Infinitive
The infinitive is an impersonal form of a verb that names an action and answers the question what to do? what to do? The infinitive is used with the particle to, can have forms of time and state, but does not indicate either person or number.
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Forms of the infinitive |
Active | Passive |
| Indefinite (simple infinitive) | to + verb (to call) | to be + verb +
-ed/III form (for irregular verbs) (to be called) |
| Continuous (continuous infinitive) | to be + verb+ -ing (to be calling) | — |
| Perfect (perfect infinitive) | to have + verb +
-ed/III form (for irregular verbs) (to have called) |
to have been + verb + -ed/III form (for irregular verbs) (to have been called) |
| Perfect Continuous (perfect continuous infinitive) | to have been + verb + -ing (to have been calling) | — |
- Indefinite (simple infinitive) – in the active state the verb remains unchanged (to call), in the passive (passive) the ending -ed (to be called) is added. Can mean present or future tense
- Continuous (continuous infinitive) – indicates a long-term action that occurs simultaneously with another action expressed in a sentence by a predicate verb in the personal form
- Perfect (perfect infinitive) – used to specify what precedes the action expressed by the predicate verb
- Perfect Continuous (perfect continuous infinitive) – indicates an action that began and continued for a certain time before another action expressed by a verb in the personal form (predicate verb), or this action continues. This form of the infinitive emphasizes the duration of the action in time
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The main cases of using the infinitive |
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| To express the goal | I’ve come here to talk to you |
| After some verbs: to agree, to appear, to decide, to expect, to hope, to plan, to promise, to refuse | She agreed to buy a ticket for me |
| After some adjectives that describe a person’s feelings and emotions or character | Не is so glad to see you |
| After the adverbs too and enough | Не is too tired to go to the cinema now |
| After some nouns and pronouns, for example, something, somewhere, anyone, nothing, to express something necessary or possible | Can you bring something to drink, please |
| In the grammatical construction be + the first / second etc., next / last / best | She was the first to pass the exam |
| In the grammatical construction it + be + adjective / pronoun | It is necessary to learn it by heart |
| After some verbs: to ask, to learn, to find out, to wonder, to want to know, to decide, if they are followed by the question word who, what, where, how , when, whom, whose, but not why | She asked how to get to the museum |
Bare Infinitive or Zero Infinitive is the form of the infinitive without the particle to.
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Use of the infinitive without the particle to |
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| the simple infinitive is used after modal verbs (can, must, тау, should, might, could) | She can ski |
| After verbs to let, to make, to see, to hear, to feel
But: be made /be heard/be seen + to + infinitive (passive structure) |
We saw him talk to the manager
Не was seen to talk to the director |
| After structure had better/ would rather | You had better rent a car |
| In sentences beginning with the phrase why not | Why not dance? |
References