TR 1315

English for Translators

Instructor: Etta Wong

Lesson 6
 Reminder
Assignment 1
Submission date: tonight before 12am
Deadline: March 14, 11:59pm
Submission Method: on Moodle
 Part I
Infinitives: To-infinitive & Bare infinitive
Gerunds
 Infinitive
 Infinitives can be classified into “To-infinitive” and
“Bare infinitive”.

 An infinitive, known as verbal, is the base form of a

verb can function as a noun, adjective or adverb.
 To – infinitive

1. To sing well needs practice.

2. I prefer to accomplish the task on my own.
3. I like to read novels.
4. My sister is reluctant to help.
 After a Verb

Verbs that appear with To - infinitive

choose, decide, expect, forget, hate, hope, intend, learn, like, love,
mean, plan, prefer, remember, want, would like, would love, agree,
promise, refuse

1. I want to ask him for help.

2. She likes to bathe in the sea.
 Verbs that can be followed by a Ditransitive Object

advise, ask, encourage, invite, order, persuade,

remind, tell, warn,
expect, intend, would prefer, want, would like,
enable, allow
1. She reminded me to turn the lights out.
2. He encouraged his friends to vote for him.
 After certain adjectives

 Sometimes the to-infinitive gives a reason for the adjective

disappointed, glad, sad, happy, anxious, pleased, surprised, proud, unhappy

1. We were happy to come to the end of our journey.

= We were happy because we had come to the end of our
journey.

2. John was surprised to see me. = He was surprised because he

saw me.
 Other adjectives with the to-infinitive are

able, unable, due, eager, keen, likely, unlikely, ready, unwilling, willing

1. Unfortunately I was unable to work for over a week.

2. I am really tired. I'm ready to go to bed.
We often use the to-infinitive with these adjectives after it to give opinions

difficult, easy, possible, impossible, necessary, unnecessary, hard, right, wrong,

kind, nice, clever, silly, foolish

a) It’s easy to play the piano, but it’s very difficult to play well.
b) He spoke so quickly it was impossible to understand him.
We use to-infinitive after “adjective + for” + somebody” to show who these adjectives refer to

1. It was difficult for us to hear what she was saying.

2. It is easy for you to criticize other people.
We use to-infinitive after “adjective + of + somebody”
who does something

1. It’s kind of you to help.

2. It would be silly of him to spend all his money.
 We use to-infinitive after “adjective + enough” to show

1. Kenny is old enough to drive a car.

2. That water is not clean enough to swim in.
 We use to-infinitive after “too + adjective” to show

1. The soup is too hot to drink.

2. The table is too heavy (for me) to lift by myself.
We use to-infinitive after “how / when / where / what, whether, etc.” to show

1. They wanted to know when to set off the journey.

2. Please let me know where to meet.

After abstract nouns as a post-modifier
ability, desire, need, wish, attempt, opportunity, chance, intention

1. I have no desire to be rich.

2. They gave him an opportunity to escape.

After an proper noun as a post-modifier

1. Marcus was the last guest to arrive.

2. He is not the man to draw back.
After an indefinite pronoun as a post-modifier

1. When I am travelling I always take something to read.

2. I was all alone. I had no one to talk to.
3. There is hardly anything to do in most of these small
towns.
 Other Usage
To express purpose
1. He bought some flowers to give to his wife.
2. He locked the door to keep everyone out.
3. We set off early to avoid the traffic.
4. They spoke quietly not to wake the children
Constructing sentences with use of Infinitive
https://jamboard.google.com/d/
15JXhFGjL6PM5qpXAhHQVMqeQFgRiKG0Q4wNEB-qlMO0/edit?usp=sharing
 Bare – infinitive

• Verbs that appear with Bare infinitive

see, watch, notice, spot, observe, hear, feel, let, make

1. They saw him walk into the coffee shop.

2. He makes me cry.
Sometimes, some verbs can be used as a gerund with
adding “-ing” form

Jack saw Rose dancing in the street.

Some verbs can be followed by either
“To – infinitive” or “Bare infinitive”

Faith helps Sara finish the assignment.

Faith helps Sara to finish the assignment.
 After a semi-auxiliary

 Verbal phrases that appear before the Bare infinitive

had better, would rather, would sooner

1. You had better shut up.

2. He would rather work than talk.
3. He would rather teach Chinese than English.
 Verbs for Ditransitive Objects

• Verbs that can be followed by a Ditransitive Object

recommend, suggest

1. She suggested me go to the beach.

2. He recommended you deal with the differences.
 Gerund
Gerund is an “ing” form of a verb (verb + ing) that functions as a noun or
noun phrase and serves as the subject or object; therefore, it is a verbal
noun.

For example
1. My hobby is reading.
2. Smoking poses threat to our health.
3. The only thing he does for a living is selling drugs.
4. Drinking too much wine is detrimental to health.
5. My daughter should practise drawing now.
 Verbs that come with “Gerund”

enjoy, finish, suggest, keep, mind, consider, admit, deny, worth, resist, risk, avoid,
dislike, involve, postpone, practise, escape, imagine, mention, excuse, fancy, feel,
miss, forgive (sb) for …, prevent (sb. / sth.) from …, protect (sb. / sth.) from…,
responsible for (sth.), thank (sb.) for (sth.)

1. She denied stealing her classmate’s cellphone.

2. I can’t forgive you for burning downing my house.
3. Do you mind closing the door for me?
 Gerund appears after a preposition
Be afraid of, be tired of, fond of, feel like, give up, keep on, go on, insist
on, look forward to, weak in, good at, capable of, aim at, be devoted to,
be ashamed of, pay attention to, approve of, believe in, succeed in, rely
on, apologize for, complain of, warn against

1. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

2. He insists on paying the bill.
 Phrases that come with “Gerund”

It is no good, it is no use, it is (not) worth, there is no point in, what’s the

point of, can’t help, can’t stand, with a view to, when it comes to, it’s a
waste of time / money; I have difficulty; I spend / waste time …

1. It is no use struggling.
2. It is no good eating meat.
3. With a view to getting a good grade in the exam, she
studied round the clock.
Words that can either appear before an "Infinitive" or a
"Gerund" with the change to the meaning
remember, forget, regret, stop, try, go on, quit

I remember to pay the bill. (She doesn’t forget to p[ay

I remember paying the bill. (She has memories of paying the bill.)

I forgot to bring an umbrella. (I didn’t bring the umbrella because I forgot

to do it.)
I forgot bringing an umbrella. (I don’t have the memory of bring the
umbrella)

I stop to hit him. (I interrupted another action in order to hit him.)

I stop hitting him. (I stopped this activity. May be I have already released
my anger)

I tried to get a good result. (I attempted this action but didn’t succeed.)
I tried getting a good result. (see what will happen)
Words that can either appear before an "Infinitive" or a "Gerund" without changing the meaning

begin, can’t bear, can’t stand, continue, hate, like, love,

prefer, propose, start
1. I continue to work for him.
2. I continue working for him.

3. I can’t bear to live with her because she is so dirty.

4. I can’t bear living with her because she is so dirty.
 Quiz on Infinitive or Gerund
Quiz 1
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-m_infinitive-ing_quiz.htm
Quiz 2
https://www.eltbase.com/quiz/037_01.htm
 Part II
Past Participle
Present Participle
 Participle
 A participle is a verb form made of “ed” or “ing” which functions
as an adjective. It, being a type of verbal, is a non-finite verb.

 Participles can be subdivided into “Past Participle” and “Present

Participle”.
 Past Participle
 A past participle is a verb form ending in “ed” and serves as a pre-
modifier, subject complement or object complement.

 It is used to express the passive voice or the perfective aspect

and usually with transitive verbs.
 Present Participle
 A present participle is a verb form ending in “ing” and serves
as a pre-modifier, subject complement or object complement.

 It is used to express the active voice or the progressive aspect

and with transitive or intransitive verbs.
Quiz 1 on Participles
Please fill in the right verb form, i.e. “ed” or “ing”

recording
1. The _____________ (record) machine is old. You may check it to see if the
recorded
______________ (record) messages can be played.
conquering
2. Russia is sending a ______________
conquered (conquer) army to our nation. In
history, we were only a _______________ (conquer) country as we lost
almost all battles! closed
closing
3. When you walk out of the pub, you’ll probably see many ____________
finished
(close) shops. We will be in the pub until _____________ (close) time.
finishing
4. Look at the ______________ (finish) paintings of other people! I think
you’ve been putting the _________________ (finish)
losing touches on that
painting for so long now.
5. Hislost
attempt to row across the Atlantic was a ______________ (lose) cause
right thrilling
from the start. Nevertheless, people have been trying to fight a
thrilled
__________________ (lose) battle.
6. That was a _________________ (thrill) journey. I was a
_________________ (thrill) traveller.
 Verb Forms
Past Participle Present Partciple
Frozen food Freezing wind
Spoken word Speaking robot
Bored housewife Boring husband
Written language Writing paper

The examples listed above are pre-modifiers.

In effect, past particles can act as a subject complement or object
complement. For example,

The building remains closed.

The man looked frustrated.
I found him disappointed.
I found him ______________
annoying (annoy).
 EXCEPTIONS
Quiz 2 on Participles

Circle the right answer

1. A retired worker / a retiring worker
2. An escaped prisoner / an escaping prisoner
3. A withered flower / A withering flower
4. An expired lease / an expiring lease
5. A returned student / A returning student
6. A grown man / A growing man
 EXCEPTIONS
Quiz 2 on Participles

Circle the right answer

1. A retired worker / a retiring worker
2. An escaped prisoner / an escaping prisoner
3. A withered flower / A withering flower
4. An expired lease / an expiring lease
5. A returned student / A returning student
6. A grown man / A growing man
 Note
 Although in most cases, the “ed” verb form is used with
transitive verbs (verbs follow with object in sentence), there
are exceptions where intransitive verb (verbs don’t follow
with object in sentence) is made.

 a perfective aspect of an action is expressed. (see the

examples above)
 Quiz 3 on Participles
Complete the following sentences

人人都認為輸丟了戰爭。
Everybody thought the battle __________________________.
had been won
我發現她改變了許多。
I found her ________________________.
has been changed much.
 Quiz 4 on Participles

她剪了髮。
She had her hair _____________________
trimmed. (trim).
 Quiz 5 on Participles

觀眾希望那肥皂劇能繼續。
The audience wish the
__________________________.
soap opera could continue.
 Main Verbs and Past Participles

Main Verbs that can take the past participle as the

object complement
see, hear, feel, think, find, think, notice, spot (psychological state)

The teacher saw the student run over by a car.

Note
 These main verbs can also take present participle
as the object complement.
 The headmaster saw the student jaywalking.
 Main Verbs that take the past participle as
the object complement

get, have, keep (cause something to happen)

 Please keep me posted.

 I’ve had my car repaired.
 My mom had her bag stolen.

Note:
He had the bouncers ______________
thrown (throw) them out of the club.
 Main Verbs that take the past participle
as the object complement
Like, want, wish, order (expressing hope, request or command)

1. My senior doesn’t want any of his staff (to be) involved in the
incident.
2. My senior won’t like such issues (to be) discussed at the
meeting.
3. The commander ordered the army unit (to be) recognized.
 Participial Phrases
 A participle phrase is an adjective phrase headed by
a participle.
 2 types of Participial Phrases
Examples
In each of these examples, the participle phrase is shaded and
the participle is in bold.

Cracked from top to bottom, the mirror was now ruined.

Peering over the top of his glasses, her tutor shook his head.
 Past Participial Phrases
 Campfires built with your own hands give you a sense of
accomplishment.
 Everyone has read stories of knights made famous for brave
deeds.
 The turkey, burnt to a crisp, was thrown in the garbage.
 Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, activists took to the
streets in several cities in mid-March.

Could you identify the parts of

Past Participial Phrases?
 Past Participial Phrases
 Campfires built with your own hands give you a sense of
accomplishment.
 Everyone has read stories of knights made famous for brave
deeds.
 The turkey, burnt to a crisp, was thrown in the garbage.
 Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, activists took to the
streets in several cities in mid-March.
 Present Participial Phrases

 The lady leaning against the door is my sister.

 This is the old man spitting in my face.
 The cat, seeing movement in the bushes, crouched low in
the grass.
 She returned to the house, remembering the keys and the
book.
 Remembering the keys and the book, she returned to the
house.

Could you identify the parts of

Present Participial Phrases?
 Present Participial Phrases

 The lady leaning against the door is my sister.

 This is the old man spitting in my face.
 The cat, seeing movement in the bushes, crouched low in the
grass.
 She returned to the house, remembering the keys and the book.
 Remembering the keys and the book, she returned to the house.
 Practice 1
Instruction: Join two sentences using participles

1. It was a rainy day. Faith brought a rain coat with her.

2. Ray was dismayed. He drank a lot of alcohol.

3. My wife had cooked the meal. She rested on the sofa.

4. Helen felt that she had been insulted. She cried for three hours.
 Dangling Modifiers

 are most commonly seen in sentences starting with participle

phrases.

(A dangling modifier is an error caused by failing to use the word

that the modifier is meant to be modifying.)

Having taken the medication regularly, my depression symptoms

came back.

Overcome by emotion, the whole speech was delivered in two-

and three-word bursts.
 Fixing Dangling Modifier
To avoid a dangling modifier, assume that any participle phrase
you put at the start of a sentence is "dangling" (i.e., isn't
modifying anything) until you've written the noun (or pronoun) it
is modifying.

Having taken the medication regularly, I found my depression

symptoms come back.

Overcome by emotion, Jimmy has finally delivered the whole

speech in two- and three-word bursts.
 Misplaced Modifiers
With a misplaced modifier, the noun being modified is too far
away. Sometimes, a misplaced modifier can lead to your
sentence being ambiguous.

Awaiting for her birthday, Mary's presents were all picked up

and admired by Mary many times throughout the day.

Tired of all of the nights in hotels, delight overcame by Michael

when his boss finally said he didn't have to travel anymore.
 Fixing Misplaced Modifier
To avoid a misplaced modifier, make sure it's obvious which noun
(or pronoun) your participle phrase is modifying

Awaiting her birthday, Mary picked up and admired her presents

many times throughout the day.

Tired of all of the nights in hotels, Michael was delighted when

his boss finally said he didn't have to travel anymore.
 Practice 2
Are the following sentences grammatical correct? Correct the
errors if there are any.

1. Driving carelessly, it is easy to have an accident.

2. Leaving the camera, Kenny found the film to be
exceptionally bad.
3. Be aware of the health benefits, it is believed that more
people would change their eating habits for good.
4. When planting these flowers, care must be taken not to
damage the roots.
5. Caused by the wind, the sea was tossing the boat up and
down.
 Practice 2 (Answer)
Are the following sentences grammatical correct?
Correct the errors if there are any.

1. Incorrect
2. Correct
3. Incorrect
4. Correct
5. Correct