Gerund or Infinitives?
0
How can I grammatically explain gerund "seeking" in this sentence? Can I use "to seek" instead?
I am Sharron Biggs, CEO and founder of BiggsGraphics. I recently came across your advertisement seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects.
participles infinitive-vs-gerund
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
0
How can I grammatically explain gerund "seeking" in this sentence? Can I use "to seek" instead?
I am Sharron Biggs, CEO and founder of BiggsGraphics. I recently came across your advertisement seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects.
participles infinitive-vs-gerund
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
0
0
0
How can I grammatically explain gerund "seeking" in this sentence? Can I use "to seek" instead?
I am Sharron Biggs, CEO and founder of BiggsGraphics. I recently came across your advertisement seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects.
participles infinitive-vs-gerund
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
How can I grammatically explain gerund "seeking" in this sentence? Can I use "to seek" instead?
I am Sharron Biggs, CEO and founder of BiggsGraphics. I recently came across your advertisement seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects.
participles infinitive-vs-gerund
participles infinitive-vs-gerund
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
edited 2 days ago
Mari-Lou A
61.7k55216455
61.7k55216455
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
asked 2 days ago
AnhLe
1
1
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
AnhLe is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1
"Seeking" is not a gerund there, but a participle, the head of the postposed adjectival (participial) clause "seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects", which modifies "advertisement".
Neither a gerund nor an infinitive would make sense there, as they both fulfil the role of a noun phrase.
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
AnhLe is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
draft saved
draft discarded
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f478378%2fgerund-or-infinitives%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
1
"Seeking" is not a gerund there, but a participle, the head of the postposed adjectival (participial) clause "seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects", which modifies "advertisement".
Neither a gerund nor an infinitive would make sense there, as they both fulfil the role of a noun phrase.
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
add a comment |
1
"Seeking" is not a gerund there, but a participle, the head of the postposed adjectival (participial) clause "seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects", which modifies "advertisement".
Neither a gerund nor an infinitive would make sense there, as they both fulfil the role of a noun phrase.
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
add a comment |
1
1
1
"Seeking" is not a gerund there, but a participle, the head of the postposed adjectival (participial) clause "seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects", which modifies "advertisement".
Neither a gerund nor an infinitive would make sense there, as they both fulfil the role of a noun phrase.
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
"Seeking" is not a gerund there, but a participle, the head of the postposed adjectival (participial) clause "seeking the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects", which modifies "advertisement".
Neither a gerund nor an infinitive would make sense there, as they both fulfil the role of a noun phrase.
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 2 days ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
63.7k170160
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
add a comment |
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
Thank you. How about this sentence? "We're conducting a campaign to increase sales". Does "to increase" function as a noun?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@AnhLe: I wondered whether to mention that special case, and decided not to. Normally a "to" infinitive, like a gerund, heads a clause that functions as a noun phrase. But an infinitive clause can also be used as an adjectival or adverbial clause of purpose. Here "to increase sales" is adjectival.
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@ColinFine The infinitival "to increase sales" is strictly speaking ambiguous. It could either be a purpose adjunct as in "We're conducting a campaign (in order) to increase sales, or a complement of the noun "campaign". Infinitival relatives (your 'adjectival') have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", but I don't think that meaning would make much sense here.
– BillJ
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
@BillJ: true; I missed the alternative parse (though in this case there's little difference in meaning).
– Colin Fine
2 days ago
add a comment |
AnhLe is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
draft saved
draft discarded
AnhLe is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
AnhLe is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
AnhLe is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.
Please pay close attention to the following guidance:
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
draft saved
draft discarded
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f478378%2fgerund-or-infinitives%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
No, you can't. An infinitival clause would be a relative one, but that wouldn't work here since non-wh infinitival relatives have a modal meaning similar to that expressed by "can" or "should", which would make no sense here. Note, though, that you could replace it with a finite relative clause, e.g. "I recently came across your advertisement [that seeks the partnership of a graphic design company for a number of your projects].
– BillJ
2 days ago
You asked Colin about the possibility of "We're conducting a campaign [to increase sales]". Yes, this is fine, but it has nothing to do with nouns. It's a purpose adjunct consisting of an infinitival clause modifying "campaign".
– BillJ
2 days ago
Is "seek" an action verb used for people in passive voice? Can "advertisement" go with "seek"?
– AnhLe
2 days ago
You could say I recently came across your advertisement that you are using to seek the partnership of a graphic designer.
– Jason Bassford
2 days ago