I * N * F * I * N * I * T * I * V * E
1. The infinitive is the base form of the verb.
a ) as a subject *** To swim is a good sport .
b ) as an object *** Children like to play with kittens .
c ) as an adjective *** He has a house to sell .
d ) as an adverb to express purpose *** I came here to see you .
2. An infinitive is a verb with or without "to" before it.
*** She can get up early . (without "to ")
*** She wants to buy a new car. (with "to " - full infinitive)
3. We use the full infinitive ( with "to" )
a ) to express purpose
*** I went there to learn English.
*** She came here to tell me the bad news.
b ) after certain verbs ( want , decide , refuse , expect , advice , agree , appear , wish,... )
*** There is no need to hurry to finish the job. We have plenty of time.
*** She promised to buy this book for me.
c ) after the adjectives ( angry, glad, happy, surprised, lucky, sad, shocked, upset, willing,... )
*** I am glad to see you again.
*** She is ready to go to school.
d ) after the object (noun or pronoun) of certain verbs
( ask, advise, allow, beg, expect, force, hire, invite, need, order, permit, remind, tell, want, warn,... )
*** My friend asked me to go out for five minutes.
*** I advised Bill to be here on time.
e ) after “too” and enough”
*** The tea is too hot to drink.
*** He is old enough to drive the car.
f ) after question words ( where, how, who, what, which,... )
(NOTE : Why is not used with “to” )
*** Do you know how to speak English ?
*** Can you remember what to buy ?
*** I didn 't decide where to go for next Sunday .
4. We use the bare infinitive (without "to")
a ) after the modal verbs ( can, could, will, shall, should, may, might, must,... )
*** He can play tennis.
b ) after the verbs in the active voice ( see, hear, notice, watch, listen to, ...)
NOTE : These verbs are followed by a full infinitive in the Passive Voice )
*** The teacher saw him move. He was seen to move.
*** She heard him sing. He was heard to sing.
c ) after let
*** The teacher let Ali go out .
5. The verbs “like , love , prefer , begin , continue” can take a full infinitive or an -ing form.
*** I like watching cowboy films (or) *** I like to watch cowboy films.
*** She began learning English (or) *** She began to learn English.
6. The verbs “remember , forget , stop , try , regret” can take an -ing form or a full infinitive but the meaning is different.
*** I stopped swimming. ( I didn 't swim anymore )
*** I stopped to look. ( I stopped what I was doing and started looking )
7. After the verbs see, hear, feel, smell, listen to, notice, find, watch, are used with an -ing form when we witness part of an action which is taking place.
*** When I came in, I saw her washing the dishes. ( part of the action )
*** She saw Melih climb up the tree and then come down again. ( the whole action )
8. After “the first / the last / the only one )
*** Ali was the first to leave the house .
*** He was the only one to answer all the questions correctly .
9. Continuous infinitive : (to) be + V- ing
*** He seems to be sleeping . ( I think he is sleeping. )
*** He is supposed to be staying at a hotel. ( I suppose he is staying at a hotel. )
10. Perfect infinitive : (to) have + past participle
*** It is a great pleasure to have met you again after such a long time
*** I am sorry not to have come to your wedding.
*** I am extremely happy to have won a scholarship to study abroad.
*** They expect to have bought a house by the sea within two years.
The verbs followed by a to-infinitive
afford (-ed) (usually with can't) I can't afford to buy it.
agree (-d) I agree to help him.
attempt (•ed) I attempted to answer, but I wasn't allowed.
bear (bore, born) I can't bear to see you smoking.
begin (began, begun) When will you begin to work?
claim (-ed) He claimed to have got a scholarship.
consent (-ed) Do you consent to follow the terms of the contract?
continue (-d) They continued to work.
contract (-ed) The Turkish government will contract a firm to build a nuclear reactor.
contrive (-d) Whatever he wants, he can contrive to do.
dare (-d) He didn't dare to tell a lie again.
decide (-d) He can't decide to do anything by himself.
decline (-d) The Foreign Minister declined to comment on foreign affairs.
demand (-ed) I demand to see the manager.
deserve (-d) You deserved to have the prize.
desire (-d) Everybody desires to be happy.
determine (-d) I am determined to take a course.
endeavour (-ed) Mr Irwin will endeavour to find Noah's ark.
expect (-ed) She expected to pass the exam.
fail (-ed) He failed to cross the river.
forget (forgot, forgotten) Don't forget to write your address.
hasten (-ed) I hasten to let him know.
hate (-d) He hates to be interrupted.
hesitate (-d) Don't hesitate to tell the truth.
hope (,-d) I hope to solve it today.
intend (-ed) I intend to do it at once.
learn (learnt) He has learnt to read.
like (-d) She likes to dress up.
long (-ed) I long to see you.
love ("d) Parents love to see their children.
manage (-d) He managed to cure the king.
mean (meant) We mean to learn English.
need (-ed) Everybody needs to earn money.
offer (-ed) He offered to be my partner.
plan (-ned) We planned to visit him next week.
prefer (-red) I prefer to work rather than sit in the coffee house.
pretend (-ed) He may pretend to be ill.
promise (-d) He promised to pay his debt in time.
propose (-d) I don't propose to speak about this matter to anyone.
refuse (-d) He refused to help.
remember (-ed) I remembered to meet her.
seek (sought) They will seek to find Noah's ark.
seem (-ed) He seems to have a problem.
start (-ed) It has started to work.
swear (swore, swum) He swore not to smoke again.
tend (-ed) Germans tend to be very hard-workers.
try (tried) Try to finish it today.
undertake (undertook, undertaken) I can undertake to organise it.
venture (-d) The fireman ventured to enter the burning building.
want (ed) I want to study harder.
wish (-ed) Do you wish to live alone?
The verbs followed by object + to - infinitive
advise(-ed) I advise you to eat less.
allow (-ed) Please allow me to do it.
appoint (-ed) They appointed Tim to organise the meeting.
ask (-ed) He asked me to open the door.
authorise (-d) I'll authorise you to do it.
assist (-ed) A walking stick assists a man to walk.
beg (-ged) He begged me to help him.
beseech (besought) I beseech you to help me
cause (-d) You caused him to have an accident.
challenge (-d) The policeman challenged him to say who he was.
charge (-d) The policeman charged the criminal not to forget his warning.
command (-ed) The officer commanded the soldiers to fire.
compel (-led) Please don't compel me to fight.
condemn (-ed) The judge may condemn you to serve 5 years in jail.
dare (-d) You dared us to jump out of the window.
defy (defied) I defy you to disobey me.
desire (-d) We all desire our children to be happy and healthy.
direct (-ed) The officer directed his army to advance.
empower (-ed) Laws empower the police to fire when it is necessary.
enable (-d) Our laws enable us to study as much as we want.
encourage (-d) My parents encouraged me to study.
entitle (-d) Her age doesn't entitle her to marry.
expect (-ed) I expected him to retire.
forbid (forbade, forbidden) Nobody can forbid you to study.
force (-d) Nobody forces you to tell a lie.
get (got, gotten) Get the students to repeat after you.
help (-ed) Please help me (to) do these exercises.
impel (-led) He impelled the worker to finish the work that day.
implore (-d) He implored the policeman not to fine him.
incite (-d) You mustn't incite them to disobey the laws.
induce (-d) Who induced you to go against the rules?
intend (-ed) I intend you to solve it today.
invite (-d) She invited me to dance.
lead (led) You can't lead me to believe she is a bad girl.
like (-d) I would like him to be respectful.
mean (meant) I mean you to do what I say.
need (-ed) I need you to help me.
oblige (-d) The law obliges the citizens to pay tax.
order (-ed) The policeman ordered the people to keep away from the burning house.
permit (-ted) Please permit me to go out.
persuade (-d) I persuaded him to send his child to school.
prefer (-red) I would prefer you to put your money in a bank.
press (-ed) The salesman pressed the customer to pay his debt immediately.'
provoke (-d) Hitting children may provoke them to leave home.
remind (-ed) Remind him to take his medicine '-it five.
require (-d) He required me to take off my hat.
sentence (-d) The judge may sentence him to pay a fine.
summon (-ed) The police summoned him to surrender.
teach (taught) Can you teach me (how) to swim?
tell (told) He told us to be careful.
tempt (-ed) The cold weather tempted us to buy coal.
train (-ed) Who trains a horse to jump over fences?
trouble (-d) May I trouble you to turn down the radio? (Please turn down the radio.)
trust (-ed) We can't trust him to pay his debt on time.
Urge (-d) A jockey urges a horse to run fast.
Want (-ed) I want you to wake me up at six.
warn (-ed) The teacher warned Ayse not to be late again.
wish (-ed) I wish your dream to come true.
