result or purpose

[diamondcutter]

Archie Mendes is only 12 years old but he’s studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris for two years. He’s just helped some engineers to design a new car which goes on land and on water.

Source: Kid’s Box 6, CUP

I think the new car has been designed because the author writes “he’s helped...”. That is to say, “to design a new car” here refers to a result, not a purpose. What do you think of my understanding? Is it correct?

 

[5jj]

The 'to help' is simply an infinitive form following a catenative verb. Catenative verbs are followed by another verb, which is sometimes in the form of a to- infinitive, sometimes an -ing form and, rarely, a bare infinitive.

 

[jutfrank]

It appears that you believe that all instances of to-infinitive verbs are to express either purpose or result. That's not the case at all.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, 5jj and jutfrank.

What I meant is that the author uses the present perfect tense of the verb "help", which indicates the designing of the new car has been accomplished. Am I right?

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think we can necessarily conclude from the grammar itself that the design process is finished but I do think there's an implication that it is.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, jutfrank.

I don't think we can necessarily conclude from the grammar itself that the design process is finished but I do think there's an implication that it is.

I think you mean that we should consider both the grammar and the context in order to understand a sentence correctly. If the sentence is written like this, it means they still haven’t started to design the car because the words “will” and “can” and the context tell us that. Am I right?

He will help some engineers to design a new car which can go on land and on water.

 

[5jj]

He will help some engineers to design a new car which can go on land and on water.

That does not necessarily mean that the engineers haven't started to design the car yet.

 

[jutfrank]

I think you mean that we should consider both the grammar and the context in order to understand a sentence correctly.

Yes. We consider the grammar as it is used in the context. Then, importantly, we relate this to our knowledge and experience of the world and how it works.

If the sentence is written like this, it means they still haven’t started to design the car because the words “will” and “can” and the context tell us that. Am I right?

He will help some engineers to design a new car which can go on land and on water.

As 5jj points out, the subject of the sentence is He, so as far as 'sentence meaning' goes, we know only that he will help some engineers. We don't know whether the engineers have started yet.

Be careful to distinguish sentence meaning (what the words literally say) from implicature (the kind of 'indirect' or 'extended' meaning carried by context and our expectations of the world).