3.10 Time reference of perfect infinitive object
Rule: After some verbs a perfect infinitive object clause has past time reference. After other verbs it means 'past-in-the-future'.
Example of error:
As the object of some verbs a perfect infinitive refers to something which happened previous to the time of reference of the main verb, e.g.:
| He | expects pretends claims deserves |
to have won yesterday (but it's not clear that he did) |
In these sentences the winning is said to have taken place, if at all, before the moment of speaking. Equivalently, one can say:
| He | expects pretends claims |
that he | won has won |
yesterday |
(Deserve does not allow that clause objects.)
With other verbs the perfect infinitive has the meaning 'past-in-the-future', i.e. refers to something which will happen after the time of reference of the main verb but before some other-future event, e.g.:
| He | hopes wants intends prefers aims |
to have won by this time tomorrow night |
These are equivalent to:
| He | hopes intends prefers |
that he will have won by this time tomorrow night |
(Want atd aim do tot allow that clause objects.) Since hope is one of these verbs, (1) could only be acceptable if the meaning were 'I hope that I will have given you good advice (at some point in the future)'. However, the sentence occurs at the end of a letter in which the author has offered some personal advice to a friend, and the meaning is rather 'I hope that I have given you good advice (in this letter)". Similarly, one could not say in this context:
| I hope | *to have helped you *not to have confused you *to have clarified the situation a bit |
But one might easily say:
I don't pretend to have helped you.
I expect to have confused you with all this advice.