[Grammar] Please tell me the sentence pattern for this sentence.

Dear teachers,

Would you please tell me the sentence structure of the below sentence?

"He is trying to find somewhere to store his mat."

I find two infinitives in this sentence which is very confusing for me.

Is it SVOA ?+ the rest I don't know.Am I right with the first half of the pattern?

Think of the sentence as "He is trying to find a-place-in-which to store his mat" Does that help?

You can have as many infinitives as you like in a sentence, though sentences with too many can be ugly:

He is trying to help me to find a large place to rent to make it possible for me to accommodate friends I want to visit me.

the first to infinitive is the pattern of " to try" : to try to do something. The second to infinitive is the adverb phrase of purpose which means " in order to something"

regards

napoleonponapa said:

the first to infinitive is the pattern of " to try" : to try to do something. The second to infinitive is the adverb phrase of purpose which means " in order to something"

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I can't figure out what that's supposed to mean.

Please read this extract from the Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.


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Hi 5jj,

Thanks for your reply.I understand that we can have many infinitives in a sentence from your reply.Thanks for the examples.

But,I couldn't figure out the pattern of this sentence,""He is trying to find somewhere to store his mat."
Does the infinitives act as an adverb or something is unclear to me.Could you please tell me the pattern?

Is it SVOAdvP/infi.P?
Can infinitive phrase acts as an adverbial phrase or is it called adverbial infinitive?
I'm confused with the pattern.

Gabilearns said:

"He is trying to find somewhere to store his mat."

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NOT A TEACHER


Hello, Gabilearns:

Welcome to usingenglish.com. It's great that you want to analyze sentences. May I direct your attention to one of the other forums here. It is called diagramming. One of the teachers at that site is an expert in diagramming sentences. Do check it out.

1. I checked my dictionary. It says that "somewhere" in your kind of sentence is a noun. It means "an unknown place."

2. Sometimes it is easier to parse a sentence if you simplify it. So let's change your sentence to:

"He is trying to find some place to store his mat."

He = subject.

is trying = verb.

to find some place = infinitive phrase that is the object of the verb "is trying." (Compare: I am trying to answer your question.)

If you simply said, "He is trying to find some place," that would be a "good" sentence, but someone might ask you:

"Some place for what?" Then you would say, "Oh, excuse me. I wanted to say that he is trying to find some place to

store his mat."

My books tell me that "to store his mat" is an infinitive phrase that modifies (belongs to) the word "place."

Compare: He is trying to find a place to live./ to rest./ to open a restaurant.


HAVE A NICE DAY!

Thank you very much Parser.

You said,

He = subject,

is trying = verb,

to find some place = object,

Could you please tell me what is

to store his mat?

Is it another object or what?

Thank you again for the clear explanation

You too have a nice day!

Gabilearns said:

Could you please tell me what is

to store his mat?

Is it another object or what?

Click to expand...

NOT A TEACHER


Hello, Gabilearns:


Thank you for your very kind comments.
Since no one else has yet answered you, may I try?

Professors Pence and Emery in their A Grammar of Present-Day Grammar (1963, pages 67 -68) give these examples and explanations:

You have a task to perform. "The infinitive to perform functions as an adjectival modifier of task."

A program to meet the emergency must be formulated at once. "The infintive to meet, with its direct object

emergency, functions as an adjectival modifier of program.

*****

"He is trying to find some place to store his mat."

Maybe, then, we can say that the infinitive "to store," with its direct object "his mat," functions as an adjectival

modifier of "place."

*****

If you have further questions, please do ask. Someone here will be delighted to assist you.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

:up: Thanks Parser!

I got a clear picture,now.Thank you so much for your efforts to make me understand.

Sorry,I was trying to share a link here.But,I couldn't.Anyway I will give you the details.Do check it out if you wish.

Just Google: Infinitives-Owl-Purdue University.The link provides you details about infinitive phrase with few examples.

Thanks again.

Have a nice day!