Infinitives wtih Indirect Objects: Getting Other People to Do Things

A sentence with an infinitive expresses a wish or hope about a future activity or event.

With an indirect object, the wish is for someone else to perform or do the activity.

INFINITIVE PHRASE	INDIRECT OBJECT + INFINITIVE PHRASE
The subjects of the main clause and the infinitive phrase are the same.	The subjects of the main clause and the infinitive phrase differ.
He expects to help. [He expects himself to help.]	Edward expects me to help him. [ Edvard expects I will help him.]
They would like to speak. [They would like themselves to speak.]	They would like you to speak. [They would like that you speak.]
Edward wants to eat now. [He would like that he be able to eat.]	Edward wants us to eat now. [He would like that we be able to eat.]

advise We advised him to take a break.	enable They enabled us to succeed.	permit They permit us to stay.
allow We allowed her to go out.	encourage He encouraged me to try hard.	persuade He persuaded me to try.
appoint He appointed him to the post.	expect We expect them to do well.	remind He reminded me to get gas.
ask She asked us to come along.	forbid They forbid us to smoke.	require They require us to carry a visa.
beg She begged us to stay up late.	force We forced them to think twice.	teach He taught us to sing.
cause It caused us to be strong.	help* (optional to) We helped them win.	tell She told me to bring a key.
challenge They challenged us to play.	hire We hired him to fix the sink.	select We selected them to help.
choose He chose me to assist.	instruct He instructed me to play the violin.	urge We urged them to take a break.
convince They convinced us to come.	invite He invited me to visit.	want He wanted us to drive.
dare He dared me to try it.	need We need him to help	warn They warned us to be careful.
elect We elected him to be president.	order They ordered us to leave.	would like I'd like you to be on time.

Cooking dinner

VERB	VERBS THAT OMIT "TO"
HELP*	They helped us cook dinner. (Also: They helped us to get organized.)
LET	They let us leave early. (permitted)
MAKE	They made us wash dishes. (forced)
HAVE	We had them clear the table. (perform a service)

These negative sentences are similar in meaning:

NEGATIVE MAIN VERB	NEGATIVE INFINITIVE
He doesn't want me to waste paper.	He wants me not to waste any paper.
* He doesn't want me to waste no paper. (Use any.)	He wants me not to waste any paper.
	He wants me to not waste any paper. (awkward word order - place not before to.)

ERROR	FIXES
*I promise you to finish the homework. "Promise" is not used with an indirect object and infinitive.	I promise to finish the homework. (It's my work.) I promise you that you will finish the homework. (It's your work.)

Cleaning up after an oil spill

#	IMAGE	YOUR RESPONSE
e.g.	Al Gore	Scientists selected Al Gore the message about Global Warming.
1	Drivers	We want drivers their driving.
2	Congress	We are urging Congress laws to restrict energy waste.
3	Environmental Scientists	We expect environmental scientists solutions.
4	Politicians	We urge politicians the country toward energy conservation.
5	Inventors	We need inventors solutions.
6	light switch	We can teach children lights when they leave rooms.
7	Volunteers	We invite volunteers parks and beaches.
8	Everyone	We need to remind everyone the planet's resources.
9	CFL Bulb	Compact fluorescent light bulbs help us electricity.
10	Compact Car	Driving compact cars lets us fuel consumption.