguistic knowledge enhances the second language learning process. In the Spanish curriculum (B.O.E. 2002), the use of non-finite forms is envisaged from earlier stages of ESO in the use of verbs regarding ‘likes and dislikes’ (like, love, hate, prefer) to talk about their everyday life and, usually in the context of ‘hobbies’, up to higher stages of Bachillerato, towards more complex verbal forms, such as verbs followed by infinitive or gerund, or certain constructions (i.e. It’s worth studying all night/I am looking forward to seeing you) , past habits (i.e. He was/got used to + gerund) and above all, idiomatic expressions in certain modal idioms (i.e. Generally speaking, .../Seeing is believing, etc). So, the importance of how to handle non-finite forms cannot be understated since you can communicate but not successfully because of the relevant distinction of meaning between the use of both, especially when we may use indistinctively infinite or –ing forms. We must not for get that Spanish students are likely to write the infinitive of purpose incorrectly (i.e. He came for to talk to me) or not to write the –ing form after prepositions (i.e. He is interested in dance), and so on. Current communicative methods foster the ‘teaching’ of this kind of specific linguistic information to help students recognize the main differences with the L2 words. Learners cannot do it all on their own. Language learners, even 2nd year Bachillerato students, do not automatically recognize similiarities which seem obvious to teachers; learners need to have these associations brought to their attention. So far, we have attempted in this discussion to provide a broad account of the infinitive and the –ing form by means of form, main functions and uses within verb phrase morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics and usage in order to set it up within the linguistic theory, going through the localization of non-finite forms in syntactic structures, to a broad presentation of the main grammatical categories involved in it. We hope students are able to understand the relevance of handling correctly the expression of both forms to successfully communicate in everyday life.
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5. CONCLUSION.
All in all, although the question ‘What is an infinitive or gerund?’ may appear simple and straightforward, it implies a broad description of non-finite forms in terms of form, function and use so as to get to the paradigms of morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics and use which, combined, give way to the study we have presented here. The appropriate answer suitable for students and teachers, may be so simple if we are dealing with ESO students, using simple structures (hobbies: gerunds) or so complex if we are dealing with Bachillerato students, who must be able to handle more complex verb structures (to be used to + gerund). So far, in this study we have attempted to take a fairly broad view of non-finite forms since we are also assuming that there is an intrinsic connexion between its learning and successful communication. Yet, we have provided a descriptive account of Unit 21 dealing with The infinitive and the –ing form whose main aim was to introduce the student to the different paradigms that shape the whole set of verbal forms in English regarding their form, main uses and functions. In fact, the correct expression of these two non-finite forms is currently considered to be a central element in communicative competence and in the acquisition of a second language since students must be able to use and distinguish these forms in their everyday life to avoid embarrassing situations. As stated before, the teaching of them comprises four major components in our educational curriculum: phonology, grammar, lexicon, and semantics, out of which we get five major levels: phonological, morphological and syntactic, lexical, and semantic. Therefore, it is a fact that students must be able to handle the four levels in communicative competence in order to be effectively and highly communicative in the classroom and in real life situations, now we are part of the European Union. The expression of the se verbal paradigms in form, use and function, proves highly frequent in our everyday speech, and consequently, we must encourage our students to have a good managing of it.
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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY. - Aarts, F., and J. Aarts. 1988. English Syntactic Structures. Functions & Categories in Sentence Analysis. Prentice Hall Europe. - B.O.E. RD Nº 112/2002, de 13 de septiembre por el que se establece el currículo de la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria/Bachillerato en la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia. - Bolton, D. And N. Goodey. 1997. Grammar Practice in Context. Richmond Publishing. - Council of Europe (1998) Modern Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. A Common European Framework of reference. - Eastwood, J. 1999. Oxford Practice in Grammar. Oxford University Press. - Greenbaum, S. and R. Quirk. 1990. A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. Longman Group UK Limited. - Greenbaum, S. 2000. The Oxford Reference Grammar. Edited by Edmund Weiner. Oxford University Press. - Huddleston, R. 1988. English Grammar, An Outline. Cambridge University Press. - Huddleston, R. and G.K. Pullum. 2002. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge University Press. - Nelson, G. 2001. English: An Essential Grammar. London. Routledge. - Quirk, R & S. Greenbaum. 1973. A University Grammar of English. Longman. - Sánchez Benedito, F. 1975. Gramática Inglesa. Editorial Alhambra. - Thomson, A.J. and A.V. Martinet. 1986. A Practical English Grammar. Oxford University Press.
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