Last week, to answer a question from an Iran-based English teacher, I started laying out the basis for why the full infinitive “to take” is the correct answer in this multiple-choice statement: “Peter, you have been working so hard this year. I am sure you must be tired. My suggestion for you is (
take,
to take,
taking) some time off.”
After a quick review of
full infinitives,
bare (zero) infinitives, and
gerunds—they are the so-called
verbals, or words that combine the characteristics of verb and noun—I presented four general rules for choosing between infinitives and gerunds so for particular sentence constructions. This time I’ll focus on the choice between full infinitives and bare infinitives when used as subject, object, or complement of a sentence.
There are really no hard-and-fast rules for choosing the full infinitive or the bare infinitive. While the primary determinant for the choice is the operative verb and syntax of the sentence, we’ll only find out which of the two infinitive forms works—or at least works better—by first using the full infinitive as default. When it doesn’t work, use the bare infinitive.
IMAGE CREDIT: ENGLISHSTUDYPAGE.COM (LEFT IMAGE)/PINTEREST.COM (RIGHT IMAGE)CHOOSING BETWEEN THE FULL INFINITIVE AND THE BARE OR ZERO INFINITIVE
The
full infinitive is, of course, the only choice when it’s the subject of the sentence, as in “
To give up isn’t an option at this time.” The
bare infinitive form won’t work as it reduces the full infinitive to a verb phrase: “
Give up isn’t an option at this time.” (Take note though that the
gerund form, “giving up,” works just fine for that sentence: “
Giving up isn’t an option at this time.”)
Now let’s look at particular grammatical and syntax situations when using the bare infinitive becomes a must:
1. Use a bare infinitive or bare infinitive phrase when it’s preceded by the adverbs “rather,” “better,” and “had better” or by the prepositions “except,” “but,” “save” (in the sense of “except”), and “than.” Examples: “She would
rather stay single than marry that obnoxious suitor.” “With her deceitful ways, you
had better reject her overtures to team up with you.” “They did everything
except beg.” (Faulty-sounding with the full infinitive: “She would
rather to stay single than to marry that obnoxious suitor.” “With her deceitful ways, you
had better to reject her overtures to team up with you.” “They did everything
except to beg.”)
2. The verb auxiliaries “shall,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “can,” “could,” and “must” should always be followed by a bare infinitive: “I
shall fire those scalawags.” “We
might visit next week.” “You
must investigate right away.” (Faulty with the full infinitive: “I
shall to fire those scalawags.” “We
might to visit next week.” “You
must to investigate right away.”)
3. The object complement should be a bare infinitive when the operative verb followed by an object is a perception verb such as “see,” “feel,” “hear,” or “watch”: “She
watched him do the job and
saw him do it well.” “We
heard him castigate an erring general.” (Faulty with the full infinitive: “She
watched him to do the job and
saw him to do it well.” “We
heard him to castigate an erring general.”)
4. The object complement should be a bare infinitive when the operative verb is the helping verb “make” or “let”: “She always
makes me feel loved.” (Faulty with the full infinitive: “She always
makes me to feel loved.”) However, the helping verb “help” itself can take either a full infinitive or a bare infinitive as object complement. Formal-sounding with the full infinitive: “She
helped them to mount the rebellion.” Relaxed, informal-sounding with the bare infinitive: “She
helped them mount the rebellion.”
Again, as a rule, use the full infinitive as default to see if the sentence will work properly and sound right. Otherwise, use the bare infinitive.
(Next:
Bedlam when a verb is very late in coming) July 4, 2019
This essay, 1,150th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the June 27, 2019 print edition of The Manila Times
, © 2019 by the Manila Times Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.
