"to be established"

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Hi everybody
I am a new member of the forums and i have a question :)

I found the sentence : "The first textile mills to be established in the US were located in New England"

I don't understand this sentence at point "to be established". Who can help me to analyse it? This sentence has form "S + to be + PP". Why do not use "were" to replace "to be", so it become a passive voice.

Thank for reading and helping me.
 

birdeen's call

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:hi:

You cannot use "were" to replace "to be", because it would make the sentence ungrammatical. You could however use "that were" to replace "to be".

In the original sentence, the subject is "the first textile mills to be estabilished in the US" and the predicate is "were located in New England".

The sentence says:

There were textile mills estabilished in the US. The first ones were built in New England.
 
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:hi:

You cannot use "were" to replace "to be", because it would make the sentence ungrammatical. You could however use "that were" to replace "to be".

In the original sentence, the subject is "the first textile mills to be estabilished in the US" and the predicate is "were located in New England".

The sentence says:

There were textile mills estabilished in the US. The first ones were built in New England.

I agree with you about the your idea :
In the original sentence, the subject is "the first textile mills to be estabilished in the US" and the predicate is "were located in New England".
But my problem is the structure of this subject in the sentence. Could you talk more detailed about that?

Is the phrase "the first textile mills to be estabilished in the US" a self-contained sentence? If it's right, so structure of its is "noun + to be + past participle"?? Why does it conjugate "to be"? What is the aim in using "to be" here?

Thank for your reply :up:
 

birdeen's call

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Is the phrase "the first textile mills to be estabilished in the US" a self-contained sentence?
No, it's not a sentence at all, because it doesn't have a finite verb.
What is the aim in using "to be" here?
I will give you some examples:

He was the first man to walk on the Moon. = He was the first man who walked on the Moon.

Be the first person to say it. = Be the first person who says it.

He's the last person to know it.
= He's the last person who might know it.

This was his last painting to be exhibited. His later works were all distroyed by the fire that killed him.
= This was his last painting that was exhibited. His later works were all distroyed by the fire that killed him.

He's the only one to have danced with her. =
He's the only one who has danced with her.
 
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Hi birdeen's call

According to what you said, I understand that the phrase "the first textile mills to be established in the US" is rewritten to make a complete sentence, will be:
There were the first textile mills that were established in the US
or
There were the first textile mills - to - be established - in the US
Well, in this case, it hid "there were", and "be established" is passive voice. So it became "The first textile mills - to - be established - in the US"

Did I thought correctly??

/Did I have some mistakes in my post about grammar? I think I did because i'm not good at English. Could you check it for me, please.

Regards.
 
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birdeen's call

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Hi birdeen's call

According to what you said, I understand that the phrase "the first textile mills to be established in the US" [STRIKE]will[/STRIKE] can be rewritten to make a complete sentence[STRIKE], is [/STRIKE] in the following way.

Well, in this case, it hid "there were", and "be established" is in the passive voice. (It's not a very good sentence, but I'm not sure how to correct it.) So it became "The first textile mills - to - be established - in the US"

Did I [STRIKE]thought[/STRIKE] think correctly?[STRIKE]?[/STRIKE]

/Did I [STRIKE]have[/STRIKE] make [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] any grammatical mistakes in my post [STRIKE]about grammar[/STRIKE]? I think I did because I'm not good at English. Could you check it for me, please?

Regards.
I have made some corrections in your post, as you asked.

I'm not sure if I understand your questions correctly, so I will try to explain your original sentence.

We have this sentence:

The first textile mills to be established in the US were located in New England.

It can be rewritten this way:

The first textile mills that were established in the US were located in New England.

We are discussing these two phrases:

1) The first textile mills to be established in the US

and

2) The first textile mills that were established in the US

Neither of these two phrases is a sentence.

1) The first phrase is not a sentence, because it doesn't have a finite verb.

2) The second phrase is also not a sentence, even though it has a finite verb: "were". It has a finite verb, but it is not a sentence, because there is no predicate for the first textile mills that were estabilished in the US. The predicate (were located in New England) has been removed. A sentence must have a predicate. That were estabilished in the US is a clause.

You were also asking about the passive voice in your sentence. In the original sentence, the passive voice occurs twice. I have highlighted those occurrences below.

The first textile mills to be established in the US were located in New England.

For the first time, the passive voice occurs in the subject. For the second time, the passive voice occurs in the predicate.

In the rewritten version of the sentence, the passive voice also occurs twice.

The first textile mills that were established in the US were located in New England.

Again, for the first time, the passive voice occurs in the subject. For the second time, the passive voice occurs in the predicate.
 
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