Level Five
Lesson 57
infinitives
An infinitive is almost always in two parts: to + the simple form of a verb. I need to go. She wants to leave. To learn English requires patience. Infinitives are similar to gerunds as they may function in the same way that a noun does.
To be able to recognize where infinitives and infinitive phrases are in a sentence is a good skill for you to acquire. Do you see the infinitives in the previous sentence?
I like to eat pancakes with a lot of syup.
This video provides a basic explanation for how infinitives are used in a sentence.
57a. Use infinitives as objects.
In these sentences, the object after a verb is an infinitive or an infinitive phrase. An infinitive phrase is an infinitive + the words that are used with the infinitive.
- I want to go. (to go = infinitive)
- A person needs to sleep.
- She loves to read.
- He plans to study English at college. (“to study at college” = infinitive phrase)
- We hope to find a house this year.
- Are you trying to leave early?
- Our teacher likes to see everyone arrive on time.
Note: You will often see infinitives used after verbs such as want, need, hope, plan, like, love, hate, and try.
- They plan to stay out all night.
- He hopes to marry his girlfriend some day.
57b. Use infinitives and infinitive phrases as subjects.
An infinitive and additional words create a phrase that matches a verb. The verb, in this case, is singular because infinitives are always singular.
- To live requires strength. (subject = to live; verb = requires)
- To have time to spend with loved ones is important.
- To be able to speak English well is his goal.
- To say what you really mean takes some courage.
- To lift 200 pounds requires a lot of strength.
The most famous way of beginning a sentence with an infinitive is Hamlet’s to be or not to be soliloquy.
- To get ahead in business requires a lot of knowledge and planning.
- To help refugees facing starvation and disease is a moral imperative.
57c. Use infinitives to give reasons.
An infinitive and additional words create a phrase that matches a verb. The verb, in this case, is singular.
- To have time to spend with loved ones is important.
- To be able to speak English well is his goal.
- To say what you really mean takes some courage.
- To lift 200 pounds requires a lot of strength.
Verbs such as enjoy, like, hate, avoid, keep, finish, miss, can’t help, can’t stand are often followed by gerunds.
57d. Use infinitives after adjectives and nouns.
Here’s the formula:
Subject + (be) + adjective + infinitive
or
Subject + verb + adjective + noun + infinitive
- It’s great to see you again.
- It’s important to do this.
- We are happy to help you.
- This is a nice place to visit.
- This is a good thing to know about.
- He wants his students to study a little bit more.
- I want you to think about this.
- An American main street is very pleasant to visit.
- Our galaxy is a wonder to behold.
57e. compare infinitives and gerunds
It’s useful to compare the ways that infinitives and gerunds are used in a sentence.
- He wants to get a job.
- Getting a job is his goal.
- Playing baseball is fun.
- It’s fun to play baseball.
- She hopes to get married one day.
- Getting married one day is her dream.
- It necessary to provide assistance.
- Providing assistance is necessary.
- Hanging clothes outside is her favorite task.
- She loves to hang the clothes on the clothesline.
- Serving in the military is not a requirement in their country.
- It’s not a requirement for them to serve in the military. It’s a choice they made for themselves.