Infinitive verbs in English
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In this chapter you will learn about the infinitive verbs. What are infinitive verbs and how can you use them in English?
Infinitives are the base forms of verbs with 'to' in front of them. Examples of infinitive verbs:
The negative form of the infinitive verbs is formed by adding 'not' before 'to':
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The table below shows the situations in which the infinitive verbs in English are used.
Situation | Example |
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The infinitive verb is a subject in a sentence. |
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To indicate the reason why something happens. |
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In sentences with the structure it + verb 'to be' + adjective /noun the infinitive verb is used. |
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After adjectives that express moods, the infinitive verbs are used. |
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Infinitive verbs are used as an object complement after certain verbs. |
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The table below shows a list of common infinitive verbs in English and example phrases.
Infinitives | Example |
---|---|
To agree | She did agree to go on a holiday with me in the end. |
To advise | I had to advise people about their insurances. |
To afford | They are not able to afford that car. |
To appear | He manages to appear when something bad is about to happen. |
To ask | Are you afraid to ask her on a date? |
To attempt | You can try to attempt to control him, but it's never going to work. |
To be able to | How can you be able to do something like this? |
To beg | The girl has to beg in the streets of Barcelona. |
To care | He doesn't seem to care about other people. |
To choose | It is sometimes difficult to choose an outfit. |
To claim | We planned to claim you. |
To come | Maria promised to come to my party. |
To consent | He had no choice but to consent to the plan. |
To dare | They only were there to dare him to do it. |
To decide | We have to decide what we are going to eat tonight. |
To demand | I don't like to demand things. |
To deserve | She has to deserve the prize. |
To determine | It is hard to determine whose fault the accident was. |
To elect | America is about to elect a president. |
To expect | What to expect when you are going to Indonesia? |
To fail | Try not to fail your exams this semester. |
To forget | He asked her to forget about her problems. |
To get | We tried to get a bag of crisps, but the supermarket was closed. |
To grow (up) | Some people just don't want to grow up. |
To guarantee | We have to guarantee a great time. |
To have | It is nice to have a big group of friends. |
To help | It is a kind thing to help other people. |
To hesitate | He is always the one to hesitate the most. |
To hope | Sandra has to hope for the best when it comes to graduating this year. |
To hurry | We have to hurry, we are very late. |
To invite | They want to invite him to the party. |
To learn | She has to learn English. |
To manage | I don't know how to manage this. |
To mean | She has to mean it, before I believe it. |
To need | Children are likely to need their parents when growing up. |
To neglect | He was the one to neglect his tasks. |
To offer | He was about to offer a big discount to us. |
To order | We want to order chinese food tonight. |
To pay | You have to pay at the counter. |
To persuade | You have to persuade happiness in life. |
To plan | They have to plan their holiday to Italy. |
To prepare | She was the first one to prepare her suitcases. |
To promise | You have to promise me that you will come home at twelve. |
To prove | I have nothing to prove to you. |
To refuse | She had to refuse the job offer. |
To remain | Nina had to remain at home, because she was sick. |
To remember | It is hard to remember things that happened a long time ago. |
To request | I had to request a special book at the library. |
To resolve | Hopefully they are going to resolve this peacefully. |
To say | We had to say something nice about her. |
To seek | You want to seek happiness. |
To seem | Carla used to seem shy, but she is actually very spontaneous. |
To swear | I had to swear I would not tell anyone his secret. |
To tend | She is likely to tend to talk too much when she is nervous. |
To threaten | The accident seemed to threaten Simone. |
To try | They would like to try fresh salmon today. |
To turn out | This had to turn out the wrong way. |
To venture | They are not likely to venture. |
To volunteer | I went to Africa to volunteer. |
To wait | We had to wait for our food. |
To want | Toby is likely to want adventure. |
To wish | I want to wish you good luck on your exams. |
To yearn | He sat down to yearn over his dad's fate. |
Test your knowledge of the infinitive in English by doing the exercises below.
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