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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

The tense of Infinitive

1. The quake that happened last year was reported to ------------- hundreds dead.

Can I use just "leave" in the blank? Or I must use "have left" ?

I know "have left" would be the correct one, but , can I use "leave"

BTW, can I say "cause hundreds dead" ? how about "cause hundreds of death"

Except for "leave", is there other words that could fit in the blank??

2. I'm sorry to offend you. v.s. I'm sorry to have offended you.

The second one is correct. But can the two sentences mean the same thing??
  

Top answer

Infinitives have no intrinsic tense. They take their time from the finite verb. 1.

— Mister Micawber

  • Infinitives have no intrinsic tense.
  • They take their time from the finite verb.
  • 1.
  • The quake that happened last year was reported to ............
  • hundreds dead.
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2 Answers
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Infinitives have no intrinsic tense. They take their time from the finite verb.

1. The quake that happened last year was reported to ............ hundreds dead. Can I use just "leave" in the blank? Or I must use "have left" ?-- 'Have left' only. The report came after the deaths. BTW, can I say "cause hundreds dead" ?-- No. how about "cause hundreds of death"--
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Anonymous1. The quake that happened last year was reported to ------------- hundreds dead.
Can I use just "leave" in the blank? Or I must use "have left" ?
"have left"
AnonymousBTW, can I say "cause hundreds dead" ? how about "cause hundreds of death"
No. You could however say "... to have caus
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