Infinitive in English: functions and forms, usage and examples. What is the infinitive in English? Brief infinitive in English

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In English infinitive(Infinitive) - this is, which denotes an action, but does not indicate a person and a number. In Russian, the English infinitive corresponds to the indefinite form of the verb, which answers the questions “what to do? what to do?": to live - to live.

The formal sign of the infinitive is the particle to:

to write- write, to read- read, to drink- drink, to think- think.

If the verb is preceded by a particle to, then in front of you is the infinitive (or the indefinite form of the verb). Sometimes the infinitive can be used without a particle to.

The negative form is formed by a particle not, which is placed before the infinitive: not to use - do not use.

It is difficult to use .- Difficult use.
It is difficult not to use .- Difficult do not use.

Infinitive forms

In English, the infinitive has 6 forms (unlike Russian, which has only one form). To understand well the meanings of the forms of the infinitive, it is necessary to have an idea of \u200b\u200band the verb.

Simple infinitive. Indefinite Infinitive

infinitive in the form Indefinite (Simple) or simple infinitive is the basic form and represents the verb in the dictionary (for convenience, in the dictionary the particle to often omitted). This form of the infinitive belongs to the same tense as the verb that precedes it.

I was happy to see her. — I was glad to see her (simple active infinitive).
The child didn't like to be washed. - The child did not like being washed (a simple infinitive in the passive voice).

Compare the use of the simple infinitive in active and passive voice: to help - to be helped
I am happy to help you. - I am glad to help. (I'm glad I'm helping).
I am happy to be helped. - I'm glad they're helping me.

Perfect infinitive. Perfect Infinitive

infinitive in the form Perfect or perfect infinitive denotes an action that precedes the action of the verb-predicate.

I was very happy to have met you. — I am very glad that I met you (active perfect infinitive).
Sorry not to have noticed you. — I'm sorry I didn't notice you (active perfect infinitive).
The child was happy to have been brought to the circle. The child was happy to be taken to the circus (passive perfect infinitive).

Compare the use of a simple (Simple Infinitive) and a perfect (Perfect Infinitive) infinitive in the active voice: to see - to have seen
I am happy to see you. - Glad to see you. (Glad to see you.)
I am happy to have seen you. - I'm glad I saw you.

Long infinitive. Continuous Infinitive

infinitive in the form continuous or long infinitive emphasizes the duration of the action that occurs simultaneously with the action of the verb-predicate. This form is used only in the active voice.

He seems to be writing something. - He seems to be writing something now (long infinitive in the active voice).

Perfectly continuous infinitive. Perfect Continuous Infinitive

infinitive in the form Perfect Continuous or perfect continuous infinitive emphasizes that the action began earlier than the action of the verb-predicate, lasted for some period of time and is still going on. This form is also not used in the passive voice.

He seemed to have been writing all day. He seemed to have been writing all day.

Forms of the infinitive in the table

The meaning of different forms of the infinitive in the table
Infinitive forms	What am I happy about?
Simple	I am happy to speak to you.	Glad to talk to you. (I always rejoice when I talk to you).
continuous	I am happy to be speaking to you.	I'm glad I'm talking to you now.
Perfect	I am happy to have spoken to you.	I'm glad I talked to you.
Perfect Continuous	I am happy to have been speaking to you.	I am glad that I have been talking to you for a long time (all this time).
simple passive	I am (always) glad to be told the news.	I'm always glad when they tell me the news.
Perfect Passive	I am happy to have been told the news.	I'm glad I got the news.

The use of the infinitive without the particle to

Most often, the infinitive in English is used with the particle to, but there are cases when the particle to not used before the infinitive.

The infinitive is used without particle to in the following cases:

After can, could, must, may, might, will, shall, should, would and need (in the value of modal). Exceptions are modal verbs have to, ought to, be to.

AT complex addition after verbs of sense perception feel(feel), hear(hear), see(see), watch(observe), notice(notice):
I saw him leave the office. — I saw him leave the office.
I heard him go down the stairs. — I heard him come down the stairs.
But: if the listed verbs feel, see, hear, watch, notice are used in the passive voice, then the infinitive is preceded by a particle to:
He was seen to leave the office. We saw him leave the office.
In complex addition after verbs make(meaning "force, compel") and let(meaning "permit, allow"). Again, if these verbs are in the passive voice, then the infinitive is used with the particle to.
I can't make you take this medicine. “I can't force you to take this medicine.
We let her go to the party. We let her go to the party.
She was made to rewrite the test. - She was forced to rewrite the test (was made is a passive verb).
After the verb help(to help) the infinitive can also be used with the particle to, and without it. Both options are acceptable, while the option without to less formal.

Infinitive in English- this is one of the impersonal forms of the English verb (like the participle), naming the action, but not having a person, number, gender and time. There is also another name for the infinitive - indefinite or initial form of the verb.

Forms of the infinitive in English

Initial form of the English verb

In russian language infinitive has special endings (suffixes) -th, -ti:

imperfect view (what to do?): read, work, carry, carry;
perfect view (what to do?): read, work, bring, take.

In English, the infinitive form is formed as follows:

Particle to + first (indefinite) verb form V1.

Examples:
🔊 to play(play) , 🔊 to sing(sing) , 🔊 to ask(to ask) , 🔊 to run(run) .

Negative form of the English infinitive

If in Russian, before the infinitive, when negating, it is added particle is not (not see , not do , not go, not save), in English the same thing happens, but a negative is added particle not. Watch and listen to the examples below:

🔊 to say(to tell) - 🔊 not to say(not to tell) ,
🔊 to believe(believe) - 🔊 not to believe(do not believe) .

Aspective forms of the English infinitive in pledges

In English, the infinitive, like the verb, has active and passive voices (Active and Passive Voice). Consider voices of the infinitive in different tense forms on the example of a verb 🔊 to make(make).

Examples of English sentences with infinitive forms.

🔊 I don't want to make any mistakes in my life. - I don't want commit mistakes in life (active voice).

🔊 Many mistakes seem to have been made by my friend in his test. - A lot of mistakes was admitted in my friend's test (passive voice).

Functions of the infinitive in an English sentence

In English infinitive in a sentence can act as a subject, complement, definition, circumstance and part of the predicate. Let's consider these cases in more detail with examples.

Infinitive in English is an impersonal form of the English verb, which denotes only an action, indicating neither person nor number. The infinitive answers the questions: what to do? what to do?

To speak - speak

In Russian, the infinitive is often called indefinite form of the verb. It is the infinitive that is given in dictionaries as the initial form of the verb.

The formal sign of the infinitive in English is the particle to, which is omitted before the infinitive in some cases.

I was happy to see the car stop.
I was glad to see that the car had stopped.

He must leave before 11 a.m.
He must leave before 11 am.

Infinitive forms

The infinitive in English has four forms in the active (active) voice and two in the passive (passive). Passive forms have only a simple and perfect infinitive of transitive verbs, i.e. verbs used with an object:

Simple infinitive in the active voice:

pauline likes to write letters.
Polina loves to write letters.

Continued infinitive:

What is Pauline doing? She must be writing a letter.
What is Polina doing? She must be writing a letter.

Perfect infinitive in the active voice:

Pauline is glad to have written that letter.
Polina is glad that she wrote this letter.

Perfect Continuous Infinitive:

Pauline must have been writing that letter since morning.
Polina must have been writing a letter since morning.

Simple passive infinitive:

This letter seems to be written in pencil.
It looks like this letter was written in pencil.

Perfect infinitive in the passive voice:

The forms of the infinitive clearly reflect the relationship with the verb-predicate in the sentence.

A simple infinitive in the active and passive voice is used when the action that it expresses either occurs simultaneously with the action expressed by the verb-predicate in the personal form, or is irrelevant to the time of the action:

I am happy to see you. (simultaneous action)
I'm glad to see you.

I like to be given gifts.(action irrespective of time)
I like it when they give me gifts.

To show that an action is in the future, the simple infinitive is used after modal verbs. may, must, should, ought to and after verbs to expect- expect, to intend- to intend to hope- hope to want- want, etc. For example:

You may come tomorrow.
You can come tomorrow.

He must do it immediately.
He must do it immediately.

You should put on a warm hat.
You should wear a warm hat.

I expect to see you next week.
I expect to see you next week.

I intend to go to the seaside this summer.
I intend to go to the sea this summer.

I hope to find him at home.
I hope to find him at home.

Continuous infinitive emphasizes the duration of the action, simultaneous with the verb-predicate:

The form perfect continuous infinitive indicates that the action expressed by the infinitive began before the action expressed by the verb-predicate, and continues to this day:

She seems to have been cooking since morning.
She seems to have been cooking since morning.

Infinitive in perfect form is used to denote an action preceding the action expressed by the verb-predicate:

I'm sorry not to have told you about it earlier.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier.

Perfect infinitive after modal verbs must and may expresses the assumption that the action has already taken place:

After modal verbs should, ought to, could, might, was/ were The perfect infinitive denotes an action that should have or could have taken place, but did not actually happen.

The infinitive, or indefinite form of the verb, refers to the impersonal forms of the verb and combines the properties of the verb and the noun. The infinitive answers the questions "what to do?", "what to do?": to read - read, to write - write, to learn- learn, to remember - remember, to promise- promise etc.

The formal sign of the infinitive is the particle to that precedes it. In some cases, the to particle is omitted.

Indefinite Infinitive Active is the only simple form of the infinitive.

I want to play chess.
I want to play chess.

All other forms are complex, as they are formed using auxiliary verbs to be, to have and participles.

Rules for the formation and use of the infinitive in English

1. Indefinite Infinitive Active is formed from the stem of the verb with the particle to (for example, to write) and is used to express an action that occurs simultaneously with the action expressed by the verb-predicate, in the present, past and future tense or regardless of the time it was performed.

I am happy to hear it. I'm glad to hear it.
He wanted to play chess. He wanted to play chess.
I hope to see you tomorrow. I hope to see you tomorrow.
to swim is pleasant. It's nice to swim.

Indefinite Infinitive Passive is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to be + the 3rd form of the verb (Participle II) (for example, to be written) and is used to express an action that is simultaneous with the action expressed by the verb-predicate.

Didn't want her article to be translated.
He wanted her article to be translated (= to have her article translated).

2. Continuous Infinitive Active is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to be + Participle I of the semantic verb (for example, to be writing) and is used to express a long action that occurs simultaneously with the action expressed by the verb-predicate. This form is often used after verbs. to seem, to appear - seem and after auxiliary verbs.

Doesn't seem to be writing much. He seems to write a lot.
Doesn't seem to be waiting for us. It seems (that) he is waiting for us.

3. Perfect Continuous Infinitive Active is formed using the auxiliary verb to be in Perfect Infinitive (to have been) + Participle I of the semantic verb (=ing form) - (for example, to have been writing) - and expresses a long action preceding the action expressed by the verb-predicate.

He is reported to have been writing a new novel.
He is reported to be writing a new novel. (It is reported now that he began writing a new novel before that, so the verb to write is used in Perfect Continuous Infinitive Active.)

4. Perfect Infinitive Active is formed using the auxiliary verb to have + Participle II of the semantic verb (for example, to have written).

Perfect Infinitive Passive formed using the auxiliary verb to be in Perfect Infinitive (to have been) + Participle II of the semantic verb (for example, to have been written).

Perfect Infinitive (Active, Passive) is used:

1. To express an action preceding the action expressed by the verb-predicate.

Not is said to have won the Olympic Gold (medal).
He is said to have won a gold medal in the Olympics.

She seems to have forgotten about our request.
She seems to have forgotten our request.

2. After the modal verbs should, would, ought to, could, might to express an unfulfilled moral duty, obligation.

Not should have helped her.
He should have helped her but he didn't).

You ought to have congratulations him with the defense of his thesis.
You should congratulate him on defending his dissertation.

3. After were, were to express unfulfilled plans and contracts.

The school was to have been ready by the 1st of September, but it is still only half finished.
The school was supposed to be ready by September 1, but it's only halfway done.

4. After modal verbs must, may to express assumptions, conclusions.

Not must have read this book. He must have read this book.
She may have married. She may have married.
He must have come this way. Here are his footprints.
He must have come this way. Here are his tracks.

5. After the verbs to hope ( hope), to expect ( expect), to want ( to want), to intend ( mean) to express an action that, contrary to hope, the expectation did not take place.

She hoped to have met a good man.
She hoped to meet a good man but didn't meet).

He intended to have put up an advertisement yesterday.
He intended to make an announcement yesterday but didn't).

infinitive with particle to

1. The infinitive is usually used with the particle to: to read, to write, to work. But if in a sentence there are two infinitives connected by the union and or or, then the particle to is usually omitted before the second infinitive.

She decided to go and buy something for supper.
She decided to go and buy something for dinner.

2. The particle to is sometimes used at the end of a sentence without a verb. This is done to avoid repeating the same verb in the same sentence. This use of the to particle is usually found after the verbs to wish - want, to want - to want, to try- try, to allow - allow, to have to - be to and etc.

I didn't want to take a taxi but I had to(take one) as I was late.
I did not want to take a taxi, but I had to (take a taxi) because I was late.

He wished to go but he wasn't able to.
He wanted to go, but was unable (could not go).

Did you get a ticket? - Did you get a ticket? -
No, I tried to, but there weren't any left.
No. I tried, but not a single ticket was left.

3. After verbs to be, to have, used as modal verbs, put the particle to.

I am to meet him here.
I must meet him here.

Not has to do it in September.
He should do it in September.

4. After the words the first, the second ... the last, the only.

He loves parties: he is always the first to come and the last to leave.
He loves parties: he is always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Infinitive without particle to

1. After auxiliary and modal verbs.

Not can play chess. He plays (knows how to play) chess.
We shall go by foot there. We will go there on foot.

2. After the verbs to make - force, to let- allow and sometimes after to help - to help.

She made him give up smoking. She made him quit smoking.
I let him read this book. I allowed him to read (read) this book.

3. After the verbs to see - see, to hear- hear, to feel - feel, to watch- observe, to make- force and some others in the turnover "Object case with infinitive".

I heard her leave the house.
I heard her leave the house.

They made us work all night long.
They made us work all night.

If you want to learn a language, start with verbs. After all, it is this part of speech that occupies the largest place in all reference books and dictionaries of any language, including English. Despite the fact that the verb has several forms, in these very dictionaries it is usually given in its simple (initial) form, and for good reason. After all, the infinitive in English, perhaps, is used more often than others. It is about him that we will talk today.

First, let's figure out what an infinitive is.

An infinitive in English is an indefinite or initial form of a verb that names actions and can function as both a noun and a verb. The infinitive refers to non-personal verb forms, that is, to English forms that do not have a number, person, tense or mood.

The infinitive has certain features that characterize and distinguish it from any other kind of verb:

The infinitive is preceded by the particle to, which, however, may be omitted in certain cases. However, if the particle is present almost always, it stands just before the infinitive.
The infinitive answers the questions "what to do?", "what to do?"

Infinitive in English: forms

If in Russian there is only one infinitive form, in English there are six of them. Table for clarity:

The passive infinitive in Continuous and Perfect Continuous is simply not used. Other forms are used extremely rarely, with the exception of the simple one. In the absence of such forms in Russian, they are usually translated in a simple form.

Infinitive turns

The infinitive construction in English is divided into 3 following types:

Complex object, also known as The Objective Infinitive Construction.
Complex subject (Complex subject) or The Subjective Infinitive Construction (Subjective infinitive construction). The subject infinitive is usually used with passive verbs.
The For-to-Infinitive construction or infinitive construction with a preposition

Despite such a variety of infinitive phrases, they are not always used. The object infinitive phrase is the most used phrase in the list, followed by the subject infinitive phrase.

Functions of the infinitive in a sentence

In a sentence, the infinitive can act as almost any member of the sentence.

As a subject:

And the verb part of the compound predicate:

In the definition function:

It is worth noting that the word that defines a noun in Russian may not always look like a standard definition.

Purpose condition:

Often, unions can be used before the infinitive in this case: in order to (in order to) and so as (to):

Usage with particle to

The infinitive with the particle to is used in 99 percent of cases. For example:

An objective infinitive phrase almost always requires the particle to. This infinitive phrase is characterized by verbs that express:

Desire: want (want), wish (wish), desire (want):

Mental activity: think (think), believe (believe), expect (expect), suppose (assume):

The object infinitive turnover also includes words expressing an order, permission or prohibition: order (order), encourage (encourage), allow (allow), permit (allow), prohibit (prohibit):

The subjective infinitive turnover also did not stand aside. In it, the particle to is used with verbs:

say (say), state (declare), allow (allow) in the suffering voice:

perception and mental activity in the passive voice:

with such verbs as appear / seem (seem), happen (happen):

And also with to be (un) likely - probably / unlikely, to be certain / to be sure - to be sure / definitely:

The particle to in English is also inherent in the infinitive turnover with the preposition for. Such a construction is formed by attaching the preposition for to a noun or pronoun with an infinitive. The noun in this case is in the common case, and the pronoun is in the object case. Personal pronouns in English in the objective case should in no case be confused with their subjective (or subjective) case:

subjective case	Objective case
I - I	me - me / me / me
we - we	us - us / us / us
you - you	you - you / you
you - you	you - you / you / you
he - he it - this / it	him - him / him / them her - her / her
they - they	them - them / them / them

As you can see, the object case tends to be used as an object, while the subject pronouns are characterized by the role of the subject.

The object case can be translated in various ways, however, since it is preceded by the preposition for (for), accordingly, in this case, the object case of the pronoun will answer the questions “for whom?” or "to whom?"

Consider the object case and the infinitive as an example:

The verb in the infinitive without to can also be used in short imperative sentences. Usually they do not pay attention to the subject and other members of the sentence. Moreover, these terms can be omitted.

Go!	Forward!
look at the picture.	Look at this picture.

Infinitive in English: gerund or infinitive

The use of the infinitive in English can sometimes cause a number of difficulties. Everything seems to be simple, you take a verb from the dictionary and insert it into an English sentence. However, with further development of the forms of English verbs, when the study comes to a gerund or a verb with an ing suffix, confusion begins to occur in the head. To avoid such a problem, let's look at verbs that are used only in the infinitive or only in the ing form:

Verbs such as agree, refuse, manage, decide, plan, offer, attempt, forget, promise, deserve ( deserve) are always used with the infinitive. These English verbs just need to be memorized. Table examples:

At the same time, there are verbs that are used in a gerund and do not have an infinitive form after them. These include: miss (bored), give up (stop), go on (continue), carry on (continue), involve (include), finish (finish). A few examples:

There are also words that can be used in both forms without much change in meaning:

The meanings of other words may change depending on which form you use: infinitive or gerund. Study the table with such examples:

Infinitive in English: infinitive without particle to

There are also situations in which you need to use infinitives, but without the to particle. So, for example, the to particle is omitted after:

English verbs make (to force) and let (to allow) with a noun or object pronoun:

The verbs of perception feel (feel), see (see), hear (hear), for which the object infinitive turnover is responsible.

Modal verbs:

Exceptions are modal verbs, which have the particle to in their composition. These include: have (got) to, ought to and be to.

Infinitive in English: negation

Particular attention should be paid to the formation of negative sentences. The fact is that to use the infinitive in a sentence, you can use two forms of negation. You must not confuse them, because otherwise you can simply be misunderstood.

To sentences for negating the main action (verb before the infinitive), a simple English negative form with an auxiliary verb and a negative particle not is added:

To negate an action in the infinitive, a negative not is placed before the particle to:

Infinitive in English: other features

If several verbs with infinitive forms are used in the sentence, and the particle to is used in their case, then it is put only to the first infinitive:

The English sentence is characterized by another feature: if in the sentence the infinitive that was used at the beginning is reused at the end, the verb itself is usually omitted, and only the to particle remains in the sentence, which implies it (this verb):

She asks me to go to the party but I don't want to (go).

She asks me to go to the party, but I don't want to (go).

Today we looked at the infinitive in English. As you can see, the use of the infinitive is not very difficult, but there are certain points in its use that should be taken into account. To consolidate the topic, periodically return to the rules and examples in the tables, do exercises and reinforce each such exercise with practice. After all, there is nothing more simple and effective in learning a language than communicating with native speakers.