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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Help with an infinitive    

Help with an infinitive



Silvinohig
Brazil

Help with an infinitive
 
Some students asked me about the type of infinitve in the sentence "Facebook to be the most accessed website". It is usually found in news and headlines, but I couldn �t find a reasonable explanation in Grammar books. Can you help me?

7 Sep 2015      





rodrigoleao2005
Brazil

 Headlines often use the to-infinitive form to refer to future events

7 Sep 2015     



ldeloresmoore
China

Rodrigo is right. My husband is a newspaper editor. I read this to him and he explained it like this: When an editor writes a headline for a story, they have only a specific number of spaces to use for letters. So they often need to use words in a different way.  
 
If this had been written in a paragraph, it probably would have been written as "Facebook is to be....." -- which makes it a little clearer that it is talking about future events. 
 
But with the limited number of letters available, editors will often omit words that they feel readers will understand without the words actually being there.  
 
But it is not the same a proper grammar in a sentence of paragraph.
 
Hope this helps.  

7 Sep 2015     



almaz
United Kingdom

This elliptical style of writing is known as headlinese (see here). It relies often on short, punchy phrases such as the memorable "Sticks Nix Hick Pix" or excruciating wordplay like my favourite: SUPER CALEY GO BALLISTIC CELTIC ARE ATROCIOUS (say it out loud).
 

8 Sep 2015     



Daisee
Vietnam

 
 
 
The infinitive form refers to the future. For example:

Mayor to Open Shopping Mall = The mayor is going to open a new shopping mall.
James Wood to Visit Portland = (Famous actor) James Wood is going to visit Portland soon.

8 Sep 2015