All About Infinitives

An infinitive is a verbal structure, a verb form, or a verb form and construction that serves as a substitute for a distinct part of speech in a phrase. Despite the fact that infinitives contain verbs, they are unable to function as verbs. They do not convey a feeling of tense on their own, and sentences including them must contain at least one finite main verb to express that sense of time.

Because it is a verb, an infinitive may be used with objects, as well as other complements and modifiers, to create a verb phrase (called an infinitive phrase). For the same reason that other non-finite verb forms (such as participles, converbs, gerunds, and gerundives) do not typically have an expressed subject, an infinitive verb phrase also constitutes a complete non-finite clause, which is referred to as an infinitive (infinitival) clause in most instances. In sentences, such phrases or clauses can take on a range of roles, most commonly serving as nouns (for example, as the subject of a sentence or as a complement to another verb), but they can also function as adverbs or other forms of modifiers. Because they are not inflected for case and do not appear within adpositional phrases, many verb forms known as infinitives are distinguished from gerunds (vocabulary nouns). Infinitives, on the other hand, are frequently derived from older inflectional forms of verbal nouns. Infinitives, in contrast to finite verbs, are not normally inflected for tense, person, or other factors, though some degree of inflection may occur; for example, the Latin language includes distinct active and passive infinitives, among other things.

Forming the Infinitive

 Putting the preposition to before the base form of a verb results in an infinitive form. By placing the word not in front of them, they are rendered ineffective. For example, (to write versus not to write), (to read against not to read) (to sleep ,not to sleep).

Functions

 The infinitive serves a variety of purposes. The ability to recognise the function of an infinitive in a sentence can be quite beneficial: authors who have a clear understanding of how an infinitive is employed will be able to arrange their sentences with greater clarity and precision.

In the case of a noun

An infinitive can function as a noun in a sentence, appearing as either the subject or direct object of the sentence. As a subject complement, it can be used in the predicate of a sentence after a linking verb (such as is) to convey more information about the subject of the sentence. One method of determining whether or not an infinitive is behaving as a noun is to replace the infinitive with the words something or somethings.

Subject: To dream takes an incredible amount of courage. [Something demands a great deal of guts.]

He intended to cry, therefore he used the direct object. [He expressed a desire for something.]

Subject complement: Our aim is to improve. [Our aim is something.] 

As an Adjective   

Subject description: Your counsellor [whom you should consult] is the ideal person to consult on this matter. In describing an object, you might say: [activities that must be performed] The teacher set various exercises to complete.

As an Adverb

 Infinitives can also function as adverbial modifiers, meaning that they can alter any verb in a phrase. Using these infinitives, the reader will understand why the activity is required. It is important to note that the infinitive can appear either before or after the main body of a sentence: it is movable.

Before Main Clause: To do well in college, one must study diligently. 

After Main Clause: We tell stories to teach lessons.

Infinitive Phrases 

Infinitives can be used in conjunction with other words and phrases to convey extra information about the action described by the infinitive in the sentence.

For example, students at San José State University are taught to think critically.

The adverb “critically” defines how San Jose State University trains its students to think critically. In the preceding example, “students” is the subject of the infinitive phrase: they are instructed (by SJSU) to perform a particular action (to think critically). In the absence of an actor, the main subject of the sentence serves as the implicit actor of the infinitive phrase as well. Eg. Before the end of the century, scientists guaranteed that they would construct jetpacks. As an example, consider the following: “The scientists claimed that they would construct jetpacks before the end of the century.”

Types of Infinitives

There is a wide range of infinitives that can be found in sentences. Educating yourself on these terms and the differences between them can help you understand when and when to use them correctly.

Starting with the three basic sorts of infinitives – Full, Bare, and Split Infinitives – let’s go over what they are and how they work.

Full Infinitive

Full infinitives are distinguished from bare infinitives in that the infinitive signature “to” remains intact in front of the verb that completes them, as opposed to the bare infinitive case in which it is not.

For example, don’t make a commitment to do more than you are capable of doing.

Bare Infinitive

In English, the bare infinitive is used when the infinitive sign “to” is not included in the sentence. Make, let, help, hear, and a few more basic verbs are examples of verbs that allow the infinitive signature “to” to be omitted from a sentence.

Examples: 

I made him beg for the next candy.

Split Infinitive

Split adjectives are used to describe situations in which the construction of an infinitive is influenced mostly by adverbs. Adverbs are usually placed between the infinitive marker – “to” – and the base form of the verb that they refer to.

Examples: I wanted to take a stand for what I believe in.. (Split Infinitive) 

A person can use the Continuous, Perfect, and Perfect Continuous infinitives depending on the moment in time at which the action occurred and whether it continued for a period of time after it had occurred.

Continuous Infinitive

Comments employing the continuous infinitive typically refer to an action that has been or will be ongoing for a specific period of time. Generally speaking, this kind follows the pattern “to + be + present participle (base verb + -ing)” in terms of structure.

Example: I would love to be staying in my home all day during weekends.

Perfect Infinitive

When a statement is made, it relates to a moment in time that occurred before the statement is made. The ordinary present perfect tense structure followed by the infinitive marker – “to” is the normal formula for this type of sentence, which looks like – “To + have + Past Participle” .

Examples: He wished he could have watched the show in person..

Perfect Continuous Infinitive

The regular present perfect continuous tense structure follows the preposition “to” and forms the perfect continuous infinitive – “to + have + been+ Present Participle” – after the “to.” The perfect infinitive gains the sense of continuance from the perfect continuous tense structure, without the necessity of stating the temporal frame as in the perfect continuous tense structure.

Examples: The kid seemed to have been playing for the past hour or so.

Conclusion