I disagree with the analyses offered so far of this sentence: Mary is trying to improve the condition of her house. It seems obvious to me that `is trying to improve' is the verb phrase of which the subject is `Mary' and the object the noun phrase `the condition of her house'. Sophie Johnson at ENGLISH GRAMMAR TUTOR http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/ [log in to unmask] ----- Original Message ----- From: carol kieninger <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 3:34 AM Subject: <no subject> > How about a response to this sentence: > > Mary is trying to improve the condition of her house. > > My question is about the infinitive. Is "to improve" acting as the a noun > and the object of the verb, or is it an adverb? > > thanks, > carol > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/