 Re: "not his to tell"
Stephan, "his" is a possessive pronoun in form (it modifies a noun), but in our example its noun ([facts]) has been omitted, it's redundant,
EX: ... facts that were not his [facts] to tell
so "his" functions substantively as a noun,
EX: EX: ... facts that were not his to tell
The words to tell form an infinitive verb phrase and function as an absolute noun phrase,
EX: ... facts that were not his facts to tell
1a) It was neither his responsibility nor his business to tell the facts.
to tell (infinitive; absolute phrase)
1b) To tell the facts was neither his responsibility nor his business.
to tell (infinitive; absolute noun phrase)
2) ... facts that were, after all, not for him to tell.
to tell (infinitive; variation on his to tell)
This one is different,
3) ... facts that were, after all, not facts that he had to tell; i.e., that he was willing to tell
to tell (infinitive; object of the modal "had to"; e.g., he had to tell me to stop chewing gum) |