I will sacrifice whatever is necessary to be the best.

Hi, WinD,

I think both interpretations are slightly different.

In (2), "to be the best" is an adverbial of purpose modifying "will sacrifice": To be the best, I will sacrifice whatever is necessary. (This means the person is ready to sacrifice anything for the purpose of being the best, perhaps even things that do not necessarily interfere with his/her becoming the best.) Here "whatever is necessary" is more subjective, and includes whatever the person thinks may be required.

In (1), "to be the best" complementizes "necessary": I will sacrifice what is required to be the best. (This means the person is prepared to sacrifice those things that, once sacrificed, will allow him/her to be the best.) Here "whatever is necessary" is more objective, and includes the things actually needed.

I really thank you, Gustavo.

May I ask one more question?

The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life.

Does this sentence also have two interpretations? like
1) 'to have an easier life' is an adverbial of purpose modifying 'is'(or the whole phrase 'The use of technology is necessary').
2) 'to have an easier life' complementizes 'necessary'.

@WinD posted:

The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life.

Does this sentence also have two interpretations? like
1) 'to have an easier life' is an adverbial of purpose modifying 'is'(or the whole phrase 'The use of technology is necessary').
2) 'to have an easier life' complementizes 'necessary'.

I think both parsings are possible, but I don't see any difference in meaning in this case.

Thank you, Gustavo

I am curious about one more thing.
'The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life.'
When 'to have an easier life' is an adverbial of purpose, does it modify only the verb 'is'? I am not sure.

From a strictly syntactic point of view, ordinary (not sentence) adverbials modify the verb or verb phrase. The problem with copulative verbs is that their sense is completed by the complement. This makes you feel that "to have an easier life" modifies "is necessary."

Thank you! It helps a lot.

@WinD posted:

I am curious about one more thing.
'The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life.'
When 'to have an easier life' is an adverbial of purpose, does it modify only the verb 'is'? I am not sure.

Hello, WinD—I agree with Gustavo's answers in this thread. I'd just like to add that I interpret the infinitival "to have an easier life" as a sentence adverbial in "The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life." Paraphrasing:

• If you wish to have an easier life, the use of technology is necessary.
• To have an easier life, it is necessary to use technology.
• To have an easier life, using technology is necessary.

@David, Moderator posted:

I'd just like to add that I interpret the infinitival "to have an easier life" as a sentence adverbial in "The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life." Paraphrasing:

• If you wish to have an easier life, the use of technology is necessary.
• To have an easier life, it is necessary to use technology.
• To have an easier life, using technology is necessary.

Hi, David. I agree that that would be the case if we have been speaking about ways to have an easier life in the context, for example:

- What things are necessary to have an easier life?
- The use of technology. (To have an easier life, the use of technology is necessary.)

I initially parsed the sentence as being the answer to a what for- or a why-question:

- Why is the use of technology necessary?
- The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life (but not to be happy).

@Gustavo, Co-Moderator posted:

I initially parsed the sentence as being the answer to a what for- or a why-question:

- Why is the use of technology necessary?
- The use of technology is necessary to have an easier life (but not to be happy).

That's a good alternative parsing, Gustavo. I think that if I wanted to use an adverbial complement of the adjective "necessary" to specify what technology is necessary for, I would use a "for"-prepositional phrase rather than an infinitive:

• The use of technology is necessary for ease of life, but not for happiness.

Even then, of course, it's possible to see "for ease of life, but not for happiness" as relating to the whole clause: "For ease of life, but not for happiness, the use of technology is necessary."

Thank you, David