Grammar-Quizzes › Verb Phrases › Verb Complements › Infinitives › Command Verbs w/Infinitives
Command Verbs with Infinitive Complements
Express an Order or Obligation for Someone to Do Something
Subordinate That Clause vs. Infinitive Clause
| "THAT" CLAUSE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A number of verbs expressing a wish, suggestion or order are followed by a noun or pronoun and a that clause. The clause tends to be used in more formal contexts, and the verb is in the subjunctive, plain form, which is not inflected for tense or person agreement (no final -s). |
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| SUBJ + PRED | COMPLEMENET (CLAUSE) | ||
The judge ordered |
that |
John he she they we
|
sit down. (base form) be quiet. pay a fine.
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| INIFINITIVE CLAUSE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A similar meaning may be expressed with an infinitive clause. The verb is followed by a noun or accusative pronoun, which is both the object of the verb and the understood subject of the infinitive clause. [The judge ordered John (for) John to leave.] See Infinitive with Subject regarding [for + NP]. |
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| SUBJ + PRED | OBJ | COMP | COMP |
The judge ordered |
John him her them us
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[for John] [for him] |
to sit down. to be quiet. pay a fine. |
will (N) – stating one's choice(s) strongly and positively
accusative – a pronoun form used when it is the object of the verb (her, him, us, them)
complement – a word, phrase or clause required to complete another element in the clause such as the subordinator that which requires a clause to complete its meaning, or a preposition which requires a noun (phrase or clause) to complete its meaning. See Complements.
nominative – a pronoun form used when it is the subject of the verb (she, he, we, they)
subjunctive verb – 3rd person singular form is not inflected: base form (no -s is added to the verb) , also called "bare infinitive".
that, for, and to – function as subordinators above: that John sit down, for John, to sit down See Grammar Notes.
See Grammar Notes below for grammatical terms.
Word Categories: N – Noun; V – Verb; Aux – Auxiliary; Adj – Adjective; Adv – Adverb; P –Preposition; Det –Determiner. See Word Categories.
Phrasal Categories: NP – Noun Phrase; VP – Verb Phrase; AdjP – Adjective Phrase; AdvP – Adverb Phrase; PP – Prepositional Phrase; DP – Determinative Phrase.
Clausal Categories: Cls – clause; F – finite clause; NF – nonfinite clause: Ger – gerund; Inf – infinitive; PPart – past participle.
Command Verb Lists ("mandative verbs")
Verb + Object + Infinitive
Order vs. Suggest Complements
| (1) VERBS LIKE "ORDER" |
|---|
Some verbs expressing will or giving orders are complemented by that + a clause or by an infinitive clause. A noun phrase may also occur. |
The judge ordered a mental health examination of the defendant. (NP) |
The judge ordered [that she return to rehab for sixty days]. (that+clause) |
The judge order her [to return to rehab for sixty days]. (infinitive clause) |
| (2) VERBS LIKE "SUGGEST" |
|---|
Other verbs can only be complemented by a noun phrase or that + a clause. |
The judge suggested a mental health examination of the defendant. (NP) |
The judge suggested [that she return to rehab for sixty days]. (that+clause) |
*The judge suggested her [to return to rehab for sixty days]. |
defendant (N) – the person in a court of law who has been accused of doing something illegal
rehab – rehabilitation; a hospital or treatment center for people with medical, mental, or addiction problems
| VERBS LIKE "ORDER" | |
|---|---|
advise We advised– him to / that he – take a break. |
ask She asked – us to / that we – come along. |
beg She begged – us to / that we – stay up late. |
caution The doctor cautioned – us to / that we – rest a day. |
command He commanded – us to / that we – stop. |
desire We desired – me to / that I – see him. |
directed He directed – us to / that we – follow him. |
forbid She forbids – him to / that he – stay out late. |
instruct He instructed – us to / that we – follow. |
intend He didn't intend – us to / that we – do all the work. |
order They ordered – us to / that we – carry a passport. |
pledge He pledged – us to / that we – help out. |
prefers She prefers – him to / that he – see it. |
prescribe Dr. Lee prescribed – him to / that he – take aspirin. |
signal They signaled – us to / that we – come in. |
recommend He recommends – you to / that you – be hired. |
request They requested – us to / that we – dress formally. |
require We require – you to / that you – stay late. |
urge We urged – him to / that he – be more careful. |
*wish My parents wished – me to / that I – try harder. |
*"My parents wished me to try harder." is a past imperative. "My parents wished that I tried harder." could be a past imperative or an expression of disappointment – they wished and I failed. Lost Opportunity.
| VERBS LIKE "ORDER" | |
|---|---|
demand They demanded that he leave. |
insist They insisted that she come along. |
propose They propose that he go first. |
recommend They recommend that she hire him. |
suggested We suggested that he try again.
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Also see Command Clauses.
Common Mistakes
Errors and Solutions
Error and Solution
| ERROR |
|---|
*They advised that John sells his car and finds a safer one. |
Jack's coach suggested him to do some extra practice. |
*His doctor told him to stop smoking, start exercising and to eat less junk food. |
| SOLUTION |
|---|
They advised
John to sell his car and (to) find a safer one. |
Jack's coach suggested that he do some extra practice. "Suggest" is followed by that + a clause (only) and a subjunctive verb "do." See Imperative Clauses |
*His doctor told him to stop smoking, (to) start exercising and (to) eat less junk food. It is only necessary to place "to" before the first infinitive form in a series. Repeating "to" places emphasis on each word in the series, especially in writing and public speaking for style. |
Related page Parallel Phrasing.
Grammar Notes (Advanced)
Traditional and Linguistic Description
Traditional / ESL and Linguistic Descriptions
| TRADITIONAL AND ESL DESCRIPTION | LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
subjunctive (Adj) – expressing a condition that is uncertain or contrary to fact (e.g., if I were you), including doubt, wishfulness, possibility, demand, and the like (e.g., the crowd demanded that she be heard). — Garner 918
Azar. Understanding and Using English Grammar (450) A subjunctive verb uses the simple form of a verb. it does not have present, past, or future forms; it is neither singular nor plural. Sentences with subjunctive verbs generally stress importance or urgency. A subjunctive verb is used in that-clauses that follow verbs and expressions: advise, ask, demand, insist, propose, recommend, request, suggest It is… critical, essential, imperative, important, necessary, vital
Michael Swan. Practical English Use age (567) 567 Subjunctive Some languages have special verb forms called subjunctive, which are used especially to talk about unreal situations; things which are possible, desirable or imaginary. Older English had subjunctives, but in modern English they have mostly been replaced by uses of should, would and other modal verbs, by uses of past tenses, and by ordinary verb forms. English only has a few subjunctive forms left: third-person singular present verbs with out -s (e.g. she see, he have) and special forms of be (e.g. I be, he were). Except for I/he/she/it were after if, they are not very common. |
Huddleston. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language 11 §7.1 Subjunctive is restricted to the following clause content. Mandative – occurs in construction with: various verbs:
various adjectives:
various nouns: The requirement that he be here by Tuesday is non-negotiable. various prepositions:
Huddleston 11 §7.1.2
Exhaustive conditional adjuncts. We will have to face the challenge whether it be here in our country or abroad. Huddleston 11 §7.1.3
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Categories "Parts of Speech": N – noun; NP – noun phrase; V – verb; VP – verb phrase; Adj – adjective; AdjP – adjective phrase; Adv – adverb; AdvP – adverb phrase; P – preposition; PP – prepositional phrase; Det – determiner; DP – determinative phrase; Subord – subordinator; Coord – coordinator; Interj – interjection.
Word Functions: Subj – Subject; Pred – Predicate/Predicator – Pred; COMP – complement: elements required by an expression to complete its meaning ; ADJUNCT: — adjunct: elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning; Supplement – a clause or phrase added to a clause but not closely related to the central idea or structure of the main clause (an aside comment).
Works Cited
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. "Common Verbs Followed by Infinitives." Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. "Infinitive Clauses." Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English, Pearson Education, 1999.
- Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum. "The structure of infinitivals." The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, Cambridge UP, 2002.
- Pullum, Geoffrey. "Non-finite Clauses." Linguistics and English Language, U of Edinburgh. 1 Nov 2012, www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/grammar/nonfiniteclauses.html.
- "Sentence diagram: The Reed Kellogg System." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Apr. 2016. wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_diagram#Reed.E2.80.93Kellogg_system.
- Swan, Michael. "283 Infinitives (5): I want you to listen." Practical English Usage, 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
Practice
Mischievous Dog
Read Context
David brought home a delightful, young Labrador retriever, Josie, from a dog shelter. The dog was both playful and mischievous. However, David soon needed help managing his new pet.
His wife preferred that he keep the dog outside. But the dog kept escaping from the yard.
A neighbor asked that he keep the dog inside his fence. It was pouncing on his kids while they were playing.
Another neighbor begged that he keep the dog out of his flower garden.
An angry neighbor suggested that he tie the dog up.
The city requires that an owner to keep a dog on a leash.
The mailman recommended that he fix his gate latch. Otherwise, the dog might get hit in the street.
His brother urged him to give the dog away to a sheep farmer.
His wife wished that he hire a dog trainer.
The dog trainer advised that he walk the dog twice a day.
And she advised that he attend dog behavior classes with his dog.
escapades – reckless adventures, wild behavior, escapes
dog owner (N) – the person or people who take care of the dog
latch (N) – mechanism that holds the gate closed
wear out – become old or very tired .
willful (Adj) – having a strong will, being stubborn
Change the subjunctive that-clauses to infinitive clauses if possible.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
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