1) Tom is taking his wife to buy curtains.
Is the implied agent of 'to buy curtains' necessarily Tom's wife?
Could it be Tom?
Could it be Tom and his wife? (I don't think grammatically that is possible)
Gratefully,
Navi
to buy curtains
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Re: to buy curtains
Since 'take' in order to be meaningful here requires a complemental verb (to buy), whose agent is naturally considered to be the preceding object, namely his wife, it is she who is said to be doing the buying. (Whatever custom/common sense might lead one to expect, there is no linguistic basis for assuming that Tom is participating in the act of buying!)