If these sentences are supposed to be about possession, just exactly what is it that is being possessed+
I have a letter to write.
I have a letter to post.
I have a letter to write.
I have a letter to post.
Where-s the possession.
These sentences don't really concern possession. Here, the direct object ("a letter") has been placed between the two parts of the verb. The sentences could be rewritten:
I have to write a letter. (I must write a letter)
I have to post (mail) a letter. (I must mail a letter)
This is a common sentence structure in spoken English. However, I have heard that it is grammatically incorrect to "split" the verb - that is, to place an adverb or a direct object in between the words in a multiple-word verb, as has been done in these sentences.
I have to write a letter. (I must write a letter)
I have to post (mail) a letter. (I must mail a letter)
This is a common sentence structure in spoken English. However, I have heard that it is grammatically incorrect to "split" the verb - that is, to place an adverb or a direct object in between the words in a multiple-word verb, as has been done in these sentences.
Mary,
These sentences seems to me to be perfectly acceptable and grammatical to me. Where did you hear the 'incorrect' thing?
To me, the sentences Pash gave sounds like noun + infinitive phrase like the following sentence;
'I need a pen to write with.'
The above sentence cannot be rewritten:
'I need to write with a pen,'
because these setences imply different things. In the first sentence, what the speaker needs is a pen and in the re-written sentence, what the speaker needs is 'to write (with a pen)'.
Likewise, 'I have a letter to post' implies that the speaker has 'a letter (to post)' and 'I have to post a letter' implies that the speaker has to 'post a letter,' although in this case, the concepts are very similar.
These sentences seems to me to be perfectly acceptable and grammatical to me. Where did you hear the 'incorrect' thing?
To me, the sentences Pash gave sounds like noun + infinitive phrase like the following sentence;
'I need a pen to write with.'
The above sentence cannot be rewritten:
'I need to write with a pen,'
because these setences imply different things. In the first sentence, what the speaker needs is a pen and in the re-written sentence, what the speaker needs is 'to write (with a pen)'.
Likewise, 'I have a letter to post' implies that the speaker has 'a letter (to post)' and 'I have to post a letter' implies that the speaker has to 'post a letter,' although in this case, the concepts are very similar.