The sentence
The sentence The sentence
E. Uses of the to-infinitive in indirect speech Reporting the imperative: ‘He reminded me to post the letter’ 1. We report the imperative with suitable verbs + to-infinitive. The reporting verb matches the function of the imperative (asking, telling, advising, etc.) e.g. ‘Remember to post the letter,’ he asked me, becomes: He reminded me to post the letter. 2. When we report a negative imperative, we put not or never before the to-infinitive: ‘Don’t wait,’ he said. → He asked me not to wait. (Not *to not* or *to don’t*) ‘Never do that again,’ he said. → He told us never to do that again. (Not *to never*) Offers, suggestions, requests for advice: ‘He asked if he should …’ This is how we report offers and suggestions with shall or should: - direct offer or suggestion: ‘Shall I phone her?’ ‘Should I phone her?’ - reported with if or whether: He wanted to know if/whether he should phone her. - reported with whether to: He wanted to know whether to phone her. (Not *if to*) Requests for advice with question-words: ‘He wanted to know how …’ This is how we report requests for advice with question-words: - direct request for advice: How shall I repair it? How should I repair it? - reported with question-word + should: He wanted to know how he should repair it. - reported with question-word + to-infinitive: He wanted to know how to repair it. We can use a to-infinitive after all question-words (how to, when to, etc.) except why: He wanted to know why he should wait. (Not *He wanted to know why to wait.*) F. When we use indirect speech Interpreting direct speech 1. Indirect speech commonly occurs in continuous paragraphs of reported language, not in unrelated sentences. To hold it together, we use phrases like: she went on to say, he continued, he added that. We also vary the reporting verbs: he observed, she noted, they remarked, etc. Yes/No answers or adverbs like Well are common in direct speech, but they disappear when we report them. 2. We don’t apply ‘rules’ mechanically when we are reporting; we have to interpret what we hear or read, so we often use reporting verbs like exclaim, insist, suggest, etc: ‘You really must let me pay the bill,’ Andrew said. can be ‘interpreted’ as: Andrew insisted on paying the bill. 96
The infinitive and the ‘-ing’ form A. The bare infinitive and the to-infinitive Forms of the infinitive 1. We often use the base form of a verb (go) as an infinitive. We call this the bare infinitive because we use if without to. We must distinguish if from the to-infinitive, where we always use to in front of the base form of the verb (to go). The most common use of the bare infinitive is after modal verbs He may/can (etc.) go. 2. Form of the infinitive: active passive present infinitive (not) (to) ask (not) (to) be asked present progressive infinitive (not) (to) be asking - perfect or past infinitive (not) (to) have asked (not) (to) have been asked perfect/past progressive infinitive (not) (to) have been asking - ‘Let’, ‘make’, ‘would rather/sooner’ and ‘had better’ 1. We use the imperative form Let’s (= Let us) + bare infinitive for making suggestions: Let’s take a taxi! Let’s take a taxi, shall we? Do let’s take a taxi. The negative is: Let’s not (take a taxi). Or: Don’t let’s (take a taxi). 2. Let as a full verb (= ‘allow’) is always followed by a noun or pronoun + bare infinitive: I won’t let you/him, etc. go. Don’t let the children annoy you. They won’t let us speak. 3. Make (=compel) is followed by a bare infinitive in the active: She made them work hard. It is followed by a to-infinitive in the passive: They were made to work hard. 4. We use the bare infinitive after would rather (not),would sooner (not), had better (not): I’d rather be told the truth. You’d better not go near the edge. [>11.8A] The infinitive with or without ‘to’ after ‘help’ and ‘know’ 1. We may use a bare infinitive or a to-infinitive after a few verbs like help and know. The use of a to-infinitive is more formal: Mother helped me (to) do my homework. We do not usually omit to after not: How can I help my children not to worry about their exams? 2. We sometimes use help without a noun or pronoun object: Everyone in the village helped (to) build the new Youth Centre. 3. We have a noun or pronoun object after know: I’ve never known her (to) be late before. I’ve never known her not (to) be late. We use to in the passive: He was known to have/to have had a quick temper as a boy. 97
- Page 45 and 46: 2. If we begin a sentence with a
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E. Uses of the to-infinitive in indirect speech<br />
Reporting the imperative: ‘He reminded me to post the letter’<br />
1. We report the imperative with suitable verbs + to-infinitive. <strong>The</strong> reporting verb matches<br />
the function of the imperative (asking, telling, advising, etc.) e.g.<br />
‘Remember to post the letter,’ he asked me, becomes: He reminded me to post the letter.<br />
2. When we report a negative imperative, we put not or never before the to-infinitive:<br />
‘Don’t wait,’ he said. → He asked me not to wait. (Not *to not* or *to don’t*)<br />
‘Never do that again,’ he said. → He told us never to do that again. (Not *to never*)<br />
Offers, suggestions, requests for advice: ‘He asked if he should …’<br />
This is how we report offers and suggestions with shall or should:<br />
- direct offer or suggestion: ‘Shall I phone her?’ ‘Should I phone her?’<br />
- reported with if or whether: He wanted to know if/whether he should phone her.<br />
- reported with whether to: He wanted to know whether to phone her. (Not *if to*)<br />
Requests for advice with question-words: ‘He wanted to know how …’<br />
This is how we report requests for advice with question-words:<br />
- direct request for advice: How shall I repair it? How should I repair it?<br />
- reported with question-word + should: He wanted to know how he should repair it.<br />
- reported with question-word + to-infinitive: He wanted to know how to repair it.<br />
We can use a to-infinitive after all question-words (how to, when to, etc.) except why:<br />
He wanted to know why he should wait. (Not *He wanted to know why to wait.*)<br />
F. When we use indirect speech<br />
Interpreting direct speech<br />
1. Indirect speech commonly occurs in continuous paragraphs of reported language, not in<br />
unrelated <strong>sentence</strong>s. To hold it together, we use phrases like: she went on to say, he<br />
continued, he added that. We also vary the reporting verbs: he observed, she noted, they<br />
remarked, etc.<br />
Yes/No answers or adverbs like Well are common in direct speech, but they disappear when<br />
we report them.<br />
2. We don’t apply ‘rules’ mechanically when we are reporting; we have to interpret what we<br />
hear or read, so we often use reporting verbs like exclaim, insist, suggest, etc:<br />
‘You really must let me pay the bill,’ Andrew said. can be ‘interpreted’ as:<br />
Andrew insisted on paying the bill.<br />
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