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. without specifying who or what is doing the action. Infinitives can be used in various grammatical constructions, such as infinitive phrases, infinitive clauses, and infinitive verbs.
Infinitives: Types
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-infinitives, also known as full infinitives, are a type of verb form created by adding the word 'to' before the base form of a verb. They are called 'to-infinitives' because they always include the word 'to'. For example:
She wants
Here, the base form of the verb 'learn' follows 'to' and together, they form a 'to-infinitive'.
He is excited about his opportunity
Functions of To-infinitives
Infinitives are used to make infinitive clauses or phrases which can function as the subject, adverb, adjective, direct object, object of the preposition, or complement of a clause.
They like
They want
'To-infinitives' can also be categorized according to their part of speech in a sentence:
- Nominal infinitives
- Adjectival infinitives
- Adverbial infinitives
Nominal Infinitives
Nominal infinitives, also known as infinitive phrases, are a type of construction in which an infinitive verb form is used as a noun in a sentence. Nominal infinitives can also be modified with adjectives or adverbs, just like any other noun in the sentence.
Functions
Nominal infinitives can fulfill many grammatical functions in a sentence, such as:
- 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
using an infinitive as an object
Adjectival Infinitives
Adjectival infinitives are a type of construction in which an infinitive verb form is used as an adjective to modify a noun or pronoun in a sentence.
Function
They are used to provide additional information about the noun or pronoun they modify. For example:
This is a book
This boy is a baby
Placement
Adjectival infinitives are often used after linking verbb. As adjectives, they can appear in __two...... positions:
- Predicative Adjectival Infinitives
- Postpositive Adjectival Infinitives
A predicative adjectival infinitive follows a linking verb and describes the subject of the sentence. For example:
My mom's cheesecake is
A postpositive adjectival infinitive comes after the noun it modifies. For example:
It has a kitchen
Sometimes to-infinitives are used after wh-words to ask for or to give information. Here is the structure:
I do not know how
They asked me what
Adverbial Infinitives
Adverbial infinitives are a type of construction in which an infinitive verb form is used as an adverb in a sentence. Adverbial infinitives modify the verb in the sentence, providing additional information about the action being performed.
Functions
Adverbial infinitives are to-infinitives that function as:
The book is really easy
- Adverbs of Reasons (answering to the question 'why')
Placement
Adverbial infinitives can appear as adjective complements after adjectives in a sentence. They do not necessarily need to immediately follow the adjective; sometimes a prepositional phrase can come before them. The structure is as follows:
- 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 appear both at the beginning and at the end of a sentence. For example:
I need to go see a dentist
What Are Bare Infinitives?
Bare infinitives are a type of verb form that consists of the base form of a verb without the word 'to' before it. They are called 'bare' infinitives because they are not preceded by the word 'to'. Here are a few examples:
They helped
Help me
Placement and Functions
Verbs of perception that are followed by a direct object (whether a noun or pronoun) are often used with a bare infinitive as an object complement. The structure of such a clause is as follows:
- Subject + Verb of perception + Direct object + Object complement
Here are a few examples:
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 form an infinitive in the passive voice, you can use the to-infinitive form of the verb 'be' followed by the past participle form of the main verb. Here are a few examples:
There are exercises
The cat needs
Present Perfect Tense of the Infinitives
The present perfect tense can be formed using infinitives in English. To do so, you can use the to-infinitive form of the verb 'have' followed by the past participle form of the main 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 the preposition 'to,'; however, infinitive phrases are verbs or verbal structures governed by the particle 'to.' Pay attention to the examples:
The blind man wants
Give the keys
Warning!
Sometimes the preposition 'to' is used to express purpose, in which case it is followed by the base form of the verb, just like to-infinitives. However, the difference is that the preposition 'to' forms a prepositional phrase that acts as an adverb of purpose. One way to distinguish between the infinitive marker 'to' and the preposition 'to' is to check if you can change the place of clauses in the sentence. In sentences with to-infinitives clauses cannot change place. Compare the examples:
I am going to work out today. → to-infinitive
you can't say 'To work out today I am going.'
I work out every day to stay fit → preposition of purpose
You can say 'To stay fit, I work out every day'.
Warning
Some verbs can be used with
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
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To-infinitives
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