249 可起连词作用的不定式

 

A 不定式用在only后面时,常表示一种令人失望的后果:

He hurried to the house only to find that it was empty

他急忙赶到那所房子,却发现空无一人。相当于:

He hurried to the house and was disappointed when he found that it was empty

他急忙赶到那所房子,但发现房子空无一人时感到大为失望。

he survived the crash only to die in the desert.相当于:

He survived the crash but died in the desert

飞机坠毁时他幸免于难,后来却死在沙漠里。

B 不定式前不加 only也可以起连接作用,并且不带有不幸的含义:

He returned home to learn that his daughter had just become engaged

他回到家里,得知女儿才订了婚。

但这类用法主要限于如 find hear learnsee be told这类动词,否则用于起连接作用的不定式就可能被错认为是表示目的的不定式。