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Hans51 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Usage of the word pursuit

"They have voiced concerns over the administration's pursuit to revise its pacifist constitution without fully recognizing its wartime atrocities."

This question is not about politics but it is about the phrase structure.

I was wondering if the word pursuit as a noun can be followed by to V? I have checked many dictionaries and I have found pursuit of N but they do not refer pursuit to V and then when verbs are followed, should we use "to" or is there a meaning difference between "pursuit of revising" and "pursuit to revise"?

If the structure is fine to use and then "pursuit" is equivalent to "to revise..." like "My plan is to study English" or to revise functions as an object of the verb pursuit but it is somewhat awkward to say to V functions as an object in meaning but I have learned that "of N" can function as an object like "study of English", so I am confused now. How do I understand the phrase?

Thank you so much as usual in advance.
  

Top answer

"pursuit to V" does not sound right to me. Hans51 I have learned that "of N" can function as an object like "study of English", In "study of English", "study" is a noun, not a verb. I can't think of any situation in which "of N" could function as the object of a verb.

  • "pursuit to V" does not sound right to me.
  • Hans51 I have learned that "of N" can function as an object like "study of English", In "study of English", "study" is a noun, not a verb.
  • I can't think of any situation in which "of N" could function as the object of a verb.
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5 Answers
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"pursuit to V" does not sound right to me.
Hans51 I have learned that "of N" can function as an object like "study of English",
In "study of English", "study" is a noun, not a verb. I can't think of any situation in which "of N" could function as the object of a verb.
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Thank you so much and I agree with you and I have learned about three ways of "to infinitives" like

I like to study English ( To study English functions as an object )

I am here to study English ( To study English functions as an adverb )

The ways to study English ( To study English functions as an adjective )

However, I have never heard that to infinitives func
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This pursuit to maintain equal or higher levels of income and purchasing habits as others around us (or “keeping up with the joneses”, as the common expression goes) turns life into a never-ending competition.

How can I understand the to infinitive phrase? Does it function as an object of the noun pursuit or an equal to the noun pursuit or for the purpose of the noun
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Hans51I like to study English ( To study English functions as an object )
I know you sometimes see it presented like this, but I personally have difficulty accepting "to study English" as a verb object in the normal sense. This is just my opinion.
Hans51However, I have never heard that to infinitives function as an object of nouns
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Hans51This pursuit to maintain equal or higher levels of income and purchasing habits as others around us (or “keeping up with the joneses”, as the common expression goes) turns life into a never-ending competition.How can I understand the to infinitive phrase? Does it function as an object of the noun pursuit or an equal to the noun pursuit or for the purpose of the noun

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