The Infinitive
Olga Zhiznevskaya
English teacher
Lyceum #49
The infinitive is the base form of a verb. It may be preceded by
'to' (the to-infinitive) or may stand alone
(the base or zero infinitive).
Present
Forms of the Infinitive
Active Voice
Passive Voice
(to) repair
(to) be repaired
Pres. Cont.(to) be repairing
--------------------
Perfect
(to) have been repaired
(to) have repaired
Perfect Cont.
(to) have been repairing
----------------------
The Present Infinitive refers to the present or future. I hope to
meet her tonight. The Present Continuous Infinitive
expresses an action happening now. He must be sleeping
now. The Perfect Infinitive is used to show that the action of
the infinitive happened before the action of the verb. He
claims to have worked here before. (First he worked here, then
he claimed he had worked here.) The Perfect Continuous
Infinitive is used to emphasise the duration of the action of
the infinitive, which happened before the action of the
main verb. He looks tired. He seems to have been studying
for the test all night. The Present Cont., the Perfect and the
Perfect Cont. Infinitives are used with the verbs: appear,
claim, happen, pretend, seem etc and with modal verbs.
Formation
The Perfect Infinitive: to have + past participle, e.g. to have
broken, to have seen, to have saved.
This form is most commonly found in Type 3 conditional
sentences, using the conditional perfect.
• If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake.
• Someone must have broken the window and climbed in.
• I would like to have seen the Taj Mahal when I was in India.
The Continuous Infinitive: to be + present participle,
e.g.to be swimming, to be joking, to be waiting.
• I'd really like to be swimming in a nice cool pool right now.
Formation
The Perfect Continuous Infinitive:
to have been + present participle,e.g. to have been crying,
to have been waiting.
• You must have been waiting for hours!
The Passive Infinitive: to be + past participle, e.g. to be
given, to be shut, to be opened.
• I am expecting to be given a pay-rise next month.
• These doors should be shut.
When the subject of the infinitive is different from the subject
of the verb, then an object pronoun ( me, you, him, her, it, us,
them ) or a noun is placed before the infinitive.
•
•
I want him/ John to help me. (= he should help me.)
but: I want to help. (= I should help.)
The functions of the infinitive in the sentence.
1. A subject.
Even to think of it gave him ineffable torture.
2. A predicate.
Your duty was to inform me about it immediately.
3.A part of a compound verbal predicate.
I intend to lead a better life in the future.
4.An object.
Leila had learned to dance at boarding school.
5. A part of a complex object.
I never saw you act this way before.
6. An attribute.
I have nobody to say a kind word to me.
7. An adverbial modifier.
Laws were not made to be broken.
Infinitive with or without 'to'
The to-infinitive is used:
• after certain verbs. e.g. want, expect, hope,
agree, afford, seem, appear, fail, manage,
learn, promise, etc.
o
o
o
o
o
o
I expect to get my money back.
Sarah agreed to marry Sam.
She will have to ask her friend about it.
Ann seemed to be quite annoyed.
Luckily I managed to find my way here all right.
Mark promised to go shopping.
• after the auxiliaries to be to, to have to, and
ought to
The to-infinitive is used:
• to express purpose.
He went to university to become a lawyer, (in order to become)
•
after certain adjectives (happy, glad, sorry, etc)
She was happy to win the prize.
•
after an adjective + noun when a comment or judgement is
being made:
It was a stupid place to park the car.
•
after I would like/would love/would prefer to express
specific preference.
I'd like to see the manager.
•
after certain nouns.
What a surprise to see him there!
The to-infinitive is used:
After adjectives in these patterns:
• It is + adjective +to-infinitive.
It is good to talk.
• It is + adjective + for someone + to-infinitive.
It is hard for elephants to see mice.
• It is + adjective + of someone + to-infinitive.
It is unkind of her to say that.
with: so + adjective + as.
Would you be so kind as to help me move the sofa?
With too and enough in these patterns:
• too much/many (+ noun) + to-infinitive
There's too much sugar to put in this bowl.
I had too many books to carry.
The to-infinitive is used:
• too + adjective + to-infinitive
This soup is too hot to eat.
• too + adverb + to-infinitive
He arrived too late to see the actors.
• enough (+ noun) + to-infinitive
I've had enough (food) to eat.
• adjective + enough + to-infinitive
• She's old enough to make up her own mind.
• not enough (+noun) + to-infinitive
• There isn't enough snow to ski on.
• not + adjective + enough + to-infinitive
• You're not old enough to have grand-children!
The to-infinitive is used:
•
with "only" to express an unsatisfactory result.
She came in only to find Bob had left.
•
after: be + the first/second, etc/next /last/ best, etc.
He was the last to come to work.
•
in the expression: for + noun/pronoun+ to -infinitive
For him to be so rude was unforgivable.
• in expressions such as: to tell the truth, to begin with, to be
honest, etc.
To be honest, I don't like him.
List of verbs normally followed by the
infinitive
afford
agree1
aim
appear1
arrange1
bother
care
claim1
condescend
consent
decide1
demand1
determine1
endeavour
promise1
propose
prove (= turn out)
refuse resolve1
seek
seem1
strive
•
1
These verbs can only be followed by a 'thatclause' when they have the subject 'it'.
fail
guarantee1
happen 1
hasten
have (= be obliged)
hesitate
hope1
learn
long
manage
offer
prepare
pretend1
tend
threaten1
It appeared that no-one had locked
the door.
These are the most common of the verbs followed by
to-infinitive, with or without a noun.
• ask*
beg*
choose
dare
desire*
elect
• expect*
help
mean* (=intend)
request*
want
wish*
• The verbs marked * can also be followed by a that-clause
Note:
• dare: In negative and interrogative sentences the infinitive with or without
'to' is possible, though it is more common to omit the 'to':
These are the most common of the verbs that are normally
followed by a noun + infinitive. The verbs marked * may also be
followed by a 'that-clause
• accustom
aid
appoint
assist
cause
challenge
command*
defy
direct*
drive
empower
enable
encourage
entice
• order*
persuade*
press
prompt
provoke
remind*
require*
stimulate
summon
teach
tell
tempt
trust*
warn*
Notes:
* command, direct, entreat, implore, order, require, trust:
there is no noun between these verbs and a 'that-clause‘
• The general commanded his men to surrender.
• The general commanded that his men should surrender.
• persuade and remind:
there is always a noun between these verbs and a 'that-clause'
• You can't persuade people to buy small cars.
• You can't persuade people that small cars are better.
Notes:
instruct, teach, warn:
the noun is optional between these verbs and a 'that-clause‘
• She taught her students to appreciate poetry.
• She taught her students that poetry was valuable.
• She taught that poetry was valuable.
Examples
• The professor challenged his students to argue with his theory.
• This law empowers the government to charge more taxes.
• What inspired you to write this poem?
• The elephant told the mouse to climb up his tail.
Infinitive after question words
These verbs: ask, decide, explain, forget, know, show, tell,
understand can be followed by a question word such as
where, how, what, who, when or whether'+ the 'toinfinitive'.
• She asked me how to use the washing machine.
• Do you understand what to do?
The question word Why is followed by the zero
infinitive in suggestions:
• Why wait until tomorrow?
• Why not ask him now?
• Why walk when we can go in the car?
The infinitive without to is used
• after: most modal verbs (can, must, will,
etc).
You can leave now if you want. He can't speak French.
He should give her some money.
• after: had better / would rather.
I'd rather not go out tonight.
I'd better stay at home.
The infinitive without to is used
•
after: make / let / see / hear / feel+ object.
They made him pay for the damage.
But: in the passive: be made / be heard / be seen +
to -infinitive.
He was made to pay for the damage.
•
"know" and "help" are followed by a to-infinitive or an
infinitive without to.
I've never known him (to) be so mean.
Could you help me (to) fix the car?
But: in the passive: be known, be helped + to-infinitive.
She was known to have worked as a teacher.
Write the appropriate form of the infinitive.
1.I went...tohave gone..
2.she has been playing….
6. he is writing….
7. it is fixed……
3.he had worked……
8.he will type…..
4.it was read……
5.they have been informed…
9.he was cleaning….
10.she will be sleeping….
Write the appropriate form of the infinitive.
The Jackal is known 1) ...to
be... (be) one of the most
dangerous criminals in the
world. 2)….(rob) banks is
his speciality, although he
also enjoys 3)….(kidnap)
every now and again. So
far, the police have failed
4)…(catch) him, and they
would be very happy 5)
…(receive) any information
that could lead to his arrest.
The public have been
warned
….(not/approach) the Jackal if
they see him, as he has a
gun and he doesn't mind 7)
…(use) it. The last person 8)
...(try) to arrest him was
shot in the foot. Fortunately,
we are unlikely 9) …(come
across) the Jackal in this
country in the near future.
He was last seen 10)
…(sunbathe) on a beach in
Brazil.
Literature
• Round-Up 5, Virginia Evans, Longman, 2005
• Round-Up 6, Virginia Evans, Longman, 2005
• www.longman.com.