Grammatical interpretation of non-predicate verbs
Verbs have three non-predicate forms: infinitive, gerund and participle.
infinitive
The infinitive consists of "to ten verb prototype" and its negative form is "not to do". An infinitive can take an object or an adverbial to form an infinitive phrase, without changing the person and number, but changing the tense and voice. The infinitive can be used as subject, object, adverbial, predicative and attributive, but it cannot be used as predicate alone. The logical subject of infinitives sometimes consists of "for ten nouns or pronouns".
1. Usage of infinitive:
L) as the subject. When the infinitive phrase is used as the subject, it is often placed after the predicate as the formal subject. For example:
I'll believe that when I see it.
It is right to give up smoking.
2) as an object. When an infinitive phrase is used as an object, if there is an object complement. The infinitive object is often put after the object complement and used as the formal object. For example:
He wants to go.
I find it interesting to study and work with him.
3) as an object complement. For example:
He asked me to do the work with him.
Note: In the complement after the words "feeling, hearing, listening, watching, noticing, observing, seeing, watching, owning, making". The infinitive is not used. However, if these sentences become passive structures, they must be adopted. For example,
I often hear him sing this song.
People often hear him sing this song.
Note: when the infinitive verb comes after the preposition but, except and ideas, if there are various forms of action verbs do before these prepositions, then the infinitive after these prepositions does not take to, otherwise it takes to. For example:
She can do nothing but cry.
What do you like to do besides swimming?
I have no choice but to go.
4) As an attribute. For example:
I have some books to show you.
Note (1) If the infinitive used as the attributive is an intransitive verb, or the noun or pronoun modified by the infinitive is the place and tool of the infinitive action, then the infinitive must be followed by a corresponding preposition. For example:
He is looking for a room to live in.
There is nothing to worry about.
Please give me a knife to cut things.
But if the noun modified by the infinitive is time, place or way, the preposition after the infinitive is customarily omitted. For example:
He has no money and no place to live.
Note (2) When the noun or pronoun modified by the infinitive is the receiver of the infinitive action, the infinitive can be used in both the active voice and the passive voice, but its meaning is different. Try to compare:
Do you have anything to send? Do you have anything to send?
(You are the actor who will post the infinitive)
Do you have anything to send? Do you have anything to send (to me or others)?
(Is the actor in the infinitive to be posted me or someone else who has been omitted?)
5) as an adverbial, indicating the purpose, reason, result or condition. For example:
I'm here to see you .. (purpose)
We are very excited to hear the news.
He hurried to the school and found no one there. (result)
Look at him, you will like him .. (condition)
The adverbial of purpose can also mean for or for. For example:
He worked very hard to pass the exam.
We ran all the way so as not to be late.
After adjectives are used as predicative, infinitives can also be used as adverbials. For example:
I'm glad to hear the news.
This question is difficult to answer.
"Too ten adjectives or adverbs too ten infinitive" as adverbial. For example:
He is too old to do that.
In addition, infinitives are often used as adverbials when there is the word enough in a sentence. For example:
This room is big enough to accommodate us.
6) as a predicative. For example:
My job is to help patients.
7) As an independent component. For example:
To be honest, I don't agree with you.
8) infinitives are used with interrogative words who, which, when, where, how, what, etc. You can be a noun, a subject, a predicate and an object in a sentence. For example:
He doesn't know what to say. (object)
How to solve the problem is very important. (theme)
My question is when to start. (predicative)
Note: when used with why, it is only used in short questions that begin with why or why not, and the infinitive after it is unnecessary. For example:
Why not have a rest?
9) Whether the infinitive is active or passive in the sentence. It's easy to distinguish in most cases, but sometimes it's really complicated. Please note the following points:
A) When nouns or pronouns modified by infinitives and infinitives form a logical subject-predicate relationship, infinitives often take the active form.
Do you have a key to open the door?
A key opens the door. )
B) When an infinitive forms a logical verb-object relationship with a noun or pronoun modified earlier and a logical subject-predicate relationship with the subject of a sentence, the infinitive usually takes the active form.
I have a letter to write. I write letters. )
He needs a room to live. He lives in a room. )
I know what to do. (What do I do ..) But if this sentence is changed to the following form, the infinitive can only be passive:
I know what to do.
This is because what you want to do is an object clause, and the subject in the clause is the action object of the verb do.
C) infinitives are adverbials of predicative adjectives. When they form a logical verb-object relationship with the subject in the sentence, infinitives often use active forms, because people often think that adjectives are left out for one person or several people ... For example:
It's difficult to talk to him. (talk to him. )
This book is difficult to understand. To understand this book. )
But if you emphasize the patient in the sentence, you can also use the infinitive passive, for example:
This handwriting is hard to read.
This box is too heavy to lift.
D) In the "ten yes" structure, when the speaker thinks that someone must finish something, the infinitive is active, and if the speaker emphasizes that the thing itself must be finished, it is passive.
There is a lot of work to be done. Someone has to do the work. )
There is a lot of work to be done. The work has to be done. )
Please note that the following two sentences have different meanings:
There is nothing to do. It means having nothing to do and feeling bored.
There is nothing to do. It means that something is broken and can't be returned to normal.
2. Tense of infinitive
L) The action represented by the general form of infinitive usually occurs at the same time (or almost at the same time) as the action (state) of the predicate, or after it. For example:
I saw him go out.
2) If the action (situation) indicated by the predicate has occurred and the action indicated by the infinitive is in progress, then the infinitive will use the progressive type. For example:
I am very happy to work with you.
3) If the infinitive action occurs before the predicate verb, use the perfect form. For example:
I am sorry to have kept you waiting.
3. The voice of infinitive
When the logical subject of the infinitive is the receiver of the action represented by the infinitive, the infinitive usually uses the passive form. For example:
He asked to be sent to work in the countryside.
Our hopes may come true.
gerund
1. Gerund consists of verb +ing; Having the nature of verbs and nouns; As a noun in a sentence, it can be used as subject, object, predicative and attributive.
1) as the subject. For example:
I'll believe that when I see it.
Laying eggs is the queen's full-time job.
It's no use arguing with him.
Note: both gerund and infinitive can be used as subjects. Gerund as the subject indicates general or abstract repetitive behavior, and infinitive as the subject often indicates specific or one-off behavior. For example:
It is dangerous to play with fire. ..
It is dangerous to play with fire.
But gerund must be used after useless/good, useless/good, useless, etc.
2) As a predicative. For example:
Her job is teaching.
3) as an object. For example:
He likes playing football.
I like swimming.
Note 1 Acknowledge, praise, avoid, consider, delay, dislike, enjoy, escape, excuse, face and feel. Verbs such as like, finish, give up, imagine, contain, keep, mention, mind, miss, practise, put off, resist, risk, hint, can't help, can't stand it can be followed by nouns, but not infinitives.
Note 2 Verbs such as forget, go on, like, mean, revenue, memory, stop and try can drive nouns or infinitives as objects, but their meanings are different.
I remember doing this exercise. I remember doing this exercise. )
I must remember to do it.
I try not to go there ..) I can't help going there. )
I tried to do it again.
Stop talking. (Don't talk. )
He stopped to speak. (He stops to talk. )
I intend to come early today. I intend to come later this morning. )
Missing the train means waiting for another hour.
Note (3) When following verbs such as permission, advice, prohibition and permission. Take the object directly and use the gerund form. If there is a noun or pronoun as the object, then it is used as the object complement with the verb, and the object is used to complement the infinitive. For example:
We don't allow smoking here.
We do not allow students to smoke.
Note (4) When the verbs need, require and want are used as the "need" solution, and then the verb is used as the object, the gerund or infinitive passive form must be used. At this time, the active form of gerund indicates the passive meaning. For example:
The window needs cleaning.
Note (5) In the phrases "commitment", "expectation", "persistence", "accustomed to", "objection", "thank you", "please forgive me", "busy", "worthwhile", "have differences/troubles/problems", "have a good/beautiful/difficult life" and "useless/good/. For example:
I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Note that there is not much difference between using gerund or infinitive after verbs such as love, hate and like. But when the speaker mentions something, he usually uses the infinitive.
Note ⑦ start, begin and continue are often followed by gerund in written language and infinitive in spoken language.
Note that the infinitive must be used after should(would) like/ love love and so on.
4) As an attribute. For example:
He has a reading room.
2. The compound structure of gerund
The compound structure of gerund consists of adjective possessive pronoun or personal pronoun, noun possessive pronoun or ordinary case plus gerund. Noun possessive pronouns or adjective possessive pronouns must be used at the beginning of a sentence. For example:
His arrival made me very happy.
Mary's crying annoyed him.
She doesn't mind his crying.
Does Xiao Wang have any hope of winning?
3. The tense and voice of gerund.
Tense of gerund
The tense of gerund can be divided into two types: general form and perfect form. If the gerund's action does not clearly indicate that time and predicate verb occur at the same time or before the predicate action, the general form of gerund is used. For example:
We are interested in playing chess.
His arrival will be of great help to us.
If the gerund's action occurs before the action indicated by the predicate verb, the gerund's perfect tense is usually used. For example:
I'm sorry for not keeping my promise.
However, after some verbs or phrases, the general form of gerund is usually used, although its action occurs before the action indicated by the predicate. For example, when the subject is the object of the action represented by this gerund, the gerund uses the passive voice. The passive voice consists of "Now is ten past participles" or "Once was ten past participles". The latter is generally avoided. For example:
He likes being helped.
He is afraid of being left at home.
Note: In sentence patterns worth doing, the gerund of doing indicates the passive meaning. For example:
This book is worth reading.
(3) Word segmentation
Tense and voice of 1. participle
L) participles are divided into present participles and past participles. The present participle has a general form and a perfect form. The general form indicates the behavior that occurs at the same time as the action indicated by the predicate verb; The perfect form (with ten past participles) indicates the action that occurred before the action indicated by the predicate verb. For example:
As a student, he is interested in books.
Having studied in the university for three years, he is very familiar with this road.
2) There are general participles and complete participles, active voice and passive voice. When the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the participle, the participle uses the passive voice. If you want to emphasize that the participle action precedes the predicate action, use the passive form of the participle perfect form. For example:
The question under discussion is very important:
After being criticized by the teacher, Li Ming gave up smoking.
The past participle indicates the action before the predicate verb and has a passive meaning, so there is only a general form without a perfect form.
2. Usage of participle
L) as an attribute
When a participle phrase is used as an attribute, it is placed after the modified noun; When a single participle is used as an attribute, it is placed before the modified noun. For example:
The man standing by the window is our teacher.
Excited people rushed into the building.
Note: When the present participle is used as an attribute, it means that the action is in progress or occurs almost simultaneously with the action indicated by the predicate verb. If the two actions come first, don't use the attributive clause in the participle now. For example:
The teacher criticized the students who broke the window.
The difference between present participles as attributes;
When the present participle is used as an attribute in a sentence, there are not only differences between preposition and postposition, but also differences in state, time and form. In order to help you distinguish these differences and better master the usage of present participles, we will discuss them as follows.
First of all, the state difference
There are obvious state differences when participles are used as attributes now. Generally speaking, the preposition present participle has a strong sense of silence. Post-present participle is dynamic. Pay attention to this when studying.
Working people are smart people.
Ex. 2: Farmers who work here are not afraid of snakes.
There are not many present participles that can be prepositioned, most of which are adjectives. This is mainly manifested in that some present participles are often preceded by adverbs of degree, and some present participles even have comparative degrees.
Ex 3: I have the courage to tell you a very exciting news.
This is the most exciting story I have ever read.
Second, the time difference
Time difference refers to the time difference of the action represented by the present participle. Some present participles, when used as attributes, indicate ongoing actions. If these present participles become attributive clauses, they should be progressive tense.
Ex. 5: Did you tell the children playing there not to make noise?
Did you tell the children playing there to stop making noise?
The President of the United States who is visiting China will return on Sunday.
The President of the United States who is visiting China will return on Saturday.
Some present participles, when used as attributives, indicate routine actions or present (or then) state. If this present participle is changed into an attributive clause, it is better to use the general tense instead of the progressive tense. If translated into Chinese, you should also pay attention to this.
Ex. 7: They stayed in a hotel by the lake.
The temple located on the top of the mountain was built in the Ming Dynasty.
Third, differences in form.
Formally speaking, pre-existing participles are mostly single participles, while post-existing participles are mostly phrases. In other words, if the participle is used as an attribute now, the single participle should be in front and the participle phrase should be behind. But it can't be absolutely so, it depends. If dynamic is emphasized, even a word segmentation should be put in the back.
Example 9: Look! The girl who sings is Alice and the girl who dances is Mary.
From the content, preposition present participle is mostly intransitive verb, without its own object or adverbial. Postparticiple can take object or adverbial. Sometimes prepositional word segmentation can also have its own object or adverbial, but it should be placed before the word segmentation with conjunctions in the middle. Unless, of course, there is a degree of comparison.
Example 10: Barking dogs don't bite.
Example 1 1: The translator of songs can speak seven languages.
Example 12: Britain and the United States are English-speaking countries.
It is worth noting that the perfect and passive participles cannot be used as pre-attributes, but only as post-attributes, so they should be used carefully.
We must keep what is discussed here confidential.
2) as an adverbial
When a participle or participle phrase is used as an adverbial, it can express time, reason, behavior, accompanying situation, etc. For example:
As a student, I must study hard. (reason)
He nodded from time to time while reading a book. (time)
The teacher stood there, surrounded by students.
Note: ① When a participle phrase is used as an adverbial, its logical subject must be consistent with the subject of the sentence.
Note: (2) Partitioned phrases indicating time relations can sometimes be led out by conjunctions while or when.
Note: ③ Sometimes the structure of "with (without) ten nouns (or pronouns with objective case) ten words" indicates the accompanying situation. For example:
He lay half dead with all his ribs broken.
Note: ④ When the logical subject of the participle is different from the main sentence, the participle must have its own subject. For example:
If time permits, I will finish another lesson.
3) Make a prediction. For example, news is inspiring.
The glass is broken.
4) as an object complement. For example:
We saw the teacher doing the experiment.
Note: after verbs such as see, hear, watch, feel, observe, have, listen, notice, etc. You can use the present participle to form a compound object, or you can use the infinitive to form a compound object, but the meanings of the two are different. The present participle indicates that the action is taking place (that is, it is in the process of taking place, but it is not over yet), and the infinitive indicates that the action has taken place. For example:
I saw the girl getting on the tractor.
I saw the girl get on the tractor and drive away.
He had his clothes washed. (He asked others to do the laundry)
We let the fire burn all day. ..
Note: "there are ten objects and ten present participles" means that the subject puts the object in a certain state or what state; There are ten objects and ten past participles indicating that the action was done by others or has nothing to do with the subject's will.