INFINITIVE

VERBS
Reported by:
Mabatid
Roda
Serato
WHAT ARE INFINITIVES?
• An infinitive can be used as a noun, an adjective or an adverb. It
cannot be the main verb in a sentence.
• The infinitive form of a verb is the verb in its basic form. The
infinitive form of a verb is usually preceded by to (e.g., to run, to
dance, to think).
• Most infinitives are preceded by to, but after certain verbs,
the to is dropped. The most obvious example is when an infinitive
follows can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will,
or would (i.e., a modal verb).
• The verb is always just the verb. It's not conjugated in anyway - no
-ed, no -ing, no -s on the end of the base form.
FORMS OF INFINITIVES
• NOUN: Infinitives often perform the same function as a
noun in sentence patterns.

1. Subject: To dance is her happiness.

2. Object: She likes to travel.

3. Subject Complement: My dream is to win the lottery.

FORMS OF INFINITIVES
• ADJECTIVE: it modifies a noun to tell us something about the noun
(e.g., its colour, type, or number). An infinitive that acts as an
adjective usually appears immediately after the noun it is
modifying.

A. He always brings a ball to play in the park.

a. He always brings a ball that he can play in the park.

B. They want someone to sing.

b. They want someone who can sing.

FORMS OF INFINITIVES
• ADVERB: usually modifies a verb to tell us when, where,
how, in what manner, or to what extent an action is
performed.

A. They came to help.

a. They came so that they could help.

B. Mike must practice to compete.

b. Mike must practice so that he can compete.

WHY INFINITIVES?
• An infinitive can usually replace in order to.
a. To reduce your wordcount, you can usually replace "in order to" with "to" without
any loss of meaning.
b. Even though it adds to your wordcount, "in order to" does have an advantage: it
makes it clear that the text that follows is the reason for performing the action.
c. There's another advantage. Using "in order to" puts a little more emphasis on the
reason for the action.
d. These two advantages are not normally why people use "in order to." Mostly, it's
used because writers think it sounds more highbrow. It's not highbrow. It's
inefficient.
• Split infinitives are okay.
a. A split infinitive occurs when a writer splits the full infinitive with an adverb
(e.g., to really laugh, to better understand, to secretly plot). You shouldn't be
surprised if you find yourself using a split infinitive because it is often the most
succinct, accurate and natural-sounding way to write