“Too” and “Enough” with the to-infinitive

“Too” and “Enough” with the to-infinitive

We can use the to-infinitive after too and enough.

We can combine two sentences into sentence using too+ adjective/adverb + to-infinitive.

                                Anil is very weak. He cannot lift the weight.

                                Anil is tooweak to lift the weight.

                               

                                My sister is very young. She cannot go to school.

                                My sister is too young to goto school.

                                The coffee is very hot. We cannot drink it.

                                The coffee istoo hot to drink.

Note: that the to-infinitive in the last example (“to drink”), though active in forms, is passive in meaning. Here the action expressed by to-infinitive is not performed by the subject of the main verb .In such cases,for noun/pronoun can be placed before the to-infinitive:

                                The coffee is too hot (for us) to drink.

We can combine two sentence into one sentence using adjective/adverb + enough+ to-infinitive. Enough has a positive sense, while too has a negative sense.

                                Satish is very strong. He can lift the weight.

                                Satish is strong enough to lift the weight.

                                You are quite old. You ought to know better.

                                You are old enough to know better.

                                The bag is quite light. I can carry it.

                                The bag is light enough to carry.

The to-infinitive in the last example is passive in meaning. For + noun/pronoun may be introduced in such cases.

                                The bag is light enough (for me) to carry.

Infinitive (use of to)

Infinitive (use of to)

The infinitive is the base of a verb. It is used with or without to. The infinitive with to, known as the “to-infinitive”, is the more usual form.

                     

Theto-infinitive is often used after verbs.

                                John hopes to geta first class.

                                Chaitanya wants to becomea collector.

                                We agreed to leaveat once.

                                It began to rain.

                                I forgot to post the letter.

Ø  Common verbs followed by theto-infinitive include:

Arrange                                                Forget

Attempt                               Hate

Begin                                     Help

Continue                             Hope

Decide                                  Intend

Determine                          Learn

Expect                                  Like

Fail                                         Love

Plan                                       Pretend

Promise                               Refuse

Remember                         Seem

Start                                      Try

Want                                     Wish

Ø  There can be an object between the verb and theto-infinitive.

               

                I asked him to comeearly.

                She told the boy to washhimself.

                They invited me to dinewith them.

                No one expect him to win.

Ø  Common verbs followed by object+to-infinitive include.

Advise                                  Order

Allow                                     Remind

Ask                                         Tell

Compel                                                Want

Command                           Wish

Encourage

Expect

Force

Invite

Ø  Theto-infinitive can also be used to express purpose.

                I have come to seemy aunt.

                He got up to aska question.

                Children go to school to learnthings.

                They ran to helpher.

Ø  The to-infinitive is often used after adjectives expressing feeling or desire, such as glad,happy,pleased,delighted,afraid,surprised,sad,anxious,willing,unwilling,impatient, and a few other adjectives like easy,difficult,hard,impossible,likely,sure,certain.

                I am very pleased to seeyou.

                We were sorry to hearof his illness.

                She wants afraid to goalone.

                He was anxious to pleasehis guest.

                He is willing to helpme.

                This book is easy to read.

Ø  The infinitive without to, known as the  “bare infinitive”, is used after the modals will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must. It is also used after need when it is used without do in question and negatives.

               

                Tomorrow will be Saturday.

                You can use my place.

                It might rain this afternoon.

                Need I come again?

                You needn’t see him.

Ø  The verbs make and let are followed by object + bare infinitive.

               

                I made himgive me the money back.

                She made me do the whole work.

                She let us use her phone.

Note: however, that the verbs force or compel and allow take the to-infinitive.

               

                I forced him to giveme the money back.

                She allowed us to useher phone.

Ø  The verbs feel, hear, see, and watchcan be used with object + bare infinitive.

                I felt sometimes touchmy foot.

                We heard somebody open the door.

                I saw John goout.

                They watched the sun set behind the trees.

Use of Modals

CHART: USE OF MODALS

MODALS: Modals is helping verb which represent the attitude of subject.

Modals Verbs: can, could, may, might, shall, will, should, would, must, ought to, need, dare, used to

ModelVerb Can May

Its Use Ability,power,capcity,asking question or giving answer Possibility, asking/giving permission , purpose

Examples I can speak well. He can lift this log. She can drink 1 kg milk. Can I smoke here? No, you can’t. It may rain today. May I go home now? Yes, you may go. We walk so that we may be healthy. May you live long!

Note: Could and Might are past form of can and may.

Should

Advice,duty,suggestion

You should work hard. All students should obey their teachers. We should take some rest now.

Note: Should is the past form of shall.

Would

Wish, polite request, determination, past routines/habits

Would that he were our prime minister! Would that he were our leader! Would you have a cup of tea with me? I would be selected in C.P.M.T this year. He would come late every day.

               

Note: Would is the past form of will.

Must Ought to Used to Need Dare Shall and Will

Compulsion, necessity, certainty, guess Moral duty or obligation Discontinued habit of the past Necessity/obligation Be brave enough to/challenge (1)Pure future (for the future we use shall with first person and other we use will). (2) We use shall for represent command, promise or threat with 2 ND and 3rd person and will use determination, promise with 1st person.

He must consult a doctor to recover soon. You must have a good friend. You must reach there by 9p.m. The mother must be in the kitchen. You ought to respect your elders. Sheela ought to be in some difficulties. My father used to smoke very much when he was young. He need not go there. Do you need to go now? He dare not take bribe. He doesn’t dare deceive to me. I shall go to Kanpur tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be holiday. He shall not repeat this mistake. (Command) You shall have a cheque tomorrow. (promise) They shall be fined for this mischief.              (threat) I will help you as much as I can.                                         (promise) We will do or die for motherland. (determination).