Implied infinitive?

Question

Examine the following sentence:

If you do not take your own writing seriously then how can you expect anyone else to?

Is this correct or incorrect usage of grammar? The word "to" refers to the infinitive verb "to take." Since the verb is used earlier in the sentence it is implied. The word "to" seems to function as the infinitive verb "to take." Ending the sentence with "... anyone else to take it seriously?" seems redundant. Does this violate the rule of ending a sentence with a preposition or is it ok to use "to" by itself as an infinitive form of a previously used verb? Can the word "to" by itself function as an infinitive in this situation?

If you do not take your own writing seriously then how can you expect anyone else to take it seriously?

This seems unnecessarily redundant to me. Please help!

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

.
Hello, leons-- and welcome to English Forums.

Your original sentence is fine with its terminal 'to'. It is not a preposition; it is the infinitive particle. However, there is no rule against ending a sentence with a preposition.
.

Eimai_Anglos · Answer

Quote: "If you do not take your own writing seriously then how can you expect anyone else to (do so)?"

I'm not sure if this is true for all circumstances but, if you can add "do so" after "to" at the end of such a sentence, then it is probably correct.

"Infinitive participle"? Beats me how I ever learned English at Grammar School without being taught such terms. I consider myself lucky to have been taught the "uninflected genitive"!

(Apologies if this is duplicated. I didn't notice that I wasn't logged in.)

CalifJim · Answer

Welcome to English forums!
Ending with the infinitive particle to is just fine. It acts somewhat like a modal verb in its ability to suggest the whole verb phrase.

If you don't do it, who will? If you don't do it, then who is going to?

John won't buy that shirt, but I may. John won't buy it, but I think I want to.
They don't seem to want to pay, but they should. They don't seem to want to pay, but I expect them to.
CJ

Leons · Answer

Thanks! I also found this (scroll down to the bottom):

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/grammarlogs4/grammarlogs510.htm

First of all, I love your website! I am an attorney and, needing all the help I can get, will likely revisit it in the future. I have a dispute with a close friend of mine, who is an English teacher! Please help us. The following sentence is the subject of the dispute:

"I love sports, but you don't necessarily have to."

Please assume, for purposes of this inquiry, that ending a sentence with a preposition is forbidden and grammatically incorrect. (I do, however, note your comments on this rule being relaxed)

One of us sees the above sentence as ending in a preposition, and therefore grammatically incorrect.

The other person takes the position that the word "to" is not a preposition in this sentence. It is likely an infinitive (i.e., "to love" — with the word "love" implied) and therefore the sentence is perfectly correct. The (implied) infinitive is acting as the object of the verb "love" (i.e., as a noun) and the sentence may properly end with the word "to."

Who is correct? Actually, the main issue here is whether the sentence ends in a preposition or not. If not, is there anything else grammatically wrong with this sentence? If the word "to" is neither a preposition nor an infinitive, what is it? Any other comments?

"The other person," in this case, is correct. The "to" at the end of that sentence is not a preposition. It is the "particle" of an infinitive that remains implied. You can even have two of these in the same sentence, as in "You don't have to if you don't want to." ("To what?" to do something?) Ending a sentence with this "open infinitive" is perfectly acceptable.

CalifJim · Answer

leonsI also found this

OK. Just the link is enough! You don't have to display the whole thing!
CJ

Anonymous · Answer

In highschool they try to teach you that this is unacceptable.  However, as you mature in writing, you learn that it often makes more sense to use infinitives then to be redundant.  Winston Churchill actually debunked the notion that we should not use infinitives in writing.  I agre with him.  What is the point of not using them?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWinston Churchill actually debunked the notion that we should not use infinitives in writing.

I don't think anyone ever said that we should not use infinitives in writing! Mr.Churchill must have been busy debunking something else! What do you think it was?

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

So is the "to" an "open infinitive" or a "particle" of an infinitive?  Or is it both?

Mister Micawber · Answer

it is the infinitive particle.

Anonymous · Answer

Yes. It is correct. Prepositional stranding is commonly acceptable in open interrogatives, especially when what follows is recoverable in the rest of the sentence construction.

The implication is: if you do not (take your own writing seriously) then how can you expect anyone else to (take your own writing seriously).

Implied infinitive?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions