Infinitive Verb
Do you know the difference between an infinitive verb and a base verb? Or, do you know when and how do you use infinitive verbs? These questions, and their answers are the key to understanding the uses of an infinitive verb.
Defining an Infinitive Verb
Basically, an infinitive verb is a verb with the word “to” in front of it.
- to be
- to have
- to hold
- to sleep
- to dream
When you use an infinitive verb, the “to” is a part of the verb. It is not acting as a preposition in this case. And the verb is always just the verb. It’s not conjugated in anyway – no -ed, no -ing, no -s on the end. Sometimes you’ll see sentences like this:
- She went from kissing him to slapping him in no time.
You see “to slapping,” and it’s easy to think that’s an infinitive verb, but it isn’t. It’s a preposition (to) and a gerund (slapping). You can tell it’s not an infinitive because of the -ing on the end of the verb. Infinitives never have an -ing ending.
Infinitive Verb vs. Base Verb
A lot of people think that the infinitive is the most basic form of a verb, but it isn’t. The most basic form is the base form. The base form is just the verb, without the “to.” Some people also call this a bare infinitive.
- be
- have
- hold
- sleep
- dream
Using an Infinitive Verb
There are several possible ways to use infinitive verbs. You can use them:
- as the subject of a sentence – To err is human; to forgive, divine.
- like an adjective or adverb phrase that expresses purpose or intent – My instructions are to press this button every hour.
- following an indirect object – He told me to give this to you.
- following certain other verbs:
- afford – We can’t afford to eat out every night.
- agree – Let’s agree to disagree.
- aim – I aim to please.
- appear – She appears to have the chicken pox.
- arrange – I’ll arrange to meet you at 3:00.
ACTIVITY
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