Interrogatives followed by an infinitive
Hi guys,
I know these sentences work:
We don't know where to put the sofa. (where we should put the sofa)
No one could tell me how to start the engine. (how I should start the engine)
The rules didn't specify who to speak to in case of an emergency. (who you should speak to)
I had no idea what to write my home paper about. (what I should write my home paper about)
But are the followings do, too?
Search for "[yourcity] department of sanitation". They are who to call when there is a dead dog in the road.
Wow so if you need to know anything about the city of Helsinki, what district is good for what, where you can get the best food, the most fun bars – all that – then the staff at The Yard are who to ask.
What I would like to know is whether this pattern serves as a complement, aside from serving as an object in the first four examples.
Thank you very much.
Top answer
Kevin X Search for "[yourcity] department of sanitation". They are who to call when there is a dead dog in the road. Wow so if you need to know anything about the city of Helsinki, what district is good for what, where you can get the best food, the most fun bars – all that – then the staff at The Yard are who to ask.
- Kevin X Search for "[yourcity] department of sanitation".
- They are who to call when there is a dead dog in the road.
- Wow so if you need to know anything about the city of Helsinki, what district is good for what, where you can get the best food, the most fun bars – all that – then the staff at The Yard are who to ask.
- These two are intelligible, and might be used by native speakers, but to me they seem like casual or loose language, not perfectly proper English.
- More properly we can say "...
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Kevin XSearch for "[yourcity] department of sanitation". They are who to call when there is a dead dog in the road.
Wow so if you need to know anything about the city of Helsinki, what district is good for what, where you can get the best food, the most fun bars – all that – then the staff at The Yard are who to ask.
These two are intelligible, and migh
0Kevin XWhat I would like to know is whether this pattern serves as a complement, aside from serving as an object in the first four examples.
The infinitival clauses in your first four examples are not objects but complements of, respectively, "know", "tell", "specify" and "idea".
Kevin XBut are the followings do, too?
0
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