to be preserved/being preserved

Question

This fine-grained rock, which is extensively quarried for lithographic stone, was evidently deposited in a shallow coral lagoon of a tropical sea, and flying vertebrates occasionally fell into the water and were buried by the fine limy mud, to be preserved with remarkable detail.

This sentence is from a TOELT test.

I am still not sure about the rule to use the passive infinitive "to be preserved" here.
Is it OK to use "being preserved" instead of "to be preserved"?
Thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

SquareIs it OK to use "being preserved" instead of "to be preserved"?

Not really. It is talking about what happened a long time after the creatures fell into the lagoon.
The present participle is used for actions that happened at about the same time as the main verb.
The infinitive is for actions in the future.
The perfect participle is used for actions that happened just before the main action.

Having flown into a flock of birds, the airplane was forced to make a crash landing on the river. (relative past)
Obeying the stewards' instructions, the passengers sat on the wings of the floating plane until they could be rescued. (relative present)
The airplane was designed to float in case of an emergency water landing. (relative future)

Square · Answer

Hi, thank you very much for the answer. I feel much more confident now.

CalifJim · Answer

SquareI am still not sure about the rule to use the passive infinitive "to be preserved" here.

The passive has nothing to do with it. Both active and passive infinitives are used in this turn of phrase.

They fell into the water (past) and were buried in mud (past), [where they were] to be preserved with remarkable detail (future of the past).

This structure is related to the idiom is to, a way of indicating the future. You can even use the paraphrase where they were destined to be preserved. In other words, from the viewpoint of our present-day knowledge, this was going to happen.

Not exactly the same, but a related structure:

In 1804 Beethoven completed the symphony which was to make him famous. (was destined to make him famous)

(We know now that this symphony made him famous, but at that time his fame was in the future.)

CJ

Square · Answer

Thank you very much for the excellent answer.

to be preserved/being preserved

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