waiting close by

[GoldfishLord]

“It was really nice actually, his car was parked right where the helicopter landed so we imagined he would jump straight into it. We were waiting close by to try and get a picture of him but he actually waved, came over and said ‘Do you want some photos before I go?

Source: The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...ng-helicopter-in-football-field-a7111746.html

We're waiting for the rain to stop before we go out.

"to" doesn't mean something similar to "in order to'.
Does "to" hold true?

 

[jutfrank]

I can't make much sense of your question. Are you asking about the 'to' in the quoted text? Yes, it's an infinitive of purpose.

We're waiting for the rain to stop before we go out.

"to" doesn't mean something similar to "in order to'.
Does "to" hold true?

What does all this mean? Is this supposed to be related to the main question? What does 'hold true' mean?

 

[GoldfishLord]

Does the "to" in "we're waiting for the rain to stop before we go out." also an infinitive of purpose?

 

[Tarheel]

IS the "to" in "we're waiting for the rain to stop before we go out." also an infinitive of purpose?

 

[jutfrank]

Does the "to" in "we're waiting for the rain to stop before we go out." also an infinitive of purpose?

No, it isn't.

 

[GoldfishLord]

It doesn't really depend in baseball. The standard terminology is "come up to bat".

Before his turn, a batter is always in the close by "on deck" circle waiting*. He is always the next one to bat when he's in the on deck circle. He is the next player who will "come up to bat". So when the batter ahead of him is done, he comes up to bat (he walks to home base and takes his position).

No matter where they are sitting in the stadium, or even if they are listening on the radio at home, one fan will ask another, "Who's coming up** next?"

* the turn of a batter in baseball lasts only a couple of minutes, at most, unlike cricket. It's not uncommon to last only twenty seconds. So there is always another batter waiting close by to take his place.

** the "up" likely comes from the fact that the other players on the team sit in the "dugout" when one of their teammates is batting. It's partway below ground level so there are a couple of steps to walk up to get onto the field. So a player literally has to go up to reach the batting area (first the on deck circle and then home plate).

Source: Post in thread 'comes up to bat' https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/comes-up-to-bat.4041701/post-20749918

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Is the "to" in "there is always another batter waiting close by to take his place" an infinitive of purpose? I'm not sure.

 

[jutfrank]

You ask a lot of questions like this so you should learn to answer them for yourself. Tell me what you know about how to tell whether a to-infinitive is an infinitive of purpose.

 

[GoldfishLord]

I think that context determines whether a to-infinitive is an infinitive of purpose.
However, to me, it's unclear whether the "to" in "there is always another batter waiting close by to take his place" is an infinitive of purpose.

 

[jutfrank]

I think that context determines whether a to-infinitive is an infinitive of purpose.

It's the meaning that counts. An infinitive of purpose expresses the purpose of a state or action.

I went upstairs to go to the toilet.

Question: Why did I go upstairs?
Answer: To go to the toilet.

If the 'to-infinitive' answers the question 'why', then it expresses purpose. Do you understand?

 

[GoldfishLord]

Yes, I understand.
The "to" in "there is always another batter waiting close by to take his place" is an infinitive of purpose.
If it were not to be an infinitive of purpose, it would not fit the context.

 

[jutfrank]

We're waiting for the rain to stop.

Q: Why are we waiting for the rain?
A: To stop.

Does that make sense to you?

 

[jutfrank]

Answer my question, please.

 

[GoldfishLord]

We're waiting for the rain to stop.

Q: Why are we waiting for the rain?
A: To stop.

Does that make sense to you?

It doesn't make sense at all.

 

[GoldfishLord]

"There is always another batter waiting close by to take his place"

I think that, technically, the grammar is ambiguous and that we have to use context, world knowledge, and common sense to determine which ambiguous reading is correct.

The sentence in question could mean:
(1) Another batter waiting to take his place and being close by. (to is not "in order to")
(2) Another batter waiting close by in order to take his place.

 

[jutfrank]

The sentence in question could mean:
(1) Another batter waiting to take his place and being close by. (to is not "in order to")

I don't understand what you mean here. Can you explain a little more?

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think that trying to analyse every single word in every sentence is doing you any good. After "waiting", we use either a to-infinitive or "for" plus a noun.

I'm waiting to go into the theatre.
I'm waiting for the theatre doors to open.

They don't have anything to do with "purpose". They mean "I am waiting because the doors aren't open yet".

 

[jutfrank]

I'm waiting to go into the theatre.

They don't have anything to do with "purpose".

It does in this sentence. There's a single purpose in the speaker's mind, which is the motivation for waiting.

 

[emsr2d2]

I accept that the answer to "Why are you waiting?" is "Because I want to go into the theatre but the doors aren't open yet", but I wouldn't be able rephrase my sentence to "I'm waiting in order to go into the theatre".

 

[Piscean]

I don't think that trying to analyse every single word in every sentence is doing you any good.

Several of us have said this to GL at various times.

 

[Tarheel]

I just learned a new term: i"nfinity of purpose". I might add to that "telic" and "atelic", but since I can't tell you what they mean I haven't really learned them.

It's "home plate" -- not "home base". You will expressions like "He's stepping up to the plate."