| Writers sometimes communicate unintended, incorrect meanings by carelessly using infinitives. Doing so is a grammatical error called “false purpose.” In a false purpose sentence the infinitive (i.e., to give, to be, to preserve, etc.) incorrectly suggests a person's intent or motivation for doing something. False purpose errors cause the reader to confuse result with purpose.
Example:
Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros forced in the winning run in the ninth inning last night when he walked Ray Knight with the bases loaded to give the Mets a 5-4 victory.(The Associated Press)
The use of the infinitive “to give” suggests that Ryan walked Knight with the intent of giving the Mets a 5-4 victory. Ryan walked Knight, but certainly his purpose was not to give the Mets a victory.
This sentence could be corrected simply by abandoning the infinitive form so that the sentence reads:
Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros forced in the winning run in the ninth inning last night when he walked Ray Knight with the bases loaded and gave the Mets a 5-4 victory.
Or:
Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros forced in the winning run in the ninth inning last night when he walked Ray Knight with the bases loaded, giving the Mets a 5-4 victory.
False purpose can be corrected with no substantial change in tone or voice but with dramatic change in what is being implied about the actor. Here is another example:
The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved a plan today that would reshape council districts by carving up the district of a councilman who died last month to preserve the political careers of two incumbents. (The New York Times)
Of course, the councilman did not die so that the incumbents' careers could be saved. But the use of the infinitive to “preserve” suggests that the councilman's purpose for dying was to aid his colleagues. The relationship here is not a matter of intent. The unintended result of the man dying was that the others' careers were saved.
This sentence could be corrected by altering the word order so that the sentence reads:
The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved a plan today that would reshape council districts to preserve the political careers of two incumbents by carving up the district of a councilman who died last month.
Double check all uses of the infinitive to make certain that the intended meaning is in fact communicated. At best, false purpose is hilarious (as in the “dying” example above). At worst, it could be libelous. |