tzfujimino
Key Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2007
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Japanese
- Home Country
- Japan
- Current Location
- Japan
Hello, everyone.:-D
A while ago, I found a sentence using this construction ('try to have done...') in somebody's thread.
I'm used to the 'perfect infinitive (to have + past participle)" which is used when speculating about the past, such as
"The bombs seem to have contained mustard gas, and perhaps the nerve agent sarin."
(= It seems that the bombs contained mustard gas, and perhaps ...)
or (with modals)
English Grammar | LearnEnglish | British Council | Modals ? deduction past
So, when I read "Try your best to have finished...", it didn't sound natural/grammatical to me.
However, after some research, I found that "hope to have done...", "need to have done..." and "try to have done..." are all possible.
Now, I'd like to check if I understand these expressions correctly, so I'm going to make my own sentences using them:
1. I hope to have decorated the room before my daughter comes back.
2. I need to have finished writing the report by the time I meet Mr. X.
3. I'll try to have collected enough information by the next meeting.
Do these sentences above work?
Thank you.
A while ago, I found a sentence using this construction ('try to have done...') in somebody's thread.
I'm used to the 'perfect infinitive (to have + past participle)" which is used when speculating about the past, such as
"The bombs seem to have contained mustard gas, and perhaps the nerve agent sarin."
(= It seems that the bombs contained mustard gas, and perhaps ...)
or (with modals)
English Grammar | LearnEnglish | British Council | Modals ? deduction past
So, when I read "Try your best to have finished...", it didn't sound natural/grammatical to me.
However, after some research, I found that "hope to have done...", "need to have done..." and "try to have done..." are all possible.
Now, I'd like to check if I understand these expressions correctly, so I'm going to make my own sentences using them:
1. I hope to have decorated the room before my daughter comes back.
2. I need to have finished writing the report by the time I meet Mr. X.
3. I'll try to have collected enough information by the next meeting.
Do these sentences above work?
Thank you.