303. Confusions of Similar Structures 4

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Beware of combining two similar grammatical structures into a single incorrect one

THE ERROR OF STRUCTURE CONFUSION

Grammar errors are of different kinds (see 202. Some Strategies for Learning English, “Practice Strategies” #1). This post is about a kind where parts of two confusingly similar correct structures are placed together so as often to form what I have called an “impossible combination” (see 100. What is a Grammar Error?). This is quite a common cause of grammatical error, and there are various other Guinlist posts that deal with it (see 133. Confusions of Similar Structures 1).

The similar grammar structures that give rise to such “hybrid” errors need to be distinguished from similar grammar structures that usually do not (see 217. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 1). They should also be distinguished from words with confusingly similar meanings, which are copiously illustrated in Guinlist posts with the title Tricky Word Contrasts. For grammar errors not involving similar structures, see 10 Words with Unexpected Grammar 1,  142 Grammar Errors with Passive Verbs and 144. Words that are Often Heard Wrongly.

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EXAMPLES OF CONFUSION ERRORS

1. “-ing” before a Noun versus “the -ing of”

An -ing verb without BE in front can still go directly before a noun:

(a) Filling the tank takes 24 hours.

The word filling here is a “gerund”: a verb with -ing added in order to give it a noun role in its sentence (subject of the verb takes). The noun the tank is able to go directly after filling because filling is still a verb and hence still able to have a following noun acting as its object (see the end of 70. Gerunds).

It is also possible in (a) to say The filling of the tank…. This is an even more noun-like use of filling, since it links with the object-like noun the tank by means of the preposition of, just as action nouns do (see 31. Prepositions after Action Nouns 1). However, it is still a verb, not a noun (see 240. Nouns that End with “-ing”).

I think there is a slight meaning difference between filling the tank and the filling of the tank. The former is less likely to be about a particular instance of the tank being filled than the latter is. The latter might, for example, be referring to a single just-mentioned tank-filling event. In other words, the added before filling may have its common back-referring meaning (see 235. Special Uses of “the”). The of before the tank is simply a grammatical consequence of adding the before filling.

The grammatical impossibility that these alternatives sometimes produce is a starting the without the later of (*the filling the tank). The converse (filling of the tank) is not grammatically impossible, though. If it is different at all from the use starting with the, it perhaps presents the -ing action more as ongoing than as an instantaneous event (a meaning contrast common in English – see, for example, 232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”, #3).

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2. Noun + Number versus “year” + Date

There is a general rule in English that a noun followed directly by a number (or numerical letter) cannot usually have the before it. It is normal, for example, to say page 2, day 5, step 3 or plan B (see 235. Special Uses of “the”, #3).

A notable exception to this rule, however, is a requirement to add the before the noun year when the next word is the number of the year, e.g. the year 1492 (though year before a different kind of number, e.g. the school level Year 3, lacks the).

The most likely error to be caused by this contrast is dropping the necessary the before year (*year 1492). Although the other logical possibility – adding the before a noun other than year (e.g. *the page 3) – is quite a common error, I suspect that that is usually caused by custom in another language. Dropping the before year is much more likely to be caused by the differing grammar of similar English nouns because these latter are so varied and hence so widely-occurring compared to year.

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3. “per” versus “for every”

Per is a preposition typically used before a noun naming a unit of something:

(b) The advertised price of petrol is per litre.

(c) The velocity of sound is roughly 0.33 km per second.

Per in such sentences usually means “for every”. The error that is sometimes made is to add every after per. In other words, the idea of “every” that is already present in per is somehow felt not to be and is hence added alongside per. Part of the reason might be that per looks and sounds a little like for.

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4. “etc.” versus “and so on”

These synonymous expressions indicate that list items mentioned just before them are not the complete list, and that addressees should be able to think of unmentioned items themselves. In other words, they mark the mentioned list items as examples (see 1. Simple Example-Giving).

The strange spelling of etc. (with “t” before “c”, and a final full stop) is because it is an abbreviation of two words borrowed from the ancient European language Latin (see 130. Formal Abbreviations). The two Latin words are et (= and) and cetera (= others). The full stop is a standard abbreviation signal.

Thus, both of the expressions in question have the idea of “and” at their start. It corresponds to the and that most written lists include before their final item. The confusion error that is sometimes made is writing and before etc., so that the idea of “and” is expressed twice.

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5. CONFUSE versus BE + “confused about”

The verb CONFUSE can express either an action or a state (see 261. Words with Complicated Grammar 3, #3). Its passive form BE CONFUSED acts similarly, with or without by. However, if confused is followed by about instead of by, it is no longer a verb but an adjective (See 245. Adjectives with a Participle Ending, #1), and as such always expresses a state, not an action.

The common resultant error is combining the verb CONFUSE with about. If CONFUSE is in the active voice when used in this way (*I confuse about…), about is what I have elsewhere called an “unnecessary” preposition (see 42. Unnecessary Prepositions).

If CONFUSE is passive, its use with about will cause confused to be understood as an adjective instead. Often, this will not be a problem, especially if CONFUSE is intended to express a state. The real problem is when confused is intended to express an action, so that replacing by with about would create a strange or unlikely meaning, like this:

(d) *Listeners were repeatedly confused about the speaker’s unfamiliar terminology.

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6. “Will you…?” versus “May I…?”

These question-form sentence beginnings are the kind that do more than just make a question (see 274. Questions with a Hidden Meaning): they both indicate a request. Requests after Will you…? are for the addressee to do something. This is clear from the fact that the subject of will is you, the addressee. Requests after May I…?, by contrast, are for somebody other than the addressee (in this case I, the requesting person) to do something. In other words, They are requests for permission.

Although these request types are fundamentally differentiated by the kind of subject they have, the verbs before these subjects are obviously a clue too: will for assistance requests, may for permission ones. These verbs cannot show both types of request. Placing may before you instead of I, for example, indicates not a request but a blessing (see 237. Auxiliary Verbs in Professional Communication, #10).

The confusion error that sometimes arises here is putting may with the wrong subject (*May you…?). Although, as indicated, this combination is not an impossibility in English, it is an error if used in a request for assistance. The error may be a result of more than just the similarity of assistance and permission requests. A further factor could be the ability of both kinds of request to be made with can instead of will/may (Can I…?  Can you…?). It is not inconceivable that someone aware of this possibility might forget which verb it involves, and use may in both cases instead.

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7. “is …-shaped” versus “has a … shape”

The shape of something unfamiliar is often indicated by reference to a similarly-shaped familiar object. Occasionally, the name of this object can be made into an adjective capable of describing the unfamiliar entity in an adjective way. For example, the noun cone can be made into the adjective conical. Often, however, there is no corresponding adjective, and instead the noun has to be combined with either -shaped (e.g. egg-shaped) or a(n) … shape (e.g. an egg shape).

Other common shape nouns like egg include bean, crescent, cross, kidney, pear, star and wedge.

The combination of a noun like egg with -shaped is adjective-like, while that with a(n) … shape is noun-like. This difference means that the former needs the verb BE to indicate the shape of something (… is egg-shaped), while the latter needs HAVE (has an egg shape) (see 163. Ways of Naming Properties). Occasionally, these possibilities are confused, a typical resultant incorrect combination being *is an egg shape or *is an egg in shape. These actually break no grammar rule: they are perhaps best described as logical errors with a grammatical cause (see 170. Logical Errors in Written English, #2).

302. Verbs with a Partner Infinitive

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Verbs that can link with a following “to” verb are grammatically quite varied

THE PROBLEM OF PARTNER INFINITIVES

Every English verb allows a limited choice of grammatical possibilities after its active form. The possibilities of an individual verb will sometimes match those of another verb, but often will not. The total number of possibilities across the full range of verbs is at least 12 (see 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive). No verb has all of them, and most have far fewer.

A grammatical possibility that is possessed by relatively many active verbs is a directly-following non-purpose to (infinitive) verb. This “partner” verb must be a non-purpose one because purpose infinitives, as in works to survive, are not a verb-dependent possibility – they can follow practically any verb as an adverbial component of the sentence as a whole.

Some verbs that allow a partner infinitive, such as NEED, PROMISE and SEEM, are easy to identify because they are so familiar. However, many others are not so obvious. The problem is that verbs with another verb after them often require it to have a different form than a simple infinitive – and discovering which verbs require which form is not easy. After the active form of ENJOY, for example, partner verbs need -ing (see 10. Words with Unexpected Grammar 1, #b), while ENABLE requires a noun in front of any following infinitive.

It is this problem of identifying verbs allowing a partner infinitive that I wish to consider here. Because there seems to be no single characteristic of these verbs that might ensure their recognition, listing as many of them as possible seems worthwhile. However, to make the reading of such a list less onerous, I also offer a classification of it into some rather interesting subgroups.

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FEATURES OF PARTNER INFINITIVES

Partner infinitives need to be distinguished from various other post-verb infinitives besides purpose-naming ones. These include (i) infinitives separated from the verb by its object (e.g. enables someone to act); (ii) infinitives that identify or specify the subject of a verb like BE or MEAN (e.g. To see means to believe); (iii) infinitives corresponding to an it subject of their verb (e. g. It helps to exercise); and (iv) infinitives after a passive verb (e.g. were seen to prosper).

Verbs that need a noun (or equivalent) between themselves and a following infinitive are considered in this blog in 208. Verbs with an Object + Infinitive.

Infinitives that identify after BE – #(ii) above – are of numerous kinds (see 119. BE before a “to” Verb). However, they do not comprise every infinitive after BE. Two types that perhaps qualify as partner infinitives of BE express arrangement and destiny in the past (#4 and #10 in the above post), respectively illustrated as follows:

(a) A meeting of finance ministers is to be held in Brussels.

(b) Alexander was to die soon after.

In both cases, going could be added before the infinitive.

In sentences like It helps to exercise – #(iii) above – the infinitive to exercise equates to it, the subject of helps (see 103. Representing a Later Statement with “it”), so is not linked to the main verb in a relevant way. This kind of infinitive use requires the verb just before it to be “intransitive” – usable without an object noun or similar after its active form. Other verbs like helps include hurts, pays and suffices.

The exclusion of infinitives after passive verbs – #(iv) above – is simply because this post is about active verbs that allow a partner infinitive. Moreover, it is noticeable that many passive verbs are derived from active ones that, like ENABLE in # (i) above, need a noun before any following infinitive (see 299. Infinitives after a Passive Verb).

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TYPES OF PARTNER INFINITIVE

Partner infinitives do not all relate in the same way to the verb before them. The relation depends on the preceding verb’s wider grammatical properties. The main relation types are as follows.

1. Object-like

In the combination promised to act, the infinitive to act names a promised behaviour, just as would an object noun like assistance or payment. The object-like nature of to act is further shown by the fact that its meaning is equally well expressed by its related “action noun” action (see 65. Verbs that Mean “Must” or “Can”, #2).

Common verbs after which an infinitive is object-like are ACCEPT, ARRANGE, ATTEMPT, CEASE, CLAIM, DECLINE (= refuse), DEMAND, DESERVE, DESIRE, DETERMINE (= decide), ELECT (= choose), EXPECT, HAVE, HELP, KNOW, LEARN, MEAN (= intend), NEED, PLAN, PLEDGE, PREPARE, PROFESS, PROMISE, PROPOSE (= plan), SEEK, THREATEN, UNDERTAKE, WANT, WISH (= desire) and WOULD LIKE. See also the special verbs listed in #2 and #5 below.

With some of these verbs, the objects that an infinitive can replace are restricted. Almost the only possible noun object after MEAN (= intend) is business, a figurative way of indicating determined action (see 241. Some Common Figurative Phrases, #2).

Infinitives after ACCEPT are rare. The most common ways of adding a verb after it are with -ing (representing an existing situation) or that… (representing a past, present or future one). Infinitives only represent accepted futures, but English often prefers to express those with AGREE instead of ACCEPT.

KNOW to… is different from KNOW HOW to…, indicating knowledge of a necessary action, rather than the way to perform it (see 309. Tricky Grammar Contrasts 5, #6). LEARN allows the same contrast.

EXCLUDED VERBS

There are some verbs whose absence above may surprise:

STOP and FINISH (unlike CEASE) combine only with purpose infinitives (see 250. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 1, #2).

REQUIRE is not a recommended substitute for NEED before a partner infinitive (see 292. Synonym Pairs with Contrasting Grammar 2, #5).

TRY (unlike ATTEMPT) cannot paraphrase a following infinitive with a noun: a following noun gives it the different meaning of “select as a strategy” instead of “attempt”. As a result, TRY meaning “attempt” is classified under #4 below.

FAIL perhaps fits better under #4 too because its “not do” meaning before an infinitive often becomes “do unsuccessfully” before an object noun (see 314. Words with Complicated Grammar 4, #2).

REFUSE is similar: its pre-infinitive meaning “choose not to comply” becomes “choose not to receive” before a noun.

ALLOW, ENABLE, PERMIT and other cause verbs, plus FORBID, always need a noun before any following infinitive (see 65. Verbs that Mean “Must” or “Can”, #1).

LOOK FORWARD has the preposition to after it, not the to of infinitive verbs. Like all prepositions, this to requires any following verb to have -ing (see 35. Words followed by “to -ing”).

ANTICIPATE and ENVISAGE differ from their synonym EXPECT in requiring -ing instead of to with any directly-following verb, just as they do when there is a noun before a following infinitive (see 242. Words with Unexpected Grammar 3, #d).

GUARANTEE, unlike PLEDGE, PROMISE, UNDERTAKE and VOW, has to be passive for any following verb to need the infinitive form. After its active form, a that construction is the only possibility (see 281. Words with Unexpected Grammar 4, #f).

Other verbs whose partner verb cannot have the infinitive form include AVOID, ENDURE, ENJOY, DENY, KEEP, PROHIBIT, RECOMMEND and REJECT.

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2. Object-like with an “-ing” Alternative

A few verbs that allow an object-like partner infinitive also allow a partner -ing verb (a “gerund”), usually with changed meaning. Typical is LIKE:

(e) Children like to learn (or learning) through play.

An infinitive after LIKE focuses on its action as a whole, whereas a gerund focuses on the experience of it happening. This is the same contrast that is possible after certain verbs used before an object + infinitive (see 232. Verbs with an Object + “-ing”, #3). Indeed, some of the verbs are the same.

Other verbs that allow the same kind of following to and -ing choice include DISLIKE, HATE and LOVE (but not APPRECIATE. ENJOY, WELCOME, DETEST and LOATH, which all require -ing), plus BEGIN, CEASE, CONTINUE and START.

After FORGET and REMEMBER, to shows a future action, -ing a past one.

After FEAR and PREFER, to indicates a specific-time action, -ing one at any time.

CHOOSE to means “decide” but CHOOSE -ing means “select”.

After NEGLECT and OMIT, to suggests failure, ing choice.

REGRET to expresses pain about saying something. The to verb is usually a speech one like to announce, to inform you or to say (see 238. Using a Verb to Perform its Action). REGRET -ing expresses unhappiness about previous personal behaviour.

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3. Complement-like

Complements are nouns or adjectives that are shown by a suitable verb to be identifying or describing the meaning of a noun before them (see 220. Features of Complements). The verb SEEM is a typical complement-taking verb

(c) Wealth seems desirable.

Here, desirable is an adjective complement describing the earlier noun wealth.

Partner infinitives can act like a complement of some but not all complement-taking verbs. In (c), for example, desirable could be replaced by to change people. The main verbs like SEEM are APPEAR, BE, GROW, LOOK, PROVE, SEEM and SOUND. As mentioned above, only some infinitives after BE can be its “partner”, namely those expressing an arrangement or destiny in the past, as in sentences (a) and (b).

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4. Adverb-like

This description applies to partner infinitives whose preceding verb allows neither an object nor a complement, as in this HOPE example:

(d)  Scott hoped to reach the South Pole first.

A partner infinitive of HOPE specifies the hope. Although this can also be done with a noun after for (e.g. hoped for success), the for implies the prepositional verb HOPE FOR, not the intransitive verb HOPE.

Some other verbs that allow an adverb-like partner infinitive similarly allow a preposition + noun instead. In the following list, their preposition is given alongside: AGREE (= cooperatively decide) (on), AIM (at), ASK (for), BEG (for), COME, DARE, DECIDE (on), FAIL (= not do), HAPPEN (= be influenced by chance), HOPE (for), INTEND, OPT (for), LONG (for), PLEAD (for), PRAY, PREPARE (for), REFUSE (= not co-operate), STRUGGLE (for), TRY (= attempt), WAIT (for), WISH (= desire), WISH (for = state a wish to make it happen), VOW and YEARN (for).

For details of COME + infinitive, see 290. Ways of Using COME, #16. For advice on REFUSE, see 279. Grammatical Differences between Citation Verbs, #6.

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5. In Idiomatic Combinations

Occasionally, an infinitive gives a special meaning to a familiar preceding verb. One such verb is going (see 176. Ways of Using “Go”, #7). Another is SAY:

(f) Doctors say to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Say here reports not just speaking, but speaking of a particular kind: advising (see 187. Advising and Recommending). The infinitive is paraphrasable with that…should…. Elsewhere, SAY might report commanding (= that…must…).

Similarly, THINK to… means not just “think of” (= “conceive”) but also “consider carrying out the conceived action”. The infinitive is paraphrasable with that…might….

LOOK to… can mean either “appear” (cf. #3 above) or “seek”. MAKE to means “initiate -ing without continuing” (see 141. Ways of Using MAKE, #8). REMAIN mostly appears in the fixed expression remains to be seen (= is not established).