MEANINGS EXPRESSED BY TO-INFINITIVE CLAUSES
Type 1: V + to-infinitive – I want to go
These three groups of verbs take to-infinitive clause complements:
(a) want, wish, intend, arrange
(b) like, love, prefer, can’t bear, hate
(c) promise, agree, learn, forget, decide
The to-infinitive clause in Type 1 has no explicit subject, the implied subject being that of the main clause. Semantically this is clear. If I want to go, the going is to be done by me. For the (c) group of speech-act verbs, there is an equivalent that-clause complement with the same meaning, but this alternative is not available to the (a) and (b) groups of desiderative and affective verbs:
1 The boss wants to see us immediately. (no that-clause counterpart in 1 and 2)
2 I have arranged to go to London tomorrow.
3 I promise to ring you later. (compare: I promise that I will ring you later)
4 They agreed to wait a bit longer. (compare: they agreed that they would wait a bit longer)
To-infinitive clauses tend to evoke a situation that is potential. Cognitively, the infinitive reflects an event, with to symbolically reflecting the movement towards the event. For this reason the controlling verb typically ‘looks forward’ to the moment when the event begins.
