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Infinitive phrases often have an implied grammatical subject making them effectively clauses rather than phrases. Such infinitive clauses or infinitival clauses, are one of several kinds of non-finite clause. They can play various grammatical roles like a constituent of a larger clause or sentence; for example it may form a noun phrase or ...
A non-finite clause is one in which the main verb is in a non-finite form, namely an infinitive, past participle, or -ing form (present participle or gerund); for how these forms are made, see English verbs. (Such a clause may also be referred to as an infinitive phrase, participial phrase, etc.)
phrases formed by the determiner the with an adjective, as in the homeless, the English (these are plural phrases referring to homeless people or English people in general); phrases with a pronoun rather than a noun as the head (see below); phrases consisting just of a possessive; infinitive and gerund phrases, in certain positions;
Sē here is an accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject of the main verb i.e. Iūlia ; esse is the infinitive "to be." Note that the tense of the infinitive, translated into English, is relative to the tense of the main verb. Present infinitives, also called contemporaneous infinitives, occur at the time of the main verb.
As an adjectival phrase modifying a noun phrase that is the object of a verb, provided the verb admits this particular construction. (For alternative or different constructions used with certain verbs, see the sections on the bare infinitive and to-infinitive above.) I saw them digging a hole. We prefer it standing over there.
A typical small clause consists of a noun phrase and a predicative expression, [6] e.g. We consider that a joke. – Small clause with the predicative noun phrase a joke Something made him angry. – Small clause with the predicative adjective angry She wants us to stay. – Small clause with the predicative non-finite to-infinitive to stay
It forms similar phrases used as a complement of certain verbs: He tried writing novels. The logical subject of a phrase formed with a gerund can be expressed by a possessive, as in I do not like your/Jim's drinking wine, although a non-possessive noun or pronoun is often used instead, especially in informal English: I do not like you/Jim ...
bare infinitive: I saw her come. her acts as object of saw and subject of come: impossible: not possible 3a. to-infinitive without subject: She remembered to come. notional subject 'understood' as identical to she: n.a. not possible 3b. to-infinitive with subject: I reminded her to come. her acts as object of reminded and subject of to come ...