To-infinitives for intermediate learners

bare-infinitives infinitives to-infinitives

To-infinitives are the base form of the verbs preceded by the preposition 'to'. To-infinitives are used in many conditions. In this lesson, we will learn them.

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What Are To-infinitives?

To-infinitives, also known as full infinitives, are a type of verb form in English that are 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'.

Infinitives: Types

In English, there are two types of infinitives. Look at the list below:

To-infinitives
Bare infinitives

In this lesson, we will discuss 'to-infinitives'.

To-infinitives

When 'to' is followed by the base form of the verb, the result is a 'to-infinitive'. Look at the following examples:

To sleep all the time can be a sign of depression.

I'm sorry but I don't want to talk to you anymore.

John likes to dance with me right now.

To-infinitives: Uses

'To-infinitives' can serve different functions in a sentence. They can function as:

'To-infinitives' as Nouns

'To-infinitives' can function as nouns in sentences. They can be the subject, object of the verb, or object of a preposition. Look at the following examples:

To work in a café is what I really don't like. (As the subject)

Lionel wants to kill me. (As the object of the verb)

The police can't do anything but to wait for another attack.

'To-infinitives' as Adjectives

We can also use 'to-infinitives' as adjectives to modify other nouns. Look:

That is a movie to remember.

He's looking for a place to stay.

'To-infinitives' as Adverbs

'To-infinitives' can also function as adverbs to modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. Look at the following examples for more clarification:

The director went to fire her.

The animals came to eat all the humans.

Past Participles

The past participle is the third principal part of a verb that is most commonly known to be used with tenses. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.

Perfect Participles

A perfect participle is a participle that is used with an auxiliary verb to imply a special meaning. In this lesson, you will learn about perfect participle.

Infinitives

Infinitives are used in many structures, especially after catenative verbs. Follow the article to learn them.

Bare Infinitives

The word 'bare' means without the addition of something. So you can easily get the meaning of a bare infinitive.

Infinitive Clauses

To learn infinitive clauses, first of all, you should know the elements in a cause and the definition of an infinitive. In this lesson, we will learn them.

Dangling Modifiers

Who did this? Can't you find the subject? It's probably the dangling modifiers' work! Let's see what are they.

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