THE INFINITIVE
A. Forms of the Infinitive
Active Passive
Present (to) give (to) be given
Pr. C. be giving -
Perfect have given have been given
Perf. C. have been -
giving
The verb tenses corresponding to the tenses of the infinitive are as follows:
Verb Tenses Infinitive
he studies/will study (to) study
he is studying/will be studying (to) be studying
he studied/has studied/ had to have studied
studied/will have studied
he was studying/has been to have been
studying/had been studying/ studying
will have been studying
The present infinitive refers to the present or
future.
/ expect them to give me the information soon. I hope to be accepted for the position. (Passive)
The present continuous infinitive refers to an
action happening at the time of speaking.
She appears to be studying at the moment.
The perfect infinitive refers to the past. It shows
that the action of the infinitive happened before
the action of the verb.
He claims to have finished the report.
The report seems to have been finished.
(Passive)
The perfect continuous infinitive refers to the
past. It emphasises the duration of the action of
the infinitive, which happened before the action
of the verb.
She says she is exhausted. She claims to have been cleaning the house all morning. (We emphasise that she had been cleaning the house all morning.)
Note: The perfect infinitive and the perfect continuous infinitive are used with modal verbs and verbs such as: seem, expect, claim, believe, appear and know.
C. The infinitive without to is used:
after most modal verbs
after the verbs let, make, see, hear, feel + object
But: be made, be heard, etc + to-inf.
after had better and would rather
after Why not?
Help, know are followed by either to-inf. or the infinitive without to
B. The to-infinitive is used:
to express purpose.
Pam went to the supermarket to buy some eggs.
after certain verbs (e.g. agree, appear, decide,
expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse, etc.).
We have decided to sell our old car.
after adjectives which a) describe feelings/emotions
(happy, glad, etc.), b) express willingness/
unwillingness (willing, eager, reluctant, anxious,
etc.) c) refer to a person's character (clever,
kind, etc.) and the adjectives lucky and fortunate.
She was glad to hear the good news.
I was lucky to have met him.
Note: With adjectives which refer to character we
can also use an impersonal construction. It + be
+ adjective + of + noun/pronoun. It was kind
of you to tell me what to do.
after certain nouns and pronouns (e.g. something,
anyone, etc.) to show that something is necessary
or possible.
She's got a project to complete. There's nothing interesting to talk about.
after too/enough.
They aren't fit enough to win the championship.
with it + be + adjective/noun
It is necessary to leave before dark. It is their dream to reach the South Pole.
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* with: so + adjective + as Would you be so kind as to
help me move the sofa?
to talk about an unexpected event which can be
unpleasant, usually with only.
They ran to the front door only to realise their mother had already left.
after be + the first/second, etc., next/last/best,
etc.
She was the last person to leave the building.
after verbs and expressions such as ask, learn,
explain, decide, find out, wonder, want to
know, etc., when they are followed by question
words (who, what, etc.). Why is followed by a
subject + verb, not by an infinitive.
She wanted to know what to do next. I wonder why she was crying.
after would like/would love/would prefer to
express specific preference.
/ would love to have spaghetti for dinner.
in the expressions: to tell you the truth, to be
honest, to begin/start with, to sum up, etc.
To be honest, I don't like Kim very much.
Note: If two to-infinitives are joined with "and" or "or", the "to" of the second infinitive can be omitted. They promised to visit and tell us all about their trip to Moscow.
