Explain the use of the infinitive in the following statements:
а) То have asked questions here would have attracted attention,
b)To see is to believe,
c) I wanted to tell them before they discovered,
d)There was no one to read the words that were being traced,
e) Не was a good workman; too good a workman tо be sасked.
Ответы
Ответ:
In the given sentences, the infinitive is used in various ways:
a) "To have asked questions here would have attracted attention." - The infinitive "to have asked" is used to express a past action that did not happen but would have attracted attention if it had.
b) "To see is to believe." - The infinitive "to see" is used to express a general truth or principle, stating that believing is a consequence of seeing.
c) "I wanted to tell them before they discovered." - The infinitive "to tell" is used to indicate the purpose or intention of the speaker; it explains why the speaker wanted to do something.
d) "There was no one to read the words that were being traced." - The infinitive "to read" is used to express purpose, explaining why there was no one available.
e) "He was a good workman; too good a workman to be sacked." - The infinitive "to be sacked" is used to indicate the result or consequence of being too good a workman; it explains why he wasn't fired.