不定式（短语）作定语、状语、独立成分

1. 不定式（短语）作定语

(1) 被修饰的名词或代词与作定语的不定式之间存在着逻辑上的主谓关系。如：

She has a brother to help her.

她有个哥哥帮她。

The question will be discussed at the conference shortly to open in Beijing.

这个问题将在不久于北京召开的会议上讨论。

The next train to arrive was from New York.

下一列到站的火车是从纽约开来的。

He was always the first to come and last to leave the office.

他总是第一个到办公室，最后一个离开。（first与last之后省去了person）

(2) 被修饰的名词或代词与作定语的不定式之间存在着逻辑上的动宾关系。如：

It was a game to remember.

那是一场令人难忘的球赛。

The manager has too many things to do.

经理要做的事太多了。

I have nothing to say on this question.

在这个问题上，我没有什么话要说。

(3) 不定式（短语）作某些抽象名词的定语。

The sales manager had every reason to complain.

销售经理有充足的理由表示不满。

My cousin expressed his intention to resign.

我表兄表达了辞职的打算。

I could see her eagerness to see you.

我看得出她渴望见到你。

His failure to pass the examination surprised us.

他的落榜使我们吃惊。

That diplomat is reputed for his ability to speak four languages.

那位外交官以能讲四种语言而闻名。

(4) “介词+关系代词+不定式（短语）”作定语。如：

The employer has a lot of people from whom to select.

雇主可以在许多人中进行挑选。

A notebook is a book in which to write notes.

笔记本用来记笔记。

I must buy a hammer with which to nail down the box.

我必须买一把锤子钉箱子。

(5)“不定式（短语）+介词”作定语

I need a pen to write with.

我需要一支笔写字。

Give me some paper to write on.

给我一些纸写字。

① 作定语的不定式如果是不及物动词，或者不定式所修饰的名词或代词是不定式动作的地点、工具等，不定式后面须加相应的介词。如：

She is looking for a room to live in. 她在寻找一间房子住。

There is nothing to worry about. 没有什么可担心的。

但是，不定式所修饰的名词如果是time, place 或 way，不定式后面的介词习惯上可省去。如：

He had no place to live. 他没有居住的地方。

② 在there＋be这一句型中，动词不定式作定语时可能出现动词不定式的被动式，其含义与主动式基本相同。但当说话人考虑的是必须有人去完成某件事时，不定式用主动形式，如果说话人强调的是事情本身必须完成，则用被动形式。如：

There are many books to read/ to be read. 有好多书要读。

There's plenty of work to do.（somebody has to do the work.）

There's plenty of work to be done. (The work has to be done.)

请注意下面两个句子含义的区别：

There is nothing to do.(We have nothing to do now.)

（意为无事可做，感到十分无聊。）

There is nothing to be done. (We can do nothing now.)

（意为某东西坏了，无法使之恢复正常。）

2. 不定式（短语）作状语

(1) 不定式（短语）作目的状语

Every morning he gets up very early to exercise.

每天早晨他早早起床去锻炼身体。

A fuel is a substance used to generate light, heat or energy.

燃料是一种用来产生光、热或能量的物质。

Dams are used to control flooding, provide water for irrigation, and generating electricity for the surrounding area.

水坝被用于防洪、提供灌溉用水、并为周围地区发电。

He hesitated in order to/so as to choose the right word.

他迟疑了一下，以便选择合适的字眼。

(2) 不定式（短语）作结果状语

① 不定式作结果状语时，往往仅限于learn（得知）， find（发现）， see（看见）， hear（听见），to be told（被告知），make（使得）等几个具有终止含义的动词。如：

Sam returned home to learn his son had gone to the countryside.

萨姆回家后才知道他的儿子已去了乡下。

A few years later we came to our home to find that our home town had greatly changed.

几年后我们回到家里，发现家乡的面貌大大地改变了。

② 不定式（短语）也可用 enough 和 too...to 结构表示结果。如：

Uncle Tom was too ill to attend the meeting.

汤姆叔叔病得很重，无法出席会议。

He is old enough to join the army.

他够参军年龄了。

You are old enough to take care of yourself now.

你长大了，足能照料你自己了。

The boy is too short to reach the top of the shelf.

那男孩太矮了，够不着书架的顶层。

注意：

(ⅰ) 某些形容词在”too … to … ”结构中没有否定的含义，而是表示肯定，这类形容词有anxious, apt, delighted, eager, easy, glad, kind, pleased, ready, surprised, willing 等。如：

He is too ready to find fault. 他老是爱挑毛病。

She was too surprised to see how angry her father was. 看到爸爸那么生气，她非常吃惊。

(ⅱ) 在not, never, only, all ,but等后的“too…to…”结构中，“too”的含义为“very”，不定式没有否定含义。如：

I'm only too pleased to help you. 我非常愿意帮助你。

It's never too late to learn. 活到老，学到老。

(ⅲ) 动词不定式和only连用时，常表示未预料到的结果。如：

He went to the station hurriedly only to find the train had left.

他匆匆地赶到车站，却发现火车已经离开了。

I went to see my friend only to learn he was in hospital. 我去看我的朋友，不料他住院了。

He survived the crash only to die in the desert. 他幸存于坠机事故，结果却死在沙漠里。

③ 不定式（短语）在“so+形容词/副词+as”之后作结果状语。

She wouldn't be so careless as to forget her luggage. 她不可能粗心到忘了带行李的程度。

The house is so high and narrow as to resemble a tower. 这房子又高又窄，像一座塔。

④ 不定式（短语）在“such（+名词短语）+as”之后作结果状语。

His indifference is such as to make one despair. 他如此冷淡，令人感到绝望。

Baker can't have done such a terrible thing as to keep you waiting for so long.

贝克不可能做出这么糟糕的事让你等了这么久。

(3) 不定式（短语）作方式状语

不定式（短语）作方式状语时，前面由as if / as though引导：

He opened his mouth as if to speak. 他张开嘴，好像要说话。

She stood up as if to leave. 她站了起来，好像要离开。

3. 不定式（短语）作独立成分

(1) 不定式（短语）可以作句子的插入语。

To begin with, I do not like its color.

首先，我不喜欢它的颜色。 To tell the truth, the film was a great disappointment to me.

说实在的，那部影片使我大为失望。

To make a long story short, we agreed to disagree.

长话短说，我们同意各自保留不同的看法。

How time flies, to be sure!

时光真是过得快啊！

The dog is, so to speak, a member of the family.

那狗可以说是家庭的一员了。

(2) 常见的用作插入语的不定式短语有：

to be brief 简言之	to be exact 确切地说	to be frank 坦率地说
to be sure 肯定地说	to begin with 首先	to conclude 最后