有一读者问这样一道选择题：
(1)Was Columbus the first man_________the New World?
A. discovering B. to discover
C. discovered D. having discovered
答案是B，为什么？
因为被序数词所修饰的名词之后常接不定式的缘故（这种名词与不定式在逻辑上是主谓关系），再如：
(2)“I have learned a lot from Dutch soccer,” said Xie Yuxin, the first Chinese player to sign with a foreign club.
(3)The next train to arrive was from New York.
有时序数词之后的名词可省去，如：
(4)He was always the first to come and last to leave the office.
同样，被形容词最高级所修饰的名词之后亦常用不定式，如：
(5)The nationwide battle against the inflation to hit China has begun to gain some successes.
