Past passive infinitive?

[karlajann]

Hello everybody, I would like to know if there is a tense called Past passive infinitive. And if examples are possible? Thank you so much.:roll:

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the board, Karlajann.

I googled the phrase and found this for you:


"Past Passive Infinitive

He planned to have been elected president by the time
he was 40 years old.

We expected the work to have been completed yesterday,
but it wasn't."

(Dave's ESL Café)

Rover

 

[karlajann]

Hi Rover_KE, thanks for your reply but sb told me this sentence. Look: Many cameras were to have been installed. And it is called past passive infinitive. I've also looked it up but I couldn't find anything.

 

[Pedroski]

Hola!

'Cameras have been installed.' is a passive construction. The cameras didn't do anything. They were passive. Someone did something to them, namely: installed them.

'Cameras shall have been installed.' is a Future Tense passive construction. At an, here undefined, point in the future, the cameras will have been installed. Again, the cameras are (to become) the passive objects of someone else's action, namely: of the technician who will install them.

'Cameras were to have been installed.' is a subjunctive (were = hubiese) passive construction: no cameras have been installed. This is the declaration of an unfulfilled intention. The intention to install cameras was in the past, but no action has occurred, and as such cannot correctly be termed Past Passive Infinitive. The same goes for Rover's examples.

 

[feby ayumi]

its clear..
I likeRover_KE's explanation..:-D

sorry..
I'm join your thread..
but do you know about original sentence ?
this one example :
The children should have their mother wait outside

please tell me the explanation if you know it.;-)

 

[cubezero3]

Welcome to the board, Karlajann.

I googled the phrase and found this for you:


"Past Passive Infinitive

He planned to have been elected president by the time
he was 40 years old.

We expected the work to have been completed yesterday,
but it wasn't."

(Dave's ESL Café)

Rover

Hello, Rover.

Is the second sentence ambiguous?

I can't work out which action took place yesterday. The expection occered? Or the the work to have been completed?

My guess is people can't know the answer without further context being given.

Thanks.

 

[Rover_KE]

Hello,

I can't work out which action took place yesterday.

No action took place yesterday. We expected work to be done but it wasn't.

Present: 'We expect the work to be completed today'.

Past: 'We expected the work to have been completed yesterday.'

Rover

 

[Pedroski]

Interesting: 'No action took place yesterday.'

This invites the question, whether or not if you 'expect' or 'await' or 'hope', are you doing something?