To Be Fair, To Be Honest, To Put It Simply
In this lesson, you can distinguish a comment infinitive from a purpose infinitive.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Before you start
State a candid opinion with to be honest.
See one possible response
To be honest, I prefer the earlier version.
You give considerate but accurate feedback on a friend’s draft travel article.
What you will practise
- Distinguish a comment infinitive from a purpose infinitive.
- Match a comment to its communicative purpose without treating the phrase as evidence.
- Place or remove a comment while preserving the main proposition.
Try first. For open responses, a model is one valid answer, not an exact-string key. Preserve the intended meaning and register.
A comment, not an action’s purpose
To be honest and to be fair can comment on the statement that follows. To be honest, I lost track of the route does not mean I lost track in order to be honest. The infinitive frames the message.
To be honest, I found the opening confusing.
I reread the opening to check the route names.
Choose a useful comment
To be fair often introduces a balancing consideration. To put it simply announces a simpler formulation. These phrases do not prove that the comment is fair, true or simple; the content must still support that claim.
To be fair, the map makes the route much clearer.
To put it simply, the article needs a clearer order.
Keep the main statement intact
A comment can occur at the start or as a parenthetical insertion. Removing it should leave the central statement. Avoid stacking several comments before one short point; choose the one the reader or listener needs.
The middle section, to be honest, repeats the opening.
To be fair, you wrote this before the new map was available.
Remove the frame, retain the proposition
The middle section, to be honest, repeats the opening.
The phrase frames a candid assessment.
The middle section repeats the opening.
The central proposition remains.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Then compare the meaning and grammar with the model.
1. To be honest, I skimmed the final section. Comment or purpose?
Compare a model and explanation
Comment.
Skimming is not presented as a means of becoming honest.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
2. I opened the file to check the ending. What does the infinitive express?
Compare a model and explanation
Purpose.
Checking the ending explains why the file was opened.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
3. You have criticised the photos but now acknowledge a useful map. Add an appropriate frame.
Compare a model and explanation
To be fair, the map is useful.
The frame introduces a balancing consideration.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
4. The route, to put it simply, is too complicated for a short article. State the core message alone.
Compare a model and explanation
The route is too complicated for a short article.
The removed phrase comments on formulation rather than supplying an essential participant.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
5. To be honest, the story is entirely accurate. Does the phrase prove accuracy?
Compare a model and explanation
No.
It presents a stance; verification requires evidence.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
6. To be honest, the second paragraph repeats the first. Put the comment inside.
Compare a model and explanation
The second paragraph, to be honest, repeats the first.
The proposition remains unchanged.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
7. To be honest, to be fair, to put it simply, I liked the map. Keep only the balancing purpose.
Compare a model and explanation
To be fair, I liked the map.
The other frames add competing or unnecessary commentary.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
8. The article has an unclear opening, but its final map is helpful. Admit the problem and balance it.
Compare a model and explanation
To be honest, I found the opening hard to follow. To be fair, the final map helped me understand the route.
Each comment has a distinct function and supports an explicit observation.
Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.
A short conversation
Listen to the exchange, then take one role. The speaker labels identify roles; do not narrate them.
Open the conversation transcript
Writer: Did the route make sense?
Reader: To be honest, I lost track halfway through.
Writer: Was anything helpful?
Reader: To be fair, the map was clear. To put it simply, I’d move it earlier.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract, then choose the best answer. These three questions have their own score.
Answer key with explanations
What is the infinitive doing?
Framing an admission.: The speaker clarifies the comment function.
Compare all choices
- Guaranteeing the paragraph is objectively wrong.: The speaker reports their own understanding.
- Framing an admission.: The speaker clarifies the comment function.
- Giving the purpose of not understanding.: That interpretation is explicitly rejected.
What does the second statement do?
Adds a balancing positive point.: The useful explanation qualifies the criticism.
Compare all choices
- Withdraws every part of the criticism.: It does not say the length is now appropriate.
- Proves all readers understand the names.: Only the stated positive assessment is given.
- Adds a balancing positive point.: The useful explanation qualifies the criticism.
What is announced?
A simplified formulation of the recommendation.: The phrase comments on how the point is expressed.
Compare all choices
- A simplified formulation of the recommendation.: The phrase comments on how the point is expressed.
- A purpose for physically moving the speaker.: No movement is described.
- A claim that reducing stops already happened.: The recommendation is not reported as completed.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.
Answer key with explanations
Which infinitive comments on the message?
To be honest, I disliked the ending.: The phrase frames the admission.
Compare all choices
- To be honest, I disliked the ending.: The phrase frames the admission.
- I called to ask for a map.: This gives the purpose of calling.
- I reread the ending to check a name.: This gives the purpose of rereading.
Which phrase introduces a balancing consideration?
to be fair: It often qualifies a criticism with another relevant point.
Compare all choices
- to catch the bus: This normally expresses an action’s purpose.
- to be fair: It often qualifies a criticism with another relevant point.
- to finish the walk: This also names a practical goal.
Does to be honest prove a claim is true?
No.: It states a stance, not external verification.
Compare all choices
- Only in a written review.: Writing does not create the guarantee.
- Yes, it guarantees truth.: That confuses a claim with evidence.
- No.: It states a stance, not external verification.
Remove the comment from The article, to be honest, needs a shorter opening.
The article needs a shorter opening.: The central proposition remains.
Compare all choices
- The article needs a shorter opening.: The central proposition remains.
- To be honest needs a shorter opening.: This makes the comment the subject and changes the structure.
- The article is honest because it is shorter.: This invents a causal relation.
Which clearly expresses a purpose rather than a comment?
I drew a map to explain the route.: Explaining the route is the goal of drawing.
Compare all choices
- To be fair, the route has good signs.: This adds a balancing stance.
- I drew a map to explain the route.: Explaining the route is the goal of drawing.
- To put it simply, the route is too long.: This comments on formulation.
Why might an editor remove stacked comment phrases?
They can delay or blur a simple main point.: Each visible phrase should serve a purpose.
Compare all choices
- Because no sentence can contain two infinitives.: Multiple infinitives can be grammatical.
- Because comments are always ungrammatical.: Comment clauses are established uses.
- They can delay or blur a simple main point.: Each visible phrase should serve a purpose.
What does to put it simply commit the writer to trying to do?
Offer a simpler formulation.: The phrase announces that communicative intention.
Compare all choices
- Offer a simpler formulation.: The phrase announces that communicative intention.
- Prove the subject has no complexity.: The topic can remain complex.
- Remove every important qualification.: Simplicity should not erase essential meaning.
Which feedback preserves both supplied observations?
To be honest, the opening confused me. To be fair, the map helped.: The difficulty and useful feature remain distinct.
Compare all choices
- The map helped, so no part confused me.: This erases the stated difficulty.
- To be honest, the opening confused me. To be fair, the map helped.: The difficulty and useful feature remain distinct.
- The opening confused me, so the map is useless.: This erases the useful feature.
Use it in your own words
Comment or purpose
Give a comment infinitive and a purpose infinitive in a short account, then identify their different jobs.
Reveal a possible response
To be honest, I missed the turn. I checked the map to find the right street.
- Separate stance from goal
- Preserve a coherent account
Other low-stakes situations are welcome.
Balanced feedback
Give one specific criticism and one genuine balancing strength of an imaginary piece of writing.
Reveal a possible response
To be honest, the middle is repetitive. To be fair, the ending brings the main idea together clearly.
- Support each frame with content
- Avoid empty politeness
The comments should not contradict each other.
Put it all together
A friend has made a short recipe video: the instructions are clear but the introduction is long. Give concise spoken feedback, a balancing point and a simplified recommendation.
Reveal a possible response
To be honest, I nearly skipped the long introduction. To be fair, the actual instructions are very clear. To put it simply, I’d begin closer to the first cooking step.
- Use each comment purposefully
- Preserve both supplied facts
- Transfer to a different medium
Alternative recommendations are acceptable if they follow the facts.
Take it with you
Comment infinitives frame how a message is presented rather than the purpose of its main action. Keep the comment separate and choose it for a real communicative reason.