[General] infinitive and gerund

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind to explain to me the usage of infinitive and gerund in the following two sentences?

The annual spectator’s conference is held at the end of the year with the aim of selecting the best film of the year.

It was our aim to complete the work before the end of the month.

V.

 

[kiwi man]

NOT A TEACHER!

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind to explain to me the usage of infinitive and gerund in the following two sentences?

The annual spectator’s conference is held at the end of the year with the aim of selecting the best film of the year.

If you look at the sentence, you will see that "selecting the best film of the year" is a noun.

It was our aim to complete the work before the end of the month.

Even though it is rare, there are times that you will use verb + ing after using "to'." Most of the time, you use present verb after "to."

V.

 

[5jj]

NOT A TEACHER!

The annual spectator’s conference is held at the end of the year with the aim of selecting the best film of the year.

1. If you look at the sentence, you will see that "selecting the best film of the year" is a noun.

It was our aim to complete the work before the end of the month.


2. Even though it is rare, there are times that you will use verb + ing after using "to'." Most of the time, you use present verb after "to."

@ kiwi man:
1. 'Selecting' is a gerund, as Vil knows.
2.'To complete' is a to-infinitive. The fact that there are constructions such as 'I look forward to seeing you' is not relevant here.

@ vil. I am not ignoring your question - I just haven't come up with a convincing answer yet.

 

[5jj]

@ vil. I am not ignoring your question - I just haven't come up with a convincing answer yet.

Quirk et al (1985) say that aim has predominantly of + ing construction.

They suggest:

" The construction with to-infinitive is especially suitable for cases where the subject of the infinitive is expressed;

Such schemes leave the workers some freedom/some freedom for the workers to regulate the relationship between effort and reward.

The construction with of + ing is especially convenient when no expressed subject is implicit (generalizing function):

The freedom of holding an opinion and expressing it is a human right. "

I am not sure that that helps.

 

[vil]

Hi fivejedjon,

Thank you for your kindness.

Your careful remarks were really helpful for me.

Here are a few another similar sentences:

Our aim is to continuously improve work practices, comply with health and safety regulations and meet the standards of Russian federal law and international conventions.

Their aim is to switch the whole district over to natural gas.

New community wardens started patrolling Kenilworth this month with the aim of protecting hundreds of homes in the area from criminals.

V.