How Can I Effectively Guide My Students To Distinguish Between The Use Of Infinitives As Subjects Versus Infinitives As Complements In Sentences, Particularly When The Infinitive Phrase Is Closely Tied To A Preceding Noun Or Pronoun, Such As In The Sentence My Goal Is To Finish The Project By Friday?

by ADMIN 302 views

To help students distinguish between infinitives used as subjects and complements, especially when closely tied to a noun or pronoun, follow this structured approach:

  1. Identify Sentence Components: Begin by teaching students to identify the subject and verb in a sentence. The subject is the person, place, or thing the sentence is about, while the verb is the action or state of being.

  2. Understand Roles of Infinitives:

    • Subject: The infinitive acts as the subject when it performs the main action of the sentence. Example: "To finish the project is my goal." Here, "to finish the project" is the subject.
    • Complement: The infinitive acts as a complement when it provides additional information about the subject or object. Example: "My goal is to finish the project." Here, "to finish the project" complements the subject "My goal."

  3. Practice with Examples: Use clear examples to illustrate both roles. For instance:

    • Subject: "To err is human."
    • Complement: "Her decision was to leave early."

  4. Visual Aids and Diagramming: Use techniques like color coding or tree diagrams to visually distinguish between subjects and complements. This helps in understanding the structural relationships.

  5. Rewriting Exercises: Have students rewrite sentences to switch the role of the infinitive. For example, changing "My goal is to finish" to "To finish is my goal."

  6. Chart Creation: Create a chart with examples of infinitives as subjects and complements. Students can add their own examples to reinforce learning.

  7. Clarify Tricky Cases: Address cases where infinitives are part of noun phrases, such as "The thing to do is to finish." Here, "to do" is part of the noun phrase, and "to finish" is the complement.

  8. Explain Importance: Emphasize why distinguishing these roles is crucial for constructing and interpreting sentences accurately.

By following these steps, students can gain a clear understanding of how infinitives function as subjects or complements, enhancing their grammatical skills.