Appositive Clauses with the To-Infinitive and the Of-Ing

Abstract

This paper focuses on the appositive clauses which are expressed in the forms of the to-infinitive and the of-ing. Some nouns are followed by to-infinitive clauses, others by of-ing clauses. The author examines what kind of head nouns are compatible with the former or the latter by clarifying the implications and functions of these two types of clauses. There are cases in which the same head noun is given a different interpretation depending on the type of clause used to modify it. Also arguments are made about how these respective appositive clauses affect the determination of meaning in these instances. In the process of looking into the relationships between head nouns and these postmodifiers, the author makes clear the semantic nature of head nouns and implications and the functions of to-infinitive clauses and of-ing clauses.