Infinitives
Infinitives are used in many structures, especially after catenative verbs. Follow the article to learn them.
What Are Infinitives?
Infinitives are non-finite structures that are usually used to express suggestions, opinions, purposes, etc.
Different Types of Infinitives
There are two main types of infinitives in English:
- To-infinitives (also called infinitive with 'to' or full infinitive)
- Bare infinitive (also called infinitive without 'to')
What Are To-infinitives?
To-infinitive is 'to' plus the base form of the main verb. For example, the verb 'go' is the base form, and 'to go' is the to-infinitive. Check out the examples with the to-infinitive:
Functions of To-infinitives
Infinitives are used to make infinitive clauses or phrases which are used to function as the subject, adverb, adjective, direct object, an object of the preposition, or complement of a clause.
They like
They want
- Nominal infinitives
- Adjectival infinitives
- Adverbial infinitives
Here are some examples:
They have found a place
We are ready
It is important
Nominal Infinitives
Functions
- Subject
- Direct object
- Object of the preposition
I want
They have decided
We had no choice but
Placement
Nominal infinitives as subjects can appear at the beginning of a sentence:
As objects, they can appear after the verbs that are catenative (verbs that need another verb as a direct object).
We all want to go
And also they can appear after the prepositions as the objects of that prepositions:
I had no choice but
Adjectival Infinitives
Function
Adjectival infinitives are used to modify nouns.
This is a book
This boy is a baby
Placement
Adjectival infinitives are usually preceded by a linking verb. And as adjectives, they can appear in two_ positions:
- Predicative Adjectival Infinitives
- Postpositive Adjectival Infinitives
It has a kitchen
My mom's cheesecake is simply
Sometimes to-infinitives are used after wh-words to ask for or give information. Here is the structure:
I do not know how
They asked me what
Adverbial Infinitives
Functions
Adverbial infinitives are to-infinitives that function as:
- Adjective Complements
- Adverbs of Reasons (answering to the question 'why')
The book is really easy
Placement
Adverbial infinitives as adjective complements appear after adjectives. They do not necessarily need to appear immediately after the adjectives, sometimes a prepositional phrase comes before them.
- Dummy subject + Linking verb + Adjective + (for/of someone) + (to-infinitive)
Check out the examples for more clarification:
It is important for you
It is kind of you
As an adverb, they can both appear at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. For example:
I need to go see a dentist
What Are Bare Infinitives?
Sometimes there is no need to use to-infinitives and some verbs require a bare infinitive (also called infinitive without to). Here are a few examples:
They helped
Help me
Placement and Functions
With verbs of perception that is followed by a direct object (whether a noun or pronoun), we use a bare infinitive as object complements. Check out the structure:
- Subject + Verbs of perception + Direct object + Object complement
Here are a few examples that help you understand them better:
Those girls saw us
I heard her
We use a bare infinitive after 'why' to make a suggestion. Here are a few examples:
Why
Why
Why
Infinitives in Passive Formation
To have an infinitive in passive voice, all you have to do is to use the to-infinitive form of the verb 'be' followed by the past participle form of the verb. Here are a few examples:
There are exercises
The cat need
Present Perfect Tense of the Infinitives
We are able to make present perfect tense with infinitives in English. To do so, you need to use the to-infinitive form of the verb 'have' followed by the past participle of the verb. Here are a few examples:
It is nice
They wanted
Prepositional Phrase vs. Infinitive Phrases
Both prepositional phrases and infinitive phrases can begin with 'to'. The key difference between these two is that prepositional phrases are nouns, pronouns, or nominal structures governed by 'to,', however, infinitive phrases are verbs or verbal structures governed by the particle 'to.' Here are the examples:
The blind man wants
Give the keys
Infinitives of Purpose
To-infinitives are widely used to express the reason or purpose of something. There are two other phrases that are followed by to-infinitives to express the purpose. (So as to + bare infinitive) and (in order to + bare infinitive) are also used as infinitives of purpose. Check out the examples.
I called him so as
We stayed in order
Warning
Some verbs can either be used with a bare infinitive or a to-infinitive. Such as help. Check out the examples.
They helped
They helped
Review
Infinitives are categorized into three main groups:
- Nominal infinitives
- Adjectival infinitives
- Adverbial infinitives
There are two types of infinitives in English:
- To-infinitives
- Bare infinitives