English They Are Nowhere To Be Seen.

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khanhha Wednesday 11th of January 2006 11:00:02 AM
They are nowhere to be seen. - Please help me. I don't understand "they are nowhere to be seen". I wonder what " be + to + infinitive" is.
Thanks.

" I remember putting my books on the table, but now they are nowhere to be seen."

Cliven Thursday 12th of January 2006 12:39:41 AM
- "Nowhere to be seen" is an idiom... It means that you can't see something. Also, "nowhere to be found" means you can't find something (and that you've looked for it).

khanhha Thursday 12th of January 2006 08:13:03 AM
- Hi Cliven,
Thank you very much. You always help me as you promised.
Thanks.

CliveN Friday 13th of January 2006 01:47:48 AM
- As usual, it's no problem :)

stormgoblin Sunday 15th of January 2006 03:30:26 PM
- "nothing to be found" "a force to be reckoned with"
"something to be considered"

its not just a sole case of idiomatic expression, so you understand.
it is like a conditional or indeterminant future usage, i believe. maybe not, however, no matter what it is classified as, it should mean:
"nothing to be found, if it ever should be looked for.

this is actually like the last post you made, that i tried to clarify. the verbal form is not infinitive, but actually past passive participle, again. "to be" describes a state of existence, as a verb. i called "to be" conditional, because it is indefinite as to whether or not it will be, for sure. i hope that makes sense. it means like, "will be," only in theory. if it were to happen, it would probably be this way?

so "found" is either past tense, or past passive participle. just like protected. so, i hope you can see how this is a combination of something which is in the future, plus something which is in the past.

what you actually said, though, is a form that is used, as well. infinitive + to be-- that's used like this:
i'm going to be at work tomorrow. or "i'm looking for somewhere to sit." which doesn't use "be" but is the same thing.
you can also combine two infinitives, like this:
i'm going to be working, tomorrow. it accomplishes almost the same thing as the similar sentence above, but it specifies that you will actually be working at work, not playing card games with your friends or gambling.
if you say "going to be..." it implies preparation, maybe something that you havent' acheived yet. you can compare these:
"i'm going to graduate in the summer, so long as i pass the test." or
"i will graduate in the summer, after i pass the test."
it says basically the same thing, but the first sentence is less certain of itself.
you may notice i didn't say "going to be graduating," although i think its possible. it sound a little awkard to me, however i would guess that it implies a specific time, if you would like to emphasize that. such as:
"i am going to be graduating within a week from now."

so, good luck. see you.
mene

Phrasebase Archive
	khanhha	Wednesday 11th of January 2006 11:00:02 AM
	They are nowhere to be seen. - Please help me. I don't understand "they are nowhere to be seen". I wonder what " be + to + infinitive" is. Thanks. " I remember putting my books on the table, but now they are nowhere to be seen."
	Cliven	Thursday 12th of January 2006 12:39:41 AM
	- "Nowhere to be seen" is an idiom... It means that you can't see something. Also, "nowhere to be found" means you can't find something (and that you've looked for it).
	khanhha	Thursday 12th of January 2006 08:13:03 AM
	- Hi Cliven, Thank you very much. You always help me as you promised. Thanks.
	CliveN	Friday 13th of January 2006 01:47:48 AM
	- As usual, it's no problem :)
	stormgoblin	Sunday 15th of January 2006 03:30:26 PM
	- "nothing to be found" "a force to be reckoned with" "something to be considered" its not just a sole case of idiomatic expression, so you understand. it is like a conditional or indeterminant future usage, i believe. maybe not, however, no matter what it is classified as, it should mean: "nothing to be found, if it ever should be looked for. this is actually like the last post you made, that i tried to clarify. the verbal form is not infinitive, but actually past passive participle, again. "to be" describes a state of existence, as a verb. i called "to be" conditional, because it is indefinite as to whether or not it will be, for sure. i hope that makes sense. it means like, "will be," only in theory. if it were to happen, it would probably be this way? so "found" is either past tense, or past passive participle. just like protected. so, i hope you can see how this is a combination of something which is in the future, plus something which is in the past. what you actually said, though, is a form that is used, as well. infinitive + to be-- that's used like this: i'm going to be at work tomorrow. or "i'm looking for somewhere to sit." which doesn't use "be" but is the same thing. you can also combine two infinitives, like this: i'm going to be working, tomorrow. it accomplishes almost the same thing as the similar sentence above, but it specifies that you will actually be working at work, not playing card games with your friends or gambling. if you say "going to be..." it implies preparation, maybe something that you havent' acheived yet. you can compare these: "i'm going to graduate in the summer, so long as i pass the test." or "i will graduate in the summer, after i pass the test." it says basically the same thing, but the first sentence is less certain of itself. you may notice i didn't say "going to be graduating," although i think its possible. it sound a little awkard to me, however i would guess that it implies a specific time, if you would like to emphasize that. such as: "i am going to be graduating within a week from now." so, good luck. see you. mene