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Bookmark or Share- to be past participle - English Language & Usage Stack ExchangeThe construction to be + the past participle is a passive infinitive. Definition: An infinitive construction in which the agent (or performer of the action) either appears in a prepositional phrase following the verb or is not identified at all. The passive infinitive is made up of the marker to + be + a past participle (also known as the -en ...
- grammar - Should we use "not to" or "to not"? - English Language ...That’s perhaps why the term ‘plain form’ is increasingly used. The authors of 'The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language' avoid ‘infinitive’ altogether and use the term ‘infinitival’ for one of the clause constructions that use the plain form. But let’s say no more here about ‘split infinitives’. They’ve been done to ...
- "are to be" vs "have to be" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange1. Both have similar meanings with only a subtle difference. "Are to be" is another way of saying "should be", which is instructive (passive command) rather than urgent and forceful. On the other hand, "have to be" is like "must be", which implies necessity and requirement with more urgency than "are to be". Share.
- "supposed to" or "suppose to"? - English Language & Usage Stack ExchangeAdd a comment. 2. The expression "supposed to", when used to describe what someone should do, is always spelled "supposed to" and always goes with a form of the verb "to be" (E.g. "they are supposed to do X", "I am not supposed to do Y"). Historically, it originated as a passive-voice version of the verb suppose, meaning in this context "expect".
- meaning - Why do people say "to be honest"? - English Language & Usage ...1. Pragmatic markers include various subsets. 'To be honest' falls neatly in the veridical (commenting on the truthfulness of the statement to which it is appended) subclass. However, as Janus is the first to say, it often paraphrases 'actually' as a mere focus marker. – Edwin Ashworth.
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