To do his homework

Question

Can one say:1-To do his homework, he paid a classmate of his,instead of:2-He paid a classmate of his to do his homework.Can one say:3-To clean his house, he hired a maid.instead of:4-He hired a maid to clean his house.Gratefully,Navi.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

You can say those things, but they sound very backwards to us native speakers.

You'll be understood, but people will know that English isn't your first language.

CJ

Navitasan · Answer

Thank you very much CalifJim,

I would like to try out one more case.

Can one say:

3-To help her get ready for the exam, she hired an experienced teacher.

instead of:

4-She hired an experienced teacher to help her get ready for the exam.

Gratefully,
Navi.

Mister Micawber · Answer

navitasan would like to try out one more case.Can one say: 3-To help her get ready for the exam, she hired an experienced teacher. instead of: 4-She hired an experienced teacher to help her get ready for the exam.

I see nothing there that is different from the sentences that CJ has already critiqued for you, navi.

CalifJim · Answer

navitasanone more case

I don't see the difference either between this one and the others.

I think you'd need an introductory infinitive clause that cannot be construed as having a modifying relationship to the noun at the end of the sentence if you wanted this clause order to work right. Adding 'In order' at the beginning would also help, although it is not required. If you just add 'In order', though, it's not enough to solve the problem completely.

1) In order to solve the problem, you'll have to do a lot of research on alkaloids.
2) In order to see the parade, little Timmy had to be lifted onto Dad's shoulders.
3) In order to land the plane safely, the pilot must be sure that all the instruments in the cockpit are working correctly.

Note how the combinations below don't make sense, so in each case the introductory clause can't be taken mistakenly as a modifier of the last noun in the sentence. This is a good thing for this type of sentence.

1) alkaloids to solve the problem 2) shoulders to see the parade 3) cockpit to land the plane safely

Note that in these cases, the initial infinitive clause relates to the subject of the main clause, not to anything else later in the sentence. 1) you want to solve the problem 2) Timmy wants to see the parade 3) the pilot wants to land the plane safely.
__________

Conversely, in your example sentences, the classmate is going to do the homework and the maid is going to clean the house. Neither 'classmate' nor 'maid' is the subject of the main clause.

CJ

To do his homework

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