Infinitives
What is an Infinitive?
An infinitive is a verbal phrase composed of the preposition to and a verb that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb. The term verbal indicates that, like the other two types of verbal, an infinitive is founded on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being.
What is an infinitive phrase?
An Infinitive Phrase consists of an infinitive and the modifier(s) and (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that serve as the actor(s), direct object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed by the infinitive.
What are the types of Infinitives?
There are two primary infinitive forms. First, full infinitives, also called to-infinitives, are used before a verb’s root form. The second type of infinitive is bare infinitives, also known as zero infinitives, which use the verb’s root form without to.
Give some examples of Infinitives.
There’s too much sugar to put in this bowl.
This soup is too hot to eat.
He arrived too late to see the actors.
She’s old enough to make up her mind.
How do you use Infinitives in a sentence?
The infinitive (‘to’ + the simple verb form) is essential for identifying an infinitive phrase. Unless the infinitive phrase is located at the beginning of the sentence, it begins with to and ends at the end.
What are the different kinds of Infinitives?
There are four additional infinitive forms: the perfect infinitive, the continuous infinitive, the perfect continuous infinitive, and the passive infinitive. These are formed by combining various verb tenses with auxiliaries following the preposition to.
Infinitives – Meaning, Definition, Types, How to Use, Examples
An Infinitive is a word form that can be used as a name, a term, or a phrase. They can help you talk about actions without actually doing them. Most of the time, infinitives are made by putting the phrase before the basic word. Regular and irregular verbs, auxiliary verbs, linking verbs, passive and active verbs, and many other types of verbs are all used in the English language.
Even though an infinitive has a verb, it can’t be used as a verb. Since they can’t show mood independently, words with them must also include a limited main verb. Learn more about the definition, types, and sentence usage of infinitives by reading the article.
Table of Content
- What are Infinitives?
- What are the Types of Infinitives?
- Full Infinitives
- Bare Infinitives
- Infinitives vs. Prepositional Phrases
- Infinitives vs. Gerunds
- What is an Infinitive Phrase?
- How to Use Infinitives in a Sentence?
- Identify the Infinitives in a Sentence
- Examples of Infinitives
- Conclusion on Infinitives
- Practice Questions on Infinitives
- FAQs on Infinitives