不定式2种独立用法
一、独立结构
to be frank
to be honest
to tell the truth
这三个词组是同义词,意思是“说实话”、“老实说”或“坦率地说”
To tell the truth, I am not happy at the moment.
二、与疑问词连用:不定式与疑问词who,which, when, how, what 等连用,在句中起名词作用,可充当主语、表语、宾语等。
He didn’t know what to say.(宾语)
How to solve the problem is very important.(主语)
My question is when to start. (表语)
在英语中,动词不定式可用作独立成分来修饰整个句子,常见的有:
to be honest (to be brief/exact/frank)
to begin with
to tell the truth
so to speak
to make a long story short
to say the least(至少可以这么说)
to say nothing of(姑且不说)
如:
— You’re in pretty lousy mood, huh?
— To say the least.
I have a point there, to say the least.
To make a long story short , he is in hospital now.
To begin with, on behalf of all of your American guests, I wish to thank you for the incomparable hospitality.